Specialists in game meat. Quality is the name of the GAME here!
Kolskoot offers some valid hunting tips to ensure your bounty arrives in top shape for us to process and produce a top quality end result for you to enjoy.
GET RID OF THE HEAT
Heat is enemy number one when hunting. A big animal like a kudu cannot be cooled fast enough. Big game animals hold a lot of heat in them and you need to get rid of that heat. Gutting an animal is a must, even when it is cold out. When an animal dies, its temperature can actually rise because the muscles keep generating heat, while the cooling mechanism — the circulatory system — has shut down. To prevent bone sour, you must reverse that process. If you can lower meat temperature to air temperature, you're 90 percent home free.
Here's how:
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To skin or not. Some people think the hide of an animal keeps the meat cleaner, but the meat can spoil faster in warm weather. If you shoot a springbok in weather 20 degrees or colder, gut the springbok and leave the hide on. Springbok are small enough to cool quickly, and the hide acts as a sterile game bag during transport. In hot weather, you should skin all animals — especially big ones like kudu. Removing the heavy hide is the first step in rapid cooling. Keeping in mind that hunting season is normally in winter, the skin can most probably stay on most of the times. Leaving the skin on will also prevent weight loss, which is not beneficial. Just ensure you gut and bleed the animal as soon as possible.
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To hang or not. Yes, good air circulation promotes quick cooling, and hanging promotes good circulation. But where is the coolest air? Cool air sinks and warm air rises, so it makes sense to place meat as low as possible.
KEEP IT CLEAN
One major thing hunters do wrong is allow their animal quarters to get dirty. “Keeping meat clean is very important. You don’t want your meat to get covered in dirt or worse yet, get a lot of hair on it.” Hair from a kudu bull, for example, may be covered in mud or have urine or feces on it which can result in the meat not tasting good on the table. To keep hair and debris off of your meat, always hang it or lay it on a clean tarp when transporting. When skinning an animal, use an extremely sharp knife so you can quickly skin the hide away from the carcass without having to tug or pull on the hide. The more tugging and pulling you do, the more hair will come loose from the hide and likely fall onto the meat. One thing no one wants to find in their game burger is hair. In temperatures below 20 degrees, flies are rarely a problem, but in higher temperatures, blowflies are your nemesis. In warm weather, always bag skinned meat immediately. To be of value, bags must be light and compact (so you'll carry them), and guaranteed fly and dirt proof (no holes). Some manufacturers say flies cannot blow eggs through cheesecloth bags. Wrong! Stretch cheesecloth tight, and flies can blow eggs through it.
KEEP IT DRY
Meat-spoiling bacteria thrive in a moist environment. Moisture and humidity are your worst enemy after a kill. If you find yourself in rainy/hot conditions shortly after you have killed something, get the meat out of the field as soon as you can and do your best to keep it dry.
HUNTING PROCLAMATIONS