ELKampMaster

Different techniques for different hunters, seasons, styles and tastes..... no doubt about it.

In our case, we hunt in the early elk season at about 8500' ASL, we usually don' t have snow and it can be shirt sleeve temperatures by lunch. Our first goal is to get the hide off to start the cooling process, get the quarters and prime cuts bagged for dirt and insect protection and get them hanging in the shade of a nearby tree for temperature control and then get back to hunting. Packing them all out comes later.

We prefer a good rind on our meat, it tends to deter any maggots and it also creates a barrier to hair and dirt. Then at the butchering table, when it is all trimmed off all you have left is fresh, untouched gourmet elk meat -- no hair, no grass, no dirt. We find that when a quarter that comes to camp with the hide on it, in weather that is cool and clammy such that it doesn' t rind up, it is not all roses. When the quarter is skinned in camp prior to butchering, then the hair gets on the fresh meat and then we find ourselves at the cutting table spending our time picking it all out. Of course if the meat goes to a processor, then you know they won' t be spending any time picking out any of the hair.

More than one way to skin a cat (or elk), main thing is to have a plan (field dress and transport) in advance; HOWEVER,

IF you decide you want to try the Alaskan Method and don' t want to totally re-invent the wheel, then you may want to consider some of the notes/techniques above.

Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime,
EKM

jjt

ekm
i liked the slide show

however we have always refered to this as a poachers cut
(I like your termanology better)
it is quick and easy

(it can be done in about 10 minutes if you are experienced and leave the hide on the quarters)

and if you are taking the head you just continue up the back to the horns and leave all but the skull

elknut1

BJ

I should clarify a couple things. Here in Idaho where I live and hunt, the country is steep, heavily timbered, (where not burned) brushy with tons and tons of downfall.
Making it very tough to get critters such as horses and mules around in it.
Secondly, I stay away from nearly all trails, what few there are, trails are people magnets, most are not kept up, it would take you days to clear one just to go a short distance. Once you get an elk down it would take more time to cut trail than to haul it out on ones back if you were to use horses. I' m not complaining, I like it this way, it keeps most folks away, most aren' t willing to work to hard. This is why EKMs way works best for us. In the country you hunt it may be steep and rough, but it sounds like you have good access, that' s great, I' d use horses too under those circumstances. There' s room for both methods, depends on the country you hunt, and availability to stock. Have a great day! elknut1

ELKampMaster

Here is the dry cow I shot....

Before the Alaskan Quartering Job....




and here is the left overs of the same cow elk (head to the right)....




The large " lump" is the guts, still inside the rib cage. Anus, Rectum, and Urinary hassles are all still right there. Notice the grass around the kill, nice and clean, no " blood mud" to get into and no gut pile along with a gallon or two of blood to deal with.

Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime,
EKM

BeaverJack

Did you git the t-loins out? Mighty neat leavins for the coyotes. I hope they bring their table manners. Now let me see a picture of yer loads. What was the time for gettin' the critter quartered an' loaded?

ELKampMaster

BJ,
Tenderloins are out, although it is a learning experience and a tight little fit. I got a lot of pictures of the horse packing out the spike camp in one load, but I' ll have to dig around to see if there is any with a " meat" load. Large or small (but not huge - haven' t shot huge) , the elk goes out one to a horse (big horse).

This is the first year we used the Alaskan Method so we had to work down the learning curve.... I' d say an hour and a half (with help) on the first one and 45 minutes (with two hunters) on the last one. Like I said earlier, the elk meat usually hangs in the shade of a tree while we get back to hunting (first day is the best) so loading the load is a seperate trip, but really nothing to it I' d say upon arrival with out a big rack to deal with about 10-15 minutes gets it all loaded up and lash roped down (Bosco/Arizona Hitch).

Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime,
EKM

ELKampMaster

I had someone inquire about the Alaskan Method in an email and I said I would find it and bump it "to the top."

Note: Early in the thread there are websites you can go to to see the particulars of how to do it.

EKM

neweboarhunter

click on the link from EKM, then arranged photos, then Phoenix's Elk Wrasslin' Tips. [][] Make sure its dead LOL[&:]

DM

Alaska law requires you take all the meat from the outside and from inbetween the ribs too, also that "all the meat" is packed to camp BEFORE the horns are packed in!! Of course, you can pack the horns in with the last load of meat.

I always boned out the animials i shot, and that's because 99% of my hunts were by plane, and we needed to get things as light as possible. Seems there's NEVER enough runway in the bush!! On the water, or gravel bar, it's always a fight to get as much off the ground as possible.

When boneing an animial out, i cut the hide down the back, peeled it to the stomache, and took all the meat off as i went. When i wasn't useing a plane, i sometimes did it other ways, but i like boneing in the field.

Drilling Man

oldelkhunter

The Alaskan method works like a charm..did my last bull that way and I was amazed how fast it was done ...Added bonus is if you have to leave a quarter or 2 in the woods that night because you don't have a horse the smell is significantly reduced.