Gutless Method

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MT_Bow_Hunter

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Has anyone used the gutless method for quartering/boning out game? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKlj0wIF01w I have been using it for the past couple years and it works great, not much mess and very little blood. However, I've been having issues getting at the tenderloins, heart and liver. Does anyone have a suggestion on how I can reach these tasty parts more efficiently?
 
The tenderloins are very easy to get to. I skin out the side of the animal facing up, pull off the front quarter, then back quarter, then backstrap, scraps of meat on neck and other areas, then finally the tenderloin. Roll the animal over and do the other side. It helps to have a second guy. For the tenderloin, find the floating short ribs behind the rib cage. Push the stomach away from the spine (helps to have the second guy do this) and reach in along the inner spine to find the tenderloins. I use my fingers to loosen it up, and use my knife sparingly and carefully to cut both ends of the tenderloin. Pretty easy... Where you run into some difficulty is when the stomach starts bloating. Sometimes it helps to partially gut it at this point so that the guts have somewhere to go, allowing space to get to the tenderloin... I don't deal with the heart and liver - so no advice there...
 
Are you carrying a saw? If so, cut a few ribs out so you can reach in there and grab any of the delicious organs you might want to harvest. Mmmmm has me thinking of marinated, grilled heart.
 
What I have done in the past that has worked fairly well, is after everything else is cut off, I open up the abdomen let the guts push out a little on their own. No need to to pull them out all the way, It gives you enough room to reach down through there and not be in fear of cutting the guts.
 
great method. one trick I've found is to use the hide (inside) as a table to keep your qtrs clean if there is no snow.

once i get the qtrs off and backstraps, I always do a quick belly cut to relieve pressure and make things way easier when getting tenderloins. knives + backcountry + in where i can't see = potential disaster for a clutz like me. if you want the heart, starting at the sternum, go to one side and cut through where the ribs attach to the sternum (its a hard cartlidge type of structure). with the shoulders off you and a buddy will be able to get the heart, etc... If you happen to have an axe, just barrel through one side like a madman. Doesn't look pretty but its quick and effective.
 
84toyota said:
The tenderloins are very easy to get to. I skin out the side of the animal facing up, pull off the front quarter, then back quarter, then backstrap, scraps of meat on neck and other areas, then finally the tenderloin. Roll the animal over and do the other side. It helps to have a second guy. For the tenderloin, find the floating short ribs behind the rib cage. Push the stomach away from the spine (helps to have the second guy do this) and reach in along the inner spine to find the tenderloins. I use my fingers to loosen it up, and use my knife sparingly and carefully to cut both ends of the tenderloin. Pretty easy... Where you run into some difficulty is when the stomach starts bloating. Sometimes it helps to partially gut it at this point so that the guts have somewhere to go, allowing space to get to the tenderloin... I don't deal with the heart and liver - so no advice there...
Click to expand...
This is exactly the system I use. Works great
 
84toyota said:
The tenderloins are very easy to get to. I skin out the side of the animal facing up, pull off the front quarter, then back quarter, then backstrap, scraps of meat on neck and other areas, then finally the tenderloin. Roll the animal over and do the other side. It helps to have a second guy. For the tenderloin, find the floating short ribs behind the rib cage. Push the stomach away from the spine (helps to have the second guy do this) and reach in along the inner spine to find the tenderloins. I use my fingers to loosen it up, and use my knife sparingly and carefully to cut both ends of the tenderloin. Pretty easy... Where you run into some difficulty is when the stomach starts bloating. Sometimes it helps to partially gut it at this point so that the guts have somewhere to go, allowing space to get to the tenderloin... I don't deal with the heart and liver - so no advice there...
Click to expand...

Couldn't of written it better myself.

Never waste a tenderloin. It's a sin punishable by death in some places
 
I did this for the first time myself last year while helping a 16 yr old friend who stuck his first elk. Once both side were done we just opened her up a little to get the gut out of the way and access the tenderloins and heart. Pretty easy. We just went slow and thought it out as we went. A sharp knife is key of course.

He took the heart to school where his science class dissected it. I thought it was pretty cool he got extra credit for missing class and killing an elk :)
 
I have on antelope with good results (small and easy to do quickly). I started doing it on my buddies elk in 2014 and it was ruminating and ballooned up fast so we had to end up gutting it anyways because the guts were pushing hard into the pelvis area making it hard to work. With that in mind I just went ahead and gutted my elk last year but was quickly reminded the PITA it can be cutting loose the diaphragm when the guts are that big/heavy.

Anyone have the gut balloon up thing happen to them when doing it?
 
I have been doing it for about 3 years now. I leave both loins for last. Try to get the butt end uphill so gravity will work for you. Poke the guts to relieve a little pressure if needed and get in and get out. It is interesting how you can almost push it all the way off by hand, and then just cut the ends loose. Really no need to do a lot of knife work in there. I wouldn't have a clue what it would be like with another person. I am always alone.
 
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