Meat care on an Alaskan sheep hunt

[bbags]

Watching one of the recently posted Alaska sheep videos on Rokslide, the hunters dropped a sheep and still had 7 more days left on their hunt. The video depicts them in T-shirts during the day and based on the healthy swarms of mosquitos harassing them, I presume it was not getting a good freeze at night.

I realize there are many variables, but, roughly how many days can meat survive in these conditions?

 

[KHntr]

Depends on what you do with it... We've kept sheep meat for days on end in the mountains in t shirt weather. One ram we hung in game bags and hung off the shady side of a big rock. That one stayed like that for pushing 5 days if I recall correctly. BUT, we were also pawing through the bags of meat every day separating stuff apart (mostly because we were looking for specific cuts of meat to eat). Another ram was placed on rocks in the middle of a fast flowing creek up out of water during the day. At night hung back up over the only tree around. If I had to guess the air temp at water level was probably around 5 or 6*C, while ambient temps in the sun were over 30*C, with night time temps in the single digits.

We've sunk deboned elk meat in giant ziplock bags in creeks before for upwards of a week on early season (August) elk/sheep/moose hunts as well when the flies were bad. Easiest way to keep fly eggs off. Not to mention I feel a bit better not having big slabs of meat swinging in the breeze 50 meters from my tent in serious grizzly country.

Lots of stuff you can do to keep meat from spoiling if you give it a bit of thought and apply the resources you have around you.

 

[Highcountrybulls]

While not specific to sheep hunting, this is one of the most valuable guides on caring for meat in the back country on extended trips that I have come across. It really can be kept safe from spoilage for quite a few days IF properly cared for.