Looks like there's more than one way to skin a cat, er I mean an elk!

If you are packing out from "way back" in the woods and using a minimalist camp then perhaps leaving the meat in quarters with ribs attached is attractive - not to many messy loose pieces to contend with in addition to the rest of the camp to pack out.

On the other hand, some debone in the field for any number of reasons, say: bones = poor flavor, better cooling rate, or reducing weight for packing out. Part of the trade off is it is going to messier, course for a hard core elk hunter a little blood never hurt anyone and gutting them out isn't known for leaving hunters clothes and hands (and face) clean! Nylon/Condura panniers don't rot and they wash right out when its all over with a little "Wisk Treatment."

Most folks that debone their own meat probably also process it themselves rather than relying on a "in town" processor: going through 300 elk carcasses a day, wacking the bones with a power meat saw strewing marrow thru the meat, not worrying zip about silver skin or hair, and god only knows whose burger you're getting back (CWD yum yum).

Now last I checked, not counting the organs, the only meat in the "chest/gut compartment" that most folks are interested in is the little tenderloins in the back which the "no gutting" method retrieved. Rib and neck meat can be carved right off, bagged and thrown in the pannier with the rest, especially if its say a couple inches thick - great strip jerky meat or burger meat. Can't imagine there would be much left but a hide, pile of bones (including 4 cute little leg/hip and leg shoulder bones) and the guts!

Hopefully this dog isn't too old or set in his ways to learn and perfect a new trick. Since we already debone in the field and process meat in camp, I definitely will be trying this on my next elk down. No hacking the sternum, pelvis, neck, or backbone; almost sounds like a safety improvement.

One downside will be it does require a little math proficiency. If you haul out whole quarters, then balancing the panniers is practically automatic as long as you put a hind quarter on each side or a front quarter on each side (from the same animal). When you have all the parts deboned and hanging/laying out in various game bags it does require using a small scale or doing some careful lifting to get the load even - not rocket science though.

Advantage being that by deboning, not only is the meat better (in my humble opinion), but by using a draft horse we can get it out in one trip per elk (except maybe a monster bull - not common) which gets it all cooling down in our in camp freezer a lot faster since we aren't making another trip back in for the other half - important in early season. Don't own a whole string of horses!

Anyone with thoughts about this method of field dressing, or deboning, or processing in camp just jump right in.

EKM

Good judgement comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!