RE: Gutting Cow elk!
Spoilage is a big factor during the archery season. I have the fortunate experience of having a hunting partner who spent 30 years slaughtering cattle for Armour's. After butchering thousands of cattle he has tought me to bone very well. We can break down an elk in 1 1/2 hours. The plastic bags do have a spot in our elk camp. After the meat is boned and put into the game bags( all done on a tarp.) The meat is packed to the creek. Where we put the meat bags into the plactic bags and squeeze the air out. The bags are submerged under water( 45 degrees). This keeps the meat dry and cold and is almost like putting it in the fridge. This is the ONLY time that the meat goes into plastic. We killed two bulls last saturday and finally finished the cutting last night(weds) and didn't loose an ounce of meat. When the gutless method is used, how do you keep the guts from rolling out when the cap steaks, inside skirts and outside skirts are removed. Not to mention, it seems to me that they would be in the way of the mock tenders. Not trying to cut anyone down here, it just seems like the possibility of repturing the stomach would be very high in removing these. Also, the tenderloins have a head on them that reach under the pelvis. It seems to me like a person would loose the head of the tenderloin?