I'm pretty much aligned with the crowd bone in the quarters and cut from the bottom to expose the meat - I try to keep the neck meat attached to the front quarter for simplicity. Where we usually hunt it is almost always packing out 1-4 miles so dragging isn't an option. I can't gut an elk in 10 minutes but I'm sure somebody can- mine is closer to 1/2 a bloody hour if he falls in an awkward spot.
Game bags in your pack allow you to hang what you cant get out the first trip and keep the meat clean and away from scavengers overnight. I want to hang the meat in a cold room for a couple of days before butchering but a big cooler full of ice drained regularly works almost as well.
I may shoot one close to the truck and haul it to the butcher after gutting - but that would be a huge change.....Oh if you take out a front quarter with the shot we usually trim out the quarter to remove any bone fragments.
