Boot and pack questions

[jimbires]

Tom , one of the guys mentioned above about meat bags . I have a set of the heavy canvas bags . they work great but are not back pack hunting friendly , they are bulky and heavy . I bought a set of these and I do like them . this little pack is small and light making them nice to carry and the bags seem to be holding up pretty good . the elk size bags are on today .


https://www.camofire.com/index.php/Deals/1

 

[tddeangelo]

I saw those.

A buddy of mine told me he bought a fluorescent orange dry bag. That way he had orange on his back and he could just wash it out and use it again.

But they aren't light, that's for sure.

Walmart has game bags for a lot less, but I haven't gone into the differences yet.

Those bags seem to come up every so often on camofire. Hopefully they continue to do so.

 

[mcseal2]

I personally tried a Kuiu pack, the Ultra 1800 and returned it. I didn't like the frame design, just didn't fit me. I wouldn't worry about the durability on Kifaru. The other forums I'm on have some guys who use the heck out of them, far more days and pack-outs than I'll ever get to put in. They seem to be the standard everyone else is measured against for hunting anything elk size or smaller.

 

[pre6422hornet]

I won't buy commercial game bags again. A quick trip to the local Goodwill will net you King sized Pillow cases at a fraction of the cost. And you can wash and reuse.

And Tom you won't use the SJK once you haul weight with the MR. I think I already said this before but during Turkey season I strapped my Benelli to the extreme right side of the pack for the 1.5 mile walk in and I could not tell the pack was severely lopside loaded. It never tweaked, turned, anything.

 

[tddeangelo]

That's what the MR guy said when I called.

But it doesn't cost me anything to keep the frame till I'm certain.

The only thing that makes me nervous about pillow cases is if I have to hang quarters overnight.

Supposedly bears will find an elk left overnight if not hung from trees. Not sure a pillowcase will hold a quarter like that...? Maybe it will, but seems like it's asking a lot of a pillow case?

 

[IdahoCTD]

I've used pillow cases for years and never have had a issue as long as you don't try to hang too much weight from them. The ones from the thrift stores are generally well used so they aren't as strong as new ones but I've still hung 40+lbs in them overnight. You can always buy new ones off of ebay. They aren't that expensive. My dad usually gets 20-30 of them a year for us at .25 each and we just throw them away after one use. For that cheap it's not worth the effort to clean them. I'll probably sew up some bed sheets into larger bags for AK. Moose quarters are a little big for pillow cases, even boned out, unless you split them into 3 different ones. The nice thing about pillow cases and bed sheets is they tend to breathe well yet aren't open enough to have the flies lay eggs on the meat. The heavier bags are nice but don't breathe all that well and they are heavy if your backpacking.

If a bear wants your meat bad enough it's going to get it. I've had more problems with birds and coyotes in the past but we aren't in grizzly country either.

 

[SJB358]

I've used pillow cases for years and never have had a issue as long as you don't try to hang too much weight from them. The ones from the thrift stores are generally well used so they aren't as strong as new ones but I've still hung 40+lbs in them overnight. You can always buy new ones off of ebay. They aren't that expensive. My dad usually gets 20-30 of them a year for us at .25 each and we just throw them away after one use. For that cheap it's not worth the effort to clean them. I'll probably sew up some bed sheets into larger bags for AK. Moose quarters are a little big for pillow cases, even boned out, unless you split them into 3 different ones. The nice thing about pillow cases and bed sheets is they tend to breathe well yet aren't open enough to have the flies lay eggs on the meat. The heavier bags are nice but don't breathe all that well and they are heavy if your backpacking.

If a bear wants your meat bad enough it's going to get it. I've had more problems with birds and coyotes in the past but we aren't in grizzly country either.

Same here. I have used the old man's sewn up sheets for quite a few years and they work great. Alaskan Game bags are nice as well and not overly expensive and reusable as well. I am not sure what I will try this year to be honest as most everything has worked pretty decently.

 

[tddeangelo]

I guess double-bagging a quarter would do the trick... 2 pillow cases... if I'm worried about weight.

That and a good supply of 550 cord should let me hang quarters if/as needed, I'd think?

 

[pre6422hornet]

I guess double-bagging a quarter would do the trick... 2 pillow cases... if I'm worried about weight.


That and a good supply of 550 cord should let me hang quarters if/as needed, I'd think?

Yes. These are alaskan game 48" bags with one whole bull boned out.


I take 550 cord and cut 15 feet of it, then cut 5 feet off. Then I tie the 5 foot section in the middle of the 10 foot section and braid it into a 2-3 foot braid. Packs easier and less chance or unwanted tangling.

 

[tddeangelo]

Photobucket isn't your friend.... lol

I just called MR. I wanted to add straps to my order, hoping to get it all in the same shipment and save shipping costs. The woman who answered was awesome. Got my order processed and saved me shipping costs.

FYI- she told me they are discontinuing their 48" straps and only have them yet in Foliage and Black. Anyone who wants the long straps should order sooner than later.

 

[SJB358]

I just saw they have the Alaskan Bags on Amazon. I think it is my turn to buy the bags this year for Bill and I. I used them last year and liked them and for 25 bucks for 4, I can't really see going wrong with them. Plus, they were tough. I do like the ability of them to breathe in warmer weather if needed and to keep the danged flys off the meat..

 

[Europe]

Tom, your young, healthy and have been working out far more than most do, your over thinking this. You will be fine, relax, and enjoy. hope you connect on a nice one. Have you already made arrangements on how your going to bring the meat home ?

 

[tddeangelo]

I'm driving, so no worries on shipment of meat. I just have to keep an eye on the ice in the coolers.

New Lowa's came today. They're great. Super stiff...more than I expected, but not near as heavy as the reviews online lead one to think.

Need to mess with them a little in the house before committing to walking outside in them, but I think they'll do quite well.

Mystery Ranch shipped today, probably be here around the end of next week.

Need to do some load work to get ready for the weekend and run some more loads in the 270 and see how the 35 Whelen and 300H&H are doing, as well. They may be in contention for a spot on the trip.

Through this process, I'm starting to go through the various "stuff" I've accumulated over the years. A lot of it can be sold/given away to people who will actually use it. I'd like to get down to a little pack for treestand hunts that are a few hours long and the Mystery Ranch to use when I need to sit all day and need layers, water, food, etc., and that's about it. Weed out my clothes I don't use anymore, and keep what I use. And so on and so forth.

 

[Europe]

Good for you Tom. Is Megan going with you ?

 

[jimbires]

I use dry ice . 3 or 4 blocks in a decent cooler with one elk will last the trip home .usually by the time I get home the meat is frozen like a rock . some of the meat in the middle is soft but very cold . I still have ice . don't let the dry ice set right on the meat , it will freezer burn it , wrap it in a rag or something like that . don't open the coolers to check , they'll be ok . you will not be soaking the meat in water by using dry ice .

 

[tddeangelo]

No, Megan isn't going. She's much more into stand hunting where you walk a bit, then sit a long while. That's her kind of hunting. She sort of made some suggestions that she wanted to go on such a trip in the future as I'm doing now, so I told her that was fine, but explained that we'd be hiking somewhere between 6 and 12 miles a day, at 9500-11,500 feet, with packs. Elk killed have to come out in pieces on our backs. She immediately checked out of that conversation.

I did tell her I'd take her to TX for a whitetail hunt in the fall of her senior year of high school, which is only 2 years away from this fall.....yikes.

Jim, where did you get dry ice? I'd like to do that, but have no idea where I'd get it.

 

[c. schutte]

Tom,

I found that dry ice was easy to get at the local grocery store. Of course, that was Montrose which is a town of some size.

Do yourself a favor and let the person selling it put it in a bag for you, then do as Jim says. If you touch it even for a split second you will be burned. It is that cold. We would put it in a bag then wrap it again so that it had something between it and the meat. We would also use duct tape and seal the ice chest where the lid closes onto the chest. Any area where air could possibly circulate we closed off. One pound would last 36 hours on a 48 qt. ice chest and those were the cheap stuff.

This year we are going with upgraded ice chests. I'm buying a canyon just for elk.

 

[tddeangelo]

High end ice chests are something I lack. I figured on a 3 day return drive that's primarily interstate, I can stop and get ice fairly easy, so I wasn't worried about a top end cooler.

 

[tddeangelo]

Well, I survived the "wait, you bought another pack?" conversation. My wife may have been out with friends last night when I was on Mystery Ranch's website.....perhaps......

All's good. It'll be even better if I offload at least one more pack. She doesn't care if the money evens out (which is good, because it won't!), she wants clutter out of the house.

 

[69gto]

Another way to transport meat is to bone it out and put the chunks in one gallon zip lock bags then just pack it in ice cubes. Also so tape the lid like C.Shutte said and it will be good for at least 3 days in a decent cooler.