Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game So you down a big elk or moose in the evening hunt...

If you can't hang it from a tree, what do you all do to keep it as cool as possible until the next morning when you drive it in to town and drop off at the butcher. Let's assume it's archery so it's still fairly warm. Assume there is no ice available and deboning into coolers is not an option.

You DON'T do that. If you can't get it out and you can't get it off the ground, you have no business shooting it. You WILL lose meat that way. It's actually a felony in Montana.

HuntnShoot,

Okay - so if I can get into the back of the pick-up hide-off, one end of the quarter elevated on the tail gate - does that work. I am looking for solutions. There are many place s in Idaho that are desert elk zone; i.e.,no trees.

If you can get it to a pickup, there's really no reason you can't have a cooler or two in the truck with ice. That's doable even in early seasons if you have good coolers.

If you can't get it to the truck, you'd prop it up off the ground on rocks, logs, whatever is available. Hide off of course.

Overnight it'll cool down well even in the desert. The next day will be critical.

If there's any shade at all, take advantage of it. I've also sunk elk quarters in a cool creek overnight with no ill effects.

Dress and skin it, prop it open and on it's back. Cut the front shoulders away from the ribs so air can get under them. Same with the hind legs.
Unless it's really hot, it'll be ok until morning. For just overnight, flies are a bigger problem than heat. You might have to go over it thoroughly looking for eggs. Stretching a large piece of cheese cloth over it will keep them off but there needs to be a space under it as flies can easily lay eggs through cheesecloth. Those cheap cheesecloth meat bags are totally worthless because of that.

Rock Chuck & Smoke Pole - thanks helpful advice.

If you're not worried about scavengers and predators getting at it, you could bring some long poles (12 feet or so) and make something like a big tripod (or more than 3 legs) where you could suspend the quarters "inside". Hang each quarter from the intersected binding of the poles, then another piece of rope tied to a "leg" of the tripod so it hangs separate it from the others, with one hanging in the middle. Does that make sense? Obviously, you have to get the meat off the ground and separate it from the other meat so that it can cool as much as it will.

That's what I would do in your shoes. I've seen it done, but not during bow season with heat, just in a hunting camp with no trees. I don't evening hunt anymore for this reason.

I have harvested numerous elk in Sept in CO. We carry a small 8 wheel pulley and will hang halves in a tree, or at least off the ground. If I can, I skin the animal on the ground before cutting it in half being very cautious not to get the meat dirty. If i cant, ill get one end off the ground with the pulley, skin it and cut it in half then repeat with the other half. Once skinned and hung, i cut enough pine boughs to ensure it's in the shade and out of sight of the birds. Most animals go after the exposed gut pile. I go back the next day with muslin game bags and depending on how it's leaving the hill side, cut it into appropriate pieces. I have never had an elk or any other animal spoil doing this.

Bottom line is you want the body heat out as quickly as is possible while keeping the animal clean. The hide is designed to insulate and it simply has to come off if you cant drive to the animal early season.

Im not saying it's the way, its just a way and has served my family well for generations in Sept and even Oct warm weather.

Funny story - a couple years ago my partner shot a muley late afternoon. We were 3 miles back and being old farts, there wasn't time to go get my llamas to pack it out that night. That happens when you're in your 70's. We got it into deep shade, skinned it and laid it out on the hide, propped open. We laid the heart and liver next to it. We had 2 meat bags so we laid them over it and covered it all with pine boughs, hopefully to keep some of the flies off.
Next morning we came back with a couple llamas. As we walked up to it, we could see the boughs weren't disturbed but the meat bags were both 5 yards away. Head scratching time. We uncovered it and the meat was untouched. We couldn't find a single tooth mark on it....but both the heart and liver were gone.
Fox? Pine Martin? I think a coyote would have at least chewed on the carcass. It was too grassy for tracks. Who knows?

I am thinking you should be able to quarter or gutless method break down, get into bags and hang in trees, prop up on branches, get near a creed etc. Come back in the morning and start packing (bring one load out that night)

that's my plan at least!

I

Bob, don’t ya just love spell check......or, do you think just leaving a “creed” nearby will keep the bears away and keep the meat cool? memtb

I throw a couple pallets in the bed of the pickup. Gets air circulating underneath while driving into town.

I have never killed a moose in warm weather but to me the best option would be to have a horse or mule and/or some good friends with packs and plan to get it out fast. If you can't stay the night try to carry out what you can on the first trip and come back ASAP in the morning.

I would skin it and field quarter the carcass to lay of the pieces on the skin for them to cool. (and then hope the bears don't come get it). I skin the moose (or elk) to just past the spine on one side, then lever it over to the other side and do it again. Remove the entire hide and head from the body (head only if you have a bull) Field quarter the pieces from the carcass and lay them on a clean rock, log, grass of what ever you can. Drag the skin and lay it flesh side up in the shade, or to a place that will be in the shade when the sun rises. Then put your quarters and pieces on the hide with at least 2" of space between each one and even in warm weather they cool pretty fast. Night time cools down more, You will want to be back on site very early the next day to get them out.

I gut them first and then dock off all legs at the knuckle joints ("Knees") and leave the lower legs there. I cut the hams (rear legs) off the pelvis at the ball joints. I cut the "saddle" free between the 3rd and 4th ribs all the way back to the pelvis. I cut the front shoulder off and simply bone out the neck, ribs and shoulder loins. Leave the boned out rib-cage and neck bones with the lower legs as "wolf food". When you are done you will have 5 pieces and a "bag full". And if you wish you can also bring out the hide. Or only the front 1/2 of it for the taxidermist if you are to have the head mounted.

I carry a cloth bag for the boned out meat, but for a moose it's going to have to be fairly large. You can easily sew one up before the hunt. Use canvas or something strong. Make it about 16" in diameter and about 3 feet tall. That gives you enough room to put the boned-out meat from the neck, shoulder loins and all rib meat in, and still have enough to twist shut and tie off with a rope or strong cord.

I have had to leave 2 of my moose in the field over night and I was very worried the bears would get them but in both cases I was lucky. They were unmolested when I get back the next morning.

Not so with 3 elk I have had to come back for. 2 were taken by black-bears in Idaho and one by a big grizzly here in Wyoming. Of the ones the black bears got I was able to get some of it back, but most was ruined
If that happens you can't do a thing about it.

The grizzly had rear tracks that my boot would fit inside. He seemed to think the elk was his, and I seemed to think "yup------sure is". He got all of that one.

You better make some of these things an option....

5-6 ft chest freezer in the back of the truck, and a Honda generator.Simple.

^^^^This^^^

yep.Skin out gutless . Hang quarters in trees. Neck meat in game bag. I take the tenderloins and back straps out with me that night to truck which should have coolers with ice in them ready for such matters. Always have a plan and a back up plan before heading out

So what is so important about bedtime for these folks. Also, it's rare that I'll be driving to town the next morning, as camp comrades still have tags to fill. Might be going home in a week or so.

Get to work and take care of stuff.

My definition of "warm" is probably different than most, but here's what I did. It was probably 70 during the day (aka hotter than hell). My rush was to get the wife and kid back to camp before midnight, as we had a bit of ground to cover.

Get guts out, get big muscles exposed, as has been mentioned. Tie out or prop up, or do what you have to do to ensure maximum airflow. If you're solo, best get up early the next day, as you have got a lot of work to do. This one was only about a mile "from the truck". As you start taking parts off, make sure they continue get as much air as possible and stay as cool/dry as possible.

Cut the head off. Take off both front shoulders and hang them from branches or put them on top of a bush. Take off both hind quarters and hang them from branches or put them on top of a bush. Now you can slip logs, rock or thick branches under the rest of the carcass. Put one in the front part and one in the back part and it will have a few inches of clearance off the ground. You can do all this by yourself with just a knife in less than 30 minutes. Problem solved.

Amazing how many responses advise using trees when the OP's first sentence states he can't hang it from a tree.
Take out the most and the best meat first - hindquarter. If boulders or cliff edge are not available for hanging then that is probably pretty easy terrain. You are making one trip out anyway and another carry in dark seems reasonable in easy terrain. Even it you have nothing for around for support a ribcage provides support to keep meat from contacting the ground. Antlers are even better.

I grew up in CO and I have personally killed 25 elk and been in on the taking of more than 100 others. I have never seen an elk killed in an area where there wasn't at least some form of bush (including sagebrush) that can be used to get meat off the ground. Knock the shoulders and hams off and get them onto a bush. I even stated such on my post.

You need to backup a bit.

You should have a plan on how to get it out before you start hunting.

After you shoot it You need to sit on the rump and eat a sandwich. You will need it.

Then you start to break it down. Cool it off. Cover it up. Haul out what you can on the first trip.

Haven’t read through all the replies so I’m repeating a lot no doubt but..

Even if you have a tree it isn’t realistic to think you’re going to butcher an elk and hang it by yourself. Doing that solo sounds cool, but it ain’t happening..

Get the quarters cut off, skinned and off the ground, it doesn’t have to be hanging just make sure air can get all the way around it. The spoilage will come from the hips and neck area first,so get the quarters cut off and the hide and windpipe off the neck at minimum. Make sure you get to it first thing in the morning or the birds and bugs will be all over it. Pepper does help keep flies off, I think they even make some special concoction of pepper slurry you can carry in your pack.

As for coyotes or other predators getting to it that’s the chance we take sometimes, do the best you can it usually isn’t an issue.

If flies are to be a problem, take a 4 oz container of chili powder and sprinkle on the meat as you are skinning and quartering. It works a lot better than black pepper and it doesn't taint the meat . You usually take that silver skin off anyway.. I have killed a lot of elk where I had no trees to hang it from. A few shrubs to tie the legs off while working on it maybe.

It must be skinned and quartered immediately.

Laying it on the ground is not an option . The side on the ground will spoil over night.You have to find some rocks, shrubs,anything to get it off the ground and anything to cover over it to keep the sun off.

.You need to get the whole logistics figured out before you go hunting.Have you done this before?

To all the folks who actually read the OP, thank you for the helpful comments.

Ive carried elk quarters until 3 in the morning. I'd rather do that than go to bed worrying about my meat spoiling.

I am really curious as to why it is difficult for folks to comprehend this is is simply a question about if you don't have a tree to hang it in what do you all do. It's not about did the hunter pack it back to camp, did the hunter want to go to bed sooner or anything else.

It's simply what are the cooling alternatives if you can't hang it in a tree and you can't bone it out and put it on ice.

Thanks to all who suggested rocks, logs, etc.

I killed a bull elk about 4 miles from the truck back in 14 just before dark

Gutted and split it from the head to the butt and skinned it to the belly

Hauled out a load of meat then went back the next morning

If you kill one in the evening and you are driving it to town the next morning....you either packed all night or you shot it close to a road....not that there's anything wrong with either of those.

If there's no trees around, I'll lay them out on the top of sagebrush to cool. It's not ideal but it may be the only option, else you shouldn't be shooting them there. Put them in GOOD game bags and do what you have to do to get air around them. There's few places in the south Idaho desert that have no trees nearby that also have no roads nearby so the pack should be fairly short, especially if a wheeler is involved.

I used to think that putting quarters off the ground would allow the scent to carry further and thus have more issues with bears and such, but I am now not sure that's the case. You take your chances with predators finding your quarters regardless of whether they're hanging or not.

If you can quarter it you can hang it. Maybe not high enough to be bear-proof but you can hang it on the low branches of an evergreen in the shade, that's what I do. Break off or cut a lower branch so it's a stub about 2 feet long, tie a loop through the hock, lift up the quarter and hang the loop over the stub. Looks like a Christmas Tree decorated with meat.

Much depends on how soon you can get back in the morning. If it's at sunup, you can do about anything to get air around the meat. If it'll be later in the morning, you have to account for morning sun and heat. Sagebrush country can warm up very quickly once the sun comes up. 30 min after it comes up, you'll be down to shirt sleeves. If you can't get back until mid-morning, you need to figure out a way to shade the meat. Even cutting sagebrush and piling on it will help in that case. Using something like a poncho or tarp will help a lot but be sure you don't block the air flow. For sure you don't want it laying right on the meat. A silnylon tarp weighs next to nothing and is a good survival item to have in your pack anyway.

Good question, interesting answers. Some really good answers, some just make me smile (or shake my head. Some on here have no idea how big a elk or moose is, especially away form the road. You do what you can, as soon as you can to cool the meat. That varies by your situation. You need to have meat bags, rope and maybe a pulley available on site while your hunting. That means a pack. Old twin bed mattress covers are great or have them made out of bed sheets. They need to be big enough for a whole quarter. When the meat is down, you need to get it skinned, bagged, hung or propped up as best you can. This may not be as easy as it sounds. I have seen elk drop in a depression or against blow down where it was very difficult for one or two guys to get it turned around so you could even get at it. A head lamp of some kind is a good idea. As mentioned earlier in warm weather an all niter might be in order. Good friends, especially strong young ones with good pack boards are an asset. I never had many of those when I needed them. In warm weather time is not your friend. I am a geezer now but I still hunt elk. Usually only in cooler weather and near the road or on my own property. Any way you look at it its a lot of work.

Do not overlook the real possibility of bears taking over the meat cache. It happened last year NW of Yellowstone in the Wind River Range, WY.
Guide and hunter came back to the remaining elk not packed out the day before. Both were mauled.
Sow grizzly with yearling cub had claimed the meat. Once that happens, you may well have a fight
on your hands. The guide-outfitter was killed, leaving a family. FL hunter was badly torn up,
but got back on horseback. They had one pistol between them, not enough.
Either stay with a fire or make early arrangements. Everyone returning should at least have a handgun.

Ravens sitting in trees but not feeding are a sure sign of a bear at the kill.-Alaska or lower 48.

I was also thinking that some of these answers were from helpful pronghorn antelope or deer hunters.

Still, can't blame anybody for genuinely trying to help!

John

When hunting remotely, i have used citric acid spray for flies. I think it helps. If brush is available then multiple layers criss crossed for air flow with the meat on top. Some type of fly to keep shaded. If creek is available submerge in trash bags. Obviously meat pole, but often not possible if up high. Big thing is, don't shoot if you can't take care of it... probably all been said already

I believe that was SE of Yellowstone, somewhere near Doubois, WY (Not Doubois ID). I'm not sure it was the Winds either...Maybe the very, very north end of the Winds but it may have been more in the south end of the Absorkas or the very north end of the Gros Ventre. Not sure. It was a shïtty deal, wherever it was.

I have turned down several evening opportunities after I once nailed a fine buck at last light in Hells Canyon. Unzipped, gutted, peeled to the back bone, and elevated on gathered sage. No flashlight with travel on the ridge tops being OK, but working my way down the last half mile of a drainage to get to the boat was pure hell. A cake walk over the same ground the next morning, however.

I'm a lot older and little wiser now.

Gutless and get the meat away from the gut pile put quarters on bushes or brush and throw a tarp over it , come back early next morning and watch the birds if there on the meat. No bear on carcass. I try to get quarters as fas as I can away from the meat. Most critters will hit the guts first. And put meat in a visable place that you can glass first and not walk in blind. Prefer to shoot in early am when possible. Now its near a boat or rig or I dont shoot!

When it is late I will not do the gut less method, but will open up the moose from the pelvis to the rib cage and also several inches of the brisket and pull some of the guts out and put a stick in the brisket to keep it apart and promote air flow. I put loose brush on it and lay a tarp over the brush and it will let air circulate if the tarp is a few feet off of the ground. I then put up at a branch I have cut that is a couple inches around and tie a white plastic bag on it. If some thing bigger then birds comes in it will knock the stick and bag over alerting me when I return. I also hang a bright LED light up with the thought bears and wolves may be deterred by it and tell any guys with me feel free to get about 10 feet away from the critter and pee on the bushes when we leave.

Bears and their noses are legendary, but I don't believe a freshly killed moose is going to draw every bear with in miles in, the odor is not that strong, spoiled meat it is a different deal. Finding birds on your fresh kill in the morning mostly tells me no bears have claimed it as they usually won't tolerate birds in my experience.

In the last 55 years I have probably done this or a similar routine about a half a dozen times and on a cold crisp night I have done no more then opening the moose up to cool it down until I return in the morning. I also think a small bear fence would be a good idea. In all these years I have been fortunate and never had a bear bother my moose meat, but I know others that have. Once a bear "claims" a moose they don't want to share!

Alaska's bears definitely add to the excitement of hunting in Alaska, they define wilderness, especially the brown/grizzly bears.

Get it as far off the ground as possible, brush, logs, rocks, etc. Bag it and cover with a shade tarp. If there is cool water, put it in compactor bag and chuck In the water. I would think nights in ID would be enough to get meat headed down from 100° F.

Larry Bartlett has lots of videos on meat care, though all in Alaska.

https://youtu.be/oPCSv4CAwEg

Just do like the guys on ALL the TV hunting shows do.

Hunting in light clothing so you know it's warm, make a crappy shot (archery or gun), decide it's best to leave it til morning so as not to push it...leave it overnite then go back next day, find it, and declare it's ALL GOOD"

Correction, exception is Randy Newberg.

With an elk it’s not that big a deal to go gutless and break one down right quick. My uncle and I did 2 bulls last fall, we had both of them ready to pack in 35-45 minutes. If there’s no trees to hang quarters in I’d just find something to be able to prop them up to promote airflow and get the meat to forming a crust. Even if you need to use the lower legs as a prop surely you can Mcgiver something up.

A moose on the other hand is a little different. They’re About 3X the size of an elk from the areas I hunt and a bit more of a chore to break down even though they come apart the same way. The same solutions should work though once you have him apart.

Terrace mountain just out of Turpin meadows by Moran. The hunter was barely hurt.

I don't know how many times I've read that you need to get the meat at least 10' in the air and away from the tree trunk. Uh, yep. I'll get right on that.

Roll the guts, pull the hide try to get as much air circulation as possible... most importantly, get that fuuckin hide off... this is what I’ve read, never killed a elk... grin

Multiple times I've had to quarter the elk with the hide on, then lay the quarters out, hide side up, on sage brush. Hide up keeps the birds off but allows the meat to cool.. Cool temps at night (30's - low 40's) kept the meat fresh. Packed out the straps and fillets first evening, returned next morning with pack frame.

Another time we put the quarters in a snow drift, then hung them from trees the next morning. Around zero temps at night and 40's-during the day kept the meat good for the three days it took us to get the meat out. (2 cows and a bull). Packed the straps and fillets out the first evening, as usual.

Remember that an elk's hide will keep it alive at -40. It's great insulation. Years ago, before I learned better, I got an elk that I had to leave overnight as I needed help to get it out of an impossible position. I don't remember the temperature but there was snow on the ground. I got the quarters skinned but wasn't able to do the back and neck. The next morning, we got it moved to finish it. The neck meat was still warm in spite of the snow. Luckily it didn't spoil. Don't count on being that lucky.

Way back in the day my dad and his brothers didn’t skin a little bull that one of them killed. Not knowing any better they gutted him and cut him in half at the rear of the ribcage. The put one half at a time on a pole like you see old pictures of porters in India carrying a tiger and packed the two halves down the mountain and hung it on the meat pole with the deer. Couple days later the warden drove by and told them they better get that hide off or it was going to be ruined. Too late as they skinned it and it was already green and sour.

Same situation but worse back when they first started having elk season around here. Guys would shoot a bull and use the bale bed to load him on the flat deck whole but gutted and then haul him around half a day showing their buds. Temps usually in the 40s or 50s during season and deer are fine when handled this way though I don’t. Not so much with elk, it got to where some of the lockers wouldn’t take them as they had so many dudes who didn’t know better blame them for their elk being inedible.

I won’t leave one with the hide on.

I refuse to hunt in the afternoon/evening for just the above reasons. I feel that I owe it to the game animals. Mac

besides, it gets 'sleepy' out, after dinner.....

Your call but you're missing a lot of good hunting. It's no big deal to take one apart in the dark, all you need is a good headlamp. Haul what you can, take care of the rest and get it skinned and up off the ground, and it'll be nice and cool when you come back in the morning.

BTDT. Skin and hang the pieces (boned, quartered, whatever) in game bags; retrieve in the am. Pack what you can on the way out. It won't go bad.

Have done quite a few moose and elk, most of them solo, many of them in early season warm weather, and one bull in Idaho with no trees anywhere near, only sage brush and a steep rock rubble dry ravine, in HOT weather.

Lot of good advice already posted, mixed with some puzzling assumptions. Obviously get help, get horses etc. if you can but if you can't:

You CAN chunk an elk into pieces one man can handle, and do it by yourself. Unless you are on a windswept sand dune or sand beach, there is almost certainly something in nature to aid you in getting those chunks of meat off of the ground and cooling as much as possible.

Pieces of 15-20 lbs can usually lay on top of brush, mashing it down some but keeping it above dirt level and letting air circulate under the meat. If there are any poles even ¾ inch thick you can lay them across rocks, across down logs if there are any, even in the tops of sage and make a lattice platform to get meat off of the ground and let air circulate. Personally I don't mind leaves, wood splinters, pine needles or grass on meat but absolutely don't want a spec of mineral dirt.

I carry one or two plastic drop cloths in my day hunting pack for laying down to keep meat clean from dirt or laying over to keep rain etc. off. An opaque colored one kept meat in the shade one time.

Rather than a precise plan, think in terms of goals to get the meat cut into smaller pieces, which will cool better, and placed on whatever nature provides to get it at least an inch or two off of the ground for air circulation.

Re protecting the meat from coyotes and bears: pile some sticks or brush with tops together, pee on the tops and handle the dry end to place around the meat. It will keep most critters off of the meat for at least one night. I prefer to leapfrog heavy pack loads of meat in short relays so I never leave the meat unattended for long.

NEVER make a trip out to a vehicle empty (unless you have horses or a vehicle coming later to pick up the meat.) Carry out at least some meat EVERY trip, even if it is a leg or chunk thrown over shoulder if you don't have a pack of any kind, even on your first trip out to get a pack.

In that warm situation with meat down, work late and start early. I have slept out beside a dead critter so I could work on it late and start before daylight the next morning, and have hiked in way before daylight to start working on a critter in warm weather when time is critical.

You can do it. If not, as said, don't shoot it.

A dozen years ago, my partner and I had Idaho moose tags near Yellowstone. Opening weekend, it was 92F. We couldn't see any way that we could save the meat on a moose if we'd got one so we just went home. 10 days later, I got one in the same place in 10" of snow. As has been said, sometimes you're better off to not shoot it.

If you can get it to your pickup you are home free! Keep a few boards or poles in the back of the pickup for this kind of contingency. Use them to jury rig some way to get the meat off of the deck. Sleeping pads, pool noodles or scraps of carpet can keep the boards from scratching truck paint if you prop boards on truck parts. With no canopy, a few 2x4's laid across the pickup bed from side to side make a platform to lay meat on. The same works inside most canopies. I don't think it would hurt the meat if it lay on clean metal in the truck bed overnight. Fence posts and barbed wire fences will do to hang smaller chunks of meat off of the ground. My teenage grandson made a paracord clothesline and had chunks of his elk meat strung up on that, by himself, before the rest of us showed up to pack out meat.

elk in the bow season i have cooled the quarters down by putting quarters in a clean stream when possible but i do tie them down in the water too, i do take loins back to camp in my pack 1st with my gear then return for more meat.

Shot a cow last year, 15-20 minutes after sunset. By the time we got to her, it was nice and dark. Just quartered her out on the ground, I had quarter bags with, threw it in the side by side and headed in. It was pushing 9:30 by the time we got done and out. Left the quarters in the truck, propped up so air could move around them, and let the cool air do the rest. Tenderloins and backstrap went in the cooler. It was probably mid to low 30's overnight.

My buddy actually talked me into shooting it, as I didnt want to mess with it at night, but we got it done.

There were no trees big enough to hoist her up, hence the quarter job on the ground.

Here is how dark it was by the time we got to her, 300 yards away.

Elk kill two years ago - on a long steep side hill, no trees big enough to hold a quarter - so staying on the ground.

Tracked it until 30 minutes before dark, and second arrow to finish the hunt. Went to work for the next two hours gutting, staking the legs open, skinning down on each side as we could go - without rolling over.

Split the leg hide open, and propped the cavity open with green sticks - walked out to to camp in 60 degrees dropping to 45-50 over night.

Back in at daylight to pack out the quarters, no issues.

Where I hunt elk, it's pretty rare to be able to get your truck to the downed animal. So, I have to field dress, butcher and bag the animal and carry it out in pieces, on my back, using a backpack or packboard.

First you field dress it. Then, while laying on it's side you skin that part that is accessible. But keep the hide intact. That will help you later. Remove the feet at the wrists. Remove the tenderloins and the backstraps and put them in the the premium meat bag.

Remove the hind quarter and put it in a game bag. Remove the shoulder and put that in a bag.

Roll the meat off of the ribs and put that in a different bag along with all the meat that you can get off of the neck. This is the burger bag.

Remember you kept the hide intact. So lay out the hide so you can roll the animal over onto the stretched-out hide.

Repeat everything on this side that you did on the first side.

You should end up with six bags; two hind quarters, two shoulders, the premium meat bag, and the burger bag.

Let's say, for discussion sake, that you're not a taxidermist and you don't trust yourself to remove the cape from the head. The hide should still be intact. Cut the bottom half (ass end) off of the hide. Cut the head off at the neck while leaving the upper half of the hide attached. Roll the hide up and tie it around the antlers with a rope.

Put each load in your backpack and you should be able to carry the animal to the truck in four loads. Each hind quarter is a load and the shoulders are carried out as one load. The head and half of the hide is the fourth load. You carry out the meat bags in your hands while hawling out the quarters.

I've done this on most of the elk that I have shot and a few times I've done it at night using a headlamp. Hopefully you have some extra batteries for you headlamp.

Once you have it butchered and bagged, it's a lot easier to hang the pieces until you return in the morning. A few times the animal dropped where there are no trees to hang it so I've tried to get the pieces off of the ground by laying them on logs or rocks or anything to keep some space between the bags and the ground. In Alaska, we made a lattice of alder poles on which to lay the bags of caribou meat.

This works fine for a big elk and you can do it by yourself. Let's say you are so far away that it's unreasonable to make four long trips. Then you need to get some help from friends to make fewer trips.

If you've got a bull moose down, you will need more help.

KC, simple question: why gut teh animal? Everythign else you explain is gutless method, why take the time/mess to gut them? i haven't done an elk or anything bigger than deer, so honestly asking

If I put one down and am alone, I field dress it first. It is easier to roll it over and any other maneuvers I need to do while butchering it. If I have help, then we do the gutless method. I have never killed a moose but have killed quite a few elk and helped with twice as many more.

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Same answer that I would have given for elk.

But also I've just gotten use to gutting them right away. You never know what can happen.

I have helped with two moose. Both we tried to do gutless but even after removing half of the animal, three of us still couldn't roll them over until we field dressed them. The stomach alone is about the size of a washing machine and that's only a mild exaggeration.

So interestingly enough I was along for the taking of a Bull Moose in Idaho on Sunday.

Bull was dropped at about 7:00 pm. It was pitch dark by ~8:00. Even in the mountains of Idaho there were no suitable trees for hanging. All the trees in the area were either aspens or smaller spruce or pines and any branches high enough would likely not support a moose quarter. I had actually scouted the area early and looked for some trees near the pond we were going to sit on to no avail.

Now fortunately, the pick-up could be driven to the moose. Took me and another individual a bit over 3 hours to get it skinned, quartered, backstraps, tender loins, and neck meet removed and all bagged. id

So I took my folding atv ramps, laid them on edge, slightly spread open to make two "A"s and then used them to make a zig zag support structure across the pick-up bed and laid the meat bags across that support structure. Provided about 11 inches of air flow underneath and then I also had a small folding ladder with me and used that which provided about 8 inches of air flow space.

Night time temps dropped into the low 40s so the meat was just fine overnight.

Noice!!! Glad it turned out well, sounds like a blast.

Congratulations Mike on a great bull moose!

Dick

Thanks for the kind words...

Here is a pic

When we had an elk on the ground, sleep was not an option. The exception was when one of the guys in the bunch made a bad shot...tracking!

I once made a tripod (tipi like frame) out of 2 walking sticks and a shooting stick and paracord to hang mule deer quarters on to get them up off the ground..It was the kind of sticks you could extend to different heights...The quarters werent completely off the ground, but I put rocks under the bottom of them on the ground...i came back super early the next morning to retrieve the meat I left hanging with no issues...It was down in the 40s overnight...You could possibly do the same with elk quarters to leave overnight...Just need a way to get them propped up to get airflow around them...3 walking sticks of the same height would probably work better...

Any time we have shot one in a nasty place that close to dark we gut it, skin it and cut the back straps out, then lay the hide on the ground, put poles between the hide and the spine and run rope from the legs outstretched and staked in the ground opening the body cavity. There are times that the head has a rope on it stretched up the hill tied off to a tree or bush to keep it from rolling any further down the hill. Knock on wood in 52 years of killing elk I have not lost any meat yet.

That's what I did. On a big bull moose, skin the neck back too if possible. I didn't and the meat was a little greenish (and still warm) by morning, but still OK... just not as good as it could have been. Live and learn.

With more time before dark, I section it up and get the pieces up off the ground on deadfalls or a log rack, preferably at least 100 yards from the gut pile. Packing it out can wait for the next day.

And you want to come back to it hot chambered......

That's a fo' sho'. The thick hair on the neck is an excellent insulator, probably the best on the body. Even with a deer, you want to skin the neck if you have to leave it overnight.

A large framed, fat tired bike with racks/pannier bags has become quite handy for moving loads around for me. Lots of weight, walk the bike. For flat ground I may build a trailer or just look for one of those little toddler trailers at some point...
I keep a small painters drop sheet to roll animals on to, to protect from dirt. Immediately remove and bag all meat in quality game bags. I carry a couple large garbage bags in case of near by water, load the game bags in garbage bags and submerge. A small tarp is good for creating shade and can be propped up with your hiking poles. Make sure there’s excellent air flow. Use paracord to tie bone-in quarters, standing on end (bone) to your tripod. Bones and racks can be used to elevate meat. Have a good pack, head lamp (always!) with extra batteries and don’t be afraid to work all night. Carry all meat being left behind, well away from the carcass and leave in an open area that can be glassed before walking in. Leave a worn article of clothing tied to your game bags and piss around the area. Lightweight tent stakes could be carried to stake out and spread eagle an animal if you are going to leave it whole (hide removed, legs split away from body), just an idea, I’ve never tried it. Carry a couple coolers In the truck filled with ice and shove inside old worn out sleeping bags to help insulate, throw blankets/tarps, etc. on top as well.

i keep a large cotton sheet at the truck or in camp -it has came in handy a few times as shade or as an extra barrier to flies.

Here you go OP- Anything to get it off the ground and air around it for cooling/crusting after it is gutted/skinned. Use whatever is available as resource.

I have, pre or post kill, constructed hang poles or ground racks, hung it on tree branches, propped up on rocks or against tree trunks. One caribou that I had to leave for several days in hot weather, I dug a hole in a remnant snow bank, lined the bottom with brush branches, put the meat in, covered that with more brush, then garbage bags, then piled snow back on top. Kept perfectly, tho all the snow was off the top by the time I got back. No fly blow either.

A friend's wife killed a 38" ram in 70 degree weather several days before pickup. He hung the meat (well- put it out on rocks) overnight every night, then drowned it in the cool lake inside waterproof bags (garbage) during the days. That worked too.

I gotta say - packing meat after dark in brown bear country puckers me up something fierce. I've done it, but won't unless absolutely necessary, which it seldom is.

I'm kind of surprised that nobody has mentioned this (that I've seen yet at any rate), but after skinning it, open up the quarters and neck. Opening it up to the bone will make a huge difference and almost completely eliminate any chance of bone sour. On the rear quarters just follow the round, and on the fronts come in on the blade. Neck you have to cut meat but coming right down one side of the vertebrae will be enough. Doesn't take much air space to let that big bone cool, a small stick jammed in there will keep it open enough to let heat escape.

Good thought. It never crossed my mind. Should work if necessary. I've never had bone sour tho, and I prefer to keep the meat in as large as possible pieces until I get it home.

if I ever kill a moose in very warm weather, it's a thing to remember. Thanks.

Bad idea IMO&E...

Inviting bacteria into the bone is the last thing I would do.

No way am I hiking 2 or 3 miles back to the truck in the dark for a sheet. What does work in warm weather is a big piece of cheesecloth. It's very light weight to carry. The only catch is you need to use sticks or something to keep it off the meat as flies can lay eggs right through it. The hard part is finding cheesecloth wider than 36".