Getting Meat Back From Hunt?

[LanceS4803]

I am thinking of a Bison hunt this year, but the only slot open is July, out West.
I have a couple of concerns:
What is going to be the best way to take care of the meat?
It will be butchered on site, but they want to cut, wrap and freee on the same day, with no opportunity to hang a few days. This way I can drive it home. They can let it hang, but then I will just be hanging around waiting, or else have to fly/drive back to pick it up.
As for getting it back, that is a lot of collers and dry ice!

Has anyone encountered this problem?
Are there commercial meat lockers in the Middle TN area that I can use to store the meat once home?

And just something else, bison hides are not the best in July. Something else to consider.

 

[Buzzard Breath]

I've got zero experience hunting, butchering, or freezing bison, so take this advice for what it's worth.

I'd have processed on the spot. I would think it would take weeks to effectively age bison. If you really wanted to do it, I would age the individual cuts in the fridge.

To get it home, I'd put a deep freeze on a trailer and either take a generator, or plug it in at the outfitters and hotel stop.

The meat and the skull is all I'd really worry about, but that's just me.

 

[DaveB]

Be interested in find out how you ended up getting the meat home. Bison are huge.

O

 

[EastTNHunter]

I plan to use a freezer and power inverter on my elk hunt in a couple years

 

[Crosshairy]

I'm pretty sure the answer to this question involves a Yeti cooler somehow

oke:

I've heard of folks using an old chest freezer as a cooler - it may take 2 big ones for a bison!

The July part would be tough. I'd be nervous about relying on a generator on a trailer for that long of a drive with the potential for high heat - be sure to put some kind of run indication on the freezer, or extend the wiring for one of those temperature alarms from the trailer all the way to the truck, so that you can monitor the refrigerator or freezer.

If you decide to do some shipping options that get pricey, I'd be happy to put $100-200 towards your shipping costs for however much meat you think is worth it (to be clear, I wouldn't be buying the meat, I'd be paying for your shipping services).

 

[AT Hiker]

Id be interested in this type of hunt one day. We spend enough money per year on free range bison that I could "justify" the cost[emoji41]


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[AT Hiker]

Id be interested in this type of hunt one day. We spend enough money per year on free range bison that I could "justify" the cost[emoji41]


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So, if I am correct, you can make arrangements to hunt/kill a bison that has been turned loose from fences for ~$2,500.
I'm thinking that if you planned this hunt for some cooler months of the year, showed up with a couple of folding tables, a meat grinder and plenty of butcher paper, you could kill a bison, spend a full day butchering, grinding and packing. Drop if off somewhere with some freezer space (preferably in a city on the way back home to be cheaper for commercial pickup) and spend $500-$800 to ship a pallet home, you could do this whole buffalo killing trip for under $4,000. That's going to run you about $8 a pound. Now, a shipping pallet should hold 2 bison and I imagine the difference between shipping 500 lbs and 1,000 lbs is pretty small so long as it fits on one pallet. If you could justify killing 2 bison, you would get a greater financial return on your shipping rate. Be sure to save the tongues for me

Dang, $8 a pound? We buy ground bison at Kroger on sale for $3.99lb. There goes the whole "it's cheaper to hunt it" excuse.

Actually we spend maybe $50 a year on Bison, so over a lifetime it might pay off!


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[Mattt]

I pull a6/10 trailer, its nice to have the extra room any way. Take a couple of coolers with me and usually buy one or two as needed just so i dont have to haul as much out. The packer should be able to sell u dry ice. It takes about 4lbs to get a mature mule deer from wyoming to chatt. I use about 12 lbs on elk from colorado. Alot of grocery stores in colorado have dry ice. I usually hunt early season so its plenty hot on the road. I do try to pack something on top of cooler to keep sun off. I think i paid about 20.00 for dry i e in wheatland wyo last year insept (4lbs)

 

[DaveB]

I ran into a dry ice shortage many years ago headed back to California from Craig. My Solution?

Baskin-Robbins.

I have noticed Kroger sells it also.

 

[Snowwolfe]

In July the hide will be toast. If it were me I would change the hunt to one in Jan or Feb. Gorgeous hides and little issues with getting the meat back. As far as not hanging the carcass, don't worry about it. The bison I shot went from the field to the back of my truck the same day it was killed. Absolutely delicious!

Even after boning out (everything except the ribs) the bull I killed, all the packages of meat would NOT fit into a new 19 foot cubic freezer. They are huge.

 

[LanceS4803]

Thanks Randy. I guess that is why the July hunt booking ws still open.

 

[Snowwolfe]

Your welcome, and think twice before getting the hide tanned. I paid almost $900 to have mine tanned because I was told they were "worth a fortune". After getting the hide back from the taxidermists discovered that tanned hides were selling for about what we paid for tanning. It still looks good laying over the bed in the spare bedroom though

 

[Nsghunter]

Be interested in find out how you ended up getting the meat home. Bison are huge.

O

According to more than one outfitter winter weight bison "meat out" about 30-35% on the hoof. I'm really considering a bison meat hunt.

 

[AT Hiker]

Be interested in find out how you ended up getting the meat home. Bison are huge.

O

According to more than one outfitter winter weight bison "meat out" about 30-35% on the hoof. I'm really considering a bison meat hunt.

Same here. I dont care if its a male or female, I just want grass fed free range bison burgers and sirloins! I dont want to raise one myself and would
prefer to kill it myself as well, especially in the Great Plains region.


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[LanceS4803]

I see these two bison on I-65 when driving to Clarksville and really want to spend some time watching them. I assume not a breeding pair as they've never had a calf.
(East side of I-65 north bound just north of Exit 61.)

 

[AT Hiker]

I have seen them as well, been there a while. Not sure of the story behind them, appear to be pets.