Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Cooler Space?

Ok, so after I get the right boots and take a good bull, how much cooler space (as in quart capacity) do I need to transport a boned, cut, and wrapped elk?

I have a Grizzly 105 quart that handled a whole cow pretty easily last year. If it’s cut and wrapped it should fit into a smaller cooler. I bring mine home in quarters so I have a lot more wasted space.

I’ve done it a few ways where we processed the meat at home and stored it in ice from the time we got back to camp and picked up from the butcher. A large cow always fits in a 165 quart cooler with room for ice. A large ( over 700 lbs on the hoof) bull processed from almost whole bone-in will fill the 165 quart igloo with potentially a little overflow. Boned out then processed should fit no problem. Full coolers are at least a 2 man lift. Got lucky one year bull, cow , buck over rolled my 2 big igloos. Having to buy an extra cooler is a great problem to have.

How much cooler space for a cape?

pro-tip here from a novice....

pack your clothes/boots/gear for the whole trip in large coolers. once the trip is over, you can put your clothes in a trash bag (smell will warrant it....) and you can put any excess meat in coolers.

I take one 80 quart cooler for food I take to the trip and meat hauling back, but that other space made available via the "clothes cooler" can be pretty handy if your trip is successful.

most of the guys on my trip do this every year, and we dont run out of cooler space.

A good bull processed will take up a 120 and 54 with room for dry ice/baffles. I haul a 150, 120, and 2 54qt coolers to camp on the trailer and fill appropriately to have the fewest, full coolers depending on the amount of meat harvested. Good luck! 🍀

Here's another tip, especially if you are alone. If possible, have your cooler already placed where it will ride for the trip back before you load it down with the meat and ice. Don't ask me how I figured that one out.

Betting the same way I did..... LOL!

I hauled a cow elk home easily in two 120 quart coolers. The elk was not de-boned.

Ive used the same two Colman 150 ice chest since 2008 to haul litteraly thousands of pounds of flesh from out west.

The answers seem pretty close. We pack duffles with our close & transport them out in the coolers hoping to bring them back in just the duffles. Before we towed the Ranger out I put the camper shell under the lumber rack & set the rack up with plywood top to haul overflow from meat and used a hitch haul to have room for 3 guys hear out & meat & gear back. Towing a trailer we have room for everything & then some.