Game cooling trick
12-10-2004, 02:30 PM
#1
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
Game cooling trick
Someone mentioned a technique others use to quickly cool off game such as pronghorn or deer is to freeze water in plastic milk jugs, carry the frozen block of ice in an ice chest on the hunt, and put the frozen block of ice in the body cavity of the beast after field dressing. I suppose placing a bag of ice cubes from the convenience store in the body cavity would have much the same effect if you didn't have access to a freezer, such as a non-resident hunter staying in a hotel. Seems like a good idea to me.
12-10-2004, 03:20 PM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 590
RE: Game cooling trick
One point on ice you buy from the store. Stay away from cubed ice and buy the solid blocks. It only took me three years to figure this out.
I brought three antelope 700 miles in my little Geo Metro one year in 80 degree weather. I had them quartered and wrapped up in a holey space blanket, surrounded with about 10 bags of cubed ice. The meat was just fine, but the ice melted and carried bloody ice water all over my car. I had it in the floor mats behind my seat, down in the spare tire well, just everywhere. Three years later my car still smells gamey on a wet day! Not a great rig for picking up little miss nail polish and hair mousse, I'll say that.
Anyway, the solid blocks melt much more slowly.
I brought three antelope 700 miles in my little Geo Metro one year in 80 degree weather. I had them quartered and wrapped up in a holey space blanket, surrounded with about 10 bags of cubed ice. The meat was just fine, but the ice melted and carried bloody ice water all over my car. I had it in the floor mats behind my seat, down in the spare tire well, just everywhere. Three years later my car still smells gamey on a wet day! Not a great rig for picking up little miss nail polish and hair mousse, I'll say that.
Anyway, the solid blocks melt much more slowly.
12-10-2004, 03:44 PM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
RE: Game cooling trick
Dirt2:
Good points.
The trick or technique I describe above is a method of getting your animal cool pronto, as may be necessary in hot weather. Imagine you are hunting out of your truck miles away from any facilities. It may be easier to throw the animal in your truck and drive four hours -- home, to some place where it is convenient to hang the animal for skinning and quartering -- than to quarter the animal on the ground at your hunting location. Stuffing a block of ice inside the empty body cavity of the animal may accomplish the needed cooling and allow you to follow this course.
Of course, there are many other alternative things one may do. I just found this an interesting technique which I wanted to store in my brain in case I ever have a need of this particular approach.
I used to buy organic milk in glass bottles several years back. Once a bottle smacked into another bottle when I put it in the car and, unknown to me, leaked milk down my seat and onto the rear floorboards. The smell evolved towards the smell of a ripe cheese, the specific kind of cheese that gives rise to the expression "who cut the cheese?!" This smell has now largely passed from my car's interior, but it was pretty unpleasant for awhile!
Good points.
The trick or technique I describe above is a method of getting your animal cool pronto, as may be necessary in hot weather. Imagine you are hunting out of your truck miles away from any facilities. It may be easier to throw the animal in your truck and drive four hours -- home, to some place where it is convenient to hang the animal for skinning and quartering -- than to quarter the animal on the ground at your hunting location. Stuffing a block of ice inside the empty body cavity of the animal may accomplish the needed cooling and allow you to follow this course.
Of course, there are many other alternative things one may do. I just found this an interesting technique which I wanted to store in my brain in case I ever have a need of this particular approach.
I used to buy organic milk in glass bottles several years back. Once a bottle smacked into another bottle when I put it in the car and, unknown to me, leaked milk down my seat and onto the rear floorboards. The smell evolved towards the smell of a ripe cheese, the specific kind of cheese that gives rise to the expression "who cut the cheese?!" This smell has now largely passed from my car's interior, but it was pretty unpleasant for awhile!
12-12-2004, 01:57 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 3,516
RE: Game cooling trick
I would not put ice in an animal unless it is in plastic jugs. Water left in the cavity will cause mold (bacteria) to grow, and ruin your meat. If you have to rinse out the cavity with water, make sure you get a towel and dry it very well. If the cavity is wet, and and you cover with game bag your meat will spoil fast. If it is warm gut, skin, quarter, and get the animal to cold storage. I know this from experence. 
Good luck.
Good luck.
12-12-2004, 11:00 PM
#5
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Beautiful Western Montana
Posts: 2,308
RE: Game cooling trick
I think I've heard that you should never load up body cavity with ice because it actually blocks heat from escaping. Seems like I had an aquintance that lost a moose this way, but now I can't really remember. Anybody else ever hear this?
12-13-2004, 09:32 AM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Posts: 1,964
RE: Game cooling trick
Antelope, fairly small critters....
Quarter (and cut off at the "knee"), then skin carefully (the cursed hair), and put in a large ice chest with "contained" ice (ice jugs).
IMO, if you're dealing with a whole animal (hence a body cavity) you are dealing with cooling ineffiencies and dirt.
Quarter (and cut off at the "knee"), then skin carefully (the cursed hair), and put in a large ice chest with "contained" ice (ice jugs).
IMO, if you're dealing with a whole animal (hence a body cavity) you are dealing with cooling ineffiencies and dirt.
12-14-2004, 07:21 PM
#7
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: durango Colorado USA
Posts: 567
RE: Game cooling trick
I can relate to these antelope stories. 3 of us went on a winter hunt outside of Craig, Colorado. We got 3 goats & spent the night in the RV. It got COLD----the beer froze in the front seat of the RV. Anyway we put the 3 goats in my CJ-7 & I drove to Glenwood Sprgs, the next day. It was so cold the defroster could not keep up & I had to hand scrap the interior of the windshield. But after a couple hours of the heat & those antelope------well, to this day antelope makes me GAG. I can't eat them------my wife loves it----so at least I can still hunt them.
Fall hunt we would debone the meat & then put it in coolers with block of ice & also a couple pounds of dry ice. Seemed to work. As far as capes , I would wrap up a piece of dry ice in a bag & place inside the cape. But as soon as I got home it went to the taxidermist or into the freezer.
Fall hunt we would debone the meat & then put it in coolers with block of ice & also a couple pounds of dry ice. Seemed to work. As far as capes , I would wrap up a piece of dry ice in a bag & place inside the cape. But as soon as I got home it went to the taxidermist or into the freezer.
