Tips for hot weather elk hunt

[Salmon River Solutions]

Im hunting elk here in Idaho in early August. My normal deer and elk hunting is done in snow, so this is going to be a big change for me. It’s southern idaho, desert area.

I’m looking for any tips for hunting in the heat like this. How do I go about meat care? I’m going to have two 160qt coolers with ice, but those will obviously be at the truck. I’m going to be covering ground on a dirt bike.

Was also thinking about taking the trekking poles and a rain fly with me for keeping the sun off me.

Any advice here would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Ken

 

[cnelk]

Well, elk meat ain’t ice cream so it won’t melt.

Get the hide off and meat in game bags, hang the quarters you’re not shuttling.

You have more time than you think.
Like I said, the meat won’t melt

 

[WeiserBucks]

Get the meat off the bone in a timely matter and hang in the shade. Get the meat to a cooler as fast as reasonably possible, but don't get in a huge rush and crash the dirt bike! De-boning asap has been the key for us in hot weather.

 

[Ron.C]

If it's hot, I like to open up the inside of the rear quarters once they are off/skinned. That big femur retains allot of heat. I find opening up the surrounding muscle on the inside from the ball down about 8-10 inches, exposing the femur and creating another surface for heat to dissipate from the inside of the big muscle groups helps cooling those big rear quarters. Keeping the bone attached at a few points points helps keep it rigid while packing.

As weiserbucks said, de-boning is an option (especially if you have a long pack out). You can carry more meat per load by ditching those heavy bones and smaller chunks cool quicker that larger ones ( as long as they are not dumped straight into a game bag with a pile of other warm small chunks). The center of the meat will get extremely warm, fast......

 

[Bl704]

How? Aron tells it... Eco thermal corridor has stuck with me ever since...

 

[rclouse79]

I found gallon containers and 1.5 liter containers that I could freeze and stack in my cooler like Tetris blocks. Put some towels at the top to fill any dead space. Either hunt close to your coolers or have a lot of people to pack it out in one trip.

 

[Salmon River Solutions]

Thanks guys!

I’ll be alone the whole hunt so no help packing. But in that area I can ride the bike pretty much anywhere so i would be able to make fast trips. To and from the truck!

 

[Marble]

I found gallon containers and 1.5 liter containers that I could freeze and stack in my cooler like Tetris blocks. Put some towels at the top to fill any dead space. Either hunt close to your coolers or have a lot of people to pack it out in one trip.

This worked really well. My local small grocery store let me freeze my yeti with my gaping jugs for a few days prior to my hunt. They lasted over a week and kept an elk super cool for 36 hours. Big hugs of frozen water are awesome to use to keep meat cold. When I leave my truck at the trail head I put my spare big sleeping bags over the ice chests to keep them cool.

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[Deadfall]

Flowing water does a great job also. Dump meat in water and cover it if possible.

 

[cgasner1]

Honestly I think guys worry to much i think one of the worst things is a bad shot obviously true with any weather but when you have to back out for all you know that bull died in 20 min and you waited 6 hours get the hide off and meat hung in the shade bring some critic acid for the flies. It will surprise
You how much it cools even in the heat. You don’t really get into trouble unit the cooled off meat starts to get warm again


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[robby denning]

Well, elk meat ain’t ice cream so it won’t melt.

Get the hide off and meat in game bags, hang the quarters you’re not shuttling.

You have more time than you think.
Like I said, the meat won’t melt

I agree with you. As long as you get right on it, you shouldn’t have any problems. Just getting the hide & quarters off even if it’s 90° drops dumps internal body temperature fast. And deboning like Weiser bucks says really makes a difference

Now three hours laying whole in the back of the pick up with the hide on won’t do you any favors when it’s 90

It’s not like you’re going to be remote and not able to get it on ice within 12 hours, right?


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[robby denning]

Also, wouldn’t hurt to throw a 90 pound pack on and go ride around on your dirtbike. I know some guys that wished they would’ve practice that before doing the real thing


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[Coveyleader]

Making a good shot is key. Waiting hours to follow up will cause issues. Big issues.

Another issue is making sure your game bags are “Fly proof” I’m not joking here,. They they will do damage in short order, especially on boned out meat. A mosquito net can really come in handy as they don’t weigh anything and add another layer to everything if you have to leave it. Good pillow cases work great as well. Flies to me are more damaging than the heat in most cases on a quick recovery. When it’s hot, I much prefer an evening kill vs AM.

 

[Salmon River Solutions]

Also, wouldn’t hurt to throw a 90 pound pack on and go ride around on your dirtbike. I know some guys that wished they would’ve practice that before doing the real thing


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I did a single track 3 years ago with my buddies elk, one that I had a very hard time without the weight. Made it out, two trips with the 3 of us. Just went super slow. We have the ex motocross racer the antlers to navigate the narrow trail. He was still doing wheelies with the antlers hanging down on his hands.

 

[robby denning]

We have the ex motocross racer the antlers to navigate the narrow trail. He was still doing wheelies with the antlers hanging down on his hands.

hahahahaahah, my kinda guy

 

[MTNMARAUDER1776]

I did a single track 3 years ago with my buddies elk, one that I had a very hard time without the weight. Made it out, two trips with the 3 of us. Just went super slow. We have the ex motocross racer the antlers to navigate the narrow trail. He was still doing wheelies with the antlers hanging down on his hands.

I'm a single track guy myself. I've always dreamed of ripping out of the back country with a bloody pack.