How far before going boneless?

[Scoot]

Interesting takes in the replies above. Bone out for me. I can distribute the weight in my pack really well with or without the bone. The difference in weight is significant.

 

[cnelk]

I dug up my old thread from 2017 where I posted some quarter weight and bone weight

I’ll take the weight penalty for bones as little as they weigh

Elk Quarter Weight - Early Season Cow

I was fortunate enough to fill my B List tag opening evening with a big ol dry cow Im back home now and got the meat all taken of. I thought it would be a good idea to weigh the quarters, as there are several threads discussing that Here are the weights - bone in/leg cut off at knee Loose...

www.rokslide.com

 

[CoStick]

Those bones stay hot. I prefer to debone and cool the meat.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Those bones stay hot. I prefer to debone and cool the meat.

In 57 years of going bone-in and hung, I've never had any spoilage, even when hung for several days in daytime temps of 90 degrees.

 

[Life_Feeds_On_Life]

Bone in shanks, blade roasts, broth, bone marrow = delicious. I generally keep them unless it's going to make a significant difference in the pack out.

 

[pirogue]

If it didn’t fall alongside the road, and needs to be packed, it’s getting deboned. It has to be done anyway, why procrastinate that part of the process. It speeds up the cooling, which only adds to better taste. If your reasoning is it packs better, you need a better pack. Why jeopardize meat taste quality, and pack out useless weight, just because you have an inferior pack, or don’t know how to load a pack.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

I dug up my old thread from 2017 where I posted some quarter weight and bone weight

I’ll take the weight penalty for bones as little as they weigh

Elk Quarter Weight - Early Season Cow

I was fortunate enough to fill my B List tag opening evening with a big ol dry cow Im back home now and got the meat all taken of. I thought it would be a good idea to weigh the quarters, as there are several threads discussing that Here are the weights - bone in/leg cut off at knee Loose...

www.rokslide.com

That’s interesting. I feel like bull elk (4) quarter bones weigh more than 23lbs on average. Like one hind quarter in my mind has to be at least 10 -15 lbs. I’ll have to remember to weigh them next time, I’m sure others have already.

 

[S.Clancy]

In 57 years of going bone-in and hung, I've never had any spoilage, even when hung for several days in daytime temps of 90 degrees.

This. I've experienced "bone sour" on exactly 1 elk of the 80+ I've been in on dead and quartered. It was on a big bull shot at last light and recovered the next morning, overnight lows in the 50s. The downside hind needed some trimming around the bone, 10lbs at most. "Bone sour" is rare unless you are really unlucky or stupid.

 

[S.Clancy]

That’s interesting. I feel like bull elk (4) quarter bones weigh more than 23lbs on average. Like one hind quarter in my mind has to be at least 10 -15 lbs. I’ll have to remember to weigh them next time, I’m sure others have already.

My experience is the front shoulder bones weigh more than the femurs.

 

[Indian Summer]

Read that old thread from cnelk. It’s not like bones are made of lead. Some guys make it sound like bone doubles the weight. Meanwhile you’re no longer carrying a weapon, no longer carrying binos or spotting scope. You’re not going to park your ass at first or last light to glass so you’re not packing that heavy outerwear. We’ve all talked about the fact that elk hunting is more mental than anything. Cowboy the fk up!

 

[DawnPatrol]

I’d add using the bones to make broth to your “pros” list. I’ve done it the past couple years and it’s easy and tastes great. Sure you could buy broth at the store; but you could buy meat at the store, too.

 

[cnelk]

This should really rile up the boneless boys….

Like Indian Summer, sometimes I even leave the bones AND hide on.

 

[Elkhntr08]

Packing that table out to the kill site has to be a pain.

 

[go_deep]

This should really rile up the boneless boys….

Like Indian Summer, sometimes I even leave the bones AND hide on.



View attachment 394271

I guess I don't know why it would get anyone's panties in a bunch. That's how you want to pack out meat, good for you

 

[CoStick]

In 57 years of going bone-in and hung, I've never had any spoilage, even when hung for several days in daytime temps of 90 degrees.

Didn’t say it would spoil, I just prefer meat that has cooled quickly. Was amazed how hot the bones stay and for how long insulated with meat.

 

[5MilesBack]

Sometimes I'll leave the rear hams intact, but I always debone the shoulders. It's all going to burger anyway so not much difference. If I want steaks they're going to be a grain fed prime ribeyes.

 

[roadrunner]

Places bone sour happens: hips (ball and socket joint), shoulders, neck, and anywhere the animal is laying on its side touching the ground. Has to be a longer period of time, after the kill, and not just an hour or two.

A hanging quarter won't bone sour if it was taken care of promptly after the kill.

 

[roosiebull]

Think of your Back/Spine, Think of longevity, Think of your painless future!

Leave the bones there, unless you specifically want them for a particular dish.

I don’t think it works like that… at least not for me. I’m not trying to get lighter trips, I want the fewest trips as I can get, so boning out meat means heavier loads in my world… if I do it, it’s to shave a whole trip

I think boned out meat bags are essential if boning out (for those who haven’t done it but plan to) they give some shape to the meat globs.

There are times boned out would be easier around here packing meat in the brush, being hung up in the salmonberry because of the big leg bone sticking up gets frustrating at times, but if I know it’s going to be bad, I load quarters upside down… easy to balance with 2 fronts, a little harder with hams but doable

 

[TheGDog]

Yeah, with the Meat Bags being cylindrical in shape, that helps a ton since the meat then cannot just mush down into a ball at the bottom of the pack.

With those stretchy cotton-style bags it will do that, mush all down into one big ball, if you don't tie multiple knots to keep certain amounts of the meat into clumps in a vertical line thru the stretchy bag. But that's why I bring that kinda bag also and only use that kind for the head and hide. Since the fabric is stretchy and I can zip-tie it around the antlers, once the hide has been loaded down into it.

Yup-Yup.... deboning allows the possibility to do it in one trip if it's Mule Deer... or at the very least, it shaves off 1 trip from multiple trips.

 

[Coveyleader]

After reading the vasectomy thread, I really doubt many of you are "Bone In type" guys.