Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Game down, now what?

I thought I asked this a while back, then could not fine the post.

Do you dress, skin, and bone while your animal is on the ground, or do some of you hang it to skin and bone.

I finally got a backpack sized gambrel I have been looking for (three piece bar, and lightweight strap), but it still weighs about three pounds. How are you guys doing it, all on the ground, or hanging?

Thank you gents.

Depends on where the critter is lots of times, sometimes there might not be a tree handy or too far to drag to. Some animals are too big to drag or hang. I always do it on the ground, being the lazy kinda guy I am.

depends on the land an whats available. With the terrain that I hunt. on the ground with a rope or two runnin u to rocks an such to keep it from rollin downhill would work the best I believe.

never tried hanging one unless it was in my garage so I cant comment on that part.

Do it on the ground.
I always have to pack it out on my back, so I quarter and bone stuff right there on the spot.

On the ground, break out the meat sack and knife and go to work.

MtnHtr

agreed with the last two guys, haven't hung anything up in years.

bping sure ain't where I'd want to start, and certainly not for a 3 lb. weight penalty in my pack.

but that's for the way I hunt, it may be worth it for others, but I can salivate over what stuff I can bring that weighs 3 pounds, or just being 3 pounds lighter!

On the ground! There's no trees around for the sheep or caribou I hunt and I'd certainly have a time of it trying to hoist a whole moose up a tree.

I'd call a gambrel excess weight. If there's a tree handy for a gambrel, it's just as handy for a rope & stick alone.

But the ground works just fine. You'd probably be boning pieces on the ground anyway, not directly from a hanging carcass.

I bone in the field only on a real backpack hunt, which I know you've been doing. For those trips (often elsewhen, also), I have along a 6x6 sheet of heavy plastic - my combo "clean-room"/emergency tarp. I'll do the usual on-the-ground backstrap collection and separation of the four legs, placing them into quarter bags for protection, and then pull out each leg in turn and debone on the spread sheet, returning the meat to the bags.

After some experience, it's not difficult to quarter on the ground with cleanliness (deer-size game!).

I'd like pics if you decide to try and hoist the moose up......grin

Barkoff,

Just lay the animal on one side and make a lateral cut down it's backline. Skin and lay the hide over towards the lower legs and cut off the backstraps in one long piece. Then cut off each quarter, debone and stuff the meat in the meatsack. Flip the animal over and repeat. The tenderloins can be retrieved by carefully slipping in your hand and cutting just past the last rib.

One does not even have to gut an animal with the above method. A small sheet of plastic is nice to have along, about 3'x3' is about right for deer.

MtnHtr

Just for fun, I'll start a HUGE debate by stating that I take off the side's quarters first, before peeling out the backstrap- I can more easily go farther up the neck when backstrapping, without the top of the quarter being in the way.

+1

There's a lot of backstrap left under the shoulder. If you pull the shoulder then you can get it.

No debate here, I was just posting some fast basic instructions without going into detail. I do take off the shoulders first and then the backstraps. The shoulders come off real easy and I lay them aside to debone later before stuffing the meat inside the sack.

The whole process is not that technical, never really gave it alot of thought. I just do it when I'm successful.

MtnHtr

on the ground.
Packed more than one skinned antelope out whole. deer boned. elk quartered, moose sixthed (that sucked!).

I use the same method that Mtn Hunter uses. Works great. If you're careful and keep it clean, you can even use the skin as a temporary spot to put a quarter if you need to. I also use old cotton pillowcases to hold everything. That way I can close them off with flagging tape, and label each bag as to what it is, so I know what the heck the odd shaped pieces are when I get home - sometimes the deboning happens fast (getting dark, snow coming in, etc) and the result isn't as neat as it could be.

Also agree with the other poster, if you really want to hang it up, just bring a short piece of thin rope and find a stick to use instead of packing along a 3-lb gambrel. Heck, all I have in my shed, where I hang and skin stuff out if it was close enough to the truck, is a stick. Works fine!

I work my process in a enviornment dependant process. if it is snowy and cold....on the ground every time. if it is cold and snowless, but there are trees very close, i might pop off the shoulders and hang them to bone....just to keep them clean and give me a bit easier time. if it is warm I skin as I remove meat, I am not a big fan of blowflys, but they seem to be a big fan of freshly dead elk, and the bees really like my fresh kills as well, so I skin a side, and then set the hide on what I am not pulling off. I get my meat in the bags ASAP.

I call the 800# to register kill.
Gut, setting aside heart and liver.
Run parachute cord through 1 hamstring tendon.
Pull deer up in tree.
Take mesh backpack, which has been rubber banded up out of cargo pants pocket.
Skin deer to neck.
Filet deer.... including heart and liver to plastic bags.
Put bags in mesh backpack.
Cut antlered skull plate off with cheapo Gerber retractable bone saw.
Put pack on back and stroll out of woods!
At 61 I need to drag a deer through all sorts of crap like a hole in the head! I don't hunt where 4 wheelers go!

don't you southern boys just put them lil' deer in your pocket?

Now where would I put the keys to my doublewide. This pocket 10 was shot on my 60th, near where I parked the car. I'm 6'5" for perspective. I call this a 2 pocket deer!

yea, that is what I mean, don't you just put them in your pocket.

and how does that=a 10pointer.......oh that is right you guys in the south get the 2-fer-1 deal.

just having a little christmas fun! that is a nice 4 point up here.......hehehe!

is that a beagle?