How long does it take to break down an elk in the field?

[MOcluck]

Make sure you know where your going with the meat. I shot a bull last year at 1:30 in the afternoon the temp was 74 degrees. I was so concerned about getting the hide off and meat separated that I didn't find a shady spot before I started breaking him down. Long story short I walked around for a good ten minutes carrying a rear quarter looking for a rock in the shade to put the meat on. Won't do that again, next time I'm going to take a Mylar blanket.

 

[Newt]

I just went back and looked for myself at my gps, I had left it on the whole time. I shot my bull at 4:45, it was about 5:30-6 before I really set in and another guy showed up to help. We just quartered half, but deboned the other half. After getting all the meat we could, we stashed what we couldn't carry in a tree only about 30-40 yards away. We were heading up the hill about 8:45.

I will say that it probably could have been done quicker, but I was not wanting to rush too much. I felt pretty confident in doing it as I have been breaking down most of my whitetails that way even at home. Just to have how to do the gutless method fresh on my mind and how to break one down laying on the ground.

 

[smokin x's]

I have no personal experience with elk in the field but ive skinned and cut hundreds of beef so far in my life and once you know the joints, its simple and goes by rather quickly. Done beef on a cradle at work and out in the field on quite a few "farm kills" Ive also done close to a dozen whitetails gutless. So its all muscle memory when I finally do get the chance to head west.

I don't see why it would take a couple guys, with some experience and familiarity, more than a few hours to get it on your backs.

Sent from my LGL164VL using Tapatalk

 

[txhunter581]

There is no reason to skin “from the hoof up”. Remove the bottom of the front leg from the knee down and the rear leg from the hock down. There is no meat below these 2 joints so why spend the time to skin them and you sure don’t want that weight to haul out. The first thing I do is cut a ring thru the skin around these joints and remove them. Then I start my skinning. Those definitely stay in the woods when I get an elk unless he falls on a road

 

[cnelk]

^^^ some guys bring the leg bones home for their dogs.

As a vet, you should know dogs like bones

 

[txhunter581]

LOL. Yes but as a vet I recommend against that! Too many cracked teeth I have to remove and abdominal surgeries to remove bones . Antlers on the other hand are still bone but are softer and gentler on teeth. That is what I let my dogs have. Never removed an antler from a dog but might tomorrow

 

[txhunter581]

Speaking of falling in the road. The best/shortest pack I have ever done was when I killed a cow with a muzzleloader 200 yards above a Jeep road. It was near Silverton Co and that country is STEEP! With the help of my son, we slid her down the hill right to the road. Also the shortest quartering job too. Left skin on and quartered her and had her loaded in truck in 30 min. Still had work to do in camp but at a more leasurely pace.

 

[kcm2]

Last elk I killed died 150 yards from a road, in about 3 feet of snow. Start to finish, including walking to him from the road, was an hour and a half to getting all four quarters in the Jeep. So, about an hour to take a cow completely apart, the other half hour for taking the quarters to the truck.

 

[Idaho CTD]

When my hunting partner and I are together it averages 1 to 1.5hrs to have one completely boned out. I can have the quarters off in 5-10 minutes per side. He hangs them and then skins them and then I bone them out. While he skins the 2 quarters from one side I take the back straps out and bone the neck. At the very end, when all edible meat is removed from the out side, then I'll go dumpster diving for the tenderloins. If I'm by myself it's 1.5 to 2hrs. I just did 2 cows August 1st and it took 3hrs but we had to fight the location and mosquitos some. I just did 2 deer on Kodiak last week and skinned them on the animal since there are zero trees where we were. That takes a bit longer. Between my buddy and I we have 6 more elk tags, 2 antelope tags and 4 more deer tag left this year to practice on . After 100 or so animals of practice it gets much easier/faster.