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

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.