Miller's Southwest Report post Posted September 1, 2011 September has finally arrived and next week archery elk hunter's will be headed into the field in hopes of harvesting one of Arizona's premier big game animals. This year archery season starts early and temperatures will be HOT! Elk can be some of the best game meats a hunter can take home if taken care of properly in the field. Field care starts with practicing with your weapon, getting in physical shape & planning ahead PRIOR to your hunt. One of the main reasons for game spoilage in the early hunts is a poorly placed shot with extended time of recovery usually extending overnight or late into the morning when temperatures rise quickly. Practicing ahead does not guarantee a perfect shot, but it does increase your odds of making your first shot count. Heat trapped inside the body is what makes your meat spoil. The hide insulates and traps the heat , so your number one priority should be to gut your animal and get the hide off as soon as possible. Once your animal is field dressed & skinned it needs to be cooled out ASAP. There are many way's to field dress, bone out, pack, transport & store your game meat, but if you don't get it gutted (or use gutless method), skinned and cooled out fast none of them will matter. We love to get in cool ,clean and well taken care of game meat and since we give you back what you bring us you will love it too! Good Luck & Happy Hunting! We are offering special discounts to all CW members for the month of September, please visit or website @ www.southwesternprocessing.com and click on connect. We also offer hang only services to those of you who process your own game. Hang only prices for our mountain cooler locations: Archery Season: Clints Well- Next to the Long Valley Cafe- Open M-S 7am-9pm Forest Lakes-At the Rim Resort-Open M-S 7am-9pm Queen Creek-Open M-Sat. 7am-5pm & on call Sunday's Hang only- $35.00 first day $15.00 per day after per animal Skinning fee-$35.00 per animal Please visit our website for complete processing & sausage price list and locations Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stanley Report post Posted September 1, 2011 Great post, Mike!!! Good luck to all of the lucky AZ archery tag holders!! S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilentButDeadly Report post Posted September 1, 2011 Helped kill this bull on 10/19 - it was hot that day (over 90 degrees by 9am - the thermometer is showing the meat temperature). If we hadn't been able to drive to him no way would we have recovered all of the meat, even though I drug him into the shade of a juniper and went to work right away. We took these photos to show the importance of keeping the right to recover animals with vehicles Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueshunter Report post Posted September 2, 2011 Any springerville trailers set up this year? It is a long haul to the lone eagle location you had a couple years back.............Allen Taylor.......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miller's Southwest Report post Posted September 2, 2011 Silentbutdeadly, good point on retrieval of downed game, we all need to stick together and keep each other informed on the Forest Services plans to restrict vehicle access. It sure is nice to be able to get at least close to your downed animal. Coueshunter, we will have a receiving location near Springerville this year, but only for the late November bull hunts & the late cow hunts. We will post dates, hours & exact location prior to the hunts. FYI we are no longer in Heber ,we moved to the Rim Resort in Forest Lakes last year (please spread the word) lots more room & more services there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
