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Field dressing your elk

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Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 1]

Ok so I'm bringing this topic up because I had a friend at work that had no clue on how to get his big elk out of the woods.

Depending on how far I am from the road is how I determine how I will cut that elk up. Most of the time I will quarter the animal out. Put it in game bags and pack it out to the truck. Where I have coolers with ice. I buy the block ice because it last for four days.

So Letts here what are how you guys get your elk out of the woods. Keep the blood and guts to yourself. Lol
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby stealthycat » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 2]

debone everything - cape it at the kill spot
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 3]

I use the no gut method. Quarter it. Get the meat into game bags and hung. Go get the mules and pack it out that day to friend's place that has a walk in cooler.
I might have to debone this year, Can't lift the quarters up on the mule now
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 4]

I have done gutless a couple of times, but prefer to gut and quarter if the pack out is not too far. After cutting off the head, gutting and skinning the animal, I split the backbone full length. I either start the cut with a saw or by pounding the back of a hatchet and then finishing the split chopping with the hatchet. It takes about 2 minutes. Then I divide across and make quarters dividing between the 4th and 5th rib from the back.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lefty » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 5]

All depends alot on how far to the truck. II used a sawzall gutted and quartered my moose two years ago. Yough job for one.
Last fall my daughters moose we did gutless. Small animals like deer and antelope we almost always gut and drag to the truck, but we have boned out if too far to the ride out of the woods.
If I dont have a horse and it is any distance I will be going gutless and boneless.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 6]

So what I do if I'm cutting the animal into quarters is to cut from the back leg to the front. When I am cutting past the belly I cut above the patch of belly hair that the bull has pissed on. Then I skin the hide back towards the back bone. One the hide is off the side I plan on quartering I lift the back leg up and cut all the way to the joint. Once the back leg is off and in the game bag. I go to the front leg. Lift the front leg and cut around the under side the front leg will come off easy. Next remove the back strap, rib meat, and neck meat. Next cut in behind the last rib and remove the tinder loins. Then flip animal over and repeat. I skin the animal before I cut the meat off, because my father in law always chewed my but about hair in his steaks. I don't use a saw because I don't like bone chips in my burger. I have found if you take your time you can remove all the parts with a pocket knife. It takes me by my self about a hour to do this.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Lonnie, I don't know if you gutted the animal or not, but you did not quarter the elk. You field butchered it. Nothing wrong with that, but it is not quartering. The fact that you can do all of that in an hour is stupendous. It takes me two hours by myself to just quarter an elk up and get it in game bags.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 8]

Swede wrote:I have done gutless a couple of times, but prefer to gut and quarter if the pack out is not too far. After cutting off the head, gutting and skinning the animal, I split the backbone full length. I either start the cut with a saw or by pounding the back of a hatchet and then finishing the split chopping with the hatchet. It takes about 2 minutes. Then I divide across and make quarters dividing between the 4th and 5th rib from the back.


Dang Swede , you are about twenty years behind times.I stopped that hatchet deal long ago,took up sawing.I now carry a miter box saw in the panniers if I want to do any bone cutting.That 4" high blade keeps it on track. Antelope/deer when I get them home,I do the sawzall trick
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 07 07, 2017 •  [Post 9]

I am just waiting to get an I-phone with a lazar sawing app. I was planning to skip the sawsall or miter saw routine. Do ya think I will be able to butcher an 800 pound critter in an hour then? :lol:
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby stringunner » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 10]

Swede wrote:I am just waiting to get an I-phone with a lazar sawing app.


:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 11]

I essentially do it the way Lonnie does and call it quartering. Except,I skin one side and get the hind quarter, front quarter and back strap off that side. Then I roll it over and repeat This way, I keep the other side free of dirt while I am working on the first side.When all done. I push the paunch in some and take out the back straps.At times I had to deflate the paunch to get the back straps out.

I carry one of those cheap plastic painters tarps and as I cut each piece of meat away,I lay it in the plastic and cover it. When I was a few years younger,I could do it in an hour like Lonnie says.That was with the no gut method.When I use to gut and split the spine ,etc, that took about two hours.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 12]

Swede. Not to argue with you on this one but I am. I have been doing this for a while and I am very efficient at every cut. The fact that I am using one blade to quarter a whole elk and cut threw all the joints shows that I know what I'm doing. I don't use saws are hatches. On elk 101 Corry has a video of him quartering a elk. He had half the elk done in 30 min. So it can be done clean and all the meat. My brain is always thinking a head, before I make the cut I have already thought ahead of time. . I think that might be the key to getting the job done fast and clean. And yes I guess it could take two hours if your elk dies in a bad brush pile. That seams to always bring out the curse words. Lol
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby ElkNut1 » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 13]

My son & I break down a 6 point in 45 min on a regular basis, that's in the pack & ready to roll! We only use a knife for the process, piece of cake! Sometimes we leave the hinds on the bone & sometimes not, all depends on terrain steepness & distance!

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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 14]

Lonnie, what you describe is one of a number of way to butcher an elk, but it is not "quartering". With true quartering the carcass is cut into four nearly equal pieces. They are called "quarters". An elk is not quartered either because you put the meat in four sacks. Saddlesore, aren't you referring to deflating the elk to remove the tenderloins, and not the backstraps? When I have someone with me, I too can butcher in about half the time. I don't time it, but it is somewhere around an hour.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 15]

Swede wrote: Saddlesore, aren't you referring to deflating the elk to remove the tenderloins, and not the backstraps?


Yes, some times my brain is not coordinated with my fingers
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby 1Elkhunter » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 16]

Quarter it, let it cool, bone it out, pack it to the the truck in my pack... repeat.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 17]

Why do those of us who quarter an elk usually separate the quarters between the 4th an d 5th rib?
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 18]

This A. Snyder instructional VID is very similar to how I break down my elk in most situations. Good VID by Mr. Snyder.

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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 19]

Swede wrote:Why do those of us who quarter an elk usually separate the quarters between the 4th an d 5th rib?

I am going to guess that it gets you up past the T bones
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 20]

saddlesore wrote:I am going to guess that it gets you up past the T bones


Great guess. I was about to single you out to not answer as I knew you would hit that out of the park. What amazes me is that some people do not know the difference between hamburger meat and tenderloin. Actually I prefer backstrap over any other part.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 07 08, 2017 •  [Post 21]

Saddlesore. I agree with you on the hide. I start the cut from the back leg across the belly to the front leg. Then I pull the hide all the way up past the center of the back bone. This exposes the back strap. And gives you a place to keep meat off the ground. I did see on utube a guy use a tarp to put meat on. I think I will try that. Looks like a good idea to keep meat clean. I pull the hide up all in one piece to keep hair off the meat. I leave the ribs in the field. I do the gut less method. The tenderloin you can get by going threw where the back bone and last rib meat.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 09, 2017 •  [Post 22]

Lonnie wrote:Saddlesore. I agree with you on the hide. I start the cut from the back leg across the belly to the front leg. Then I pull the hide all the way up past the center of the back bone. This exposes the back strap. And gives you a place to keep meat off the ground. I did see on utube a guy use a tarp to put meat on. I think I will try that. Looks like a good idea to keep meat clean. I pull the hide up all in one piece to keep hair off the meat. I leave the ribs in the field. I do the gut less method. The tenderloin you can get by going threw where the back bone and last rib meat.


Go to Walmart and buy those 10'x10' ,I think, 3 mil painters drop tarp.They run about $2, weigh an ounce or two and are in a very small packet. When all done,roll them up and stuff around the meat you are packing
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 07 09, 2017 •  [Post 23]

I have used a tarp before, but prefer a queen sized bed sheet. I went to a large motel and asked if they had any that they were not going to use anymore. They gave me a large box full. If they get the slightest tare or stain they don't go back on a bed in a good motel. When I am done the sheet just gets placed in the garbage.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Heartwood » 07 09, 2017 •  [Post 24]

When alone it takes me a couple of hours to do the breakdown using the "gutless" method. Sometimes I bone the quarters also ,depending on the difficulty of the packout. Sometimes I still gut the animal to get the heart and liver and may try the tongue after watching the meat eater.
Lots of good meat on an elk that many people leave behind. Neck meat is just fine when handled and cooked correctly. Not a fan of rib meat although I'm sure it would be ok but it is a lot of tedious work to trim it out. When butchering wild game at home , the hardest and most time consuming work is trimming the fat and silver skin out for better tasting meat.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 09, 2017 •  [Post 25]

In CWD areas, Coloardo CPW does not recomend taking neck meat where the lymph glands are located
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby JAK » 07 10, 2017 •  [Post 26]

saddlesore wrote:In CWD areas, Coloardo CPW does not recomend taking neck meat where the lymph glands are located


Where are the lymph nodes at in elk neck meat. Can you safely take any neck meat in Colorado cwd areas?
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 10, 2017 •  [Post 27]

I can't explain exactly where the lymph nodes are, I usually take about 1/2 the neck meat. You don't want to cut thru the spine.

Which brings to mind Swede's post.The whole idea behind the gutless method is to not cut into the spine in CWD areas
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Indian Summer » 07 10, 2017 •  [Post 28]

I tie the ankles together around my waist and hold the front hooves over my shoulder and bend way over and pack em out whole. Oh yeay I guy em first. I wouldn't expect yinz to believe I carried a whole elk with the guts in!
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 07 10, 2017 •  [Post 29]

Indean summer. Funny story is I did that one year with a buck dear. My wife thought I had killed someone with all the blood from the dear I got on me. It didn't help that I fell over in the brush about five times to help spread the blood. Lol
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 07 10, 2017 •  [Post 30]

I actually packed out the front half of a medium sized cow elk including both shoulders, in one load on a Cabelas Alaska pack frame. It was approximately 1/2 mile mostly uphill. I will never ever try that again.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby BFlatlander » 07 11, 2017 •  [Post 31]

Not intending to highjack the thread, but for those who debone quarters in the field how are you keeping evidence of sex attached? Wondering if there is a preferred method guys use?
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 07 11, 2017 •  [Post 32]

Rules vary from state to state but mostly acceptable is to leave a proof of sex "part" attached to a chunk of meat in a gallon zip lock; reminder to put a gallon zip lock bag in everybody's pack.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Elkhunttoo » 07 11, 2017 •  [Post 33]

Same, I just use a bag for evidence of sex
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 07 11, 2017 •  [Post 34]

Colorado law says it has to be attached . Most keep it so by skinning around it and leaving it attached to the biggest muscle in the hind quarter. Got to be careful,because there isn't much holding it on
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Kschneider002 » 07 12, 2017 •  [Post 35]

Gutless method and quarter for me unless I am back in a ways. I have had better luck with keeping the meat clean if I don't debone.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 07 12, 2017 •  [Post 36]

Idaho is the same way. You have to leave proof of sex attached to the meat.

Funny thing is. If you have the quarters or elk hanging in camp it has to have the proof of sex attached. If I process the meat in to packages in camp you don't have to leave proof of sex. But Im still in camp with my meat. I just think this law is a little funny. But Im sure it has its place and time.

And in Idaho if a friend is helping you pack your game meat out he has to have a proxy statement for your meat on him even if you are with him.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby CurlyTail » 07 12, 2017 •  [Post 37]

And in Idaho if a friend is helping you pack your game meat out he has to have a proxy statement for your meat on him even if you are with him.


Are you serious? That is taking the letter of the law too far.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Elkhunttoo » 07 12, 2017 •  [Post 38]

I've never heard that in Idaho... I know if the person that took the animal isn't present you have to have a proxy statement to pack it. I guess I will have to look into that one
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 07 15, 2017 •  [Post 39]

So what about game bags. What are you guys using.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Scorpyd shooter » 08 02, 2017 •  [Post 40]

Isn't there a pair of loins meat under the spine? If you don't gut it then that meat is left behind?
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby stealthycat » 08 02, 2017 •  [Post 41]

you guys are beasts compared to me ... I don't think i could carry an elk hind quarter
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 08 02, 2017 •  [Post 42]

Scorpyd shooter wrote:Isn't there a pair of loins meat under the spine? If you don't gut it then that meat is left behind?


Scorp, look at that video I posted above from A. Snyder. It shows how to get to the loins w/o gutting once you're done with the de-boning process. Also, here's another way a guy shared with me last year. This method will probably gets its day in court this fall. Simply saw (or chop if you prefer) through the spine just forward of the loins, lift the spine, peel pack, and remove the loins.

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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 08 02, 2017 •  [Post 43]

Scorpyd shooter wrote:Isn't there a pair of loins meat under the spine? If you don't gut it then that meat is left behind?


Once you are done with everything else,it's pretty easy to push in the paunch,make a cut on each end of the tenderloins and they pull out.If it has taken you too long, you might have to puncture the stomach to let gas out in order to get to the tenderloins
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Scorpyd shooter » 08 08, 2017 •  [Post 44]

Ok thx, I'll look at video, my new phone let's me access links like that
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby >>>---WW----> » 08 08, 2017 •  [Post 45]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4kJIrW1IDM

I'm not nearly as fast as Fred does it in this video. But I can get all the legal meat off in about 20 minutes on each side by myself. This is by far the quickest way I know of to get the job done and out of the woods.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 08 08, 2017 •  [Post 46]

So I leave the rib bones in the brush. I have heard you are not properly quartering the elk. Hm. What do you guys think.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby scubohuntr » 08 09, 2017 •  [Post 47]

I don't take the tenderloins, liver, or heart if there's any damage behind the diaphragm. Tenderloins are great, but I don't much care for E. coli. If you've disrupted any of the gut with your shot, the E. coli is there throughout the whole abdominal cavity. Until you get it cooled way down, those little bugs are really busy. With a good heart/lung shot, it's worth taking at least part of the liver (in the gallon Ziploc you thoughtfully brought along for just that purpose) for camp fare. That reminds me, I need to get some bacon going in the smoker before season starts.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 08 09, 2017 •  [Post 48]

Lonnie, hunters use the term "quartering" very loosely. Very few of us actually quarter an elk in the field. We may field butcher or do some modified quartering. A true half of an animal is to have the carcass with no guts and the legs cut short at the knees. The head and hide are removed and the carcass is split down the middle of the spine. Separated in that way the elk is in "halves". To get a "quarter", you split the half between the 4th and 5th rib. You end up with a front and hind quarter. On a front quarter the shoulder generally is still attached.
When buying meat by the quarter you need to pay attention. If you order a 300 pound hind quarter, you will end up with only about 150 pounds of meat. You did not get ripped off. Buying by the quarter is not the same as buying at the meat counter of the supermarket.
As a side note, it is easy to split the spine of an elk with a hatchet. Drive the hatchet in far enough to get it open enough so you can chop into the opening you made. You can chop the spine into within a under 5 minutes. It still takes me a couple of hours to field butcher a large elk. Having help is better, but not a great time saver.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Timber » 08 11, 2017 •  [Post 49]

There is no wrong way as long as it works for you. I have worked in meat packing places for years and the experience helps tremendously on an elk. I prefer to debone and the gutless method. If done carefully, I never have much "dirt" on the meat, it is done quick, it cools faster, and it is much lighter to carry out!
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 08 11, 2017 •  [Post 50]

Timber wrote:There is no wrong way as long as it works for you. I have worked in meat packing places for years and the experience helps tremendously on an elk. I prefer to debone and the gutless method. If done carefully, I never have much "dirt" on the meat, it is done quick, it cools faster, and it is much lighter to carry out!


It sure helps.I have hunted for years with two guys that worked in a meat packing plant.I still hunt with one.They taught me how to cut up an elk and not to eat wieners or bologna
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Timber » 08 12, 2017 •  [Post 51]

saddlesore wrote:
Timber wrote:There is no wrong way as long as it works for you. I have worked in meat packing places for years and the experience helps tremendously on an elk. I prefer to debone and the gutless method. If done carefully, I never have much "dirt" on the meat, it is done quick, it cools faster, and it is much lighter to carry out!


It sure helps.I have hunted for years with two guys that worked in a meat packing plant.I still hunt with one.They taught me how to cut up an elk and not to eat wieners or bologna


Yes I have been with people that just stare at an elk when they get it down. Some almost have no idea how to start when they get their first one down.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 08 12, 2017 •  [Post 52]

Timber wrote:Yes I have been with people that just stare at an elk when they get it down.


I have seen this too. After going out and gathering up packers and pack frames, I got back and found this character looking at his kill. I was gone over two hours. I just figured he was totally lazy and waiting for someone from camp to butcher his elk for him. I would not do it so he found someone else. In the time I was gone, he had managed to cut a slit in the gut just enough for the paunch to stick out. I guess he thought he had done his part.

I don't know that my way of field butchering is the best, but I do know this; the critter won't butcher itself. You need to get your hands dirty. If you can't deal with blood on your hands, don't go big game hunting.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 08 12, 2017 •  [Post 53]

I thought I was pretty good at it until I had to do a moose.The chest cavity is taller than my arms are long .They are too darn heavy to do a no gut if you have to move them around,so I had to gut it.

To say got bloody is an understatement
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Roosiebull » 08 13, 2017 •  [Post 54]

I will admit I do it a little different every time. I have been using the gutless method for the past 5 or so years, but have still gutted a couple in that time when it made sense. if I have to move them, I likely have to gut them, even a 3.5yr old 5 point roosie is impossible for me to move much with guts in.

I generally take the front and rear "quarters" off (swede, I know they aren't true quarters ;) ) then back strap, then all of the neck meat up to the base of the head, then clean up all scrap meat worth taking (flank on a big bull make excellent corned elk roasts) then I flip and repeat.

I generally leave the rib meat, though if it's convenient, I will take it and throw it in the smoker all day for my dogs. rib meat is one I have not found a way to utilize for eating. if you throw it in the grind, you will likely have a strong flavored pile of burger, i'm meticulous about cleaning up my burger meat, and we have excellent ground meat every year.

I take the liver, heart, and tenderloins. if tenderloins get nasty, I will soak them in salt water for a day and put them in the grind pile. I don't like heart or liver, but heart also goes into the grind pile, and liver is either given to someone who likes it, or I package it for dog treats, they love it.

I have got an elk ready to pack solo in under an hour, but i'm generally not in a hurry, and it takes me a couple hours. the more I do in the woods, the less I will have to do at home.

I always pack bone in, if it really makes sense, I will bone. only had to do it once, and it was with a bear. it was such a steep hole I killed it in, I didn't want to make 3 trips, so I boned it and did 2 heavy trips. I may do that with elk at some point, just have not had to yet.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 08 13, 2017 •  [Post 55]

Roosiebull wrote:generally take the front and rear "quarters" off (swede, I know they aren't true quarters )


I have been talking about quartering an elk for years and now I hear of people removing a shoulder and calling it a quarter. I would like to sell you bone heads a new pickup and hear you complain that all you got were four new tires and rims. :lol:
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Roosiebull » 08 13, 2017 •  [Post 56]

Swede wrote:
Roosiebull wrote:generally take the front and rear "quarters" off (swede, I know they aren't true quarters )


I have been talking about quartering an elk for years and now I hear of people removing a shoulder and calling it a quarter. I would like to sell you bone heads a new pickup and hear you complain that all you got were four new tires and rims. :lol:

I have a buddy who corrects me all the time on the "quarter" definition..... I tell him he knows what i'm talking about! :D
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Swede » 08 13, 2017 •  [Post 57]

I guess I am getting to understand the language now too. One time I packed out half and elk on a frame. It was a real front half. Now all I can handle is a Roosie front half.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Kentrek » 08 13, 2017 •  [Post 58]

Swede wrote:
Roosiebull wrote:generally take the front and rear "quarters" off (swede, I know they aren't true quarters )


I have been talking about quartering an elk for years and now I hear of people removing a shoulder and calling it a quarter. I would like to sell you bone heads a new pickup and hear you complain that all you got were four new tires and rims. :lol:



Or better yet sell them a quarter beef and give em a wing ! It's like those 100 calorie packs of cookies....

Quarters have bone in with ribs and back bone included.
Hind hams and front shoulders are "wings".


It definitely sounds better that way when it comes time to tell people how much you packed tho :D

We do it all ways..which ever is most convient, saves time, or just what kind of mood were in
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Lonnie » 08 15, 2017 •  [Post 59]

So its nice to see the differences. I agree with Roosiebull. I don't see a need to take the ribs. I do cut as much meat off the ribs as I can. I don't take the time to take a saw and cut down the middle of the back so I can have a true quarter as Swede would say. You can do a good job and get all the meat off by leaving the ribs. But everyone is different so what ever works for your needs that is great. I think it is good to have a plan before you get something down. So you are not sitting there for two hours trying to figure things out.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby Roosiebull » 08 15, 2017 •  [Post 60]

Kentrek wrote:
Swede wrote:
Roosiebull wrote:generally take the front and rear "quarters" off (swede, I know they aren't true quarters )


I have been talking about quartering an elk for years and now I hear of people removing a shoulder and calling it a quarter. I would like to sell you bone heads a new pickup and hear you complain that all you got were four new tires and rims. :lol:



Or better yet sell them a quarter beef and give em a wing ! It's like those 100 calorie packs of cookies....

Quarters have bone in with ribs and back bone included.
Hind hams and front shoulders are "wings".


It definitely sounds better that way when it comes time to tell people how much you packed tho :D

We do it all ways..which ever is most convient, saves time, or just what kind of mood were in

I don't worry about getting ripped off at the butcher ;) We only eat deer and elk at my house for red meat, occasionally bear. I can only remember once in the last several years buying beef, and it was a single tri tip....so it makes sense I'm not savvy with butcher's terms.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby cohunter » 08 15, 2017 •  [Post 61]

For what it's worth, I know I read something from some Colorado Parks and Wildlife literature discouraging cutting through the spinal canal for fear of increasing CWD risk.
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby cohunter » 08 15, 2017 •  [Post 62]

Here's a link http://cpw.state.co.us/cwd and a quote "When field-dressing game, wear rubber gloves and minimize the use of a bone saw to cut through the brain or spinal cord (backbone). Minimize contact with brain or spinal cord tissues, eyes, spleen, or lymph nodes. Always wash hands and utensils thoroughly after dressing and processing game meat."
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Re: Field dressing your elk

Postby saddlesore » 08 15, 2017 •  [Post 63]

cohunter wrote:For what it's worth, I know I read something from some Colorado Parks and Wildlife literature discouraging cutting through the spinal canal for fear of increasing CWD risk.


Exactly.The prime reason why the no gut method was advised.
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