Looking after your meat

Hi all, when you are away on a five/ six day hunt in a bush camp and you have got a deer, how do you look after it before boning it out for the trip out. Which really means how to keep the bloody blowflies away from it, even in April there`s lots of them around, so how do you beat the buggers. I found using some pepper on the deer stops them a bit, but you could end up with peppered steaks, my best trick was with the deer hanging from a tree low to the ground, wrap some plastic around the deer with a small hole at the top and a larger one at the bottom, now light a small smoky fire so the smoke goes up inside the plastic , this will keep the buggers away, don`t like nicotine, not like us humans. A smoked steak is not to bad , so what`s your top way to beat the buggers. :omg:

how to keep the bloody blowflies away from it Move to the Mainland!

A meat bag made from a pillow case or old sheet works well. Breathes well and the blowies can't blow through it.

I new a bloke who used to spray his meat with fly spray !! .

Meat bag, at this time of year getting it cool and keeping it that way is the problem.
I believe fly spray works quite well too

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Originally Posted by Boaraxa

I new a bloke who used to spray his meat with fly spray !! .

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You knew only one (1)
I know dozens encluding yours truley :thumbsup:

If you can hang your animal off ground
Smear fresh blood all through gut cavity and stuff fern into all other opening cavities (throat-arse etc)
You be surprised that you wont get too much blow - but you also must leave skin on
We did this with chest ofal hanging out too.
If it rains - and stays wet - get it out ASAP

If you can get the blood smear to dry - it seals it for many days

meat bag or mutton cloth, stuff fern between animal and bag so at least when it gets blown its only on the bag. cooling it down is the problem and keeping it cool.Never happen here around east coast this time off year, even april may depending on weather

I know a guy that puts the whole animal in a creek, guts and all lets it cool down before gutting just to get that heat out of it. All good if you shoot your animals near a creek.

Don’t put your meat in a plastic bag... it needs to breathe. If you can hang it under a shaded bank with a breeze it will be fine. I use a lite canvas Huntech meat bag with a bit of fly spray around the top, away from the meat.

Huntec meat bags, not sure if they are still available. Once you cool an animal in the bag or overnight when flies are asleep you can bone it out and place in watertight plastic bags and chill in creek.
Would help keep meat for several days till you get it to a fridge or chiller.

Eat it
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Originally Posted by Mooseman

Huntec meat bags, not sure if they are still available. Once you cool an animal in the bag or overnight when flies are asleep you can bone it out and place in watertight plastic bags and chill in creek.
Would help keep meat for several days till you get it to a fridge or chiller.

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Still available :-)

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Originally Posted by Boaraxa

I new a bloke who used to spray his meat with fly spray !! .

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Many a deer began it's overseas trip "marinated" with fly spray. The unscented cans were preferable.

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Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Eat it
Attachment 80573

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Like the look of the frying pan
Where from RS ??
Meat looks like good oldi Angus too - not Friesian :thumbsup:

Must be a old angus had to use a axe to cut it up:D

Well all good ideas guys, but watch that soaking in the creek bit, I did that with my sausages once and a bloody big eel got them and Fireflite your telling porkies, I did 2 1/2 months tour down the mainland and used up two boxes of 12ga #4 amo to keep the buggers at bay, should be classed as big game!!, How to keep the fly's off your 120lb blow fly. This time of the year if you shoot a deer, get it home quick and with my caravan I would stuff a bag of ice in the chest cavity and lay it in the shower box, leave the plug out so water can dribble out, home!!.

When i was leaving in town i had to buy a few bags of ice and put it in the chest cavity and it did work. But you can't beat bringing a animal home and banging it in a chiller, wait to its dark to skin it and cut it up when there are no blows around

I use a duvet cover to put it in

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Originally Posted by bigbear

I know a guy that puts the whole animal in a creek, guts and all lets it cool down before gutting just to get that heat out of it. All good if you shoot your animals near a creek.

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We use that trick works great just like a fridge, just put back legs n steaks etc in plastic bag tie the top and the bag to something in case off a flood

I've hung plenty of rear quarters and back steaks in a cool area, with sum breeze, and coated meat with fine black pepper, to keep flys off, liberal use esp in creases and folds, in the meat. I skin the rear quarters befor pepper and hanging,
I've never bothered with any kind of meat bag, except for the trip out in the pack.
Plenty of huts in NZ have a meat safe, good place, if ones near buy,

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Originally Posted by homebrew.357

Well all good ideas guys, but watch that soaking in the creek bit, I did that with my sausages once and a bloody big eel got them and Fireflite your telling porkies, I did 2 1/2 months tour down the mainland and used up two boxes of 12ga #4 amo to keep the buggers at bay, should be classed as big game!!, How to keep the fly's off your 120lb blow fly. This time of the year if you shoot a deer, get it home quick and with my caravan I would stuff a bag of ice in the chest cavity and lay it in the shower box, leave the plug out so water can dribble out, home!!.

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If you get one down my way can throw it in the chiller for you until your homeward bound.

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Originally Posted by Boaraxa

I new a bloke who used to spray his meat with fly spray !! .

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Yep... "Chiller in a can" is what I call it.


:)

Nothdude, "I don`t care what you say, this duvet has a funny smell about it. :yuush:
Thanks Tetawa, could be in that way now I've got a 4x4 to tow my caravan.

Got my mrs to sew up a light mesh meat safe from a cheap bed fly net. I take that on drive in type trips. Used it at Stewart Island, can get two yearlings in it.

For normal walk in trips I just carry 4 old pillow slips in a small dry bag (stops them going mouldy in bottom of pack). I break down deer on the spot it's shot, legs and backsteaks, straight in the pillow slips to keep clean and can breath/cool/keep flies off. In the pack and then hang in tree in shade at camp.

If you can hang in a gorgey creek gut in shade and over water it heaps keep it cool.

Planennutz, You have got it back to front, it`s put the beer Cans in the chiller!!,:XD: .
Southernman, yes , I got this idea when hunting on Steward Island, by the hut I found a large bag of salt and one off pepper, for awhile I couldn't work out what the pepper was for , then I got it, but the bloody possums loved peppered venison.
G W H, Dress out on the spot is a good idea, have seen a video on it and no need to gut the deer , also cools the meat quicker . gees my trigger finger is getting icky with all this deer slaughter!:o

Fly spray was common in our meat hunting days. Was always said Germans liked their meat gamey and strong so that's what we gave them. If you rationed the spray a bit on a trip you could get 5-6 deer out of a can.
If hanging a carcass always open hip joints to remove heat rapidly.