HOW TO'S.. anybody have an elk or moose cut up along??

[Gaff]

i just watched shauns deer cut up along in the how to section... MAN, what a great how to!!
i've probably cut up 100 deer, and i learned alot from watching it! just goes to show ya, you never know as much as you think you do..

anyhow, i was wondering if anyone has a how-to for field processing an elk or a moose?? after the kill, what are the steps in getting the meat skinned, deboned and out of the woods??

gaff

[Gaff]

[Bowspirit]

You wouldn't have an elk or moose hunt in the works ya' didn't tell about, do ya'?

 

[Gaff]

chris, i wish!!!        i just have never seen what the "whole process" involves after an animal that size is on the ground.   i think it could be good information to have in the how to section.

gaff

[Bjorn]

I forget....are we allowed to post links?

Oh well, here goes

 http://www.ski-epic.com/hunting2003/field_dress_elk/index.html

[Gaff]

thats exactly what i was lookin for bjorn!!
i think i will prob. get pulled tho.  hope somebody on here has somthing similar to share!

gaff

[1Longbow]

The Colorado Fish and Game Dept. Has a DVD on this that you can buy from them . I think its around $18.00. Its on their web site---1Longbow

[Jack Skinner]

We do about the same. We use screw in hooks for the quarters if it is late in the day to easly hang the meat in trees for the next day pack out. Also a small piece of drop cloth like the plastic type folded in your pack will go a long way in keeping meat clean. In late season cold weather you can leave the hide on the quarters to help protect the meat, unless you are boning it out. Also they either forgot to show or didnt take the tender loins. You can remove them without opening the abd cavity as well. They are located along both sides the spine from the hip joint up towards middle abdomin. Roll the carcas back on the belley and you should be able to push the abdominal wall down and see the loins along the backbone. You may have to remove the last rib. The loins can be removed using small knife or blunt dissection with fingers. You could open the abdominal cavity and remove them now as well some folks find that easier than disecting them out, I just perfer not to open the abdomin on anything anymore if I dont have to. Less chance of contaminating meat with gut.

[jhg]

They mention and show taking the backstrap. I thought backstraps are another name for the  tenderloins.


Joshua

[wingnut]

backstraps are on the outside, tenderloins are on the inside.

The above method that doesn't open the cavity does proclude removing the rib meat.  Don't get caught up in the gut-less approach if it means leaving meat on the mountain.  I've seen far too much of that lately.  If that job had been done in Alaska, they would still be in jail for wastage.  What a shame!!


Mike

[Chad Lewis]

The only thing I'd change on that elk is to start from the back, and not the belly. It makes no sense to go up from the belly when there is no meat down there.

Take your knife and go from the base of the tail to the back head. From there, you can pull the hide down away from the back bone. The rest is pretty good. I think I'll film it one of these days.

[Jerry Wald]

This is one for a bison - deboning - part one and part two...this is how I do all game basically.

Jer Bear

  http://environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/huntingtrapping/fielddressingbisonvideo.php

[jhg]

Originally posted by wingnut:
...The above method that doesn't open the cavity does proclude removing the rib meat.  Don't get caught up in the gut-less approach if it means leaving meat on the mountain.  I've seen far too much of that lately....  What a shame!!


Mike

Mike, thanks for that.

[sinistral]

Chad is right. Start from the back, that way you don't accidentally nick the gut. I also think it is easier to remove the quarters from this side. You can start right along the spine and pelvis and follow the bone. This way you won't cut into some of the roasts.

Also don't use trash bags, they are for garbage, not for meat. Trash bags don't breath and trap the heat you want to get rid of.  Plus the animal deserves better than that.

[Gaff]

absolutly awesome video jerry!! i hope it can be saved in the how-to section.. as im sure someone will need a refresher someday.

gaff

[chinook907]

Thought you might appreciate this: they're a bit different scale than a whitetail; this is the heart from a large bull moose.

 

[PAPA BEAR]

step 1: call in elk
step 2:shoot elk
step 3:track elk
step 4:go stay one night at a holliday inn express
step 5:you are now an expert butcher   :D        :D

[PAPA BEAR]

seriously though its really no different than a deer just bigger.i just skin it then leave the hide under it while i quarter and debone everything right there on the inside of the hide,works great for me and never had a drop of meat that was soured.another key is to get it on ice or hung and cooled asap and DO NOT USE PLASTIC AGAINST THE MEAT IT WILL SOUR IT.

[Tom Leemans]

I can't believe they didn't get the tenderloin from that elk! Yes, it's a lot of work, but get 'er done and don't waste the meat!

[Mud Lake Man]

Just have to add my 2 cents worth here. If I'm a long way from the huntin rig, I'll bone out my elk and pack it out on the llamas. If I'm less than 1/2 mile I'll quarter it and pack it out on my pack frame.
Either way, I almost ALWAYS get it up off the ground and away from all the dirt, pine needles and ground litter. Getting an elk up off the ground isn't all that difficult. Sometimes it must be cut in half first, but oftentimes can be hoisted up whole. I really appreciate getting nice clean meat back to the house for processing. Results in much less waste. I noted from some of the replies that the rib meat wasn't taken. In many states that would result in a citation for wanton waste. At any rate, ethics would dictate taking every spec of meat, including rib meat and all the neck meat. After all, the animal spent it's whole life developing all that meat, we ought to honor it by using all of it.

This is my 2006 bull elk. 17 yard shot, 50 yard recovery. 70 pound DAS recurve, snuffer broadhead, 650 grain arrow.

 

This is the elk ready to be hoisted up to a meat pole between two trees.

 

This is the whole elk suspended off the ground.

 

Here are the four quarters bagged and ready for attaching to the backpack and the trip to the pickup.