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Are we talking deer or elk?Splitting the elk pelvis is tad more difficult than some of these replies indicate.

I haven't touched guts for 25+ years....

Gutless here, always. All you need is a small bladed knife...

Absolutely no reason to split the pelvis or the brisket. All it does is allow the meat to get dirty.

Temperature.....it can be a reason. We may be in the 20's/upper teens like today or we may be in the 70's like last week. Splitting the brisket and pelvis can help cool it quicker.

Splitting the pelvis only MAY open it up 1", same with the brisket.

I do up to 10 deer a year and 2-4 elk along with antelope and have never had an issue. If its warm enough to spoil the critter needs boned out and cooled

opening up the pelvis or brisket an inch does nothing.

having never tried the gutless method,how hard is it to get to the tenderloins ?pardon my ignorance.

Doing more and more of that these days....

rong, Getting the tenderloins out is a tad tricky, but very possible even on a bull elk. I could explain it, but it's something that has to be seen to really understand. I definitely needed help the first time I tried it. BTW I seldom go gutless on deer or antelope, just elk.

I don't dote on way or the other. A lot of times If I put a bullet into the boiler room, I like to examine bullet performance.

With young hunters in camp we gut a lot to give them a anatomical lesson.

Then there is the primal experience of opening the body cavity on a cold crisp day, steam exiting and plunging your cold hands in to remove the warm offal. A essence of a hunter and being thankful for the animal.

You might be over thinking it...

Too much Empire Strikes Back.

No.

Happiness is a warm gut pile . . . .

I believe it was last year on this forum that I was told I was wasting too much meat by doing elk gutless. I’ve done a couple since then and still haven’t found out what meat you get by mucking around in a bunch of blood and guts. Guess I’ll just carry on like I have been

Can you get the rib meat off an elk using the gutless method ? Never killed an elk myself .

Gutless method on deer and hogs .

Wear Nitril gloves while skinning .

Gutless. No gut piles in 20 years.



I don't seem to have problems with hair.

One way to reduce hair is cut with the grain instead of against it. You could carry a couple pair of gloves if you wind up with too much hair on your skinning pair(s).

If I am gutting, I never split the pelvis, always cut around pelvic canal and pull through. Gutted a deer this morning already. Hanging in the garage ready to be skinned, quartered, bagged and into the refrigerator after coffee is finished.

If I am "off grid" so to speak, always gutless and packed out.

The deciding factor on gutless/gutting is distance, and/or ability to get whole critter to a motor vehicle, be it a truck or utv.

I have packed out critters that might have been easier to drag, and drug critters that should have been packed.

If packing any distance, gutless/quartered.

If on private property where truck/tractor/4-wheeler can get to it, gutted and then taken out whole. When gutting, I don't break the pelvis down, just cut the tissue around the outside and pull everything inside during gutting.

Sure, start at the front or back and roll it off the ribs as you go. When you get done roll up the whole sheet and bag it.

Depends on where I'm at. On our club land. We drag to an area we can get to with truck or ATV. If I'm up state forests on the mountains. Bone and quarter