batlz,
Exactly--but as some have noted that's not always possible
Here's the piece of info The Kid apparently passed over from my info: "It's better to bone them before rigor even starts, or after it has dissipated--which normally takes at least a day, though again, temperature affects the chemical process."
One concrete example might be a young cow elk (not a calf) Eileen killed in 2013, in a deep draw over a mile downhill from the road where we parked the pickup. It was late in the afternoon on a very warm day in early September, and instead of doing gutless, we field-dressed it conventionally. Then, while Eileen cut off the lower legs and head, I hiked back to the pickup for our Neet-Kart (a concession to age that I purchased at 60), an inline-tire game cart that has handles at both ends, with bicycle-type brakes.
By the time I got back she was done, and I sawed the spine in two right behind the ribcage, which still left the backstraps mostly connected to the spine. We loaded the back half on the cart and wheeled it out as the light faded, then came back in the dark for the front half. (Did not want to leave it overnight because there are a few grizzlies in that country.) By the time we loaded both halves into the pickup it was 10:00, and we drove an hour home and hung the halves up. Did not skin any of it, except for slicing the hide down along the spine and peeling it back enough to cool out the shoulders. Hung the halves in the garage, which cooled down to around 50 overnight. Left it on the bone until rigor dissipated, then skinned and cut up the carcass enough to fit into big coolers for a little aging, before we butchered a few days later.
Maybe the meat would have all been tender if we'd boned it out, but have had some experiences otherwise.
