Moose down, now what?

[PA BEN]

Found this web page on moose hunting and care.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Moose_hunt/moose_game_care.htm#care

[Vek]

Bring a headlamp w/ extra batteries, gps, compass, map, enough food to miss a meal or two, trail flagging, and lots of water.  Make sure to hit waypoints at your points of possible egress from your hunting area so you have something to navigate to after dark, because if you shoot the moose after noon, it will be dark on your hike out (I know these things...).  If you have a road to pack out to, gps won't likely be needed.  I was aiming for a spot on a lakeshore at 4:00am. 

You may or may not be able to move the damn thing.  Mine was on its side.  I went in this order:

1. Skin the exposed side
2. Remove hindquarter at hip socket, bag, hang in tree some distance away.  This will be heavy.  I drug mine to the tree using a tarp. 
3. Remove shoulder, bag, and hang in tree.
4. Whittle away at that side's neck meat, and that leads down to
5. Remove that side's backstrap
6. Remove brisket/rib/flanky junk
7. Bag meat from 4/5/6 in such a way as to facilitate cooling, and hang in tree. 
8. You'll probably be able to flip a shiras without removing the skull or skullcap.  I had to remove the skullcap first.  We (wife and I) still had trouble flipping the dang thing over.  Flip moose to other side.
9. Repeat steps 1-7
10. Go spelunking for tenderloins and whatever organ meat you like (shudder). 
11. Eat something - you've now been working for 5-8 hours (Wife and I took 8 hours). 
12. Load up first load of the loose meat (leave quarters hanging) and try not to go nuts bushwhacking to road/camp/whatever at 2:30am
13. Eat Dinner at Breakfast time
14. Get some sleep
15. Bone quarters left hanging
16. Load up and pack out
17. Get some sleep
18. Repeat 16 and 17 until done. 

For pete's sake, get a good external frame pack, or a very large internal.  A boned moose hindquarter will -just- slip into the packbag of a DanaDesigns Longbed.  I was way better off with a bare frame. 

You're going to need lots of meat bags.  I had four big "alaska bags", five pillowcases, and a tarp.  One hindquarter rode out in the tarp.  My meat packing kit was the size of a compact 2-man 3-season tent. 

You're going to need to resharpen your knives.  I now bring my lansky jig and the medium grit stone along when moose hunting.   

[Wea300mag]

Jeez Vek. you just took the fun out of it, even though your procedure is closest to reality.

You guys with tags better make good friends with Machias ASAP.

[huntnphool]

You guys with tags better make good friends with Machias ASAP.

Already hit him up and have his number at a push of a button

[boneaddict]

At least they don't have to worry about a 2,000 pound brown picking them off while hiking their portable bait stand back to the boat, and or, and I like the term spelunking for tenderloins.

[PA BEN]

OK guys, the title of this thread is "Moose down, now what?" As Vek said, a lot of work. One thing I'd add to his list would be a small water filter pump. I carry a water bladder bag with a hose to drink from in my pack. I drink lots of water stay hidrated. When I'm empty I use my pump at the next water source. So, my question is, with a hunt of a life time coming up, "How are you getting in shape for this hunt?" I work out anyway with my bowflex and I live 9 tens of a mile from my work, so I've been riding my bike to work. After I found out I got a moose tag I started to walk to work. I started to carry my back with 30 lbs in it now I up it to 40 lbs, I plane on working up to 100 lbs. I purchased a game cart witch I'm going to rig to my pack frame and my bicycle. It may look funny pulling this cart around but when the time comes I wont kill myself packing meat. I've packed elk and it's not a cake walk.
I use a Alaskan pack Frame.   http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0015826515437a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=back+frame&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=back+frame&noImage=0

[PA BEN]

Also, hanging your meat as soon as you bag it is a very good idea. Also Vek, did you gut your moose after you deboned the one side? Also, I carry a small set of parachute cord blocks and 50 ft of parachute cord.

[Skyvalhunter]

Since your Moose season is Oct.1-Nov 30 you may get snow and more than likely this year. You might look at one of the hard plastic sleds from cabela's for dragging out your moose. I used one on my Yukon moose and it made the haul back to spike camp alot easier. I know that Larry Bartlett from Prestine Ventures sells Alaska Moose bags(reusable) and you can get a kit with Citric acid and spray bottle. Just my 

[GoldTip]

Well, I have yet to draw a tag and kill a Moose but, I have helped get a few out, both here and in Montana.  He're's how we handled my buddies Moose last fall.  It went down around a mile and a quarter from camp.

1. Moose killed at 10:30am
2. Pictures taken at 11:15am
3. Rolled Moose on back and I begin to gut Moose, as buddy who shot Moose heads for camp to get pack frames.
4. Once gutted I drag Moose whole around 250yards to nice flat spot, also known as a gated road.
5. Leave Moose left side down and start skinning out one side at a time, roll Moose and skin other side.
6. Buddy arrives with packs and I take hind quarter off at hip socket, send it with him headed for camp, buddy brings back a beer and I drink it.
7.  Take off front shoulder and bag and hang. Bone out ribs, back strap/tenderloins and neck into bag for loose meat and hang.
8. Roll Moose back onto left side and take off hind quarter at socket, bag it and hang.
9. Buddy comes back for second load.  Give him front quarter and he heads for camp as I take off front shoulder and hang.
10. Bone out left side ribs, neck, back straps and tenderloins and bag.
11. Get out trust wyoming saw and saw off skull cap, lean horns against tree.
12. Buddy comes back and we both head for camp with bone in quarters, drink a beer in camp.
13. Come back for last trip and both take a bag with loose meat (both heavier than any of the quartered meat bags) I pack the horns as he made more trips already than I did.
14. Arrive in camp with last load and hang all sacks in the a good shady area next to the creek, it's 5:15pm.  Cook some elk steaks for dinner over the fire that had been marinating for two days and drink beer until 11pm.
15. Wake up at 2am to have a bull moose down in creek bottom smelling dead Moose meat and he is just PISSED, tears the hell out of all willows surrounding where Moose horns are in a tree
16. Get up in morning and load up truck and camper and head home.
17.  Hang all bags in my garage for the day and the next morning we cut the Moose up and packaged it and put in freezer.

Personally I think having cold storage arranged is not a bad thing, but don't believe it is absolutely necessary.  This Moose was killed around the 4th day of season last year, it's getting pretty damn cool at night, and if have a shady place to hang it, it will cool out pretty well for you without going into storage.  Now, if we'd had to hang it more than one night once we got it home, we would have gotten it into a locker for sure.