Elk meat management questions.

[texasmeathunter]

What size of an ice chest do you need to carry one cow elk completely boned out?

What do you need to keep with your elk meat in Colorado to legally validate proof of sex?

Are there any Colorado Game laws against completely boning out a cow elk in the back country and packing out just the meat?

Thanks,

Texasmeathunter

[338 bruce]

I use a 56 quart ice chest with two zippered pillow cases but it leaves very little room for ice. I have used larger ice chests but found that the lifting handles cant support the extra ice wieght plus meat very long without ripping out. In Utah proof of sex must be attatched to the largest part of the animal (rear quarter).

[Buffalobob]

A Coleman Extreme 5 day cooler is very good and about 100 qt capacity will allow for meat and ice. If needed, you can use dry ice to quick cool the meat. For small animals like antelope I can actually freeze them in the cooler with dry ice. I cut the hams into to a front and back portion when deboning an animal in the field. The smaller the sizes of the meat makes them easier to cool.

The way meat is spoiled is to leave it lay on the ground in the hide too long. More than 12 hours is asking for trouble. It will not cool down that way.

In hot weather use cloth bags to initially hold the meat and keep the dirt and flies off of it. In cold weather plastic garbage bags are good. Use a 1 mil 9X12 disposable drop cloth for deboning and your meat will stay clean. Tote your trash out and don't leave litter!

[ilscungilli]

Originally Posted by texasmeathunter

What size of an ice chest do you need to carry one cow elk completely boned out?

What do you need to keep with your elk meat in Colorado to legally validate proof of sex?

Are there any Colorado Game laws against completely boning out a cow elk in the back country and packing out just the meat?

Thanks,

Texasmeathunter

Check out the regulations at Regulations Brochures - Colorado Division of Wildlife

I'd be sure to read all the rules carefully, since they can be different from state to state. There is a section on what you need to do when boning out a carcass, and what you need to keep (at minimum, all quarters, backstrap, and tenderloins). If you get checked and don't have evidence of sex, you can kiss all that meat goodbye (unless you get lucky).