Quarter or De Bone?

[trophyhill]

I'm in the middle of editing a video I did on how to de bone an elk, but was curious if anyone still packs out full quarters?

so far i've packed mine out 1 quarter at a time. i have Corey's gutless method video and want to give that a try on my next elk.

 

[mattstanton]

depends on distance and terrain. 2 miles or less i quarter and haul. more than that or hard uphill, de-bone all the way but now that I have the right pack, I will probably de-bone every time.

 

[gil_wy]

I'm in the middle of editing a video I did on how to de bone an elk, but was curious if anyone still packs out full quarters?

Nope! Not unless I can see the truck!

 

[bearguide]

what do you do with the bones when you get home/ i throw them out / so why carry them out

 

[Bearhunter]

Im a fan of Deboning as then when you get home a big part of the work is done. If it is close enough I have packed quarters out as well, and in the rare case gotten elk out whole before as well.

 

[luke moffat]

I do a bit of oth depending on he species and distance from the truck.

 

[cnelk]

Cnelk, where did you get that cart? I like the looks of that!

I built it. Cost about $70

 

[Rick Seymour]

10+ Elk all quartered. Guess I am too dumb to de-bone in the field. I get super meticulous taking the meat off at home & then as someone stated....to the dumpster goes the bones.

 

[icefishers]

I have always taken out the quarters with the bone in. Will de-bone the next one to see how it goes.

 

[BMB]

debone.....i spend a fortune to get everything else as light as possible, why the hell am i gonna carry something i'm not gonna eat.

 

[RosinBag]

I have missed the boat on not using horses. I always thought the stable of horses I bought from Kifaru is what I had to use. I always de-bone. The only bone I am packing out is the antlers.

 

[7mag.]

what do you do with the bones when you get home/ i throw them out / so why carry them out

Exactly, I always de-bone before cutting and wrapping, so if I'm packing an animal, why would I haul out something I am going to throw away when I get home? In my experience, packing out quarters equals more trips.

 

[trophyhill]

what do you do with the bones when you get home

there's a reason man is dog's best friend my dogs absolutely love some elk of leg bone

 

[Mike7]

JPhelps -- nice trailer. I always like seeing what people come up with. A few years ago I built a trailer out of items from Home Depot. I went with a seat post hitch and it works great. It is designed specifically for packing in camp on narrow closed roads and packing out elk/deer. It will just carry out a whole boned out elk or a deer with camp. I burn up a pair of break pads on the way out and have to take it slow, but it is painless. My knees start aching just thinking of trying to carry quarters downhill.

 

[Evan Williams]

ELK--bone IN and then de-bone at the truck and into the cooler.

 

[Aerohead300]

I usually quarter it, using the gutless method. The bone gives the load some structure, easier to drop in a pack. That's usually not further than 2-3 miles in.

 

[dreamingbig]

I use the gutless method and then quarter it. I deboned one elk and it just seemed to be too much work. I does help to slice each quarter down to the bone and peel it back a bit for cooling purposes. I think it helps to keep the meat cleaner and less waste if you take out a whole quarter. Just my two cents.

 

[rebecca francis]

We debone with or without horses. It's just a lot easier to get it done on the spot. Makes it easier when we get home to cut up and package the meat.

 

[tradair1980]

Depends on the distance to my truck 2-3miles and less is gut less 1/4 ... If more than that or decent elevation accent or just a brushy mess then gutless debone!

 

[teamtoppin]

front quarters leave bone in mostly to keep meat clean and front quarters are quick to separateand light enough to take together.

Hind quarters cut down inside of leg to get down to bone. Cut all meat off bone down to ball and socket joint. The two hind quarters are then boneless. This was shown in one of the Bugle magazines and I have used it since and it works great for pack outs.