Game Bags….and their use

[Mkmcdnl]

Have hung pretty much every buck I have harvested
On many a horseback trip. Try and find a tree with lots of shade. After dark drop the bag or bags and have them back on before light. Once the buck is skinned up
Which is dried hard to the touch you can leave the bags on. Absolutely imperative that no holes of any
Size or the meat will get blow fly eggs. Bad.deal.
Shoot straight and best of luck.

 

[gusd]

I would get the Koola buck ones if have them and have used them on multiple animals they work great.
I have used a ton of different brands of bags and those are some of the best especially for the price

 

[buzby]

I got the Black Ovis set, and an Argali set. I prefer the Argalis. Seem a bit nicer, weigh a bit less, pack a bit smaller. I have used them whitetail hunting in the same scenario you described, packing out one, that I didn't feel like dragging.

 

[Rebell]

I have used most of the ones mentioned and have no issues as I always bone the animal. I have not used the koola but got some to give to my son for a caribou hunt. His report was that he thinks they were good but the first night back in camp he watched them go over the hill in a grizzly bears mouth. Lost all of his meat and the bags. Luckily he had some video to show LE as not to get a ticket for want and waste during check out.

 

[338 dude]

This is probably something pretty simple once I get them in my hands….

i'm trying to pick up some "just in case" game bags. If I have to pack out my deer because that is a better choice than dragging it from where I'm at, I'm trying to do some basic prep work.

Typically, I plan to drag or cart my deer out where I'm hunting, but I've avoided some corners of this place due to a lack of a good meat hauler and game bags. I have a solid day pack/meat hauler. So…..bags??

I'm pretty set on these:
Amazon product ASIN B07NTS81N8

but, I also think these are probably better….

Ovis Sacks Lightweight Washable Game Bags

Ovis Sacks are lightweight, washable game bags that allow your game meat to cool off while keeping it clean in transit. Order these synthetic game bags here!

www.blackovis.com

Allen makes a set that kind of splits the middle.

Anyways, I only have about a 20% chance of putting these to use!

Thought on what is a good set of occasional use mule deer game bags?

Also, temps will be high of 50's, low of 20's. Would you hang these in shade like a deer or do I need a cooler too?

 

[dfanonymous]

I also use the koola antimicrobial. I also have some in a vacuum sealed bag that i get from cabellas.

 

[Taylorbok]

I've got those Koola ones also. They serve their purpose.

 

[Rcritch]

D**ned Edit didn't work!

 

[Rcritch]

Dragging your deer out from wherever it's "at" is never a viable choice ... unless you're just harvesting deer for dog food. All North American big game animals that are worth eating have enough body weight, insulating hide and retained blood in their muscle tissue that they take time to chill out and firm up to where they can be transported without degrading the quality of the harvested meat. Even when transported on a cart or pack animal a fresh kill's meat will loose quality with each mile traveled. Best way to have meat worth consuming is to carefully (i.e. cleanly) skin and quarter or bone out the deer at the kill site then bag and hang in the shade out of reach of predators overnight. Only then will your meat be cool enough to transport without micro-bruising. For those who fear skinning and quartering a big game animal at the kill sight can't be done in anything like a sanitary manner I can only say that I have single handedly done so by rolling the animal onto an old king-sized bedsheet and using care not to litter the sheet with dirt, leaves, needles and other forest debris. (It can help to use a green spruce limb to rake the ground clean first and weight the sheet with rocks at each corner.)

As for the game bags, not knowing where you are hunting I have no idea what threats need to be avoided while the meat chills out, but here in the Rocky Mountain west those threats rule out anything of a "light weight" nature. The ubiquitous cheese cloth bags are absolutely the worst. Even pillow cases and bags made of bed sheeting won't last more than a few seconds when discovered by crows, magpies or ravens. And once one of those scavenging birds finds the bagged deer it will quickly consume a baseball sized chunk of prime meat, leaving a large hole in the bag to invite every wasp, fly and other meat eating insect in to gorge themselves.

Good quality heavier cotton game bags that are available commercially should serve well, but are a bit pricey. In my own 60 years of big game hunting I have bagged deer, elk, caribou and oryx (gemsbok) without any loss of meat using the following inexpensive (less than a Bidenomic $5 bill) homemade game bag:

Shop around and find a good deal on decent quality cotton painter's drop cloths. They should be no less than 6 ounce fabric (for durability) and no more than 10 ounce) for breathability, I've always used, and recommend, the 9' x 12' size. Cut the cloth into four 3' x 9' pieces, fold each of them to 3' x 4-1/2' size and sew the sides shut leaving a 3' opening at the end. Then turn them inside out to better protect the sewn 4-1/2' sides and put a deer quarter in each bag which still has plenty of open neck to twist closed and tie off securely with light rope or parachute cord, leaving enough tag end of rope/cord to hang the bag. For mature larger game, such as elk, I cut the lower leg off, tie the upper leg to a hanging rope and tightly tie the bag shut with cord against the hanging rope.

Piece of cake! And, after processing, a freezer full of quality meat.

 

[cahunter805]

Caribou game bags are very nice as well as the Argali. The reflective string and tabs are a nice feature at night also.

 

[tx338]

I've used the same set of 4 bags for about 20+ years now packing out elk. No idea the brand. I only carry one for the first load out, returning with more after a kill. My wife refers to them as "bags of death", rinse, wash, repeat.

Mine are heavier cotton/poly blend bags, not the newer synthetic like Caribou or Black Ovis ultralight bags….want to upgrade to these lighter bags one of these days…but my original bags just won't quit!

 

[Reelamin]

Just used the Caribou bags to pack a mule deer out. Boned out and in two bags. I put the meat in plastic and then inside game bag for pack out. I was sure the carry bag was torn numerous times going through the blow down section on stobs and other limb mess. Nope every time I stopped to check....nothings even though I could hear the fabric sound against the snag. I use a little larger bag so I can easily grip/wrap the bag neck around my hand, or tie it in place if needed. The weight difference is a couple ounces.

 

[SixDemonBag]

+1 on game bags. Don't buy junk and they will last you a long time. I rinse them off real good and then they go through the washing machine and ready for the next hunt. I have a couple of different brands but Kuiu are my favorite amongst them.

 

[cjl2010]

I've used Caribou, TAG, and now Kifaru. Kifaru bags a little heavier but a lot tougher. They are also having a buy one get one for their full kits right now.