Post by: Optimusprime on August 18, 2013, 10:54:56 AM
Post by: MIKEXRAY on August 18, 2013, 11:05:46 AM
That being said I don't de-bone the legs, I just quarter and haul. I do take all the rest of the meat also. I only hunt 1-2 miles from the road, further in I definitely would de-bone. If you have time check out the video.
Post by: Optimusprime on August 18, 2013, 11:07:21 AM
Post by: Hunterman on August 18, 2013, 11:13:28 AM
To get your elk out (if your going to quarter it is simple. Just 4 steps.
!. Kill it :tup:
2. Gut it.
3. Field skin it.
4. quarter it. To quarter it just take your saw and cut it down the back bone. then count up 3 ribs and cut each half in half. That's your quarters.
Hunterman(Tony)
Post by: Optimusprime on August 18, 2013, 02:45:18 PM
Post by: hogslayer on August 18, 2013, 02:55:17 PM
Post by: dreamingbig on August 18, 2013, 02:57:05 PM
Post by: Bigshooter on August 18, 2013, 03:03:04 PM
Good luck to you this season :tup:
To get your elk out (if your going to quarter it is simple. Just 4 steps.
!. Kill it :tup:
2. Gut it.
3. Field skin it.
4. quarter it. To quarter it just take your saw and cut it down the back bone. then count up 3 ribs and cut each half in half. That's your quarters.
Hunterman(Tony)
This is the same way I do it. Except I don't skin in the field. I don't mind packing ribs and hide a mile or two. Stays cleaner this way from experience. If it's more than a couple miles or nasty country I bone it out.
Post by: huntingfool7 on August 18, 2013, 03:04:25 PM
Anyone who has spent time with a saw splitting the spine will appreciate the gutless method. It is so simple too!:yeah:
The only reason to carry a saw or an axe is if your cutting wood.
Post by: Bigshooter on August 18, 2013, 03:10:56 PM
Anyone who has spent time with a saw splitting the spine will appreciate the gutless method. It is so simple too!:yeah:
The only reason to carry a saw or an axe is if your cutting wood.
I'm not a fan of the gutless method. Removing rib meat is a pain and takes me forever.
Post by: dreamunelk on August 18, 2013, 03:26:01 PM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on August 18, 2013, 03:37:33 PM
Post by: Crunchy on August 18, 2013, 04:01:24 PM
Post by: ICEMAN on August 18, 2013, 04:05:22 PM
Post by: Optimusprime on August 18, 2013, 04:41:37 PM
Post by: ICEMAN on August 18, 2013, 04:44:00 PM
Kill the animal.
Get the skin open, and meat off the bone.
Bag the meat to keep flies off.
Get the meat cooling, in shade, in a creek, whatever.
Take the meat home.
Post by: dreamingbig on August 18, 2013, 08:00:18 PM
Dumb question number #112; Does your gutless method abandon the heart and liver?
Easy as pie to get the heart, liver and tenderloins with the gutless. I don't like liver so unless someone is along who does it stays behind.
Post by: xXLojackXx on August 19, 2013, 08:45:41 AM
Post by: dreamunelk on August 19, 2013, 08:52:09 AM
Don't over think this.
Kill the animal.
Get the skin open, and meat off the bone.
Bag the meat to keep flies off.
Get the meat cooling, in shade, in a creek, whatever.
Take the meat home.
:yeah:
Well said :tup: It is not rocket science.
Post by: Elkrunner on August 19, 2013, 08:52:29 AM
I wouldn't gut them if the tenderloins weren't so damn tasty :drool: otherwise the gutless method works great.You can get the ternderloins without gutting...
Post by: JPhelps on August 19, 2013, 09:58:18 AM
No more packing bones for me (besides the horns).
Post by: D-Rock425 on August 19, 2013, 10:04:42 AM
Post by: Elkrunner on August 19, 2013, 11:44:59 AM
I break the whole elk down using nothing more than my havalon. I don't gut them. Just cut below the spine and roll the gut out of the way to get the tenderloins out. Get everything but the heart and leave a thin piece of rib meat while getting the rib roll off.
No more packing bones for me (besides the horns).
I watched ET1702 and RIBKA do one with a havalon last year. I was quite impressed with that little thing.
Post by: SilkOnTheDrySide on August 19, 2013, 12:03:07 PM
To get the tenderloins, follow the ribs until you get to the short rib. Reach up into the lower part of the spine and feel for the tenderloins. Pull back a little, sometimes you can pull the whole loin away with your hand. Otherwise, very careful insert your knife and make a few cuts. Easy.
Also, why anyone packs a saw is beyond me...takes a very minimal amount of time to cut the tendons.
Post by: Labs07 on August 19, 2013, 12:35:03 PM
Last year I was able to take care of the animal in an hour where it would take about two hours the old way. Less time doing that means that there is less chance for a griz encounter.
Post by: jechicdr on August 29, 2013, 11:45:41 PM
Post by: Smossy on August 29, 2013, 11:54:20 PM
Post by: RadSav on August 30, 2013, 01:19:58 AM
Last year I was able to take care of the animal in an hour where it would take about two hours the old way. Less time doing that means that there is less chance for a griz encounter.
You are way better at that than me. Gutless method has always taken me longer. Though I do like it better until I get puked on :puke: Maybe if I were faster that wouldn't happen :dunno:
Post by: MLBowhunting on August 30, 2013, 01:27:39 AM
Post by: brianmtsinc on August 30, 2013, 04:39:40 AM
With that said, I have never done a bull that I intended mount before and I hope that I run in to that situation this year. Is there anything different I should be aware of? :dunno:
Post by: wt on August 30, 2013, 06:35:13 AM
Post by: pianoman9701 on August 30, 2013, 06:46:12 AM
Post by: Elkrunner on August 30, 2013, 07:37:20 AM
Post by: dreamingbig on August 30, 2013, 07:42:08 AM
Post by: Bullkllr on August 30, 2013, 08:50:35 AM
How about removing the antlers and not packing a heavy head for a reason to carry a compact saw?
:yeah: Small saw is way lighter than a whole head.
Post by: D-Rock425 on August 30, 2013, 08:58:41 AM
Post by: Elkrunner on August 30, 2013, 09:00:53 AM
Took me about 1 1/2 hours last year to do my spike all by myself the old fashion way. 6 total pieces.
Im going to time myself this year...Ill post it up Tuesday afternoon :tup:
Post by: pianoman9701 on August 30, 2013, 09:01:54 AM
Took me about 1 1/2 hours last year to do my spike all by myself the old fashion way. 6 total pieces.
Im going to time myself this year...Ill post it up Tuesday afternoon :tup:
Confident, I see! Good luck. :chuckle:
Post by: Elkrunner on August 30, 2013, 09:03:47 AM
Post by: lghtnquik on August 30, 2013, 09:12:23 AM
Post by: elkfins on August 30, 2013, 09:15:05 AM
I have had a couple of discussions with WDFW enforcement about this specific issue. One of the points the officers I've talked to made was that there is a precedence of people taking a legal elk and quartering/boning it, removing the meat from the field then using that head to take a second elk, bone it out to just the meat.
Several years ago, my hunting partner harvested a legal spike elk. We boned it out for the 3 mile pack using the gutless method. At the truck, we were approached by the game warden and questioned about the animal at length, eventually we had to walk the officer to the spot of the kill to show him that the animal we were packing out was in fact the same animal that the head belonged to... He wanted to see the headless carcass with the sex organs there to prove we were not using a head from a different animal to poach a second animal.
Obviously, each officer can use their discretion for each encounter and no doubt, my partners attitude towards the officer had much to do with the extent that he questioned us. But, having said that, I no longer use the whole boneless method. Instead, I gut the animal then I split the 2 hind quarters (bone in) off of the carcass, leaving the sex organs attached to one quarter. I remove the 2 front legs (bone in) and then bone out the ribcage and neck. This way, I can prove that the quarters I have in the back of the truck or hanging at camp does in fact belong to the head I have.
3. Evidence of Animal's Sex:
It is illegal to possess or transport big
game animals unless evidence of the
animal's sex is left naturally attached to
the carcass until the carcass is processed
or stored for consumption. Evidence of
sex means:
••Male - head with antlers or horns
attached or penis or testes any of
which must be naturally attached to
at least one quarter of the carcass or to
the largest portion of meat.
••Female - the head or udder must
be naturally attached to at least one
quarter of the carcass or to the largest
portion of meat.
Big game taken in antler or horn
restriction areas: The head or skull plate,
with both horns or both antlers naturally
attached, must accompany the carcass
while in transit or in possession.
Post by: D-Rock425 on August 30, 2013, 09:37:12 AM
Post by: Fullabull on August 30, 2013, 10:21:35 AM
Post by: Crunchy on August 30, 2013, 10:25:00 AM
http://youtu.be/xRYWk4E6v-A (http://youtu.be/xRYWk4E6v-A)
Post by: Fullabull on August 30, 2013, 10:32:29 AM
Post by: Fletch on August 30, 2013, 10:44:03 AM
we do have to send somebody to the truck to pack it in to the animal but it beats packing 4 100 lbs pieces or whatever your method.
Post by: Old Man Yager on August 30, 2013, 11:02:16 AM
Great help guys/gals! Thanks a ton. Do many of you take the neck meat with the head or just saw it off at the first vertebrae? Also, if you harvest an elk in early season and temps are high (90+), is it even possible to cool down the meat? A friend of mine says he hung his meat in the shade for several days and it was fine. Any input on this? I would just hate for meat to go bad if'n I get something. Second, when you de-bone your meat, do you sack it all right away and hang it, or do you all bag it one trip at a time, leaving the rest of it on the animal?You don't need to "SAW" anything off, maybe if you are going to mount it, you might. But anyway, you can get the head off easily with just a knife. Feel along the back of the skull. There is a bump back there and right below that is where the head joins the spine. I think it's called the atlas bone/joint. So, fing that bump, jab a strong knoife in there, first cutting the hide all the way around the neck under the elk's chin, and then cut through the meat to the spine. When yo get through all the neck meat and tendons there, you can just twist the head and it will pop right off.
Post by: Elkrunner on August 30, 2013, 01:41:03 PM
Gutting an elk takes all of 10 minutes. Five if you have a helper. I guess we all have our own way of doing it but this is mine.
http://youtu.be/xRYWk4E6v-A (http://youtu.be/xRYWk4E6v-A)
cutting it up through the brisket makes it look a lot easier to pull everything out..
Post by: MtnMuley on August 30, 2013, 02:52:37 PM
Post by: dreamingbig on August 30, 2013, 06:48:16 PM