Cooler Question for boned out elk

[805Bowhunter]

Hey all,
I have to get my elk back to California (when I have been successful) and have always gone multiple coolers/dry ice to get it home to be processed. I have some extra money from my tax return and was going to invest in one large cooler. I typically bone out my elk meat but have never measured how much space would be required to fill a mature (average sized not monster) bull. Any thoughts?

Originally thought about the yeti 160 but wanted to hear what you all did when it came to one large cooler.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

That sucker would be a nightmare to move, you will definitely need a couple of guys to move it. I have one 85 Orion with wasn't too bad to move when full of elk last fall. I am probably going to buy another 85, it might be a little more room than you need for an elk, but not much.

 

[Brendan]

I have a Yeti 160. All meat fit from the two bulls I've shot - but not with enough ice to get them cooled down quickly, so I had to make a trip to a walmart and buy a second coleman extreme the first trip and split the meat so I could really submerge it in ice. Note that this was for a boned out bull in game bags that then went into contractor bags. Not processed, not frozen. I needed to get it cooled down - would be a different story if you had it processed and frozen solid before coming home.

Now, I pack the yeti full of Ice and the coleman full of dry goods on the way out. Doing it all over again - I would probably just buy multiple smaller coolers. The Yeti stays in my truck and there's no way I'm moving it out of there with Ice or Meat in it.

 

[sneakypete]

A 105 yeti should do. I brought my BC moose processed back in two 100qt igloo's!

 

[WapitiBob]

...

 

[HiMtnHntr]

...

I have a cheap igloo cool max, the big one. Doesn't keep ice as long as the yeti I'm guessing, but it fits a boned out bull. Ice is cheap.

 

[huntin' lunatic]

I've read about a 120 qt Coleman 6 Day Extreme being all you need. At $60 bucks you can buy a lot of ice with left over money. I'll be getting one.

 

[Brendan]

I've read about a 120 qt Coleman 6 Day Extreme being all you need. At $60 bucks you can buy a lot of ice with left over money. I'll be getting one.

A 120 qt will not be enough if it is a boned out elk plus ice and you need to get meat cooled down. (My 160 qt was not enough for one bull plus ice - the meat fit, but it would have spoiled the way I had to pack it).

An 80-120 might work if it is processed, wrapped and frozen already.

 

[Duck-Slayer]

If you have room for that big of cooler you might as well put a small chest freezer in the back of you truck with a small generator, we did this on an antelope hunt a few years ago, the small chest freezer easily fit all 8 antelope we harvested boned out, cooled them and semi froze them for the 8 hr trip home, just plugged it in for a couple of hours every other day or so and that seemed to be perfect. There was a ton of extra room, so I know you could fit at least 1 probably 2 bone out meat in the chest freezer we brought. Good luck on your decision.
Matt

 

[maxx]

If you have room for that big of cooler you might as well put a small chest freezer in the back of you truck with a small generator, we did this on an antelope hunt a few years ago, the small chest freezer easily fit all 8 antelope we harvested boned out, cooled them and semi froze them for the 8 hr trip home, just plugged it in for a couple of hours every other day or so and that seemed to be perfect. There was a ton of extra room, so I know you could fit at least 1 probably 2 bone out meat in the chest freezer we brought. Good luck on your decision.
Matt

I have thought about this a lot if I was to do a hunt that required it. Going on a Bear hunt in Ontario next year. I am only going to bring coolers but I am hoping to have the bear completely froze before I leave so it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[hank4elk]

I use 100qt Igloos,have 3.
They are too heavy to lift full for me ,but I can easily move a boned out bull in 2. A boned out bull will fill one,but not much room for ice.
A bull in game bags w/bones fits ,just about, in 2.
I use dry ice for long trips.
Have brought elk to SLO from NM,boned out & cooled in the shade/overnight & put on dry ice, in 2 100 Igloos with room to spare.

 

[huntaddict]

I've built a cooler out of plywood and 4" of pink foam board on all side and top and bottom. The key is to get a good seal from the top to body of the cooler. It's 48"x 36" x 18" plenty of room for a boned out elk and 2 50# bags of ice, or 2 boned out elk and dry ice. Even built in a cooling coil and compressor from a small freeze in a buddies. it froze a boned out elk coming back from CO. I tested mine with a 25# bag of ice and it lasted 6 days in July in Michigan (90 degrees each day).

 

[Brendan]

If you have room for that big of cooler you might as well put a small chest freezer in the back of you truck with a small generator,

Chest Freezer wouldn't fit in the back of my truck and still be able to open it. Vertical height is much higher than a cooler even if the length is similar. Then, you have to buy/pack a generator and gas. I personally travel with everything in the back of a 6.5' bed with a topper, so the freezer is out.

 

[AZBridger]

I run a pelican 150 qt. It will hold a whole boned out bull. I have a yeti as well and much prefer the pelican. It is hard to move empty, much less full of meat. Big enough that i am able to age deer meat in it

 

[huntaddict]

Same issue here, I have an undercover hard top for my truck and made my cooler so it has 1/2" of clearance. actually works great and cost me about $30 to make and is already 4 years old and still perfect. works great for big family events too. Not pretty as a store bought but work as good if not better.

 

[Duck-Slayer]

for the chest freezer you can get them compact, I should have clarified, 2.0-5.0 cu. ft. small freezer, I found a 5.0 cu.ft. with farely small dimensions -Haier · Chest · 5 cubic foot · 28.4 inches wide · 33.3 inches high · 21.6 inches deep · Compact- they make even smaller one's, I personally don't use one unless i'm on a long haul hunting trip with my generator, I use a coleman big white cooler normally with frozen milk jugs filled with water..... lots of elk made it home in that cooler boned out with 0 problems..... add some dry ice for long excursions....
Matt

 

[elkhunter340]

We hunt unit 62 Colorado and been successful or lucky several times and we use the Coleman extremes in 120 quart. Dry ice is easy to come by in Montrose so we can cool or freeze the meet in these for the trip home. Would like to try some of the new coolers but for around 60 bucks these are pretty much disposable and we haul them app 4000 miles round trip each year so they get abused.

 

[AggieOutlaw]

I agree with most of what's been said here too. I've tried everything from the chest freezer (which works great in a base camp near a camper) to dry ice. In my experience, Igloo coolers won't last more than 2-3 days. But these are great for an inexpensive way to transport meat from camp to home if you have access to fresh ice.

The problem comes when you are packing out meat solo from hot places like the Gila Wilderness, which may be a couple hours drive to the nearest convenience store for ice. You shoot an elk on day 7 and you have no ice but have to make 4 trips out. It could be a day or two before you can make it to more ice, or risk spoiling meat in the field. My strategy now is, I'm gonna pack a 100-120 qt Igloo empty (or full of gear) and an RTIC full ice + dry ice just to hold it. My RTIC can hold ice for about 7-10 days depending on the weather. I think this will allow me to do a week long hunt in September without losing too much meat, even if I fill a tag by myself on day 7. Also, saves me from having to buy multiple rotomolded coolers.

 

[Elkhunter24]

I've built a cooler out of plywood and 4" of pink foam board on all side and top and bottom. The key is to get a good seal from the top to body of the cooler. It's 48"x 36" x 18" plenty of room for a boned out elk and 2 50# bags of ice, or 2 boned out elk and dry ice. Even built in a cooling coil and compressor from a small freeze in a buddies. it froze a boned out elk coming back from CO. I tested mine with a 25# bag of ice and it lasted 6 days in July in Michigan (90 degrees each day).

we built our own cooler as well and it works great. There is about 5 of us that go out every year and we can put about 10 elk in it(most we ever had in it was 6). we put it on the trailer empty and don't move it until we come home and unload it. We have about $400 in it. We put dry ice in it and it freezes the meat. It was the best way for us. To buy the other coolers you would have a future into it to hold a few elk. Hope this helps!

 

[AggieOutlaw]

we built our own cooler as well and it works great. There is about 5 of us that go out every year and we can put about 10 elk in it(most we ever had in it was 6). we put it on the trailer empty and don't move it until we come home and unload it. We have about $400 in it. We put dry ice in it and it freezes the meat. It was the best way for us. To buy the other coolers you would have a future into it to hold a few elk. Hope this helps!

This must be quite a sight