Elmo
More than a couple ways to handle this one.Probably lots of guys with advice on this one.I only hunt three to four hours max from where I live so I have not dealt with this personally.Last hunt you mentioned that the deer was frozen for transport.How did that work out?I guess that if it did then you have no trouble doing that again.Because you will be road tripping, then I would suggest that you scope out a few ice lockers in the bigger centers that you will be passing through.I would not try to keep the meat frozen with regular ice .Not cold enough.Try to go to these large ice houses.Most make and sell dry ice.This stuff will last a long time if you put it above and below your game and insulate it with crumbled up newspaper in a cooler.Wear gloves because this stuff is freakin
cold.Proceed as last time and get the meat put in
cryovac (vacuum bags) at the butchers.Dry ice does not melt,it evaporates so you wont have a wet mess when you get home.Should keep it frozen rock hard for 3-4 days before you need to get more.Keep it in the trunk or ventilate the vehicle because CO2 is being released.Having the meat boned and cryovaced will definetly save valuable space.Probably room to throw a few pheasant breasts in zip lock bags on top.

Lots of ways to skin a cat John.Heres a few options.
1)If you can maintain that 15-40 f for the duration of your return,then I would make sure that it is well cooled and leave it skin on for the trip.Otherwise might be best to bone into a cooler and keep chilled.
2)In this case I would proceed as in Elmos situation.I have not dealt with the airlines in these matters. Would they let you transport in dry ice?I would check first.
3)For this driving type of hunt with no air travel involved,then I would bone,cryovac freeeze and transport in dry ice.
4)Large styrofoam ice chests like they transport salmon in would probably work for you.Cool quickly,leave skin on and pack ice in the chest cavity.If boar is large split into halves and pack two coolers.Pack chest cavity with ice keeping boar propped above bottom of cooler so that it does not sit in its own meltwater.Off to a processor when you get home.
5)I do not know the regs about transporting game where you are from.Here we have to leave a fully feathered wing on the carcass to transport.Might have to bag and pack in ice .If evidence of sex or species is not required then I would dress,pluck or skin the bird.then I like to place them in wax milk cartons packed tightly.I fill the cartons with water leaving expansion room for freezing and then pack all in cooler after freezing.

Just a few suggestions.I really have never had to transport my game very far or for very long.Travelling for only two -three days probably ok just chilled.Any longer then I would try to freeze first.

John,

In each case your up agaisnt those less than ideal circumstances.
In all cases, you want to avoid freeze/thaw cycles during transport...either aim to keep it chilled or frozen. Dry ice would be great for the later, but I am not sure it is allowed by the airlines, you need to check on that...if you use ordinary ice, try to keep the meat out of the melt water and drain it often. A roll of duct tape would be usefull to keep the lids on the cool boxes closed tight..

Having said all that if your car or 4x4 has air con, your laughing...crank it right up and you have a mobile chiller although you and your passengers will have to wear your winter clothes!

With regards shooting stressed animals and the quality of the meat they produce, this is an area I have little practical expirience in. I have shot animals that paused for that fatal look back after I have spooked them and I can't tell any major differences in the venison produced. There is one tell tale sign though...if the heart has not been shot out, I have found that in an un stressed beast, it is almost like "jelly"; very relaxed indeed. If the animal was under any stress before the shot however, it goes almost "solid" and is really firm to the feel. This tells me that stress obvious does release certain chemicals in the bloodstream, but what is not so clear cut is whether bleeding and hanging the beast properly afterwards negates these factors to a large degree or not.....
It would be interested to hear from someone who has hunted deer with hounds as well as still hunted them...maybe they would be able to comment in the venison tastes at all different?

Regards,

Pete

[ 08-31-2003, 02:18: Message edited by: Pete E ]

John,

Just another thought...if you and your buddies regularly travel long distances by car to hunt deer and pronghorns, how about using a chest freezer for transporting the cacasses??

I have heard of guys who chipped in and bought a an old chest freezer which they mounted in a trailer...On the road, it was powered by one of those 12v/120v inverters and when they stopped, the hooked it up to mains when they could. If I recall, they carried a spare battery for when that was not possible...I think you could even get the thermostat altered/replaced so it stayed just above freezing....I doubt this would work to well if you took the trailer seriouly off road, but it may work on the highway ok...Maybe ask a refridgeration engineer what he thinks?

Regards,

Pete

[ 08-31-2003, 02:19: Message edited by: Pete E ]