Whats the longest youve left an Elk in the field

[stanley]

Bones or no bones, either way I'm thinking the conclusion for me always has been:

• Skin off and guts out ASAP (gutless method counts)
• Good game bags (Or suitable substitute. NO garbage bags!)
• Shade
• Air (preferably cool/cold air)

Then of course, after you get it out of the field/camp, there is the whole 'hanging/aging' debate! LOT'S of opinions there!

 

S.

[trphyhntr]

who is steve rinella

[CatfishKev]

I too have spent a lof of time in butcher shops. They sour first in the dense muscle areas. Sour meat is basically a bacteria so one small spot spreads fast. Between the shoulders, "armpits" and hind quarters go first. If i keep the bone in, i split the hams to the bone to release heat. If the animal is hung whole, i split between the shoulders to the bone, split the armpits till the front quarters are barely attached, then split the hinds. I usually use little sticks to pry open the cuts to let that cool air penetrate. Amazing how some people "take care" of meat. Seen quarters stuffed in black trash bags in august

 

Even if I quarter and hang quickly I will always split the hams now. I didn't know that meat spoils from the middle out so this was a new concept to me when I first heard it. That alone could save a lot of meat in warmer weather.

[CatfishKev]

 

I have never heard that leaving the bones in helps cooling off, that makes no sense. You shouldn't just throw all the meat in one big ball in a big bag, it has to breath and get air to all parts, but bones hold heat from my experience.

 

 

When hunting solo, this has always concerned me. One can only get an elk on ice so fast by yourself. The key is to get it hanging in a tree in the shade with no hide.

 

Randy Newberg took two couple full days to get his Colorado bull out last year, and he had no issues that I'm aware of. Early November he had it quartered and hung in a tree in the shade. He always tells people not to debone immediately, saying that the bone helps cool the interior meat.

 

 

I think it makes the bone act like a heat sink. Kind of like when you lay a frozen steak in a skillet, it sucks the cold out of the meat. Same concept just in reverse.

[trphyhntr]

Why does the meat rot nearest the bone first then, or doesn't it

[GreyGhost85]

I don't know if bones have anything to do with spoilage so to speak. The deepest, thickest tissue goes first (takes longer to cool off), which happens to be where bones lie.

[wish2hunt]

My wife shot her bull Monday afternoon and we found it Wednesday afternoon and it was running down the hill. It was all I could do to cut his head off.

[wannakillabigbull]

The reasoning by both Rinella and Newberg is that since bones transfer heat faster than muscle tissue, they can essentially transfer heat from the meat on the bone and cool it from the inside out, in addition to the rest of the meat cooling from outside in. It's certainly better than deboning and then bundling up the meat.

 

Meat, like anything, will cool fastest when the surface area to volume ratio is highest. Volume of meat will remain constant, so increase your surface area and you'll increase your rate of cooling. So if you debone, lay the meat out so it's got lots of surface area to transfer heat out and cool quickly. All of that is assuming the air temperature is lower than the meat temperature, which is usually the case.

[trphyhntr]

The reasoning by both Rinella and Newberg is that since bones transfer heat faster than muscle tissue, they can essentially transfer heat from the meat on the bone and cool it from the inside out, in addition to the rest of the meat cooling from outside in. It's certainly better than deboning and then bundling up the meat.

 

Meat, like anything, will cool fastest when the surface area to volume ratio is highest. Volume of meat will remain constant, so increase your surface area and you'll increase your rate of cooling. So if you debone, lay the meat out so it's got lots of surface area to transfer heat out and cool quickly. All of that is assuming the air temperature is lower than the meat temperature, which is usually the case.

right in my mind i picture cutting the bone out you have more surface area to cool off.

[trphyhntr]

i just drive to mine anyways so idk why I'm even worried about it

[Hoss50]

I have only dealt with a few elk in person so far. All cows, all late hunts. The first was when I was 16 or so. We shot it late one afternoon. A nasty storm was moving in so we gutted it right away, but didn't have time to get it skinned. It was well below freezing that night. We got it to the processor about 16 hours from TOD. Some of the meat nearest the skin had already started to go. We didn't have a lot of waste, but we still lost some.

 

2 years ago we got 2 cows on opening evening in separate areas. We got them both back to camp and gutted and skinned before midnight. Mine was in the back of my truck in a clean tarp on a cold windy night. I took mine into the processor first thing the following morning and it was frozen. We had no meat waste and the meat tastes fantastic. My buddy halved his and hung it in the shade for the rest of the hunt. It was well below freezing even during the daytime for most of the hunt. The last couple days though it started to get above freezing during the day and his elk would thaw a little during the daytime and refreeze at night. He didn't lose any meat, but his does have a little funky flavor. He finally admitted recently that if he had a do over he would have had me take it to the processor with mine. He has the hunt again this year so we will see if he gets and elk and what he does with it...

 

For me the answer is clear. Guts out, skin off ASAP. Get it frozen/cold and keep it that way.

[Guest oneshot]

its apparently quite kosher in our day and age of "likes" and "followers" to leave the guts in and clothes on for a half a day while you take pics.

 

Drive that big Bull/Buck around town till the hair falls out...

[Jazz]

Guys, I had no idea.

 

I always thought it was OK to leave the hide on if I had to- and could wait till morning to find it. (Thanks, wonderful hunting shows with false info)

 

I'm really lucky this thread came. I thought you could treat it like a big deer. Having never got an elk, I just didn't know.

[Tac]

Guys, I had no idea.

 

I always thought it was OK to leave the hide on if I had to- and could wait till morning to find it. (Thanks, wonderful hunting shows with false info)

 

I'm really lucky this thread came. I thought you could treat it like a big deer. Having never got an elk, I just didn't know.

I would treat my elk and deer the same gut and skin ASAP

[ZBAR]

On an archery hunt a couple years back I shot my bull in the low country right at dark & found him the following morning. Was pretty warm that year. Meat was not spoiled......in fact it was the best elk meat I've ever had.