splitting elk for horses

[kentrek]

for Idaho rifle elk we typically bivy out,"hopefully" shoot a couple bulls,then call for horses to meet us at the kill. now the guy who owns the horses,my dad,likes the elk cut into quarters bone in..that means splitting down the center of the backbone..i have been using a small hand saw for ever,works..but the darn things get dull and are pretty much only good for one thing..well its time to replace my dull saw for a new one and i got to thinking..has anyone on here used a lightweight machete to "hack" an elk down the spine ? a machete seem like it would be alil more usefull while in the back-country  than a saw and id be able to sharpen it,my dad seems to think it wouldnt have enough weight behind it....

any thoughts ? any advise is much appreciated

[horsepacker]

i pack 2 small hatchets 2 motorcycle tie downs and some thin rope to keep tension on the qtrs as i hit one hatchet with the other. The wyoming saw stays sharp for a long time too

[fair-chase]

What is his reasoning for wanting to put more weight on his horses? Not saying I would ever argue with the guy hauling my kill off the mountain...Just curious what could possibly be the reason for wanting to haul more/useless weight???

[kentrek]

What is his reasoning for wanting to put more weight on his horses? Not saying I would ever argue with the guy hauling my kill off the mountain...Just curious what could possibly be the reason for wanting to haul more/useless weight???

what weight are you referring to ?

i pack 2 small hatchets 2 motorcycle tie downs and some thin rope to keep tension on the qtrs as i hit one hatchet with the other. The wyoming saw stays sharp for a long time too

also how would it be with out the tension on the qtrs ?

[fair-chase]

what weight are you referring to ?

Bone in, instead of deboning in the field. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions. The way I read it I thought you were used to deboning in the field and now you are required to quarter bone in.

[kentrek]

theres a few reasons,easy to butcher at home,meat stays cleaner,easy to pack on horses,deboning frozen meat really sucks,get more meat

[Bshiftbc]

I have always used a Wyoming saw, but this year I am going gutless. I have also heard of many people using the small, lightweight hatchets too.

[jrebel]

Wyoming saw all the way.....

[beagledog]

18 v. Sawsall
Just a thought

[Miles]

Why do you need a saw?   You can quarter the whole elk with a knife, then just have one small game bag for the rib meat/scraps. 

[kentrek]

18 v. Sawsall
Just a thought

we cut up 20+ critters a year and if were at home this is def the way to go

[washelkhunter]

Bone out, put in bags. Its real easy to keep it clean. If you have to qtr, a camp axe makes short work.

[vandeman17]

We use a hatchet and then a little hammer to hit the back of it. As long as the hatchet is sharp and you just use the edge, it should split the spine pretty easy.

[Miles]

You can quarter it (bone in) very easily with a knife.  The rear quarters aren't that hard to deal with.  Cut around the pelvis and find the ball/socket.  Get the tip of the knife in there and it comes right apart.


Here's a deer ( I took the picture to show the thickness of fat), but this is all done very easily with a knife.  After you do it once, it's very easy to find the joint. I never understood why people pack around axes or saws.    I also never understood why some insist on breaking the pelvic bone?   Even if you gut the animal it isn't that hard to pull the piss sack out the back...

[kentrek]

You can quarter it (bone in) very easily with a knife.  The rear quarters aren't that hard to deal with.  Cut around the pelvis and find the ball/socket.  Get the tip of the knife in there and it comes right apart.


Here's a deer ( I took the picture to show the thickness of fat), but this is all done very easily with a knife.  After you do it once, it's very easy to find the joint. I never understood why people pack around axes or saws.    I also never understood why some insist on breaking the pelvic bone?   Even if you gut the animal it isn't that hard to pull the piss sack out the back...

thats great info but not for me in this situation,dad wants it hung,quarted with bone in(with the ribs),when he gets there..doing it bone in is not the problem,i really don't mind taking the extra time in the field to save time back at home when cleaning up the meat

also i should mention il be packing this on my back during the hunt..that why the wyoming saw wont work cuz its kinda heavy,hatchets 2nd on my list but still heavyr then a machete


no ones ever used a machete

[Sawbuck]

If you need to take an elk out in quarters a sharp axe works great. I've used my fiskars axe that we already have in camp for firewood, and can split an elk in a third of the time it takes to saw it. The wyoming saws are o.k. but I have had better luck with my trail saw it has a 20" blade and is cut on the pull which is nice if youre cutting at a weird angle or above your head. I only saw one if I don't have an axe (my trail saw is on my riding saddle).  Personally I prefer to bone out the meat and put it in pack boxes. Its much easier to handle as far as loading and unloading the pack stock, getting the meat to the pack stock, no bugs/birds trying to get at it, if its warm out you can go throw the boxes by a creek, and most important you don't have to split the elk into quarters. Just cut it in half and hang it up to cool. If its cold, real cold like around zero, just bone it out right away and get it in the boxes while you can still work with it. Any warmer than about ten you would want to let the meat cool first so it doesn't spoil. One more thought, if you pack out quarters and anything happens and your pack animal goes down you can end up with some pretty dirty meat in a hurry. You have to do what works best for you and your circumstances, I've packed out a lot of elk and have done it both ways depending on the circumstances. Good luck on your trip.

[kentrek]

If you need to take an elk out in quarters a sharp axe works great. I've used my fiskars axe that we already have in camp for firewood, and can split an elk in a third of the time it takes to saw it. The wyoming saws are o.k. but I have had better luck with my trail saw it has a 20" blade and is cut on the pull which is nice if youre cutting at a weird angle or above your head. I only saw one if I don't have an axe (my trail saw is on my riding saddle).  Personally I prefer to bone out the meat and put it in pack boxes. Its much easier to handle as far as loading and unloading the pack stock, getting the meat to the pack stock, no bugs/birds trying to get at it, if its warm out you can go throw the boxes by a creek, and most important you don't have to split the elk into quarters. Just cut it in half and hang it up to cool. If its cold, real cold like around zero, just bone it out right away and get it in the boxes while you can still work with it. Any warmer than about ten you would want to let the meat cool first so it doesn't spoil. One more thought, if you pack out quarters and anything happens and your pack animal goes down you can end up with some pretty dirty meat in a hurry. You have to do what works best for you and your circumstances, I've packed out a lot of elk and have done it both ways depending on the circumstances. Good luck on your trip.

i never really thought about usein packboxes for boned out meat,do you ever have problems with not geting the load the same on each side of the mule/horse ?

[Miles]

Try this:



http://www.outdooredge.com/SwingBlaze-Pak-Hunting-Knife-and-Saw-Combo-p/swingblaze-pak.htm

[Miles]

I would not want to go smashing away with a machete...   The ONLY way I could see making it really work would be going one rib bone at a time and hitting the back of the blade with a rock.  That might work... It would be a pain IMO though.

[washelkhunter]

Boning out an elk is so much easier than hacking and qtring. And guess what its Cleaner. Cut and toss in the bag.

[JLS]

Boning out an elk is so much easier than hacking and qtring. And guess what its Cleaner. Cut and toss in the bag.

Per your experience maybe, but not mine.

Packing elk quarters on a horse is much easier if you leave the bones (including ribs) in.  You don't need boxes, you can put the quarters in a game bag and sling them on the packsaddle.

Kenrek, the best handsaw I've found for this is an Oregon Saw.  You probably don't want to pack one in on your back, so get the longer Wyoming Saw and use it.  The front half will be a little tougher because the blade won't be as long as you'd like.  Cut the elk in half crosswise between the 3rd and 4th rib.  Split it lengthwise with the saw.  Hang your quarters with hide one if it's cold enough.  Skin them out and put on game bags when you load the elk.  I've never had dirty meat because of this method.

I've packed a few elk with horses.  PM me if you want more info.

[kentrek]

Boning out an elk is so much easier than hacking and qtring. And guess what its Cleaner. Cut and toss in the bag.

Per your experience maybe, but not mine.

Packing elk quarters on a horse is much easier if you leave the bones (including ribs) in.  You don't need boxes, you can put the quarters in a game bag and sling them on the packsaddle.

Kenrek, the best handsaw I've found for this is an Oregon Saw.  You probably don't want to pack one in on your back, so get the longer Wyoming Saw and use it.  The front half will be a little tougher because the blade won't be as long as you'd like.  Cut the elk in half crosswise between the 3rd and 4th rib.  Split it lengthwise with the saw.  Hang your quarters with hide one if it's cold enough.  Skin them out and put on game bags when you load the elk.  I've never had dirty meat because of this method.

I've packed a few elk with horses.  PM me if you want more info.

ya thats exactly how we do it,even go between the same ribs 

[washelkhunter]

I can skin and bone an elk out in 2.5 hours or less. If your going to be sitting around waiting for a pack animal to show up you might as well kill 2 birds with one stone and have bags of clean meat ready to go imo.

[dreamingbig]

Use the gutless method.  You can still keep the quarters together and you can slide a backstrap into each of the front quarter bags.  We usually use a 5th bag for the rib meat, neck meat and other scraps.  Don't forget to slide out the tenderloins for some excellent camp meat!

Too much effort and work to split the spine all the way down.  Been there and done that for too many years.

[Miles]

Use the gutless method.  You can still keep the quarters together and you can slide a backstrap into each of the front quarter bags.  We usually use a 5th bag for the rib meat, neck meat and other scraps.  Don't forget to slide out the tenderloins for some excellent camp meat!

Too much effort and work to split the spine all the way down.  Been there and done that for too many years.

Tried telling him that, but it seems they want the ribs and everything connected for packing purposes.  Personal preference I guess.

[dreamingbig]

Weird.  We have brought many out on mules using the gutless method and bone in the quarters.  Not sure what the issue would be.

[kentrek]

theres no issue using the gutless method,it just not how we do it with our mules

[JLS]

I can skin and bone an elk out in 2.5 hours or less. If your going to be sitting around waiting for a pack animal to show up you might as well kill 2 birds with one stone and have bags of clean meat ready to go imo.

I can gut and quarter an elk in the same amount of time, or less.  I'd much rather bone the meat out at home in the cleanliness of my own kitchen if the opportunity is present.

Also, lots of folks don't own or need to own packboxes.  Packing out a bag of meat without bone presents a lot of difficulty if you are simply slinging your loads.

That said, I do gutless every time if I am packing it on my back vs. a decker packsaddle.

To each their own.