Solo elk breakdown

[Pgohil]

Looking for Information about breaking down a bull solo. 2 of us broke a bull down in just over and hour this Sept. Going at it along will definitely be a challenge. Ideas.??

Thanks

PD Gohil

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[weaver]

Paracord and something solid to tie off to is invaluable.

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[camping1601]

Debone on the animal.

 

[Wrench]

Gutless method with bags big enough to insert the rear hams in one piece. Boning cuts and roll it into the bag. I can do it solo on reasonable ground in about an hour if the cape is not important.

Use the hide as your clean surface. Stage everything down wind of the animal to avoid dusting it with your movements. If bees are a concern, often a bloody bit of meat will distract them.

Keep the flies at bay....or you'll get a surprise.

 

[eagle_eye]

Gutless method.

 

[Wrench]

I've found this to be the most useful tool ever for a lightweight do everything knife. The curved serrated blade cuts hide from the bottom and gets ZERO hair on my meat and is stupidly fast. The narrow main blade is Swiss army sharp and if using traditional gutting methods is great for the rectal cuts....and the saw is what you'd have on your Leatherman except longer.

I've got several custom and fancy knives....but this one has been in every bull since I bought it 20 bulls ago.

Hunter Red Swiss Army Knife by Victorinox at Swiss Knife Shop

 

[mtnwrunner]

I am solo a lot of the time and I debone everything. One of the things I carry with me is one large plastic tent stake. In some of the country I hunt in, it's all open sagebrush or grass so I use the stake to tie off a leg or head being there is nothing to tie off to. It works great.

Randy

 

[Pgohil]

So are you guys deboning on the body? Or pulling a quarter then deboning? I'm not sure about pulling a quarter off by myself. Thats my biggest concern.

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[Nickofthewoods]

As someone else mentioned, you can use the hide from each side as your clean surface so as you remove each quarter you can set it onto the inside of the hide before de boning and putting into a game bags. Solo, I like to take the time to get about a 4 ft long stick with a "Y" at the top to prop up legs while I work. It usually takes me 4 to 6 hours to break down an elk by myself but I'm sure there are folks Who do it faster.

 

[mtnrunner260]

If I'm in trees I'll pull off quarters via gutless method and hand from a branch to debone. They are heavy but I am far from a physical specimen so don't doubt yourself.
My favorite solo technique is to have horses lined up for the pack out!

 

[5MilesBack]

I normally hunt solo, but my process doesn't change whether I'm solo or not. I go gutless and debone off the elk normally. Sometimes I'll debone everything except the rear hams and take those out whole. It just depends on what I feel like at the time, and how far away from a road I am. It also depends on the size of the animal. A big bull is harder to maneuver on your own. The more you can get off it the easier it will be to move.

Here's a bull skinned down one side and ready to debone. This side went very well and very quickly, but then it started raining after I finished up this side and it wouldn't let up. The other side was a rush so wasn't so neat and clean. Then last year, my daughter's bull was rolling in the dirt and it was dry as a bone up there. Impossible to keep anything clean so we just took the rear hams out whole and processed them at home where we could clean them up a bit.

 

[cnelk]

I dont de-bone in the woods, but I'm not a 'Go Deep' guy

I can have the 4 quarters and loose meat ready for transport within an hour doing gutless with just a knife.
Knowing joint location and muscle groups saves a lot of time

 

[mtnwrunner]

I do the gutless method both deer and elk. I've got kind of a bad lower back so it's painful for me to lean over and process an animal. I pull the quarters off and lay them on a tarp. One I've got the animal all done, I'll sit down and bone everything while I'm comfortable. Way easier than bending down the entire time. If by chance there is a tree nearby, (like hardly ever) I'll hang the quarters and either bone them sitting or standing up.......I carry a small titanium pulley which works great for hoisting. Weighs like 2 ounces and this pulley also works great for hoisting a pack so all you have to do is stand there and put it on. Amazing what you think of when you get old.......
and for reference, I do all this in about 2 and a half hours.

Randy

 

[cgasner1]

I’ll lay a game bag down and knock the hams off before the shoulders so I have something clean to set it on before I try and wrestle that ham into a game bag


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[topher89]

I do the gutless method both deer and elk. I've got kind of a bad lower back so it's painful for me to lean over and process an animal. I pull the quarters off and lay them on a tarp. One I've got the animal all done, I'll sit down and bone everything while I'm comfortable. Way easier than bending down the entire time. If by chance there is a tree nearby, (like hardly ever) I'll hang the quarters and either bone them sitting or standing up.......I carry a small titanium pulley which works great for hoisting. Weighs like 2 ounces and this pulley also works great for hoisting a pack so all you have to do is stand there and put it on. Amazing what you think of when you get old.......
and for reference, I do all this in about 2 and a half hours.

Randy

Any pics or more info on the titanium pulley?

 

[Oregon]

Did it yesterday by myself. It’s not fun, but not extremely difficult. Slow wins the race.
Cord to tie legs up is the best tip.
My struggle yesterday was rolling elk over to get other side. It was on a steep incline, so after 30 minutes of trying to roll it, I decided to push it down hill. I trusted a couple of 4 year old fir saplings to stop it going all the way to bottom. It worked kinda. Bull ended up on its back. Spent another 20 minutes getting right.
Forgot too add: I keep a space blanket in my pack to lay down as a clean surface.
Even with that, I was ashamed how much dirt and hair on meat. Spent the better part of the day picking hair and fir needles off meat.

 

[Pgohil]

I have a silnylon tarp to lay the meat on. It weights near nothing and doubles as rain protection if needed. I've also started doing this with whitetails. Works slick

I really like the idea of a 4ft forked stick to hold legs up with.

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[Wrench]

 

[Wrench]

 

[Wrench]

This is before and after boning using the gutless.