Oryx in hot weather

[earlyriser]

Hello,
My brother and I recently returned from our July off range oryx hunt. Two down in 7 days! My question is, how would you keep that meat cooled down without having to run to town every other day to buy more ice? Best cooler brands? I've seen guys in the past with a smaller ice chest/freezer strapped in the back of their truck. I'm not sure if any cooler would keep ice for a week in 100+ degree weather. Thoughts.....?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[lovehunting]

Earlyriser,

I have two very large igloo coolers. I freeze 1 gallon milk jugs solid then I put 5 to 6 in each one the night before I go Lope hunting. Seams to work for me but not sure about 7 days.. You may get I would think 3 to 4 days.

Jack

 

[BlackBear53]

Dry ice is also an option, layer the bottom of the cooler with dry ice and put several layers of newspaper over it (~1" worth) between the dry ice and the meat and that will keep the meat cool without freezing it. Or as the the previous poster mentioned keep a second cooler with large blocks of ice which could be kept frozen with dry ice on top of them.

 

[majo22]

I had the same hunt in june. I have a pelican cooler if you can keep it in the shade ice lasts a while. I fill this ice chest to the top with ice and try to open it as little as possible. Didnt stay out there 7 days though. still had quite a bit of ice after 4 hot days. The frozen jugs is another good option that i use in my bigger coleman ice chest.

 

[mozey]

I freeze a couple cases of bottled water, and throw them in the cooler. They will usually last about five or six days. Because the water is self contained they don't make everything soggy as they melt. And I usually grab three or four to stuff in my pack as I head out every morning. Melted ice water on hot days seems to keep me going better than energy drinks...

 

[hunt1]

Post pics and more opinions will come...

 

[FieldingT]

Try a Yeti cooler. First put you bags of Ice in a deep freeze with the temp set at 0 degrees or so. Stick the whole cooler in if you have a walk in. Then take the ice and cooler hunting and dont open it until you need it. To make it last a little longer follow the directions above and add about 15 pounds of dry ice on top of the regular ice. Smith's grocery in Socorro sell it if your close. A cold Yeti will hold it but any cooler will work better if the ice is REALLY cold in the beginning.

 

[74Superlead]

Where were you?

 

[earlyriser]

Thanks guys for the responses. Sorry for my late response. I've spent the last week at scout camp. We did do the frozen milk jugs with dry ice. Didn't pre freeze the coolers though. I guess 7-8 days in 100+ degree weather is asking a bit much! Superlead, honestly we just drove around, stopped, jumped in the bed of the truck to glass, then repeated until we found them. The roads we were driving had plenty of other truck tracks on them, so no real honey hole to give you. My last oryx tag was 9 years ago, so I haven't put the time in to discover a really good place to go. Just a bit of luck I guess