Congratulations on your purchase! We at Caribou Gear Outdoor Equipment Company would like to thank you for purchasing our Ultra Light Big Game Bags.
It's our goal to manufacture the finest innovative products available.
"No need to Condition" your Ultra Light Big Game Bags
A. Besure to retain packageing card (Game Bag Packs) for reference while afield.
B. Label game bags as needed on the oversized label at the side of each game bag, "Your Name”,
"Species " - Deer, Moose, etc., then bag content according to bag dimensions ribs, cape, etc.
C. Fold and store ready for use!
Congratulations! Now it is time to use your Ultra Light Game Bags!
Note: Be sure to take special care of sharp saw cuts against the game bag.
We suggest that all leg joints be knife cut.
1. After deboning and or quartering your harvested animal place the clean meat in the proper sized
game bag.
2. When hanging the meat it is recommended that you place a desired length of rope
(about 6 ft long), through and around the shank and tendon of the leg making sure that
the knot is adequate as it will need to support a great deal of weight. Note: this step is only
necessary if you intend on hanging the meat or quarters.
3. Gather the excess material of the game bag and wrap the bag a few times with the pull
string cord. Place the end of the pull string back through one of the created loops and
pull up on the cord making it tight.
4. Fill out and attach the Big Game ID tags at this time with proper identification of the bag content,
this is especially helpful if there are more than one harvested animal in camp.
5. When hanging your game bags with the meat content remember to place it 50 to 100
yards from camp and within clear view of camp. Take every precaution to place away
from thick underbrush or game trails (be sure to read the Keep Predators Away Instructions).
6. Reflective attachment- Be sure that the bags are rotated in a manner that allows for best
nighttime viewing of the reflective attachment from camp.
7. The small Camp Meat Bag in your game bag kit is for that back strap or tenderloin or
any other favorite cut of your harvested game for dinner back at camp.
8. Washing while afield meat care is extremely important, be sure to remove and rinse and dry the game
bags after the game quarters are hanging on the meat pole in any water available, getting as
much of the dry blood and soil off the bags, allow approximately one hour to dry
(pending weather conditions) and rebag the hanging meat quarters. This is necessaryfor game
bags breathability and to help retard meat spoilage on extended hunts afield.
Washing after the hunt thoroughly wash the game bags with a detergent and light bleach in
warm water untl clean, rinse and hang dry. Although the game bags are stain resistant they
are not stain proof, the game bags may retain some soil discoloration.
For continued years of field use it is important that you care for the game bags during and
after each hunt, do not allow the game bags to remain dirty for an extended period of time.
Regularly inspect your game bags for small holes that could admit insects. Inspect the opening
of the bag, paying special attention to areas likely to admit insects. Never use open-mesh game
bags and then insert them in the your ultra light big game bags as this will surely allow insect
eggs (maggots) to infest the meat within the bags. Mesh bags are inadequate for protecting
meat quarters from insects, dirt and debris nor strong enough to support the weight of its content.
Aging game meat
It is recommended that the aging process take place in a temperature controlled environment
or conditions where the temperature is 35 to 40 degrees and should not hang more than 5 days.
Hanging your game meat in a garage or shed is again a situation that should be done with care and
only if the temperature is below 40 degrees. We do not recommend aging your game meat if the
temperature is uncontrollable or fluctuates greatly. We strongly suggest that you quarter and bone
out all meat and put it in the refrigerator or cooler with ice as you cut and package for consumption.
Here are a few tips on keeping your harvested meat edible and keeping it yours
CLEAN
Lay a sheet of plastic a few steps away from the downed animal, as you remove the quarters and
meat parts lay them on the plastic. Once on the plastic, bone out the quarters and store them in the
game bags. Note: In some states it’s required that you keep the meat attached to the bone.
Regardless of where you live it is a good idea to keep the meat attached to the bone if at all
possible. This keeps the meat from drying out and skinning over or causing a greater area to become
contaminated with debris resulting in wasted meat.
COOL
August and September can be some of the hottest temperatures one can expect while afield
depending on the location of your hunt. It is up to you to make the best judgment of the current
weather condition and do what’s best for the meat based on the temperature and location of the hunt.
If near camp it is likely that a cooler with ice is handy or available;
(DO NOT ALLOW WATER TO GET INTO THE PLASTIC BAG)
1. Hot conditions; bone out meat quarters, put into a game bag and then put game bag with meat
into a plastic bag. This works great on those hotter days, just be sure to rotate the meat and do
not close the tops of the bags so that moisture is able to escape.
2. Freezing conditions; obviously a person does not have to worry about keeping the meat cool, just In remote locations in the Rocky Mountains or Alaska, there is an added twist and lots of work in meat care. a. If possible, hang the meat near the river under shade. Rivers have upstream or As last resort – use method below: b. Warmer temperatures produce yet another option placing the meat in the game bags then c. If river floating be sure to keep the bags off of the bottom of the raft by using a cargo net. HANGING/LEANING - WITH OR WITHOUT TREES
be sure to skin, quarter and bag the animal before it freezes.
Drop and self-guided hunts can be a challenge regardless of the cool to warm conditions. The harvested
meat should always be kept in shaded locations if at all possible with tarp shading over top.
downstream breezes that will cool the meat and help wick away moisture.
placing the game bags in heavy duty 55 gallon plastic trash bags and submerging the water
tight bags in the water (lake or stream). Be sure to remove the bag from the water and
re-hang the meat without the plastic bag at the end of each day.
Place the meat in a fan shape trying not to stack the meat atop one another. Place the rack
of the animal upside down (if there is no rack use branches) then place a small tarp over top
out of direct sun, be sure the tarp is allowing air circulation.
Without trees? Get it off the ground!
If you’re in an area without trees large enough to hold the meat use deadfall or brush.
1. If shrubs are present lean the meat into the shrubs this will allow air circulation.
2. If narrow willows or the like are present cut a branch about 6 feet long and tie each end to
other branches the same distance apart and just below the height of the leg quarters high,
creating a figure "H" type shape. Take each quarter and lean them into each other, one
on each side of the branch, tie each quarter to the other at the top. The rest of the meat
parts bags can be blocked up off the ground with deadfall stacked and staggered, to allow
air circulation. This is good for an overnight situation until the meat can be hung.
3. If trees are present however it's impossible to hang the meat, it is likely that there
are fallen tree branches, broken branches or like debris. Take and stack the branches in a
crisscross pattern, large and strong enough to hold the weight of all the meat bags, meat
bags should be at least 6” inches or more off the ground to allow for best air circulation.
DRY
Rain, snow, humidity can result in wet game bags. Wet bags greatly increase the odds of the meat
spoiling over a shorter period of time whereas dry bags extend this time. To insure dry meat it takes
great effort on your part. It is always best regardless of sun, rain, snow and or humidity to cover the
meat in a way that keeps the tarp from making contact with the meat bags to insure the best air
circulation possible this also provides shade from direct sun.
Cover a meat pole by stretching a rope from tree to tree, about two to three feet above the pole and meat bags,
drape the tarp cover over the rope and tie it down at each corner, again be sure not to make contact with the
meat bags to allow best air circulation and not to close so the tarp does not trap the warmer air under it.
Caribou Gear can not to be held liable in any manner or form for the failure or spoilage of game meat,
or the inherent dangers of big game hunting and fishing.
"Good luck in all your Hunting and Fishing Adventures”