My father once had the pleasure of meeting Monty Browning at a Compton. The thing that stuck in his mind was when he said, "I will not hunt with a man who doesn't bring game bags and pack to carry meat. He does not expect success." With that in mind should I get the thicker canvas like bags or the cheaper tshirt like ones for my backcountry elk hunt?
On smaller came I prefer pillow cases. On larger game I like the heavier duty canvas style. I think it's kinda goofy to carry the heavier bags in a day pack. Tag bags seem to be all the rave up here though I've never used them. I would definatly carry a tarp and rope. U can keep meat clean and get it hung while you're packing out. You'll want a couple extra bags at camp so u can rotate them out. Helps keep things clean and dry! I think a lot of my decision on carrying is based on what I am doing. How close is camp/mode of transport.
Stay away from the cheese cloth bags. They are a waste of money imho. Junk!!!!
Another idea is to use spray on style game bags. Indian valley meats here in Ak sells it. U can find something similar at sportsmans and I am sure cabelas. You won't need extra bags this way and its supposed to really help with flies! Comes in a powder form.
I will be carrying T.A.G. game bags from now on.
The are effective and light weight. Just wash them up for reuse over and over.
Mike
Where do I buy T.A.G. bags? Can they take elk quarters or just meat?
They can take full moose quarters. Check out Larry's web at pristine ventures. Sportsmans has them also.
They are lighter than the heavier canvas bags. Those heavy bags also can be cleaned for reuse as can pillow cases.
Both T.A.G. bag and Carribou gear bags are about impossible to get right now. Any other suggestions?
I just went to the pristine ventures website and it looks like they are available to ship right now.
http://www.pristineventures.com/products/game-bags.html
Mike
If u can't find them let me know. I can run into town and see what's in stock. Larry's easy to deal with.
ended up getting some regular heavy duty bags for this year. The owner at pristine adventures is out until the 15th so I can't check with him about stock on hand and shipping. I need them by the 25th. I kept the receipt from one of the big hunting stores I bought the bags from just in case.
I never carry game bags when hunting on my place... but I do keep the tractor key handy.
Pillow cases from the second hand store is what I use.
I like Caribou Gear game bags best. Light weight and don't let the flys in and much better than mesh bags. I just rewashed my bags after my last hunt,they are on their 3rd use since I bought them. I do like the heavey canvas bags for around camp but are heavy to carry in a pack. I also use wool bags,bulap bags used to pack wool in after shearing sheep. They are cheap and you can hang a elk whole in them.
I used caribou gear carnivore bags this year on a backcountry hunt and they did great. I was solo though, so if I do that again I think I'll take hyalite 25L dry bags so I can sink the meat in a cold creek to give me more time to get back to the truck during hot weather.
Rock chucker. U can do the same with contractor grade plastic bags.
For those trying or reading about this water bath. The idea is to cool meat in the bags in the river by day and hang by night without the bags to allow air circulation.
We have used a great trick for many years on elk. Walmart sells very thin cotton pillow slip covers with tiny zippers. They are about 1.50 a piece. You will need 8 for an average elk. Use can easily wash and reuse and they weigh next to nothing.
We put front boned quarters in 2
We bone and split the hindquarters into 2 pieces (4 bags)
We put a backstrap, loin and some neck meat in each of the last 2
We only carry two bags with us during the hunt. When you kill one just quarter it and hang it from a limb or pole ( or just lay it out on some logs. )
The first load is backstraps and horns and thus you only need 2 with.
Each bag ends up at 22-40 lbs depending on the size of the animal.
PS. I'm not a fan of plastic or non breathable bags for elk. Out west its so dry that the outer part of the meat crusts through evaporation and cools nicely even in mild weather. Keeping it out of the sun is the key. We have used plastic but the meat always seems to sour in flavor?
plastic is only used for submerging....you'll use your regular bag of choice for packing out or hanging during the night!
:-) I can't help but agree with that sentiment.
Its never encouraging when I go out with guys a first time and they have a fanny pack on...
We're hking in a minimum of 2.5 miles as the crow flies in some gnarly county for an 800 lb animal. I'd really not like to have to walk back out and than back in just to get a pack for my partner! especially since I am already wearing a pack capable of carrying the bull off the mountain, now. For elk, it seems crazy. Sometimes I do think it would be nice to be hunting close enough to civilization to just wear a quiver, or some such. But, you can always dream I suppose. But again, like was pointed out, if you aren't carrying the gear to get an animal out, what do you expect of that hunt?
anyway, I always have at least 4 Kifaru Meat bags, which weigh and pack to nothing along with either a emergency blanket or regular sheet to lay meat on to cool and keep clean. Also, a Boning knife and a razor zipper, along with a pack that is more then capable.
when i buy my game bags the lady or guy at the register gives me the craziest look!
How do you explain buying the whole rack of extra jumbo biggest they got PANTY HOSE!
Thats right i use panty hose. lighter than anything else and work just as good. Every ounce counts when ya walk miles in the mountains of colorado.
Its nice to not have to go to camp 2.5 miles away for a frame (which on this style of hunt I'd have on my back most likely), a wyoming saw, 5lbs of bags, 10lbs of salt or any other other nifty tool we choose to use to butcher and pack out game....but reality is huntin with that much on your back isnt the greatest idea either. if you plan on being in 2.5 miles why not carry it in to your camp and hunt without it? I expect to kill something on every hunt but I dont carry walk around with a 50lb pack frame on either. Whether it was in wy or here in ak.
How durable are your panty hose bags NS? are you pack framing things out? Having to hang in trees out in the field? Using horses or other pack animals? You're exactly right ounces count!
I've noticed at least for me what I carry is relative to how I'm hunting..where, how far etc. Did we fly in, pack, boat, bike etc etc etc.
That's the thing though, the bags and another knife add negligible weight. The pack (kifaru longhunter) isn't in the way at all while hunting, but is ready for heavy loads the moment the animal is down. I've tried to hunt without it, but I've never killed a critter several miles in where I wasn't grateful to have the stuff ready to go. And honestly hunting without it is a pain anyway, the pack just fits better and carries my stuff better, more stable and comfy, tight to my back. The whole pack loaded is about 17-23 lbs though, depending on how much water is in there, I barely notice it.
Definitely don't use the salt or a saw though, Since I'm boning everything, just need a knife. The kifaru bags weigh nearly nothing (about what pantyhose do, but I love the thought line!) If you're going to, Carry hide out to a road, then salt it.
There's also the issue of time. Every year I only have so many days, and I dont only have to get my elk and carry them out, but buddies' bulls too. Time is of the essence.
Here's another question for you guys, when at camp, do you prefer to hang meat (given a mild temperature) or use a cooler and ice?
Definatly understand carrying it...if weight is kept down. If its possible anyways. I think in general we carry too much as a hole. Learning to chase sheep we learned atleast over time the things we can live without. Intially for a 2 week hunt our packs were 75lbs, now they are 20-25lbs lighter for 2 guys or more. I do believe though and atleast for me, what I carry is very indicative of where I'm at. In my wyoming elk hunt I only carried a small day pack, which is typically all I carry up here though opting for a full frame (have yet to go to an internal, something I'd like to try at some point), a little extra cloths, days worth of food and my pack stove along with a tarp typically rounds it out. When i chase sheep I prefer the pillow cases so I can carry them, but rarely do if the tents still up. It doesnt mean I dont expect to kill anything. It does create more work. But in the end I believe I do much better with a lighter day pack than heavier. The heavier my pack becomes the more likely I am to ditch it on a stalk. My 02 ram stands out in this one. a 12 hour 46 minute stalk from the time I saw the ram that morning till the time I loosed the arrow. Somewhere on that mountain, close to dark in the foggy rain was my frame pack with enough gear to over night if needed.
Salt and some form of removing antlers are only needed for cape's horns. In 02 after visiting another camp on the upper green one day noticing a large bull head laying there, I offered to skin and turn that hide for them. They lost it in the heat. Even when carrying out antlers some form of saw is nice to have, its amazing how much a ram/bulls head weighs! There's some lighter than a wyoming saw but there is little better. I only carry when weights not an issue, in its place I carry a t handled bone/wood saw when weights an issue.
I like that idear of panty hose, definatly has my attention. Anyway to shave a pound. Right now a 12 day pack is 52 +/- a pound or two for a solo sheep camp. This would nock another pound or so off. I dont know how many pillow cases I'd need using the size I use for an elk, but I have enough for a caribou/sheep/bear. Moose I do prefer the big heavy bags due to weight and durability. My only concern with panty hose is like the cheese cloth bags, they do little to keep dirt/bugs off or protect the meat during packing as a hole. The tag bags are a nice intermediate bag though a little pricy compared to pillow cases and I think the weight's about the same or very close.
I do prefer to hang though I dont like aging. If i have to due to being in the field is one thing. Once the meat is cold throughout I typically like to butcher the next day or a day later if possible. I have and have had friends use coolers but its not a normal thing up here. We dont have the heat yall have in september typically. Though we do start caribou hunting july 1. Just prepared the bugs are a site to behold.
there's definatly many ways to skin this cat....and honestly i dont think any one is wrong. Running 2 miles for game bags seems almost foolish though we've done that too lol. Than again so does carrying 5lbs of bags saws etc all over the woods for months with no shots. Sometimes I long for a simple tree stand and the deer trails at the farm again and every once in awhile I get to enjoy the simplicity of it all.
I think you guys have hashed it out properly. It depends on the hunt and the proximity to camp/truck. I fall into the camp that says bring two knives, a diamond sharpener, a couple of bags, and some cord, with you all the time. Total weight is maybe two pounds. With that you can get started on the spot and get 90% of your work done at the kill site. No wasted trips.
For elk, we don't take salt or saws. We simply skin the skull and remove the lower jaw. Both only require a stout, sharp knife. ( OK a stick and a kick for the jaw also but those are weightless).
Doing so removes a ton of weight from the elk head. I kind of laugh when I see pictures of guys hauling giant elk heads on their back with half a cape and the tongue hanging out! So much extra weight!.
With that said, it is tuff work to properly turn out lips and lids on a cape. I guess if I was into full mounts, (or ever killed a bull worthy of one) I'd change my tune. :)
U can typically sell a cape, plus it's good practice for the day comes you down a animal for your own wall. I haven't yet mainly because of weight. If I carry a hide out I am going to mount it. Or I am skinning and turning for a friend Those boys spent a couple bills to replace that hide.
Tyvek, the materiel used to wrap modern houses is like goretex. Moisture out, but not in. A couple of sheets weigh nothing, but gives you shelter , and a place to place meat as it is quarteted. Fits in my pack nicely and gives me a poncho
It took me a while to find the photo from last year of one of our bulls.
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd448/fluffery/P9291632.jpg)
The boneless meat goes into the two bags we're carrying. Makes for a clean, great tasting bull.
Don't forget to plan out the shadows movement so the meat is shaded for as long as possible.
As far as durability of the panty hose bags, they are just as durable as the cheap ones you can buy at walmart. (allen i think).But weigh lots less.
I also like to debone meat so they work well for that. they cant hold lots of weight, maybe 20lbs max each. But i carry alot of them.
They can hang in a tree if you do it right and they are not too heavy.
It may not be the "BEST" bag in the world, but they work and you wont know that you are carrying them.
Pack frame and rope is all i've ever used to get meat home, so I wouldn't know if they would lash well to a horse.
nice bull man!!! think I missed the invite for the bbq though ;) ! good stuff!
Thanks NS. Thats my biggest concern with them. That and they do really no protection against dirt or anything. I like laying a tarp out and laying meat filled bags or quarters until they are bagged out to keep things from getting hair or dirt/leaves on them. They are light for sure!