Nord QC Bouman

Yes - they skin and cut the animals into quarters and out in a 30 gallon rubber made tote. Some guys like this cause they can cut it up easy at home.

We like to take the animals whole. In a few hours they are frozen (most years I should say since '05 was the warmest in many) solid. We build platforms on our truck bed and the animals freeze right to to boards until we get home (1500 miles). The fur keep the meat clean but some cover withtarps to keep theelements off.The platforms are good becauseyou have a locked place to stow your gearand this makes the cab space alot roomier.

BKMSTR

We plan on skinning our out ourselves also and quartering them. I need to look into it, but there is some new rule for crossing the border (US) about not having the spinal column. We're going to use a hoist that mounts in a 2" receiver and hoist them up and skin them at the back of the vehicle then quarter them and package in bins of some sort. I've been hunting white-tail in PA for 17 years and I prefer to do my own butchering.
As for my question earlier about trailers, I was more curious if people have had problems with the trailers pulling the vehicles off the road and causing accidents. Has anyone bin up to Kiskimaastakin? How far is it from Mirage? Just how bad are the roads back to them?

BKMSTR

I found this article on importing game into US from Canada...

http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fu...ons.guidelines

Colorado Bob

BK----Just going from memory I would guess from Mirage to Nisk is about100 KM. Roads are good until you cross the dam----the last35 to 40 KM to Kisk. The road was narrow & you can have problems when you meet on coming traffic. Also it's easy to slid off the crown of the road into the bar ditch. The roads are all snow covered & ice packed.

I understand your wanting to process your own animal. But I fiqure that with 3 hunters= 6 caribou in a couple days of hunting. Add in getting them back to the truck, then drive to camp, shower, eat chow etc. I'm thinking it's morevaction than work. It was a bargain at $40 to have it done. Plus when it's packed by the outfitter = less problems at the border. Besides the guy doing the skinning needs to feed his family to----not alot of work up there.

Good luck, hope they are down when you are there. CB

BKMSTR

My in-laws stayed at Mirage in 2004. When they got back the second night and asked to have there bou skinned out, the guys said they couldn't take anymore for the night. They showed him a place outside he could do it himself. Plus, he told the guys the first night to keep the capes attached that they were getting two mounted and he cut them both off at the necks... He was quite dissapointed. I agree it would be easier to have them do it, but from talking to others who have been up, they don't always offer to do it for you. Not even for $$. Narrow roads with ditches... Sounds like I'll need a set of chains for both front and back of my vehicle.

DARKSIDE55

If your talking tire chains? They areillegal to use.Bigfines if your caught.

DARKSIDE55

Oh i forgot so are studded tires.

got a hunch

I would say that it's probably a little more than 100K from Mirage to Kiski. It's 40k to the La 1 road and 40k from the corner to the dam. I'm pretty sure Kiski is at least another 40 past the dam. We hunted at the end of that road in 2000. It can be quite treacherous especially if there is ice on the road and it is also quite narrow in places.

Colorado Bob

You are probably correct---Got a Hunch. We stayed at Donut----I guess I didn't fiqure enough from there to Mirage. But I was in the ballpark.

Dang---I'm already getting the fever to bo back !! Guess I should stop visiting this thread!! CB

DARKSIDE55

Well CB, you'll have to wait because the season closed at midnight. lol

It's exactly 143km from the gas pumps at the Mirage to Kissimistakin, which converts to roughly 87 miles. But when you drive it this time of year, seems more like 500, haha. I'm going to put a link in here about the Trans-Taiga Road. It has a lot of info about the roads, distances, what's available and what isn't, all the outfitters and some pics of the road. I found it an interesting article.

http://jamesbayroad.com/ttr/ttrguide.html