Elk processing on a hillside

[Wrench]

Don't cut the back hide!

Cut around each leg at the knee/elbow. Zip to the belly centerline. Zip open the belly/chest hide. Skin the top side all the way to the center of the spine or more. Fold open the hide as clean as possible. Pop the quarters off and hang. Feel free to land on the hide if needed. Grab the neck and straps.....now roll and repeat. Now that you have a stripped carcass with guts in it still, push the guts back so you can tickle out the t loins.

This whole process will take you an hour. You can bone the quaters now that you have the hips cooling.

 

[LongWayAround]

Picture might be misleading, but that slope looks pretty tame?

Your boned out meat probably turned into a meatball and held more heat than if you had left it in larger chunks. The only time that I have lost meat from an animal that was immediately found and processed, was from putting it in a cooler. Even with ice, you're still insulating the heat also.

Any sharp knife is totally adequate for going through joints.

Fourteen hours doesn't seem crazy for an animal killed in the afternoon with a four mile hike to follow. I'm guessing you took a load out and about one or two the following morning?

I would say congrats on the bull. I would rather lose a little meat off and elk in the hand than lose the whole thing or have no elk. It sounds like you guys probably did the best you could, or very close to it.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Picture might be misleading, but that slope looks pretty tame?

Your boned out meat probably turned into a meatball and held more heat than if you had left it in larger chunks. The only time that I have lost meat from an animal that was immediately found and processed, was from putting it in a cooler. Even with ice, your still insulating the heat also.

Any sharp knife is totally adequate for going through joints.

Fourteen hours doesn't seem crazy for an animal killed in the afternoon with a four mile hike to follow. I'm guessing you took a load out and about one or two the following morning?

I would say congrats on the bull. I would rather lose a little meat off and elk in the hand than lose the whole thing or have no elk. It sounds like you guys probably did the best you could, or very close to it.

This…

Get the meat cooled asap. It’s easy to hang 4 quarters then bone of those quarters. A meat ball holds heat forever!

I’ve processed a lot of animals with a havalon and a single blade, no need to get a sturdy knife. Don’t pry, slice.

You learned a valuable lesson. Lots of guys come here and say “I’m going to hike 7 miles, camp, then hunt 2 miles from there. If I kill one I’ll get it out.” Reality is, in archery temps, getting an elk 5 miles from the truck is a race against the clock and one you’ll probably lose.

Oh, and nice job killing an elk. Hard to say by the pictures, but I’d guess that a nice rag horn. Kill a 2-3 year older bull and it’ll easily be 25% bigger. Then the fun really begins!

 

[ScreamingPotato]

An emergency blanket works well. I actually use the hide. I never ever skin anything from the back down but always skin from the belly towards the back bone. Stretch that hide out and stake it down. Now you have a clean surface to lay meat on until you bag it and hang it. I always hang everything from a game pole I make or tree branches. Take a quarter off, lay it on the hide and then place in a contractor bag to carry over to my hanging area. Remove bag and repeat. Once it’s hanging and cooled out then I decide if I want to debone it or leave the bone in. If I debone then never ever separate the different muscles. Keep the deboned meat as a whole leg just minus the bone.

Don't cut the back hide!

Cut around each leg at the knee/elbow. Zip to the belly centerline. Zip open the belly/chest hide. Skin the top side all the way to the center of the spine or more. Fold open the hide as clean as possible. Pop the quarters off and hang. Feel free to land on the hide if needed. Grab the neck and straps.....now roll and repeat. Now that you have a stripped carcass with guts in it still, push the guts back so you can tickle out the t loins.

This whole process will take you an hour. You can bone the quaters now that you have the hips cooling.

That's the way I've always done it, never thought to stake the hide down though. That would've been useful several times.

 

[cnelk]

I do it exactly as Butcherboy does it.

 

[FAAFO]

Don’t kill anything you can’t get out without it spoiling. If it’s too warm and you don’t have the help you should limit yourself to those spots you know you can get all the meat out in good shape.

As far as knives, everything you need to do can be done with a havalon or similar. You don’t need big knives, saws, etc…

^ This!

I cut up the back because it’s easier with saving the cape. We take cape 100% of the time because we kill big chit. You can still use the hide as your “tarp” going up the back fyi.

 

[butcherboy]

That's the way I've always done it, never thought to stake the hide down though. That would've been useful several times.

You can use a stick to stake it out but make sure it’s a large stick. I actually prefer two long tent stakes or a couple of 6”-8” lag screws.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

You can use a stick to stake it out but make sure it’s a large stick. I actually prefer two long tent stakes or a couple of 6”-8” lag screws.

Definitely keeping that on the menu. I had an incident with a faaaat Nilgai this year where I got grass on some of the quarters because the hide was recoiling and shrinking back up underneath it. Appreciate the tip. Usually not an issue with deer or the few Elk we've done but it's a nice trick to have in the bag.

 

[butcherboy]

^ This!

I cut up the back because it’s easier with saving the cape. We take cape 100% of the time because we kill big chit. You can still use the hide as your “tarp” going up the back fyi.

Yes, you certainly can but it’s much easier from the belly to the back. When you cut a quarter off it usually comes off away from the belly side towards the back where the hide is already pulled out. I’ve done it both ways and vowed to never skin down from the back again plus I don’t save the capes or hides. I have no reason to since I don’t mount anything anymore.

 

[butcherboy]

Also going to add that I do one side and before rolling over I open the belly and pull everything out. Then I take all the flank meat and rib meat doing a rib roll in one big piece of meat. I also leave all the neck meat attached to the backstrap. Before I take all the rib meat I will harvest any organs I want and pull both tenderloins before rolling the carcass over.

 

[Laramie]

Didn't bother to read everything so some may have been mentioned.

Weather conditions should dictate how far from camp or ice chests you should be hunting. In 60+ degree weather, you need to plan a way to get meat in a cooler fast. For morning hunts, 2-3 miles is my limit in weather like that if hunting with a buddy. By myself, I stay within a mile of truck and ice. In the evening, I'll stretch it further because the night time cool down will save you.

You will get better at deboning elk. 2 guys should be able to have everything off in under an hour as long as the elk didn't die in a bad spot. By myself, it usually takes me 90 minutes or so. A small tarp and breathable, tough, game bags make a big difference. Learn how to debone quarters with just a few simple cuts. Less weight (bone) will but down the number of trips it takes. Whole bull should be 4 man trips total cape included. 3 if you have the rights guys helping.

Good luck

 

[Jethro]

Yes, you certainly can but it’s much easier from the belly to the back. When you cut a quarter off it usually comes off away from the belly side towards the back where the hide is already pulled out. I’ve done it both ways and vowed to never skin down from the back again plus I don’t save the capes or hides. I have no reason to since I don’t mount anything anymore.

Great point on having that hide under as the rear quarter comes off. Thats a heavy piece to get off dirt free, especially solo. I usually stuff game bag under as I fold and cut. My next I'm trying belly up. Have never done it.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Great point on having that hide under as the rear quarter comes off. Thats a heavy piece to get off dirt free, especially solo. I usually stuff game bag under as I fold and cut. My next I'm trying belly up. Have never done it.

Very little hair if you get it right. First thing I do is cut rings on all the ankles, then unzip each leg up to the belly using the gut hook and connect the leg cuts with an unzip up the belly and as far up the neck as I can go. So I make pretty well all my hair cuts with no exposed meat at all. After that it's just skinning the top side from ankles all the way to straps.

 

[Maverick1]

I processed an elk on a steep hillside once. It took about 5 hours to get everything all quartered and hung up in the trees for the meat to cool down. At the end of that experience it felt like I had been side hilling all day. It was brutal.

Some good advice provided on this thread already!

 

[ADub]

Meat is meat, you don't need to be a butcher to cut it all off the bone. You can sort it later if you want, or grind it all. Just get it off, get it to a spot to help cool, and then get it on ice when you can. I shot a big bull several years back that was several miles from the truck. Shot him at 10am in 75 degree temps and broke him down, deboning everything. Hung the meat in the shade, took a first load out, and didn't get the rest out until the next day. It was all fine, and then on ice as soon as it got to the truck. I always fill coolers with frozen milk jugs, then use as many as will fit with the meat. When I get home the meat is so cold it's hard to handle.

Why milk?

 

[5MilesBack]

Why milk?

I use some others as well, like juice jugs that are thicker plastic. But I go through about three gallons of milk a week, so those are most plenteous.

 

[butcherboy]

Great point on having that hide under as the rear quarter comes off. Thats a heavy piece to get off dirt free, especially solo. I usually stuff game bag under as I fold and cut. My next I'm trying belly up. Have never done it.

One thing to remember is that you may have to tie a leg back to help hold it up while skinning if you are solo. I usually use my leg to hold it back or step over and hold it between my knees. This is why I don’t cut the lower legs off just yet. I make my cut around the legs above the knees then step over and hold the lower leg between my legs and this gives me two hands to skin around the leg. I also try and find the closest flat or flattish spot nearby if I can roll the elk to or to a big log or even tree trunk to help hold the carcass if it’s on a steep spot.

 

[Wrench]

Pop those tendons and the legs start to pay attention. Be careful on the one that connects to the pelvic bone. There's not much room for error right there.

 

[FAAFO]

Yes, you certainly can but it’s much easier from the belly to the back. When you cut a quarter off it usually comes off away from the belly side towards the back where the hide is already pulled out. I’ve done it both ways and vowed to never skin down from the back again plus I don’t save the capes or hides. I have no reason to since I don’t mount anything anymore.

I can’t get with the belly method. I see no advantage of it. You say it’s easier but then you say you gut the animal? I don’t like the fact you’re more likely to poke the guts going up the belly.


When you go up the back the weight of the guts creates a gap which makes it easier to remove the inside tenderloins. Additionally the weight of the hindquarters and front quarters are higher which is at an easier to remove, especially solo. And as one gets older

I used to rib roll but anymore I take the ribs out on the bone. No saw needed and easily done with just a havalon. It’s a way better product and it’s worth the weight. Makes me sad knowing how many people miss out on moose and elk ribs. After the ribs are out the heart easily comes out and you have a nice clean process when you walk away.

 

[bz_711]

Well my partner and I finally killed a bull this past season. I’ve processed a good number of deer, a bear and an antelope previously in a similar situation. We killed him around 1pm. It was warm. Nice sized body mature bull. In hind sight I made a few substantial mistakes.

He died on a fairly steep hillside, so just getting him oriented to work on was a task. Zipped his top open and yanked the straps off. Then boned the meat off the rear and front quarters, then took the neck/rib meat and repeated.

The pack out was brutal. Killed him close to 2000ft below camp, and then camp was 4 miles walking ridges back to the truck. We ended up hiking him straight down the drainage to an old dead end road where some friends met us to help with the last load. All together it took around 14 hours. The temperature never got below around 58 degrees.

We ended up splitting the meat bringing home around 140lb of processed meat each. Lost some of the neck meat and some of a quarter.

We had the right knives, but our inexperience cost us time.

Changes I plan to make
1. Bring a tarp of sorts like 10x10 for a clean place to put meat
2. Yank off quarters asap and let them cool. Maybe hang off a tree with some p-cord
3. Bring way more ice next time and a few more coolers. I think if we would have been able to chill it faster once we got to the truck we would have saved most of what we lost
4. Take a butcher class. I really don’t know what parts of the animal to cut in specific ways to turn the carcass into “meat”
5. Have a larger sturdy knife for popping joints

Thoughts? Am I on the right track?


View attachment 858194View attachment 858195

Definitely on the right track...and you'll get in dialed in with each kill.

Few things I've upgraded to over the kills:
-piece of Tyvek in pack for placing meat on while working
-T.A.G. Bomb bags (have used/cleaned multiple times and still working great)
-Wife got me a Benchmade Meatcrafter knife a couple years back...SO much better than anything I've ever used on an elk from start to finish. I've had a Havalon in my pack for 10yrs as insurance, but have still yet to get it out. I throw in my small Worksharp pocket sharpener.

Congrats!