Big job if you have never done it. Ever butcher other stuff on your own? Deer, sheep, hogs? If not, a beef you paid quite a bit of money for is not the place to start. Handling, hoisting, gutting and skinning a 1000+ pound dead critter is not a job for beginners.
Additionally, beef really ought to hang in pretty specific conditions for a couple weeks to get the best results. Unless you have a walk in cooler, that is hard to do.
Once all the other ducks are in a row, you have to know the cuts and how to make them when you start breaking the beef down. That is no small skill.
There is a ton of work and knowledge that lands a ribeye on your grill. There are good reasons why butchers exist, and farmers and ranchers prefer to use them. I have butchered beef for the family in the past, largely because we did not have the money to pay a processor. All of us worked it, and we got it done. Since it was an old cow, we made most into burger, which negated needing to know the cuts. Still, it was a ton of work, and only worth it because we had mouths to feed and little money. A fella used to USDA Choice beef might be less than thrilled with the results of his own butchering, if he is new to the game.
Big job if you have never done it. Ever butcher other stuff on your own? Deer, sheep, hogs? If not, a beef you paid quite a bit of money for is not the place to start. Handling, hoisting, gutting and skinning a 1000+ pound dead critter is not a job for beginners.
Additionally, beef really ought to hang in pretty specific conditions for a couple weeks to get the best results. Unless you have a walk in cooler, that is hard to do.
Once all the other ducks are in a row, you have to know the cuts and how to make them when you start breaking the beef down. That is no small skill.
There is a ton of work and knowledge that lands a ribeye on your grill. There are good reasons why butchers exist, and farmers and ranchers prefer to use them. I have butchered beef for the family in the past, largely because we did not have the money to pay a processor. All of us worked it, and we got it done. Since it was an old cow, we made most into burger, which negated needing to know the cuts. Still, it was a ton of work, and only worth it because we had mouths to feed and little money. A fella used to USDA Choice beef might be less than thrilled with the results of his own butchering, if he is new to the game.
Big job if you have never done it. Ever butcher other stuff on your own? Deer, sheep, hogs? If not, a beef you paid quite a bit of money for is not the place to start. Handling, hoisting, gutting and skinning a 1000+ pound dead critter is not a job for beginners.
Additionally, beef really ought to hang in pretty specific conditions for a couple weeks to get the best results. Unless you have a walk in cooler, that is hard to do.
Once all the other ducks are in a row, you have to know the cuts and how to make them when you start breaking the beef down. That is no small skill.
There is a ton of work and knowledge that lands a ribeye on your grill. There are good reasons why butchers exist, and farmers and ranchers prefer to use them. I have butchered beef for the family in the past, largely because we did not have the money to pay a processor. All of us worked it, and we got it done. Since it was an old cow, we made most into burger, which negated needing to know the cuts. Still, it was a ton of work, and only worth it because we had mouths to feed and little money. A fella used to USDA Choice beef might be less than thrilled with the results of his own butchering, if he is new to the game.
I agree with most here, it's a big job, and you need a lot of equipment.
All you really need for tools are a few knives, a grinder and a proper place to hang.
I completely de-bone all moose and beef to fully boneless meat and go from there. The hard part is knowing how to break down beef into the proper muscle groups. If it's not done right you will end up putting a lot of good steak muscle into burger or stew meat.
There are some very vids on youtube that would be of great help to get one started. I'd watch as many as possible to learn.
Here's what I use along with a cutting block on my tailgate and a grinder. A block and tackle in the garage does the lifting off the truck.
This falls into the realm of, "If you have to ask..."
If you just want to do boneless cuts, there are only a few knives you need. The big problem you run into, as others have said, is in handling and in having a place to hang it (and store it when you're done cutting." Also, are you equipped and knowledgable enough to wrap it properly so you don't lose a bunch to freezer burn?
Just like this would be a bad time to decide to get into reloading, it's a bad time to decide to go the "..buy an Angus cross from a local and do my own..." route. I know that, up home, the custom butchers are booked many months ahead. Your best bet, if you're bound and determined to DIY, is to find a friend who is a real meat cutter and talk it over with him. If it still sounds reasonable, have him help you get set up and hold your hand through the whole process. (And give him something besides hamburger and flank steak for helping out.)
A good butcher makes it look easy. It is not! We’ve not butchered a cow, but several folks always showed up and worked their azzes off putting up hogs. For me, a deer takes an entire weekend. No way I’d tackle a cow by myself.
I agree with most here, it's a big job, and you need a lot of equipment.
All you really need for tools are a few knives, a grinder and a proper place to hang.
I completely de-bone all moose and beef to fully boneless meat and go from there. The hard part is knowing how to break down beef into the proper muscle groups. If it's not done right you will end up putting a lot of good steak muscle into burger or stew meat.
There are some very vids on youtube that would be of great help to get one started. I'd watch as many as possible to learn.
Here's what I use along with a cutting block on my tailgate and a grinder. A block and tackle in the garage does the lifting off the truck.
That Dexter boning knife in the photo is about the most useful knife for many tasks. Both the 6" and 8" models are invaluable. Those carbon steel models are easy to sharpen and hold an edge very well.
We have a walk in cooler, and like to hang beef, 10 days to 2 weeks, until we get some mold going on the fat, we butcher a lot of game animals every year, so 1 or 2 more critters , ain't much more work. Rio7
Brother in law had a bull come up lame, but only part of the time. Instead of sending through the sale ring, we turned it into hamburger. 5 of us that were pretty handy with knives, all experienced putting up multiple deer/antelope/elk/hogs a year, started in on that thing. Had 2 3/4 ho grinders and a 1 HP grinder going.
The lesson learned, an Angus bull is a whole different animal than a deer or elk. And that was just turning into burger. Everything is simply bigger. And harder to handle.
Is it doable? Sure. But you better be set up for it.
Big job if you have never done it. Ever butcher other stuff on your own? Deer, sheep, hogs? If not, a beef you paid quite a bit of money for is not the place to start. Handling, hoisting, gutting and skinning a 1000+ pound dead critter is not a job for beginners.
Additionally, beef really ought to hang in pretty specific conditions for a couple weeks to get the best results. Unless you have a walk in cooler, that is hard to do.
Once all the other ducks are in a row, you have to know the cuts and how to make them when you start breaking the beef down. That is no small skill.
There is a ton of work and knowledge that lands a ribeye on your grill. There are good reasons why butchers exist, and farmers and ranchers prefer to use them. I have butchered beef for the family in the past, largely because we did not have the money to pay a processor. All of us worked it, and we got it done. Since it was an old cow, we made most into burger, which negated needing to know the cuts. Still, it was a ton of work, and only worth it because we had mouths to feed and little money. A fella used to USDA Choice beef might be less than thrilled with the results of his own butchering, if he is new to the game.
This...👆
completely concur......also the U-tube posted earlier is a darn good assist.
I'd find a local pro who will take a bit extra to show you the ropes before I'd jump in.
I've cut up a ton of primals cuts into roasts, steaks , and grind trim. That isn't near the challenge of dealing with a 3/4 ton of dead schit laying on the ground.
If I was going try, I'd have a way to hoist several cuts off the ground and keep them hung and cool. One or two hooks isn't going to do it. Plan on four quarters, a place to hang them cold and clean, and a few big tubs for miscellaneous trim and guts.
Speaking of guts.....a 1500 pound steer has a lot of them. Plus skin, head, feet, etc..... It ain't a deer or even an elk.
I want to cut my own one of these years but it definitely takes some planning.
Thanks gents. Good stuff as always and I do appreciate it. I've done elk, deer, pigs, lambs, bears, antelope etc. and I enjoy the process. Have access to a very large walk in cooler to hang. Have the knives and saws, etc.. I'll watch the linked YouTube video, thanks for that. Sam I appreciate your input, having been there/done that. Dan
You don't have to butcher a 3 year old 800 lb steer on your first try, just saying and around here the end of October will be as cold as it needs to be, we've been killing and cutting them as long as I remember and it ain't all that hard, don't be skeared and just do it !
For 50 bucks and the hide most places will kill it and split it for you, you can do the rest .
We lived near a dairy for a while growing up. Every once in a while a moble butcher truck would show up and take care of some old Holstein that was having problems or something. The guy would kill it on the spot, hoist it up on a hoist sticking out of the back of the truck, gut it, skin it, quarter it, and then haul the quarters to a cooler somewhere.
Lots of good advice on this thread. When we were kids we always had cattle for the milk (my older brothers milked them every day twice a day), and for the beef. Everyone pitched in to help with the butchering and it was a chore even with a bunch of us helping... If you haven't done one before, ask someone to help you figure it out while you do the work so you learn it well or there will be a lot of lost money on the deal. And when you get to figuring out how much your price on the hoof ends up costing you once it is packaged and in the freezer, it may or may not seem like as good a deal as you originally thought...
As important as the butchering is knowing how a cow is finished off before butchering time. How much grain and how long was it finished with? What were the conditions while it was being finished? Was it led up to the slaughter and killed quickly or chased around the field all day to try to corral it? It may seem silly to some who have been around cattle all their lives, but a lot of guys don't realize how much this stuff affects the taste of the meat.... finishing is a skill, butchering is a skill but also just plain hard work if you haven't done it before...
That Dexter boning knife in the photo is about the most useful knife for many tasks. Both the 6" and 8" models are invaluable. Those carbon steel models are easy to sharpen and hold an edge very well.
That Dexter is a very good knife and all that one would need for boning, but the Chicago Cutlery boner laying inside above the saw blade is the one I use the most. I used a knife like that for 24yr doing commercial work. The blades are stiff and replaceable. The Dexter came to me as found in the local refinery where I now work. It was covering in rust and in hard shape. The insulators there used them for cutting hard piping insulation and left it behind in the weather. They are not expensive, but as you mention a very good knife for it's intended task.
Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
Lets see, you have a Worksharp knife sharpener with several spare belts, a battery Sawzall, several cordless powered knives....
I have used a Worksharp for years, but don't own one. The meat saw in the pic will do everything I need breaking down moose, but a good recip saw is a good choice for splitting backbones. I leave back intact and just bone the muscle from both sides. Not sure I've ever seen a cordless knife other than the one my grandfather used to carb the roast beast.
This young bull came home with me from Newfoundland last fall completely boneless except the side ribs. It is the finest eating moose we've ever had.
Raised my own beef for the last 12 years. I buy 3-4 in early May and butcher them in early November. I always send them to be processed. 3 years ago, against my better judgment I took an 800 pound steer that was especially wild. Usually if you lock them up in the stall for a week and feed them grain they will settle down and start to feel at home. This one decided he was never going to stay and broke out and ran for the hills. Long story short he caught a bullet between the eyes. I had to butcher it on my own because of the circumstances. He was only 800 pounds( usually more like 1200 when they go) and I have processed all my big game since I was a kid and I still don’t think I want to tackle that again. Used a tractor to hang it, knives and sawzall to cut it and I have my own grinder. If you’re used to cutting up meat( I usually do at least 5 or six deer a year) it’s something I wouldn’t be afraid to try but it’s still a pain in the but because of the size of the animal. Heck the hide is tough to deal with. I did it on my own but if you had a couple extra guys helping it wouldn’t be too bad. Watch a YouTube video or two and get out your 22mag. Those guts are fun to deal with too!!
I have done a few,but would not attempt without help . I have a tractor to hang them, access to a cooler,grinder,knives,meat band saw. No though, I have rancher friend that has complete set up including a tenderizer and grinder with a 6" throat.
Was it led up to the slaughter and killed quickly or chased around the field all day to try to corral it?.
Put me in mind of a episode years ago… neighbor asked if I wanted to come down Saturday morning and help kill a steer. Sure, why not? Well, the steer in question was still on pasture and a bit of a wild one. The plan was for us to go out with an 8N and a wood wagon, his oldest boy would put it down with his .30-30, we’d hoist it with the tractor’s front loader, gut it, put it in the wagon and take it back to the house to cut up. As it turns out, the boy with the .30-30 was no marksman. The first attempt, at about 50 yards ended up with a solid gut shot and it was off to the races. The steer sustained a couple more bad hits before the old man took the rifle away from the kid and put the poor steer down with a head shot. Fast forward, they gave me a couple packages of steaks. They weren’t very good, but I had about a dozen running hounds at the time…
No one mentioned doing it the Indian way? The men would kill the buffalo. Then the women would move in for the butchering while the men partied. There's lots to be said about the old ways.
You don't have to butcher a 3 year old 800 lb steer on your first try,, we've been killing and cutting them as long as I remember.
sounds like you have some real experience cutting up miniature cattle...... Hereabouts, a yearling will weigh from 900 to 1200. No need to wait 3 frigging years for them to get to 800.......
I live on a farm that used to be a dairy. Several years ago had to take care of a 4 year old holstein who got injured. It was very warm, I killed her standing , only way a butcher will take em around here! I used the skidsteer to field dress her and quarter her. Nephew was a rookie, so not much help! Taking care of that cow about killed me ! Without a walk in , I would not even attempt it again and I ain't no slouch when it comes to such things!
A tractor with a front end loader is a big help to get it up and well bled out. Getting the thing cold real fast is important considering it's July and packaging it to prevent freezer burn is a big concern if you are not into meat packing. You are going to be a while eating a whole beef. We have a freezer full of vacuum sealed pasture beef right now. Even after sharing it with our 3 kids it is going to be a while. Grass fed ain't corn fed but it'll do.
I have helped on a few over my life time. One thing not mentioned is a sturdy table at a proper height. I am taller than average and a short work surface is a back killer. Throwing a beef rump on a folding table isn’t ideal. Growing up my dad built a meat saw table out of drill stem and steel plate. It was a solid table but his 5ft 6 versus my brothers 6ft 4 created grumbles. The Table saw was handy but not often used except on Tbones and ribs.
Beer is also helpful, all my friends like beer, they are much more inclined to help ifn you have beer.
That Dexter boning knife in the photo is about the most useful knife for many tasks. Both the 6" and 8" models are invaluable. Those carbon steel models are easy to sharpen and hold an edge very well.
That Dexter is a very good knife and all that one would need for boning, but the Chicago Cutlery boner laying inside above the saw blade is the one I use the most. I used a knife like that for 24yr doing commercial work. The blades are stiff and replaceable. The Dexter came to me as found in the local refinery where I now work. It was covering in rust and in hard shape. The insulators there used them for cutting hard piping insulation and left it behind in the weather. They are not expensive, but as you mention a very good knife for it's intended task.
Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
Lets see, you have a Worksharp knife sharpener with several spare belts, a battery Sawzall, several cordless powered knives....
I have used a Worksharp for years, but don't own one. The meat saw in the pic will do everything I need breaking down moose, but a good recip saw is a good choice for splitting backbones. I leave back intact and just bone the muscle from both sides. Not sure I've ever seen a cordless knife other than the one my grandfather used to carb the roast beast.
This young bull came home with me from Newfoundland last fall completely boneless except the side ribs. It is the finest eating moose we've ever had.
In the early to mid eighties we used to buy those Dexter's by the case from a local supplier. That was the go-to knife of every commercial fisherman. Nowadays, we see the plastic handled stainless version mostly. I never cared for that model as it took a bit longer to sharpen properly and speed was everything when cutting fish for hours at a time.
We used to raise beef and hog along with my Great Aunt who owned the farm.
We also "crop damaged" a lot of deer. (Don't ask, but deer were on the table in 4 or 5 homes) So cutting up animals wasn't unfamiliar.
Even so, we didn't have a band saw or big grinders.
On hogs, we would do around 6 in a day. Group of family would show up, bacons and hams set aside for curing, sausage made, puddin and scrapple made. Lard was done the next day.
Cows were shot, stuck, gutted and skinned, split, layed in the back of a pickup. Just doing that took a big dang chunk of the day if we had 3. And we had a tractor with a good loader
(Check your loader first. There are a lot that don't go high enough to get a big steer off the ground. Check lift capacity too. If it's a "play farmer" tractor, it may not lift 1500#. Especially 10' high, plus.
You need at least 10' of lift , consider, the length of the hanging apparatus between the lift and the hocks, + the legs are a couple feet higher than the body, + the body, + the neck and head.)
Anyway, the carcasses were hauled to the butcher. Sometimes one at a time if it happened to be warm.
When money was tight, we just paid to let it hang, and be cut/ground. Mom would go pick up a half, and start working on it while we were in school or work. We would work (3-4 of us) for quite a few hours trimming and wrapping. 2 big freezers would be used, trim kept in the fridge/ and being canned as fast as 2 water bath canners could go. Freezers did their thing, Mom rotated the meat to allow it all to freeze.
(Meat stacked thick in a freezer can spoil before it freezes. It will take a day or two to get a bunch froze. If you rotate)
A day or two later, we would repeat.
As others have said, you need, Lift capacity, A cold place.
An unheated building can suffice if it's cold enough. There are custom butchers here who got by on a block building for years. Actually heating them a little to keep from freezing. Our winters are too warm now. You can't expect a few weeks of cold weather.
Ive cut and wrapped an easy 50 elk and exactly one bovine.
Isn't anything that cant be done. Hell, it was done for centuries without power. Do not ignore the hanging conditions posts. You can reduce your bulk by grinding whatever you intend to make burger in advance.....then get it frozen and youll be able to stagger your frozen burger packs into the pile of unfrozen meat to help get the freeze to set faster.
A couple of GOOD knives, a steel and a saw is all you need to do the work.....but all a carpenter needs is a hammer, brace and hand saw, if you get the drift.
I used to work in a slaughter house in Sulphur LA. I have thought about this a bunch since meat prices went up. 2 main things you need is a hoist and craddle to lay him in - feet up. and of course all those knifes and saws in that pic above, a sawsall would be good too, clean area to work, tubs for tripe and a way to get ride of the blood, a place to empty the tripe also
When I need to butcher I start by shooting, most times 22 hornet and sometimes just 22lr, slice throat and bleed them out. I use to always hang to do the skinning and split the chest but now I just roll them onto their back and skin about 90%, hide will still be attached to the spine, cut deep into the butthole and pull it out far enough to tie it off with some small rope so it don't leak then push it back in. Remove feet and split the chest then hang and slice up through being careful not to slice into the gut. Quarter it leaving 1 rib bone on the hind quarters. I've never processed the cuts before, just take to butcher for that.
The mobile slaughter guys we pay are pretty badazz. It's super cheap, too. Maybe $75 or $100 a head?
They show up in a reefer truck with a winch and hoist mounted on the back corner. Pop the cow in the head, Put the cable around the back legs and as 1 guy operates the winch the other guy is making cuts the whole time.
It might take 15 or 20 minutes, max, and 4 clean quarters are hanging in the truck, the hide and guts are in a 55gal poly drum, and they are on the next animal or pulling out on their way to drop your beef at the butcher of your choice. They make it look easy.
If I had a big cooler to hang them I may have them drop it at home one of these years.
The mobile slaughter guys we pay are pretty badazz. It's super cheap, too. Maybe $75 or $100 a head?
They show up in a reefer truck with a winch and hoist mounted on the back corner. Pop the cow in the head, Put the cable around the back legs and as 1 guy operates the winch the other guy is making cuts the whole time.
It might take 15 or 20 minutes, max, and 4 clean quarters are hanging in the truck, the hide and guts are in a 55gal poly drum, and they are on the next animal or pulling out on their way to drop your beef at the butcher of your choice. They make it look easy.
If I had a big cooler to hang them I may have them drop it at home one of these years.
I’ve done over 20 moose, on kill site, most of them solo, about half in excess of 1,000 lbs, none with the benefit of even a come-along.
The most memorable was the 54”” 1300-1400 lb bull that went straight down with shot placement just under his antler base, not quite wedged between two 3’ high hummocks, with his legs folded underneath.
I was alone, but fortunately only a half mile from the float plane lake. I just started at the top and worked my way down. 4 hours later the meat was bagged and cooling on a deadfall 100 yards away.
I have butchered about 90 whitetail deer, and at least 2 dozen wild hogs. In Georgia, you can't take a wild hog to the butcher. It is fun but it is a lot of work.
I did spend the summer with big game guides in British Columbia. Up there, they quarter an 800 pound moose with a chain saw.
I have butchered about 90 whitetail deer, and at least 2 dozen wild hogs. In Georgia, you can't take a wild hog to the butcher. It is fun but it is a lot of work.
I did spend the summer with big game guides in British Columbia. Up there, they quarter an 800 pound moose with a chain saw.
I have used a chain saw to cut up downer calves for my running hounds, but I wouldn't for table beef. I don't care much for the bar and chain lube on/in the meat and cut/splintered bones just don't appeal to me either. I don't know a lot of people who've used a chain saw on beef or hogs (for family consumption) that have done it more than once.
I’ve butchered one beef . It was Pushing 900 pounds. We used a medium size tractor to raise the beef up just like butchering s deer . It was two men working and about 10 hour day . We ground a lot of it and just did our best in cutting up everything else . It’s hard work plus you need to know what you’re doing sorta lol . You get the back strap just like a deer .
My step grandfather owned a farm and had 7 sons, so butchering a beef was a group effort and they could take care of it no problem. One by one they came of age and left home. After that my grandma said they always had a butcher come and paid him to take care of it. Back then on a farm, young boys started helping with butchering at around 9 or 10 years of age.
August 10 2021 marks my 43rd year as a butcher, and I've been a hunter for longer than that. I retired from full time work a few years ago, but still cut meat a few days a week for rathole money. Most of today's supermarket meatcutters really don't know how to break down animals or even where primal cuts of meat are located on the animal, all of the beef comes pre broken in primal cuts in boxes, been that way for a long time. Most of you avid hunters know more about processing carcasses than grocery store "butchers" do. I worked for a small company that brought in hanging beef for 30 years, I was friends with the owner who was an avid hunter. He used to let me hang my deer, elk, hogs, etc in the company cooler and process them after hours right there in the meat shop...that was a real sweet perk as it made things so easy with professional grade grinders, tenderizers and such. I've often been asked for tips on meat processing. It takes a number of years of doing it before you get fully comfortable with your work. To simplify the entire process into the fewest number of words, you need to separate the muscle groups using the natural seams and then cut it across the grain. Breaking it down while hanging is how we did it for years. In this youtube video the guy does it horizontally on a butcher block, so the perspective is a little different, but the video is pretty good.
I'd find a local pro who will take a bit extra to show you the ropes before I'd jump in.
I've cut up a ton of primals cuts into roasts, steaks , and grind trim. That isn't near the challenge of dealing with a 3/4 ton of dead schit laying on the ground.
If I was going try, I'd have a way to hoist several cuts off the ground and keep them hung and cool. One or two hooks isn't going to do it. Plan on four quarters, a place to hang them cold and clean, and a few big tubs for miscellaneous trim and guts.
Speaking of guts.....a 1500 pound steer has a lot of them. Plus skin, head, feet, etc..... It ain't a deer or even an elk.
I want to cut my own one of these years but it definitely takes some planning.
The head can go in a pit in the ground and make excellent cabeza tacos!
I have butchered about 90 whitetail deer, and at least 2 dozen wild hogs. In Georgia, you can't take a wild hog to the butcher. It is fun but it is a lot of work.
I did spend the summer with big game guides in British Columbia. Up there, they quarter an 800 pound moose with a chain saw.
I have used a chain saw to cut up downer calves for my running hounds, but I wouldn't for table beef. I don't care much for the bar and chain lube on/in the meat and cut/splintered bones just don't appeal to me either. I don't know a lot of people who've used a chain saw on beef or hogs (for family consumption) that have done it more than once.
Most of the guides I've talked to who cut up their moose with a chainsaw told me they put canola oil or cooking oil in the lubing chamber so the meat wouldn't get contaminated with bar oil... when he did mine and my son's it sure looked like cooking oil to me... we had to be quick also with the moose as there was a resident grizzly around this area we hunted who considered a rifle shot as a dinner bell. All three of us pitched in and had those moose on the ATV's and heading for camp in about 20 minutes each- skinned, quartered , bagged.....
I have done at home, a long time ago, but would not do it at all now. This is due to my advanced age and health conditions. Always did it in the fall/winter, when it could hang outside. As a fresh High school graduate, I worked for my cousin, that was my parents age, at a meat locker/custom butcher plant, so I already knew how it was done. We tried to cut and wrap 4, and then go kill 4 to put back in the cooler every day. He and I did the cutting and killing, and His wife did the wrapping and answered the phone and such. After I had been there a while it took us around 15 minutes from the time a beef was shot until we had it in the truck, headed to the cooler. That was head skinned and cut off, legs up to the knees skinned and cut off, and gutted. It would hang in the cooler for a few days with the skin on, and then be skinned, and let hand for another period of time. This was decided by the beefs owner. Some wanted a longer hang time than others. Biggest we ever went out and got was a Santa Gertrudis bull that belonged to Winthrop Rockefeller. Somehow the ranch hands managed a dead bull getting it ready for a show. The dressed quarters weighted 1250 pounds. We had to skin it in the field as we could not pick it up with our block and tackle. We did that 5 days a week and then killed hogs on Saturday. miles
Most of the guides I've talked to who cut up their moose with a chainsaw told me they put canola oil or cooking oil in the lubing chamber so the meat wouldn't get contaminated with bar oil...
^^ Right ^^ ..... And the saw was used for doing moose/beef only from new.
I would think that one of todays small electric saws would be almost perfect for cutting up a moose or elk, a couple extra batteries, light weight and clean.
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