After the Shot, Out of State

[Hootin-N-Hammer]

Me and a buddy are taking a trip to Kansas this year on a DIY hunt and as I finalize all the lodging, licenses, airfare, etc. I realized I don't have a plan for what to do with the bird IF we are lucky enough to harvest one. Hopefully we will be eating turkey every night, but what do you do with the fan? I was hoping to cape a bird if I get one, but now I fear it may be too much. Anyone want to share what they have done? Any advise on getting any extra turkey meat back would be nice as well!  Thanks!

[LaLongbeard]

I always bring a box of 20 Mule team borax on OOS hunts. Just cut the fan off at the base of the tail scrap off the loose meat fold the fan and put it in a gallon ziploc bag with the borax covering the meat on the fan (fill bag up about 3" with borax)The borax will dry out and preserve the fan enough to get it home. You didn't mention the spurs or beard do the same thing with the beard just cover the fresh meaty part with borax. You can cut the feet off  with spurs attached and borax them also. Regular table salt will also work in a pinch just make sure whichever you use keep it covered with the salt/borax.
When I'm home I pluck the bird and freeze it , when I'm on a road trip I breast out the bird and fry it up or give it to a local.

[ARjtk]

I breast it out and keep beard/spurs unless the law requires otherwise

[Gobspur]

I just throw the fan, beard and spurs in a big ziplock bag and toss it in a big cooler with ice. Usually the beer cooler and just sit it on top the ice. Even done it with a cape.  It'll be fine for a week.  Meat we usually take deep fryer and eat it!  If you have extra just throw it in a ziplock too, but bury it down in under the ice.

[bbcoach]

Cape out the birds, remove the breast and freeze everything.  Go to Wally world, get a roller type cooler (easier to pull in the airport) carefully pack the cooler to protect the fans, duct tape the cooler shut and add it to your baggage.  We went to Kansas several years ago and brought back 4 birds this way.  Most of the blue roller coolers at Wally world will hold 3-4 birds comfortably this way.  As stated, with the lid of the cooler duct taped shut, the things inside will stay frozen for several days.  Enjoy chasing those Merriams.   

[hobbes]

I don't believe that this applies to KS, but many states have wanton waste laws that require you to keep more than just the breast.  In MT we are required to keep breast, legs, thighs, and wings.  I had to do the same in CO except for maybe the wings.  If that is the case. wherever you hunt, the legs and thighs start to take up quite a bit of space.  In addition, we have to leave one leg w/spur naturally attached, so even more space.  Just be aware that not all states are ok with just breasting a bird out.

I typically try to freeze them if I have access to a freezer then pack them in a cooler under ice.  If I can't, I bag them and pack them in ice and change out ice often.  They will keep for the duration of a typical turkey hunting trip, but freezing is still optimal.  As far as the fan and beard goes.  Again, freezing is optimal, but you can toss a fan and beard in a bag and keep them for quite a while on ice without a problem.  Same goes for the cape.  Getting them wet really isn't a big deal but some guys panic when they see wet feathers.  I usually saturate mine in cool water and dawn soap before rinsing 3 or 4 times to remove soap and blow drying with cool to no more than warm air.

Cape out the birds, remove the breast and freeze everything.  Go to Wally world, get a roller type cooler (easier to pull in the airport) carefully pack the cooler to protect the fans, duct tape the cooler shut and add it to your baggage.  We went to Kansas several years ago and brought back 4 birds this way.  Most of the blue roller coolers at Wally world will hold 3-4 birds comfortably this way.  As stated, with the lid of the cooler duct taped shut, the things inside will stay frozen for several days.  Enjoy chasing those Merriams.   

Just an FYI.  He won't be shooting Merriam's in Kansas.

[appalachianassassin]

I throw the fan, beard and spurs away with the rest of the carcass and have turkey nuggets for supper. hopefully with mushrooms or fresh sac-a-lite fillets

[bbcoach]

Sorry I miss spoke, Rios's.  Was thinking about our trip to South Dakota, which we did the same thing.  And yes, we did utilize the entire bird.  The breast was what we returned home with to share with our families.  We ate the legs and thighs there.  Good Luck.

[boone5252]

So just to clarify, you are saying you cut the tail off and bunched the feathers together in a bag with borax or salt for several days for the trip back home and the tail feathers stretched back out again ??
I have been always afraid to leave the tail feathers bunched up together for very long--more than several hours---that they would "harden" in that position and then not stretch out again.
Last spring, I immediately dressed out our two Osceolas and stretched the tails out on a 1/4 inch piece of plywood with small nails and push pins with salt in the back of my truck to make the drive back to North Carolina.
You are saying I can fold up the feathers for transporting and they will stretch back out--with salt ??
If that is true, it would be nice because it would take up a lot less room in the back of a pickup coming home.

[dublelung]

So just to clarify, you are saying you cut the tail off and bunched the feathers together in a bag with borax or salt for several days for the trip back home and the tail feathers stretched back out again ??
I have been always afraid to leave the tail feathers bunched up together for very long--more than several hours---that they would "harden" in that position and then not stretch out again.
Last spring, I immediately dressed out our two Osceolas and stretched the tails out on a 1/4 inch piece of plywood with small nails and push pins with salt in the back of my truck to make the drive back to North Carolina.
You are saying I can fold up the feathers for transporting and they will stretch back out--with salt ??
If that is true, it would be nice because it would take up a lot less room in the back of a pickup coming home.

Yes they fan and wings will spread back out for several days after cutting them off the bird. Fold them into natural position for transporting home then position them however you want them to dry. Trim as much meat off the underside of the fan as possible, rub it down good with Borax and allow it to dry. I've got some that's 25-30 years old.

[ddturkeyhunter]

The way I do it and do it every year for my SD, and WY trips and Florida trips far from home. Is I skin the entire bird out ( I'm a trapper skinned thousands of critters) from behind the head all the way down to tail.  I am careful to leave the legs attatched to the hide by cutting at the joint.. Then i put the tail inbetween two pieaces of cardboard and duct tape it. I fold the rest of the cape and wings, the wing are skined out also on top of it all and put in cooler. And my Ocealoa, they get put in to a big plastic freezer type bage and go right into my luggage for the plane ride home. As long as you keep cool at min, better frozen or packed in ice, you can keep for up to a week or so. If you use any salt, remember salt attract moisture also so you can have a wet mess that now you have to go through the blow dryer process to clean when at home. Borax dose start the drying process so use sparring. The only thing is the meat thing, if you don't eat at the time or give it away. Depending on what state your in, it might not be legal to be separated from the caucus. But I have not yet found a Game warden, that didnt understand. Good luck

[kjnengr]

When my buddies and I have made out of state hunts we always bring a cooler bag tote and several really big ziplock bags and fold it in the regular luggage.  After the hunt, the beard, spurs and folded up turkey fan go in the ziplock bags.  Each bird's parts gets its own ziplock bag with its respective tag.  All of the ziplock bags go in the cooler bag along with a sealed bag of ice  to keep it from leaking. 

The same could be done with a hard cooler if you were driving.

They will stay "fresh" for a couple of days if necessary until you get home. 

Then the borax and/or salt process gets started.

[LaLongbeard]

So just to clarify, you are saying you cut the tail off and bunched the feathers together in a bag with borax or salt for several days for the trip back home and the tail feathers stretched back out again ??
I have been always afraid to leave the tail feathers bunched up together for very long--more than several hours---that they would "harden" in that position and then not stretch out again.
Last spring, I immediately dressed out our two Osceolas and stretched the tails out on a 1/4 inch piece of plywood with small nails and push pins with salt in the back of my truck to make the drive back to North Carolina.
You are saying I can fold up the feathers for transporting and they will stretch back out--with salt ??
If that is true, it would be nice because it would take up a lot less room in the back of a pickup coming home.

Yes just fold the fan up without crumpling the feathers you can get a couple fans in one bag. I don't just rub a little borax on the meat of the fan I submerge the meat part in about 3" of borax. You can leave a fan or beard like this for weeks if not longer and the meat will not rot and the fan will open as easily as the day you shot it. Also when you have a beard that gets wet or bloody I wash off the blood cut the top off a plastic water bottle and put the beard in with the borax or salt. All the water will get sucked into the borax and the beard will fluff up by itself. Otherwise the beard will dry slicked down and pencil thin, once it drys it will break if you try to spread the beard out.

[cwb04]

On 2 separate trips, I did as others are saying and brought zip lock bags for the fan, beard and spurs.  I actually laid them out in my lockable hard-side gun case for the trip back.  Just pulled out the foam bottom, laid them in and replaced the foam and with your gun on top of the foam, nothing moves on the trip back.  Simple enough, no cooler to fool with.

[Fullfan]

Normally we kill 6-7 birds when hunting the Midwest, we eat several. The others are given to a few  locals that visit us in camp.