how not to gut an elk.

i was just telling my girlfriend on the way home how to gut deer because i was telling her about the butt-out tool someone had mentioned a few days ago and i thought she would think it was funny haha, anyways, i get home and this is on. After she asked why they use the tool and i explained it to her i said if you use too big of a knife and don't know what you are doing you can puncture the... [insert video here] haha.
 
I have little/no skinning knowledge but I must admit that video discourages me. When I skin something I hope to have an experienced person at my side. Still sick and funny though.
 
just don't be stupid and try to gut an animal on a slope like that.

especially with it butt downhill and starting from the butt. that's just begging for a face full of stinky rumen juice.
 
LOL what a dumb arse. He needs to learn how to butcher the animal without gutting. Moose, elk, deer, are easily butchered with out gutting.
 
dd61999 said:
Someone explained this to me, but I am a visual person are there any video's on this technique
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you'd basically take the back legs and rump along with the forelegs and shoulders.

in other words, all the meat you can slice off the beast without needing to dress it. have a hunt around on YouTube. i'm sure there's something up there showing what i mean.

personally, i just dress the beast. the 10' length of 1/2" kevlar line in my hunting pack serves to hang it up by it's hocks for clean dressing.
 
:barf::barf::barf:

Johnny Warner said:
LOL what a dumb arse. He needs to learn how to butcher the animal without gutting. Moose, elk, deer, are easily butchered with out gutting.
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Absolutely. :thumbup:
However, I usually field dress deer and pigs to make the trip out easier. Is it common practice to butcher an Elk on site? What do you do, quarter it and hump it out?
 
hehe, i've known pig doggers to leave a pig they've chased down hogtied live in a field or hung up by the back legs (still alive) in a tree until they can go and collect it with an accredited Game Meat vehicle (eg: they call up a mate who's a pro roo shooter to come and get their pigs then split the proceeds) so they can sell their pigs at the boxes.

i think it's currently at ~AUD$0.80/kg for pigs between 35kg (minimum weight at most 'roo boxes) and 99kg and ~AUD$1/kg over 100kg.

in any case, why dress that damn elk on that slope? there seems to be plenty of trees not far off, just hoist it up and have a nice clean run at it.

or, like has been suggested, carve off the back legs and rump to carry out, leave the rest as carrion fodder.
 
I like to gut on a slope. Its really easy to gut without a mess on a slope. The guts just slide right out as long as you do it right. Obviously he did not have that skill.
 
the idea of butchering without gutting seems interesting. however, with the guts still in, would that not hold the heat in the meat as well? from what are family has learned along the years, bleeding out the animal and cooling the meat off as fast as possible are a couple of ways to have very tasty meat, moose and elk(only harvested 3 so far) seeming to benifit the most. anyone with experience with elk, always looking for better ways.
 
Position the animal such that it is laying on its side, with the legs sticking out. Start an incision at the base of the skull or base of the tail. Run that incision up or down the back, under the skin, to the opposite end (head to tail, or tail to head). Make an other incision down the back of the rear legs. You now have access to remove the back strap and hind quarter. At the other end, follow the incision around to the base of the head, then down the brisket to the front of the foreleg. You now have access to remove the neck meat and the foreleg. Now that you have removed both legs on one side and the back strap/neck meat on that side, find the rear-most rib on that side. Make an incision at the top of that rib and follow the backbone to the base of the tail. From here you have access to the tenderloin. Because of the position of the animal on it's side, the guts will settled a bit out of the way of your knife blade. You can foster this settling by tipping the carcass up into a bit of a more erect (not laying on its side so much) posture. Once all of the meat you want is removed from this side, flip the animal over onto its other side and repeat the procedure. If you want a shoulder mount, don't make any incisions beyond about the midpoint of the back. With this method you neither have to gut the animal nor hang the animal for quartering.

Quarters can then be left to hang in game bags.

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"Is it common practice to butcher an Elk on site? What do you do, quarter it and hump it out?"

For some yes and others no. For me, it was a 10 mile hike (w/o horses) from the kill to the truck. So, for me, yes to both questions.

Exposing more surface area of the meat to cool temperatures will increase the rate of cooling. Quartering the animal immediately will decrease the cooling time as you have increased the exposed surface area by removing the skin (insulation) and exposing the surfaces that are bone and muscle junctions while the animal is alive. It will also increase the rate of bleed-out for obvious reasons (more vessels cut).
 
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If he would have started at the base of the ribs and worked his way towards the butt, it would have ended up much cleaner(and less entertaining) when they are on a hill like that, their guts slide to the lowest part and leave a pocket under the highest part(where the ribs meet )
 
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