The only time I ever drag or carry any game with it's guts still in are the times I have killed them on farmers fields. I think it's rude to leave gut piles on cultivated pastures and fields. So I get them to the edge of the field to feed the coyotes, wolves and birds . But the longest drag I ever had in my life from the center of a field was about 500 yards.
By far, the largest number of animals I have killed were not on farm land. So I gut them right there. I see no reason to move the guts and I see several reasons not to. Cools the out better and faster. Removes the blood from the chest and body cavities before it starts to gel. Simply easier to move them. And of course in the case of elk moose and the occasional Buffalo you are NOT going to move them unless you have a vehicle or horses and/or mules, even if the guts were out, so guts-in makes no sense at all. In 99% of the cases with elk and moose they will not stand next to a road and let you shoot them, so having a vehicle is not likely to happen either. 4Wheelers can be helpful, but more and more you are not allowed to use them, so it usually comes back to a back-pack or a sled.
I bring out most of my antelope and deer in one piece after it's gutted but sometimes I cut them in half.
Elk, moose and the occasional buffalo or bear are always skilled or field quartered and brought out in pieces. Sometimes I have the luxury of horses or mules, but not always, so gutting and field butchering are the way I always bring out game from the wilderness areas and fields ----- other then farm land.
