The Gutless Method

[Hunting Cowboy]

The Gutless Method

The "gutless method" is a technique utilized in the field that allows a hunter to quarter and butcher a large game animal without opening the body cavity. This makes the process cleaner and more manageable. This method involves skinning one side of the animal, removing the quarters, backstraps, tenderloins, neck meat and lower leg meat and then flipping the animal to repeat the process on the other side. This allows for more efficient meat cooling and can be especially helpful for packing heavy animals out of the field. 

How we do it 
* Lay the animal on its side: position the animal on a flat surface if possible with one side exposed.
* Skin the exposed side: Make cuts along the spine and legs to remove the hide from the backbone down to the legs.
* Remove the quarters: Separate the front and hind quarters by cutting through the muscle and hip joint.
* Remove the backstrap and tenderloin: Carefully skin the backstrap from the spine. Use your knife to slide along the spine to carefully detach the tenderloin without puncturing the body cavity.
* Remove other meat: Trim the neck meat and the lower leg meat.
* Flip and repeat: Roll the animal over and repeat the entire process on the other side. 
* Where required, leave evidence of sex: Leave the testicles attached to one of the rear quarters.
* Options for dealing with the head/antlers:
1. Save the head and cape for a shoulder mount by caping the animal and skinning to the base of the neck. Remove the head at the atlas joint. Remove any large chunks of meat from the cape. Allow the cape to cool before rolling up and placing in a game bag.
2. Save the head only by dislocating the skull at the atlas joint.
3. Skull cap the antlers only.

Cooling The Meat
* Place each quarter and loose meat in quality, reusable game bags.
* Hang the game bags in a nearby tree to cool.

Prepare For Transport
* Bones are heavy so I try to make a habit of removing the lower legs at the knee joints. Do this by dislocating and breaking  the joint and severing the ligaments.
* For eliminating even more weight, you can debone the quarters but deboning takes time and in all honesty, I like to pack with “bone in” because it keeps the meat together and keeps it from moving around during the pack out.
* Utilize packs that have a “meat shelf” option. There are some great pack options out there. We use the Mystery Ranch “Metcalf” pack because it has proven its effectiveness in over a dozen pack outs of both deer and elk.

Benefits of the Gutless Method
* Clean meat: The meat remains uncontaminated by internal organs.
* More manageable: By removing large, heavy portions of meat first, it makes the carcass lighter to flip and maneuver.
* Efficient cooling: It helps the meat cool down faster than traditional field dressing, which is crucial for preventing spoilage. 

Drawbacks 
* This method does not allow for the removal of the heart and liver, unless the process is modified to do so specifically.

Legality
* Ensure you are aware of local regulations regarding wanton waste laws, and what is legal when transporting meat.
* Know what the requirements are in the state you’re hunting for proof of or evidence of sex

[Hunting Cowboy]

.

[Hunting Cowboy]

.

[Hunting Cowboy]

.

[Hunting Cowboy]

.

[Hunting Cowboy]

.

[Hunting Cowboy]

.

[Born2late]

This is all I do now unless I’m within under 100 yds of the truck and have help.
Way easier on the back and I enjoy it more then Dragging.
I take the heart and liver last it’s no problem at all because you don’t have to worry about keeping anything clean since all meats off.
In Idaho we hunt whitetail only tags and they require proof of sex and species to stay attached to the meat which is a joke. They will write you a ticket if you cut them off and put them in a bag with the meat.(it happened to our group two years ago).I just leave a hand size chunk attached.and baggie it all so I don’t get hair from the tail all over my meat.
Thanks for showing this

[Hunting Cowboy]

 

[Buzz2401]

Been doing this for years but I still don't do it on every animal. I actually prefer to not do the gutless method unless the situation dictates I use it(lack of time, gut was hit, etc). I prefer not to do gutless because I've found that the quarters come off much more bloody then if you guy and get the blood draining. Just my opinion on the method. I did use it twice this year on elk.

[teanawayslayer]

Been doing this for years but I still don't do it on every animal. I actually prefer to not do the gutless method unless the situation dictates I use it(lack of time, gut was hit, etc). I prefer not to do gutless because I've found that the quarters come off much more bloody then if you guy and get the blood draining. Just my opinion on the method. I did use it twice this year on elk.

don’t quite understand the blood draining off the quarters.  Never had a quarter drain blood after the animal is dead. Might be a little more slimy than it would be after it had been hanging for a day.

[HereDuckyDucky]

I haven’t gutted an animal in a VERY long time. Gutless is too easy and too clean to consider any other way.

RW

[jstone]

I need to try this method

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

I went gutless a few years ago on a super steep hill. Any difficult pack out goes gutless. Any animal in early season goes gutless for rapid cooling. Drag outs are only case by case, usually flatter terrain and snow.

[Stein]

Been doing this for years but I still don't do it on every animal. I actually prefer to not do the gutless method unless the situation dictates I use it(lack of time, gut was hit, etc). I prefer not to do gutless because I've found that the quarters come off much more bloody then if you guy and get the blood draining. Just my opinion on the method. I did use it twice this year on elk.

don’t quite understand the blood draining off the quarters.  Never had a quarter drain blood after the animal is dead. Might be a little more slimy than it would be after it had been hanging for a day.

When you hit the femoral, I always get a fair bit of blood.  From what I know you can gutless quarter or gutless debone on the animal (same as gutting), only the latter wouldn't involve cutting the femoral until well into the process.  I wouldn't lose any sleep either way.  For me, I usually don't do gutless as I have to be more careful for a longer period of time to not hit the pouch and getting all the parts I want it's easier for me to just gut them quickly.  To each their own, there isn't a wrong way unless you get dirty or contaminated meat or leave a bunch in the field.  The larger the animal, worse the final resting place and the less help I had, the more likely I would be to go gutless.