After it's down questions...Elk
 

Hoping someone can guide me in the right direction here.

This is my first year hunting Elk and have been able to find most of the information I am looking for...

After it's down,
Do I cut the neck and point the body downhill to drain blood? Or does standard gutting/quartering negate this?

Is there a standard way to lash the quarter to your pack?

Do I remove the head at the top of the neck or at the shoulders?

Thank you for your help/wisdom in advance.

Tim

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

gut it, no reason to drain the blood! Hind 1/4's are easy to tie onto a good pack that has a shelf for the 1/4's to sit on. We use bungee cords. The front 1/4's can be done this way too, and you'll be better off with a pack with a bag for all the loose meat. You will have 4 good loads of meat and antlers. Buy some quality game bags to put it all in at the kill sight. If there's two of you, completely 1/4 the elk and hang the two bags that you won't take with you on the first trip in a near by tree so the meat can be cooling while you're packing out the first 2 bags.
Only reason to the remove the head is if you're doing a shoulder mount. If so, cut it off as near to the skull as you can and cape accordingly, otherwise, leave the head at the kill sight and take all the neck meat off right where it lays. As far as proof of sex, the tits or testis will need to be attached to the hind 1/4's, hence, no need for the head unless you're doing a shoulder mount.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Thanks, appreciate it!

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

the only bones i would pack is the horns, the rest i wouldleave at kill site. i wouldn't even gut it!

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Good game bags, sharp knife withsharpener and a saw or hatchetare a must and I found a quarter in each one to be about as much as I wanted to pack out uphill.I put the backstraps and Tl's in with the front quarters since they were a tad lighter. Watch out when gutting because one little slip with the knife and it will blow all over you. It is no deer and the pressure is amazing. Some people do it the gutless method but I found that I was comfortable gutting, skinning, quartering and packing them out on a pack frame.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

I quarter. I've only been on one place where i felt I might bone it out.

Don't forget to split the pelvis and the brisket all the way up to the jaw. Skin it and put the quarters in game bags.

I usually take the horns out first so I can find a good route out without a heavy load, then I bring all the meat out.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Tim the thing that ruins meat is bone heat.....If you want the head for a mount then cut around the shoulders and cut the front legs around the knees like socks. then run your blade down the back side of each leg untill you get to the arm pit, then on its back cut a straight line along the back bone untill you get to the back of the skull. leave some neck meat on so your taxidermist can measure the neck for your form. You can cut the quarters in 4 strikes and remove all the meat off and leave the bones, stick a rock in its mouth to open it so that way the taxidermist can cut along the lips. He'll love you for it. I quarter it, debone it take the back straps and tenderloins and kick the cage. Point the rump down hill and remember to tie off both back legs to two trees, and spread him wide. If you need more help feel free to call on me. Good luck
Brett

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

I don't gut an elk if I can help it. I skin it and bone it out on the spot and pack it out boned out. I can walk you through real easy how to do that with an elk if you would like.

Lay Elk on side and cut the hide from the meat out straight up the backbone from the anus to however far up the neck you want the meat. Then cut across the neck towards the brisket down the brisket, across the stomach towards the anus in a straight line. Once you get the hide all cut in half then make a down the back of the rear leg to the knee, cut around the knee. Cut from the spine across the front shoulder down to the front knee and around the front knee. Then skin the hide off the elk leaving it laying on its side, lay the hide out like a blanket, skinside up, hair to groundand start the deboning process. From the rear leg I just cut between the muscle groups to the bone and then roll the whole leg meat off the femur like a giant roast. Lay meat on hide and then do the same with the front leg. Then remove front leg bone by cutting away shoulder blade. Cut off backstrap and any additional cuts of meat you may want from the ribs. Make a small incision near the backbone between the last rib and the back hip to get to tenderloin inside the rib cage if you want that. Roll animal over repeat skinning process and deboning process on that side. When you are done meat is all laid out so it can cool evenly, and you can load up packs as necessary to remove meat.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

See where I hunt by the time I get to the animal and get it gutted and skinned, I'd rather not sit around for 3 hours in the darkcutting steaks off and throwing them in the bag. I like to cut it into four pieces and get out so I can hang it in my friends walk in cooler. Not stick around so it can get hotter, dirtier, darker etc.

There is a time and place to bone out I just don't think it's for everyone all the time.

To each his own though.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

The thing about what I am saying Brutal is that I can have half of the elk already boned by the time you are done guttingand skinning it and the other half done shortly after you would be done getting it all cut up.

I am not saying that any one way is better then another. I just don't see the point of gutting an animal to turn around and cut it up when you could just cut it up without gutting it.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Not only that but there are some spots were you better bone in out or your in for one hell of a pack. Unless you like crawling on your knees with a 125-150 quarter on your back. Its all about the terrain your in and the temp on the hillside, I carry a thermostat on my pack. Biggest thing bone hit ruins your meat.
Brett

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Bonesour is a huge issue with Elk and I know of several people a year that I hear about their elk having it when they get to the locker plant.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

I seen elk go bad even with a 13 pack horse outfit I guided for a few years and even with radios and horses, If its not off the bone you chance losing meat.
Brett

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

It took mea little overan hour to gut, skin and quarter mine last year. Mine was a mature cow so I didn't need to take time to deal with the head. I would bone if the distance was excessive. I estimated my quarters were between 75 and100 pounds which wasmanaged with a good pack frame.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

You saved me a ton of typing here waterproof. If I want to have it mountedalso I will cape out the head and cut the horns out. The skull stays. I used to gut it but figured it was a waste of time and I could be far into boning the elk out by the time i gutted it. By not taking out the guts, it saved me time and also reduced the chances of bacteria on my knife. If I am by myself with no help, I can usually have the job done in about an hour and a half. At the end of august or early september, it is still pretty warm and it is good to pop the seams on the meat and get the temperature down. We do everything on foot and it is nice not to carry any more weight than you have to.

We have been known to stray far from camp which is already in the middle of east Jesus. Everyone carries 1-2 game bags and knives in their day pack. When a bull goes down, we take pictures and start boning on the spot without having to make a trip back and forth to camp to get our packs. The meat goes into the sacks and the topof the sack gets tied to a bottom corner of the sack. We can then drape the sack over our body and take off walking. Getting the elk out is a one trip deal with 3 guys. We load the meat on our frames at camp and go the rest of the way.

By boning the elk, It saves me from having to pack anything but a couple of knives and one small saw for the horns only. If I didn't know how to cape the head, I could still pop the head off at the atlas axis joint. It is at the base of the skull and is much like the ball socket on the leg only it goes one direction. Out of the 20+ bulls we have pulled out ofour drainage, not one has spoiled. If the temperature is too hot for the meat to make the trip, we have been known to utilize the creek and bring the meat out in the wee hours of the morning. Thats what I love about elk hunting, there is no watch, no timeclock, you do what you have to, when you have to. There is plenty of time for rest when you get done.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

I kill elk for a living and granted most of those are front country kills. I hunt the roughest country Idaho has to offer and in all the packs I've had both horse and foot I've never had an elk go bad just quartering.

If it's 80 degrees and you have an all day pack I'd probably bone it out but usually that time of year I'm doing front country stuff so it's not a big deal.

I don't even know any one that bones out unless it's a horrible situation and never heard of them losing meat either. Cept the ribcage which we usually kick.

Not calling anyone a liar or anything. To each his own, just giving my experience which in my opinion is pretty extensive.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Brutal,

With a little practice you can bone the meat on the carcass in less time than you can gut and quarter. You're not cutting steaks on the mountain, you're removing large portions of meat from the bone to be cut into steaks later.Even if meat spoilage wasn't an issue, which I believe it is, and even if the pack is realitively short I prefer to pack as little weight as possible. I see no reason to carry the bones. So unless you can drive a pickup to your elk and hoist it in the back I will bone per the instructions already mentioned. that is provided that the laws allow it. I know that in some states that you must have proof of sex still attached to the carcass.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

No need for the self promotion. You can give your opinion same as the next guy. I think most on here are fimiliar with your "background" with out you reminding us.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

You do have ot have sex attatched here but you could still leave the pecker and or testicles attached even if you did have to bone it out. You could just leave it dangling by a peice of connective tissue if you had to. I personally don't worry about it as likely all you'll ever get is a warning unless they have collaborative evidence to suggest you were poaching a bull etc.

I'm all for boning out given a grim situation meat wise. However, if the weather is cool and I can get it out in quarters without killing myself than I'm for doing that. I've packed out my share even in some questionable temps and as long as you don't dally and you get the hide off it it'll usually be just fine.

I like to hang it in quarters because there is less surface area and i like to get a glaze on it ASAP. Since my buddy has a walk in cooler I'd much rather have quarters for processing than a big bag of bloddy meat.

It's a personally preferance and nothing wrong with boning and I'll do it when I have to.

I don't however think you should just automatically bone every time you get an elk down.

if you're having problems with bone sour, it's not a result of quartering, it's a result of not getting it cooled in time, in my opinion.

Whatever gets me to the cooler fastest is what I'm after and from what I've done and seen boning isn't faster for me. If I can get as fast as you guys then maybe it will be better.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Like most anything it boils down to personal preference (as you said). I bone and package my own meat so it doesn't bother me to carry out boned meat. It is nice to let meat hang for a day though if the weather permits. If I had access to a meat locker like you my priorities might change as well. Given my circumstances its nice to have the meat boned because if the weather is warm the only way I have to cool the meat is in a refrigerator or cooler and ice.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

You didn't say where you will be hunting but Colorado has a 4 point minimum on one side and you WILL need to pack out the antlers with the meat to be legal until you get either home or where the animal will be processed.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

BigBulls another thing they can do if they don't want to take the antlers home is to have it verified by a DOW officer. They fill out a form that they have and you no longer need the antlers as verification. That doesn't help with them not having to pack them out of the woods though.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Wow,
I didn't know I would raise such a spirited debate. I appreciate the heads up and how-to's. Hunting in Utah, General Bull hunt. Likely to hunt East Canyon if anyone is familiar. Closest access point is roughly 12 miles up Parley's Canyon directly from Salt Lake City. Very steep climbs involved, and will be doing everything on foot. Might be on my own, might have buddy with me.

Believe Utah requires proof of sex but can't remember if antlers are acceptable or if I have to have testes, have to recheck proclamation.

Won't mount head in all likelihood unless I have record breaker (I wish) Was wondering how the neck and neck meat come into quartering and packing.

You guys have raised a very valid point with the boning. If the weather is anything like it was last year I don't think the temp will go above 55 F on the day.

So much to remember and learn....
"The work starts after it's down" is definitely right!!!

Going scouting this weekend, see if I can get some pics.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

To bone or not to bone, that is the question!!!

Never even really thought about it, people had told me that leaving bone in actually helps it cool faster, rather than letting one big pile of steaming meat in your bag fester.

I like doing things without gutting though, seems like it would make life a little easier.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

All good points here and all will work, each situation will dictate what you do to get your elk out. You are doing well by getting a game plan ahead of time. The ones that don't can face disaster.

For me, I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't bone the meat. I also use the controversial creek method at times if need be. With 5 miles to cover on foot, one needs to find the easiest most effective ways to put meat in the freezer. Not to mention the 2 hour ride to the nearest ice.

Things would be different if I had mules or was able to make a quick quarter jobs and get out, but time is usually not on my side and my feet are all I have.

I haven't seen an answer yet on here that I didn't agree with. Kudos to you and good luck on your hunt, I spotted my bull last week ;0)

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

In my opinion anyone that pulls the "I do this for a living and so know it all" trump card loses even more credibility in my mind. Especially when no one was even saying you didn't know it. Just disagreeing with your opinion.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

in my opinion anyone that claims boning every elk out is the only way to go is not only narrow minded but also obviously incapable of getting it cooled off fast enough without having to semi-process it at the kill site.

So go head and shove your bloody bags o' meat in the fridge and I'll go head and carve nice fat roasts and steaks off my intact, unbloodied, cleanand perfectly aged quarters.

yep, which is why i rarely post on this site anymore. My opinons and/or expertise obviously aren't needed. You keyboard cowboys got it covered for the most part. I never claimed to "know it all". Thank God you got it all covered with your hillbilly wisdom. I'll just stop wastin my time..again.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Way to be BA I never once said that is was the ONLY WAY TO GO. However you can take your "I'm taking my toys and going to play in my sandbox" mentality. No one caused you to get your panties in a wad and if you get that butt hurt over what's been posted here in this thread I can't imagine how you can actually handle afrustrated client.

I have little use for ANY self proclaimed expert on any site and you sir are obviously trying to be one here with your statement.

Trying to push your opinion off as the only way to do something and when people have some debate with you stomp your feet and act like a school girl.

From the movie Tombstone "Well BYE!"

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Waterproof, don't worry about BrutalAttack she takes everything way to serious, and she's the best at everything. If you don't believe me just ask her!:) :)

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

This was a little informative in the respect of how things are done differently by a variety of hunters, In ontario for moose proof of sex has to stay attached to the quarter that the tag is on.

In quebec the whole moose has to brought out to be verified only thing not required is the head, cut out antlers and leave the head,

I guess thats why we use a lot of atvs to do our work for us.

Any way was good reading

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Wow, I apparently brought out a sore subject. My apologies. I think everyone brought some great advice, some of it preference and some of it situational. I can definitely see both sides of the boning story here and think time of day, temperature and distance to camp/game processor will play big roles.

To wrap up, I have been trying to go elk hunting for 2 years now and have had issues come up both years (new house, baby)but this year I am finally going.

Thanks again to everyone for helping me on this. I would like to leave it at that so that I don't cause anymore arguments.

Hopefully will have some good scenery/elk pics by Sunday night. Not sure iftheywill be put in this thread or a new one.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Hey Tbrunson, don't worry about a little arguing when brutalattack is posting, it happens almost everytime she post. A good little debate makes it more interesting! Welcome to the board and good luck with your hunt!:)

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Ladies and Gentlemen, everone has made a point on how they hunt on there hill side. Brutal, Im curious about what part of Idaho do you Hunt and who do you guide for? Im from North Idaho, And I have guided for different outfitters, just curious to your background cause Ive never heard of your background. Dont take offense to it just inform me please.
HERE IS THE EQUATION : HIDE + BONE= MEAT LOSS
TIME+BONE= MEAT LOSS
NO BONE + TIME= QUICK PACK
BRETT.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

He claims to be a lot of things. Lets see, he claimed to be a wildlife biologist/ wolf expert during the wolf debate. Also, claims to work for the Game & fish department as an elk exterminator(my term not his).For the life of me I cant comprehend why the G&Fwould want or need to kill as many elk as he claims to shoot but oh well. I'm not disputing any of his claims I simply will state that they have never been confirmed.

I really don't even mind him most of the time. Oh, we've butted heads a time or two (especially over the wolf debate), but it seems that his attitude rubs quite a few people the wrong way. He's definately a "my way or the Highway" sort of fellow. Alas, as they say, it takes all kinds.

Back to the subject: If it is possible to cool the meat quickly and you don't mind the weight there is nothing wrong with leaving the meat on the bone. You can make nicer cuts or better yet have a butcher package it for you. In my circumstances I've never killed an elk in a place that was easily accessable and I didn't have use of a walk in cooler. Under those conditions I feel that the only choice I have is to bone the meat, keeping it as clean and blood free as possible. Placing boned meat in game bags and hanging them in a shady spot until I get it all packed out.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

So far the only animal that I de-boned at the kill sight was my Yukon moose, and even at that, it still took 9 packs to get him to a pick up point.
To me, it's easier to simply strap the hind 1/4's and front shoulder on packs with the bones, and easy to hang them. Loose meat in one back, front shoulders in one bag, and each hind 1/4 in a bag each. 4 packs, and if antlers/cape are involved, they get strapped on with the loose meat pack since it's usually the least heavy out of the 4. We've never lost any meat doing it this way, including the elk in archery season.

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

I see, well opinions are like a-holes everone has one, as far as backing up your stuff I see your point, thats why I have my photos up for display at photobucket.com under bsurplus2003. If he chooses to have a bad attitude then no one will respond to his comments, thats just how people are, Ive never really talked to the guy so I have no hard feelings towards him. But you do have to back up your stuff, I agree
Brett

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

bsurplus2003,
Looked at the photos on photobucket.com-great pics.

Not sure what to say about Harry the Hampster!

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

Harry is another game animal....................lol its just plane funny.
Brett

RE: After it's down questions...Elk
 

I was lucky enough to come up on a father and son hunting when I killed my elk. We hiked 3 miles up together, gained about 2500 ft of elevation and when we crested the top it was a shooting gallery. My first elk I ever got. Bad news is the guys son was 10 and we had 3 huge elk on the ground. The good news is, this guy was a pro and showed me a way to bone the elk out without even gutting it. It is very simple, just stay clear of the belly and your good. Cut off the quarters at the joints and follow the muscle patterns when making your cuts. Unfortunitly where I hunt (Colorado)there is a problem with chronic waste, so that is going to cost you about 50lbs of useless head weight to carry, so the less the better. I had to make 3 trips up and down the mountain, and we still had to come back the next day. This ain't texas or Nebraska, you cant drive up and throw it on the tailgate. Everyone is tough until they feel what a 120 lb. pack feels like at 10,000ft. Don't be that guy. Good luck.