Cutting leg “in half” for bone-in pack out…????

[Panhandler80]

Hunting a bone-in Alaska unit. I’ve read in a few places where folks talk about cutting rear leg “in half.” What exactly are they talking about? Just removing the shanks off each leg? I guess that would lower CG significantly on front quarter and save some weight on fronts and rears.

1. This legal in bone in unit?

2. Is the CG improvement and/or weight savings worth it?

I’ve been walking 3..6 miles most days for a couple months in boots over soft beach sand and some muck. Very little elevation change. Anyway, the most I’ve packed has been 65 pounds. I don’t think training with any more than that would be wise. Eberlestock F1 frame. Using dumbbells and clothes in pack. 65 lbs of lead on flat ground ain’t gonna be NOTHING like 120# leg over moose terrain. Granted it won’t be a 3.6 mile hike, but I’m
Getting pretty worried about pack out.

 

[Nick Muche]

You worry to much! Quarter it out, throw one on the frame pack and start hoofin... With any luck, you'll get to do that for a day or two. Not sure if you can cut them in half or not, but it wouldn't be worth the risk to me if checked.

 

[Panhandler80]

You worry to much! Quarter it out, throw one on the frame pack and start hoofin... With any luck, you'll get to do that for a day or two. Not sure if you can cut them in half or not, but it wouldn't be worth the risk to me if checked.

Hell…. Why not just throw two on the pack!

;-)

 

[AKDoc]

I've never cut a quarter in half...I've just humped them to the meat pole.

That said, I've always been very mindful about where I'll shoot and not shoot a moose, e.g., distance from camp/pick-up point, never when it's standing in water, etc. I also started bringing a roll-up sled with me about a half-dozen years ago on moose hunts. The tundra terrain where I moose hunt lends itself pretty well to using the sled, and it's waaaay easier at my age...I'll be 70 in a couple of months and I'm still out there doing it...just much slower LOL!

 

[Panhandler80]

I've never cut a quarter in half...I've just humped them to the meat pole.

That said, I've always been very mindful about where I'll shoot and not shoot a moose, e.g., distance from camp/pick-up point, never when it's standing in water, etc. I also started bringing a roll-up sled with me about a half-dozen years ago on moose hunts. The tundra terrain where I moose hunt lends itself pretty well to using the sled, and it's waaaay easier at my age...I'll be 70 in a couple of months and I'm still out there doing it...just much slower LOL!

Yeah. I’m having a hard time picturing them “in-half” route doing a whole lot of good.

Have any info on the sled?

 

[AKDoc]

I'm sure there are a variety of options out there, just keep in mind the size of those moose quarters!

For several years I used the one below. I always brought a different pull rope with me. It did the job OK, not perfect, but it worked:

https://www.amazon.com/DEER-SLEIGHR-Magnum-Game-Sled/dp/B001CJI7XA/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoaiA8L-t-QIVMAutBh1eug57EAMYAiAAEgIzP_D_BwE&hvadid=313679014795&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9033846&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=264710070693468152&hvtargid=kwd-577954425038&hydadcr=9713_9896884&keywords=deer+sleigh%27r+magnum+game+sled&qid=1659626914&sr=8-1

Last year my wife bought me the Cadillac roll-up sled, and it is perfect, but it's much heavier and quite expensive. I used it last year to haul two bulls, and it will be going with me back out there next month. I'll be passing this sled down to my kids, who are also active Alaska hunters...it is very well designed and made, and it will last much longer than me!

Airframes Alaska Is Now Alaska Gear Company

 

[Nick Muche]

Try picking up a moose quarter that's been cut in half... Much easier with the leg attached.

 

[KJH]

I don't know if tis legal, but I'd call the wildlife trooper office in your GMU and ask them. If its legal, I'd ask for it in writing.

I have an experience in a bone-in unit that would keep me from splitting a quarter under any circumstances. A AK wildlife trooper landed at our camp unexpectedly. Until this point I have been checked dozens of times and never had a bad experience or even semi-bad experience with a wildlife trooper. We were tagged out (3 animals) and had been weathered in for 5 days, so his arrival was a real shock. After he checked our licenses, he wanted to see our meat cache. We showed it to him and he made us take every bit of meat out of the bags and lay them out on tarps. He said we were missing ONE rib! It was true, I discarded one rib that was shattered with the shot and was nasty and coagulated. It was totally unusable. We got a lecture about how we broke the law and everything needed to be on the bone and all bones. He argued that it was useable. I showed him dozens of pictures of the kill site and the carcasses.

He said we did an amazing job of animal care in the field and it was some of the best he ever saw... but we broke the law by discarding one shattered rib. We argued about it for a while. My point was that it wasn't "useable". After a couple hours of talking he wanted the grid coordinates of the kill sites and said he would fly over it and would come back once he laid eyes on it. I don't know what you could see from the air after bears helped themselves to the carcasses. He never came back to the camp. When he left he made a snide comment to the affect of needing revenue from tickets to pay for gas... It was very disheartening and left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

If I were you, I would pack out everything that can be attached to bone intact... Just my thoughts based on one bad experience.

 

[alaska80]

Hunting a bone-in Alaska unit. I’ve read in a few places where folks talk about cutting rear leg “in half.” What exactly are they talking about? Just removing the shanks off each leg? I guess that would lower CG significantly on front quarter and save some weight on fronts and rears.

1. This legal in bone in unit?

2. Is the CG improvement and/or weight savings worth it?

I’ve been walking 3..6 miles most days for a couple months in boots over soft beach sand and some muck. Very little elevation change. Anyway, the most I’ve packed has been 65 pounds. I don’t think training with any more than that would be wise. Eberlestock F1 frame. Using dumbbells and clothes in pack. 65 lbs of lead on flat ground ain’t gonna be NOTHING like 120# leg over moose terrain. Granted it won’t be a 3.6 mile hike, but I’m
Getting pretty worried about pack out.

I have packed a lot of moose over a lot of miles, still have not figured out it makes more sense to shoot them by the river than 1-3 miles off river.

Anyway, cutting the quarters in half is legal (assuming you are cutting the bone in half), but not smart. Depending on the time of year it will make meat care exponentially harder.

I would not worry about the pack out. You do not have to regularly pack 150# to be able to pack 150# in the field. The risk of sustaining that level of training intensity is not worth it as your risk for injury increases exponentially. If you get injured before you hunt then there will be no packing. Training with 65# is more than sufficient to be able to carry 150# when it's time.

I do train heavy for short timeframes to get my body somewhat adapted to large loads. This method here is the best I have found. It is a form of HICT (High Intensity Continuous Training) and will serve you well.

The Best Step-ups You’re not Doing Pt I, By Todd Bumgardner - Journal of Mountain Hunting

After perusing hunting prep programs and talking to hunters from around the country about how they train in the offseason, I’ve found that there’s one commonly misused tool—the box step-up. ...

beyondthekill.net

 

[Nick Muche]

You do not have to retain inedible meat, such as blood shot and a broken/shattered to pieces rib. That trooper was on a power trip, which is why you did not get a citation.

From page 22 of the AK Hunting Regulations

"You are not required to salvage the meat of the head, guts, bones, sinew, and meat left on the bones after close trimming, or meat that has been damaged and made inedible by the bullet or arrow. These portions of the animal may be left in the field because they are not included in the definition of edible meat that must be salvaged."

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/web/nocache/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/general.pdfA7BA0E7E332E9FA97E5182D79CF67218/general.pdf

 

[Mykolaivka887]

You worry to much! Quarter it out, throw one on the frame pack and start hoofin... With any luck, you'll get to do that for a day or two. Not sure if you can cut them in half or not, but it wouldn't be worth the risk to me if checked.

This ^^^

 

[mooster]

I actually called this week about the same. Last year we split the ribs in half to make the portage easier. Still two pieces per side per game bag but easier on the back since not so wide.

When we got to AK fur tannery he told us we were illegal and suggested he should refuse to store our bags for AK trophy express truck and call the trooper instead. I argued all meat was on bone, just two bones we’re split but all bones and meat in one game bag per side. He didn’t seem happy but didn’t call law and didn’t take our meat off the truck.

Anyway yesterday, Fairbanks office phone personnel told me that we could cut up ribs or quarters so long as the meat remained on the bone. They understood some of us old guys needed to reduce pack dimensions or weight and still respect the law.

 

[cnelk]

Meat can be in 1/4s or 1/8s as long as the meat stays on the bone

Don’t worry you young pups, Father Time will catch up with you too. And you’ll reduce pack weight whenever you can

 

[kwackkillncrew]

Meat can be in 1/4s or 1/8s as long as the meat stays on the bone

Don’t worry you young pups, Father Time will catch up with you too. And you’ll reduce pack weight whenever you can

Or if you cant handle a whole quarter load for 2 miles any more dont shoot anything that's over a half mile from camp. I could never imagine cutting a quarter in half. Would you do it hot dog ways or hamburger ways?

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Panhandler80]

I didn’t realize until recently that some bone in units allow rib meat to come off bones. That’s not something I would do, but I still found it interesting.

 

[PA Hunter]

I'm sure there are a variety of options out there, just keep in mind the size of those moose quarters!

For several years I used the one below. I always brought a different pull rope with me. It did the job OK, not perfect, but it worked:

https://www.amazon.com/DEER-SLEIGHR-Magnum-Game-Sled/dp/B001CJI7XA/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoaiA8L-t-QIVMAutBh1eug57EAMYAiAAEgIzP_D_BwE&hvadid=313679014795&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9033846&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=264710070693468152&hvtargid=kwd-577954425038&hydadcr=9713_9896884&keywords=deer+sleigh%27r+magnum+game+sled&qid=1659626914&sr=8-1

Last year my wife bought me the Cadillac roll-up sled, and it is perfect, but it's much heavier and quite expensive. I used it last year to haul two bulls, and it will be going with me back out there next month. I'll be passing this sled down to my kids, who are also active Alaska hunters...it is very well designed and made, and it will last much longer than me!

Airframes Alaska Is Now Alaska Gear Company

AKDoc how does that sled work on moose quarters with no snow, also on flat ground or going uphill? Im curious if its easier just using say a Barney pack freighter frame going uphill or through brush? Very interesting though looks well made something I may consider. wish I could see some vids of using it with moose quarters rather than just gear.

 

[mooster]

We used a deer drag type sled last year to move quarters across boggy, grassy wet lake side to move the meat to rafts. It really made it easy. The sled we have is a flexible mat that unrolls to form a sled. Made life a little easier for only a few pound weight penalty.

 

[AKDoc]

AKDoc how does that sled work on moose quarters with no snow, also on flat ground or going uphill? Im curious if its easier just using say a Barney pack freighter frame going uphill or through brush? Very interesting though looks well made something I may consider. wish I could see some vids of using it with moose quarters rather than just gear.

I've never pulled either of those noted roll-up sleds over snow...just tundra.

The open tundra terrain that I have pulled over has been relatively flat with minor up/down-hill pulls. Pulling the individual quarters has been just fine, and the sleds slide well over the tundra...especially the front end design of the Back Country Flex Sled by Larry Bartlett...and that one comes with PVC poles to keep the sled from sliding over you on a down-hill pull, although I've never needed to use them on my pulls.

I've humped many a moose on my back over the years with different frame-packs, but as an old guy now the sled pull is way better for me, especially over tundra.

 

[Robinhood21]

I didn’t realize until recently that some bone in units allow rib meat to come off bones. That’s not something I would do, but I still found it interesting.

Yep only the front and rear quarters needed to be on the bone in the unit we hunted. We cut the rib meat off the bone as we did the "rib roll" method. We were told though afterwards that if the packout isn't very far, leaving the rib meat on the bone for tablefare is the way to go.

 

[ppumil]

Hunting a bone-in Alaska unit. I’ve read in a few places where folks talk about cutting rear leg “in half.” What exactly are they talking about? Just removing the shanks off each leg? I guess that would lower CG significantly on front quarter and save some weight on fronts and rears.

1. This legal in bone in unit?

2. Is the CG improvement and/or weight savings worth it?

I’ve been walking 3..6 miles most days for a couple months in boots over soft beach sand and some muck. Very little elevation change. Anyway, the most I’ve packed has been 65 pounds. I don’t think training with any more than that would be wise. Eberlestock F1 frame. Using dumbbells and clothes in pack. 65 lbs of lead on flat ground ain’t gonna be NOTHING like 120# leg over moose terrain. Granted it won’t be a 3.6 mile hike, but I’m
Getting pretty worried about pack out.

it is legal to cut the bone as long as the meat is still intact. Clean cut around the bone and saw it. Had a solo hunter I chatted with last year about it and that is how he got his moose out. I asked biologist and warden and they confirmed it was OK. It does not specify in regulations that it must be one quarter or unit. But I am not a lawyer or a game warden so would ask game warden for your area.
We used the sled and it was way better than a frame even though I really like the one I have and it was capable(I was not sure I was). We could also take meat off ribs in our unit so that was helpful. Our moose had a huge body so hind quarters probably 150lbs plus. Crazy the size of these animals. GET THE SLED RECOMMENDED BELOW FROM AMAZON. 30-40 buck that is worth every penny.