For simplicity lets say its an average eastern Canadian bull moose.

How many 100qt coolers to hold it boned out? Cut and Wrapped?

I am trying to figure what I will need to have prepared.

The boned meat from a big animal usually runs around 1/3 of live weight. With a 1000-pound moose that means something over 300 pounds.

I've gotten 130 pounds of boned meat into a 120-quarter cooler, but that was unfrozen meat, not cut and wrapped. My guess is that you'll need at least three coolers and maybe four, depending on which way the meat goes in 'em.

I will have about an 8 hr drive home. Think I will be ok with something like a Coleman extreme 120's? I see they are $60 at wally world.. 3 would still be fairly reasonable. (I have an older 100qt thats served well for deer and coupled with a pair of smaller ones ahs worked on my elk trips. I am hesitant to invest too much into them as I might shoot a moose 2-3 three more times in my life.

Those should work fine.

I once got a moose in northern British Columbia, a 2-day drive from my home in southwestern Montana. In addition to a 120-quarter Igloo, I still had some waxed boxes with Styrofoam panels that a fishing lodge in Alaska had used to pack my frozen fish for the flight home. I took those too, and was able to fit the moose meat in the cooler and boxes.

It was mid-September, and plenty warm for most of the drive. I just made sure there always plenty of ice on the meat, and it made it home in fine shape.

I brought a moose back from BC a few years ago in two large coleman coolers. Seems like they were 144 quart, but maybe they are 120. That was cut and wrapped front and back legs and one backstrap. We ate the tenderloins and other backstrap in camp.

I bring mine home whole in the back of my truck with the hide still on it, and hang it in a cool garage for a week, but I usually shoot my moose less than 30 miles from home.

Since the moose hunt, my cousin and I have bought a small chest freezer so we don't have to worry about the meat. It fits easily in the back of a truck or small trailer.

Besides, I needed to replace both coolers as my wife lost one out of the back of the truck and ran over the other. Running over such a large cooler took some work, but she was up to the task.

Some guys have all the fun...

hahahahaha... I can only imagine...

kodiak - great post! levity is always a good thing on the fire. thanks...

Not to talk you out of using coleman coolers, but if getting your moose de-boned and butchered turns out for whatever reason to not work out as planned - I'd be tempted to look into building one big crate type box out of plywood/2x4s and line it with styrofoam. A standard 40" x 48" pallet would be a good base, just nail on some sides and a top. 4 "on the bone" quarters will easily fit inside, along with the rest of the meat. Would just need to bag the ice blocks so water doesnt get on the meat. Just throwing this out there.

For size reference here are a few pics from a few of last years clients. All are Alaskan bulls

40x48 standard pallet


This cooler I am guessing to be 60 qt (?)


I'm not sure of the size of these totes, but all 5 are full of boned out meat.


The pallet with the boxes with green stickers is 2 bull moose all boned out meat. 40" x 48" and about 36 inches high.


These boxes contain the de-boned meat of one bull, although obscured by the antlers. For size reference that is a 64" rack.

I'd get a few half totes. $500 each, but you can' break them. One of those "once in a lifetime" expenses. They hold ice really well too, as well as serving for a dry place to store lots of gear, when not being used to ice meat. I use mine for commercial fishing, camping, hunting, etc.. and they can't be topped.

http://www.dacocorp.com/insulated-containers-cu.ft.-small-sized-c-10_134_225-l-en.html

We take 2 freezers and a small generator. 5 deboned moose will fit in the freezers. 24 hour drive.

I can find boning knives all day long... How come I never see deboning knives?

Just sharpen and use the other side

Good answer!