Curtis Reed

I do all my own butchering and processing… in the past i’ve gone straight from the field to butcher table to freezer. I want to hang and age the deer/elk from now on and was looking at different options…. cool bot, used commercial fridge… the cheapest and most space saving option is a used large (20 cu ft+) upright freezer from craigslist or offerup. Does anyone out there do this, and will a quartered elk fit in one? I might need 2. I would use a temp controller like a Inkbird to keep meat from freezing and set temps around 36°. My thoughts are to drill some holes through the top of the unit and but some threaded eye bolts through to hang hooks then seal the holes with spray foam.

I have 31 venison kielbasa hanging in the cooler overnight. they’ll be in the smoker tomorrow.

$200 for each stamp (each suppressor)

My first took 9 mos… 2nd took 5 mos. My buddy is still waiting, going on 14 months for him right now.

Silencer Shop has kiosks all over the valley. Do prints and all paperwork form kiosk. Upload photo form cell phone. easy peasy

6’4” bed. Thanks let me know what you got!

Thanks saw that one. He has many interested already. Far from me

thanks. slim pickins for sure

All done except for outside corner moulding and foil tape on inside seams. Dropped to 36° in less than 10 min.

I have been aging midwest whitetail for the past 20 years. To me, it make a big difference in tenderness and i like the aged flavors. But to each their own! I grilled up a few of the Venison brats for lunch today and had a couple snack sticks. They turned out great!

Just a progress update in case anyone in future does a similar project

I also have spring compressors you can borrow if you need them. I converted my folk’s big suv from airbags to coils due to the bags being warn. I don’t have a Tundra, but don’t they have struts in front? You don’t need spring compressors to change a strut. Just remove and replace the whole unit. Buy new struts with new springs already installed is the easiest way.

I’ve never used them, but I stumbled across Gilbert Butchery the other day… maybe give them a shot? https://gilbertbutchery.com/game-processing/

We grow lots of veggies, make cheese, etc. So boxes of veggies, aging cheese and other stuff will go in there year round. Not to mention i went in on a beef share this year and will be getting lots of beef in March. Basically why I decided on this instead of just hanging in fridge or freezer I could have used it today… 85 brats and 25 lbs of venison snack sticks ready to smoke. I need the cooler to put this in. Won’t fit in fridge.

Ceiling, floor and walls are all made out of the same thing. 2” foam board (2 layers for 4” total). For the floor I put foil backed OSB on top of the foam board to make it better to walk on. Cool Bot says you need a minimum of R25 insulation. These boards are R13.1 and I doubled them up for R26.2 I will be putting down a solid piece of sheet vinyl onto the door for easy cleanup of blood, etc.

Yeah, it isn’t huge… inside finished dimensions will be 5 1/2 feet X 5 1/2 feet X 7 feet tall but that’s all the room i could spare in the 3rd car portion of my garage. I got the floor and ceiling in today. I have a ceiling support holding the foam panels in place overnight to let the liquid nails set.

Started this morning with a trip to HD. 40 2x4x8’s was perfect. Didn’t have 1 left over. outside dimensions will be 6’x6’. I am shocked it got it all framed up in a few hours.

Atta boy

I actually started my walk in cooler build with a cool bot. Will update progress…..

good deal.

Pretty much what I was thinking in my head with the eye bolts

They won’t freeze if you use a temp controller like an Inkbird. Home brewers do it all the time for their kegs in chest freezers. Elk quarters will fit in a fridge/freezer?

Where are you located?

With rising store prices, I’m looking to buy a local meat goat and trying to avoid auctions. Any advice on where to start looking? I am in the East Valley but can travel. Thanks

That’s probably why you got it free haha. Boers can weigh 250+ lbs