???

BJ,
I know you know what you' re doing; however, I think you must be doing a little " speed reading" here. This isn' t deboning (although that could be a further option) this is quartering. Granted, these quarters are going to look a little different than yours (with all the ribs and rib flesh attached).

The quarters " peel off" (leg bones and all) and weigh the same unless you choose to wildly cut them differently to make them weigh different. Backstraps and tenderloins get their own game bag and ride in the center with the head or if its a small elk, then throw one strap in with the game bag with each shoulder and one tenderloin in the game bag with each hind quarter. Don' t even need a scale.

When we pack them out the leg bones (and the cordage we used to tie them in a tree) are sticking out the top of the panniers; we tie them across the top of the saddle to help secure the load. Deboning is okay (even mandatory) if you are going to carry it out on your back, but I like " bones in" for use on horses. Like your stock, our horses don' t seem to know whether they are carrying bones out or not.


FYI, for everyone,

Sorry, we pass on the rib meat -- period. After processing our own meat and sorting through a 10 pound piece to get 10 ounces of suitable trimmed up meat after 15 minutes of trimming, it is with no apology that we have written off the rib meat -- of course the commercial processor will throw all that, ahem, " stuff" into the hamburger grind, LOL. My wife (our camp chef) is the " quality control" inspector and that meat just doesn' t make the grade. We gave it a go again this year and trimmed a bunch of it off of my large dry cow -- none of it more than 5/8" thick -- and once it hit the butchering table, we all looked at it and took a vote and it hit the trash, not even satisfactory burger. I know -- waste not want not -- ethics etc -- but that is where we draw the line.

EKM