Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Best way to quarter an elk for backpack carry?

I am assuming that you saw through the pelvis while removing the hindquarter. If not are you just cutting around the bones? I used a tool that is two pieces of steel made so they connect and have a flexible wire limb saw between. Worked great to just gut a buck. It inserts through the anus then comes apart providing two handles to saw through without busting pee bag. Sure beats Wyoming saw or axe or a knife beating with a rock. One minute sawing max.Comes in red bag for pocket. I am keeping mine.

Neat-sounding tool.

I split the pelvis with a bone saw on my two elk. IMO, unless it's REALLY cold, getting that pelvis opened up is Job #2, right after gutting. And probably even if it is really cold. It's amazing how much heat is retained in all that meat mass. I do know that in approx 0�F nighttime temps, my bud lost a bunch of hindquarter meat on a cow elk he couldn't get to until morning (shot at dusk). That would suck.

The bone saw on my Gerber was brand new, and it was still a pain. Then again so is about everything involved with getting an elk out of the woods and into the freezer.

Lay the animal on it's back, split the brisket to the neck, cut the meat to the pelvic bone, then use sticks or whatever is at hand to hold the animal's body as open as possible, IE, Let the cool air get to it as much as possible.
I have left elk over night like that in nowhere near zero weather, and the meat was fine in the morning when we went back across the river in a canoe to retrieve in the daylight.

Jezzz, saws, cables, saplings....wow.
One knife, gutless, We call it quarters here irregardless what the meat industry or websters calls it. Less blood, less mess. FASTER! 30-45 minutes depending on the lay/terrain when the elk expired and his size. Always a few minutes for photos before quartering. Time is important in archery season here. Usually at least 5 miles from the truck and more than one trip always. Gut it...with all due respect, laffin.

Here is a picture guide. I don't skin as much as this guy and mine is not as pretty....but I'm not posing for a tutorial.
http://home.att.net/~sajackson/guttless1.html

On no less than three occassions I've had the opportunity to kill several cow elk with a group of hunters with the same tags. I've always helped others do it their way on their animals first...

Then I let them help with mine or my wife's by the no-gut and quarter (Dicing and mutiliating I guess, since I'm not a "professional"). No one has ever gutted one again after experiencing both on the same hunt. All three guys thought it was a no brainer and took half the time.

If it's a short pack, and I'm not saving the cape, I've left the hide on quarters (Hind and Shoulder) to protect the meat from dirt.

Only way I'd gut one is to throw it in the back of a truck and take it to camp or home to hang it up... never left a tenderloin or liver in the field unless it had a bullet hole in it. Haven't seen an edible heart from an elk we've shot yet, and honestly quit checking...

Then again, even if I do gut it, I've never split a pelvis either...

FWIW.

I gut them and quarter them with hide on..I use a small axe..We hunt horseback..The hide on keeps the meat clean. cut the legs off of course...It is really a very simple process.

Once we get home we "bone out" all the meat and cut all we can into steak and the rest is for hamburger or Sauage..This is for both deer and elk.

We quarter them by cutting them in half at the last rib, them splitting the two halves into quarters.

I'm with RDMartin53, Last 5 bulls I've killed I've used the no gut method - 4 of the 5 I was by myself. It's quick, clean, and easy. Gut 'em if you like, but the only way I'd gut one is if it died in the road......even then doubtful.

In my younger (and stronger) years, I've packed out a few elk quarters. Now I'm a "bone and pack" guy. I like to position the animal on its belly (without gutting), unzip it from the back and skin it down the sides. (Nice thing about this is all the blood is pooling down into the belly NOT into the backstraps). I then strip out the backstraps, and top sirloins. These go into a cloth bag to dry and cool. Next I work down the rest of the hindquarters, putting chunks of meat into another bag, followed by the shoulder meat. I then cut a slit under each side of the loin to get the tenderloins out (these go into a small bag that goes in with the backstraps).

I then take as little neck meat as I think I can getaway with.

I ususally wind up with 4 bags and a head and cape. That makes five loads for me. I start with the loin bag (and/or head), and then bring out the lessor cuts. I try and place the bags in a cold shady spot befor I start packing anything out.

Also make sure you comply with any proof-of-sex or point restrictions.

If a bear grabs some of your meat and disapears (I had this happen to me once.), make sure you contact the DOW immedately so they can investigate. Otherwise, if they catch you without the right amount of meat (200 or so for a cow, 250-350 for a bull) you could get fined.

That's my way (but I would take the ATV if possible).

BH

Split the back bone with a saw or 2 single bit axes. For classic quarters, leave 2 ribs on the hind quarters. Front and rear sections should be within just a few pounds of one another.

I will bone things out if it's the tail end of our hunt and the meat will be loaded and taken straight home. If the carcass will be hanging in camp for another 8 to 10 days I want to minimize surface exposure and go with the bone in standard quarters.

gutless for me. the first elk was skinned and quartered etc etc. the second skinned, then i asked why bother as i sat and pondered just what was needed. the next one i just started takeing it apart with the skin on. thats the only way. far easier to skin the legs hanging anyway [ if ya got trees to hang em in ] good luck and it is a nice choice to have to make.

My take on skinning quarters is that it is lightning fast when the hide is warm, I want the meat to cool, keeping the meat clean is not an issue as you are not eating the outside membrane anyway and the big weight difference in "backpack" carry is weight. Old pillow cases work great for keeping the quarters clean. I prefer to bone but as I stated earlier that its usually warm during archery season and I want the meat out quick as possible.

Have you considered hiring some Sherpas from Tibet? They work cheap and are well acclimated to mountains and, they can carry a lot of weight!

If I was going to pack an elk out on MY back then I would not quarter it to do so..I would bone it out completely, put the meat in sacks and save myself about three trips in and out. In the steep elk country of Idaho that is a standard practice.....

I just got done doing this yesterday with the bull I shot. I was a little over a mile over a high ridge from the truck. I gutless quartered the animal and hauled out the two front shoulders.One strapped to each side of my day pack. In hand I carried the horns and my rifle, back to the truck. Then returned with a Cabela's Alaskan guide pack frame and made the second trip out. I deboned the hinds and put one of each in a game bag, along with the loins and scrap meat. Each bag weighed 65 to 70 pounds. At first I strapped both to my frame. I put it up on my back and quickly decided that was toooo much. I re-positioned and tied one bag on the frame then bear hugged the other ( my initial thoughts was just to get it to the top of the ridge). But after I got over the ridge and it was all down hill I took a few extra stops and just carried it. I got the whole useable parts of my animal out in two trips by myself ( Today well... I am saying it should have been 3 trips) Gutless quartering, Deboning and putting gamebags is the only way to pack an elk out on your back!

I might have missed it but could someone tell me how to cut the inside of the front legs when you cape it out?

thanks

Shoulder mount? Skin up the inside of both fronts to the chest, Cut rearwards to behind the elbow, and circle the critter. Finish skinning forward.......

Never go anywhere my horse can't go. No seriously it depends on how deep in you go to give you a good answer. If only a mile or two pack as much as you can physicaly and safely and take 2 trips if necesary. Do both you and your buddy have tags if so and you both take one and you are say 5 or more miles in your in trouble. Most elk hunting areas have packers that for a couple of hundred will retrieve your elk for you and that is cheap compared a heart attack or a broken leg just set it up before hand. Also they do drop camps - take you in and pick you up a predetermined time. Just don't get into a situation where you waste game because you didn't have a good plan and spend a month or two conditioning for the task. Good luck.

To you gutless guys;

There is a difference between the BACKSTRAPS and the TENDERLOINS.

If you are gutless does this mean you are leaving the Tenderlions?

Tenderloin = The best part!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can still get to the tenderloins doing the gutless method but it's messy. I don't know what anyone else does but I'd never leave the tenderloins behind. In fact they go out with the first load every time.