Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Hatchet for hunting

'shooter, it's NEVER a good idea to bang two hardened striking tools together, no matter how much more 'accurate' it is.....

I only quarter 'meat' elk with a hatchet, caped trophies get the injun quarter method. There are still a bunch of commercial meat cutters that prefer to bandsaw-cut elk, rather than dealing with trying to sort out bags of boned stuff. The way I do it is fast, clean and efficient. Start with yer elk on its back, circle/skin the spuzz spot/pecker down betwitx the 'nads. Lay one nut each way, to save as proof-o'-sex. Cows go the same, leaving a tit either side. Split the skin all the way to the chin.Cut down to the sternum right in the middle, leaving a 'chop-line' to follow. Cut thru the meat, to the center of the pelvis the same. Now, take yer handy hatchet and split the top of the pelvis bone. This will allow the hips to 'fall' away and open the channel. Run your knife up the center, careful not to hit guts,all the way to the 'fan' at the bottom of the sternum. Split the center of the cartilage fan with your knife. This leaves a little 'V' shaped aimpoint for the hatchet, to then chop it open, right up that cut-line you made.. Cut thru the neck meat, from the sternum to chin, exposing the windpipe. Trim around it at the base of the jaw, cut thru so's ya can grab it. Get aholt and pull, freeing with the knife as needed, all the way to the diaphram. Cut thru diaphram close to ribs, and yank the guts the resta the way out. Trim around the azzhole to free the pile, and drag the whole deal outta the way. Now's the time to get the heart and liver, if you're into that kinda thing.Lay 'em on the paunch to keep 'em clean till you're ready to pack up. Next, knock out the ivory/bugle teeth, and remove the head, pocket the teeth. If you want the skull plate, chop it off now. Toss the head back outta the way, next to the gutpile. It's 'Chop Time' now...

Straddle the critter, and work from back to front. Pull hind legs forward, chop off the tail and start whacking. Get thru the pelvis, and one or two whacks per vertebrae will halve lengthways. It goes a bit haywire, and you get off-line a bit, until you get some practice in. Keep pulling the hind legs forward, and cutting the back-hide to open up the workspace, as you go. It really helps to keep the carcass as vertical as possible, to keep the chopline straight and clean. When you reach the camel-hump/withers it gets a bit tricky, but don't give up now. Few more whacks,and hide cutting, and then 'halve' part, is done. Next post will finish up. Gotta rest my typing finger, as it's easier to actually do the critter, than type it out HOW to do it.....

Alright. Let's say you and a pard rode in without packhorses for this hunt, and whomped a couple bulls. We now have 2 split halves almost ready to pack out, and another gutted bull up the hill aways. Remove the lower legs and toss 'em to the gutpile. Poke a hole thru the tendon void on the hind, and thru the leg on the front. Clove hitch a 2-3 foot piece of rope thru this hole, centered, to each leg. Cows and spikes will need a hole cut thru the hide 4-6 inches long, lengthways outside of, but centered between the second and third ribs from the rear. Raghorns need the horn cut centered on the third/fourth ribs. Big ol' slab-sided bulls are heavier in the front end, and need this cut between fourth/fifth ribs to keep the weight balanced on the saddle. This cut will be dropped over the saddlehorn when ya load a half per horse. Tie the legs snug to the cinch rings on both sides, with the attached ropes, and you're ready to lead the now-loaded ponies back to the trailer. Heart and liver in the saddlebags. Then, ride back in and do it all again....... This is by far, the best way to pack meat on a stock saddle, without panniers. Low, snug and perfectly balanced. If the country (or horses) are rough enough, tie the saddle strings over the top, cross-ways before the packout.

Once back to the truck, we decided to take a packsaddle back in for the second bull, to make getting the horns out easier. This'un we halved crossways, and quartered the fronts. The quarters and heads, went on the packhorse the unsplit hinds went on the stock saddle.

Here's a pic of a skull that was hatcheted, instead of sawn.....





Once home, it was covered with leather and screwed to a board....

Nice tutorial, thanks!

Thanks Huntsman 22,

Very interesting and informative.

Yes... I learned quite a bit from that explanation. Thanks for sharing.

Damn pard, I hope ya covered it pretty tight or scraped 'er off a bit... [grins]

Scraped 'er off?.....

nah, me mighty hunter. scraping is squaw work. Don't have a squaw, so I just let it dry out, all by it's very-own-self, and slathered it with pl-400 construction adhesive, pressed the leather into it, tuck-'n-wrapped it around the back and called it good...

Laughin' left the winders open fer the first week 'er two and everything worked out fine...

Nice bull btw

Huntsman, thanks for the flashback. My 1st elkhunt was a horseback hunt w/ my dad, uncles, brother and a cousin. My dad and uncles grew up on a ranch on Pike's Peak. I was with my dad when he got a decent bull and he processed and loaded the horses the same way as I recall. I was 8 years old and thought the whole deal was the coolest most "western" thing I ever saw. I managed to cut myself twice and was covered w/ elk blood. I had my Davy Crockett coon skin cap and a k-bar knife and knew I was now a mountain man.

Thanks again, mike r

Couple of mine

Rick, I'm kinda surprised a man of your talents don't build your own 'improved' ones....

Can't improve the best.

even by letting carnivorous porkypines gnaw on the handles?...grin

I love the jiggin' you put on those handles. Makin' a great product better.
Wildlife Hatchet and Small Forest Axe...?

I think the leetle one is a mini.

I don't think they make the small one anymore?? It will be put to use in the next few days on a mule deer.

So is it a mini or wildlife? OAL?

The little one is what's in my truck. My big axe is a Sears that I bought after a Hurricane. It was all I could find. I have had very little use for the axe, Chainsaw covers most of that ground. But the hatchet has been used a lot and I have to keep and eye on it when I am out and about. Some of my so called pards would make off with it, if I weren't vigilant.