Solo elk breakdown

[NJDiverDan]

I love the plastic tent stake idea. Thank you!

 

[Wapiti1]

I may be the only guy that still guts the animal. I may also be the only guy that keeps the heart, liver, and kidneys out of deer/elk/antelope. Gutting them is how I was taught and is a habit at this point. It adds about 15-20 minutes to the process, but makes moving the animal a lot easier if you are in an awkward spot.

From start to finish, an elk takes about 2 hours to break down when I am alone. I don't debone the quarters in the field since I want the bones for structure in my pack and to cook with later.

Otherwise, I use a similar process to everyone else. Gut the animal, take out the tenderloins, skin one side, take quarters off, take backstrap/neck off, cut off ribs, flip and repeat. Everything goes in bags immediately as it gets cut off. I use solid bags and the meat stays clean. All that is left is a spine, skin, and 4 lower legs.

Usually takes 5 trips including the first load out from the kill site to get an adult elk out.

Jeremy

 

[jmden]

Gutless boning method...no doubt. Done it twice solo (deer, elk) this year and dozens of other times solo or with one one person, often in the dark. Debone quarters on the animal. TAG B.O.M.B. bags. Pretty simple really. Like others, good idea to carry some cord to tie off to tree, etc. on steep ground which is pretty much the rule for most of my harvesting.

 

[Pgohil]

Gutless boning method...no doubt. Done it twice solo (deer, elk) this year and dozens of other times solo or with one one person, often in the dark. Debone quarters on the animal. TAG B.O.M.B. bags. Pretty simple really. Like others, good idea to carry some cord to tie off to tree, etc. on steep ground which is pretty much the rule for most of my harvesting.

I am very interested in learning how you debone the hind quarter while it's still on the animal. I've done shoulders with no problem but the hind quarter I have no idea about.

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[durangobrad]

Gutless method. Para cord or something to tie off legs as others have mentioned. I always have something to lay quarters out on before they go into game bags. Its usually a large contractor trash bag or emergency space blanket. Once there I can do a quick trim of major layers of fat and also clean up and hair and dirt, then they go into game bags. Trying to wrestle a quarter into a game bag by yourself can be tricky without a clean surface to lay things on. Lastly stay organized, especially in the dark. Know where your knives are, game bags, backup headlamp etc. I tend to get a little unorganized in the excitement and find myself saying, where did i put my knife?

 

[silverbullet555]

Any pics or more info on the titanium pulley?

I bought a lightweight pulley for sail boats. Sized for paracord and working limit is 200lbs. I think mine weighs 1 oz.

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[Wrench]

I am very interested in learning how you debone the hind quarter while it's still on the animal. I've done shoulders with no problem but the hind quarter I have no idea about.

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It's very easy (assuming you have cut a few animals up).

Start on the outside of a leg (after skinning obviously )and observe the muscle groups. You know which cuts are important to you, so plan your route around them. Cut from the outside to the bone on the easiest path from the knee to the hip. Once you have made a single cut to full depth, start at the knee and work the knife around the bone and to the hip. As it "fillets" off....work the bag around it to keep flies and dirt off your meat, in snow...rejoice that this step can be eliminated.

As you approach the hip you will have to be careful at the intersection of the pelvis and gut sack. Cut only meat here! If some intestine squirts out....don't be alarmed, you'll do better next time. Follow the hip joint to the ball and cit the tissue in the socket free. At this point you can toss the leg bone. Work your knife around the pelvis and you're done.

It sounds involved, but once you're good at it, it's a 5 minute job.

Do the same for the shoulder/neck and then roll it over and repeat.

I save the back straps and t loins for the last bit. (Keeps them on top for camp meat and makes rolling easy.

Last is the organ meat. If you want it....dive in and get it at the very end.

 

[Boxerboxer]

If you're looking for something to put in the pack, these are sweet: Saws

 

[mtnwrunner]

Any pics or more info on the titanium pulley?

Any climbing store will have a wide assortment. I also carry 2 lightweight climbing carabiners.

Randy

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Wapiti1, I also gut my kills to keep liver and heart. I think it also helps cool the entire carcass much faster and makes it easier to cut away rib bones to get the tenderloins out. Very messy of course, but worth it in my opinion.

 

[5MilesBack]

I think it also helps cool the entire carcass much faster and makes it easier to cut away rib bones to get the tenderloins out.

The tenderloins are behind the last rib, no need to cut away rib bones.

 

[Wapiti1]

No they're not, they're in my freezer.

Ok, one is in the freezer, the other was rolled in garlic and black pepper and grilled whole.

Jeremy

 

[wapitibob]

I like to leave the bone in the hind quarter. The shank is the only muscle that will hang loose if you separate at the btm end of the femur and the load is much shorter in length. The joint is held together with tendons and comes apart in seconds.

 

[cnelk]

Just for reference, the weight of the bones of 4 quarters in the cow I posted above weighed 22lbs total.

 

[ahlgringo]

Just for reference, the weight of the bones of 4 quarters in the cow I posted above weighed 22lbs total.

This is good info,

I brought a boned out bull to the processor and he was giving me a “lecture” on how its only roughly 10 more lbs to pack out bone-in. I thought he was fos, now I have evidence of such. No way I am packin out 20-25 more lbs than I have to.


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[jmden]

I am very interested in learning how you debone the hind quarter while it's still on the animal. I've done shoulders with no problem but the hind quarter I have no idea about.

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Pretty much just carve the meat off the bone. I don't know if my way is the 'right' way, but I find the ball joint, cut from there down and to the femur down to the 'knee joint', carve around the pelvis and ball joint, and start cutting meat away from the knee joint and then from around the femur. I don't take it off in one chunk. Too big a piece for one guy to deal with and won't fit in my B.O.M.B. bags.

 

[claybreaker]

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

The plastic tent stake is best idea I heard in a while.. Great tip!!

Always plenty of paracord on hand.

 

[silverbullet555]

The plastic tent stake is best idea I heard in a while.. Great tip!!

Always plenty of paracord on hand.

Agreed

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[Ridge Ghost]

The plastic tent stake is best idea I heard in a while.. Great tip!!

Always plenty of paracord on hand.

Agreed. I wouldn't have never thought of that but it makes so much sense

 

[mtnwrunner]

And here it is in my kill kit. I also used it once for a spout in a small seep. Stuck it in the moss, the water ran down the stake, off the end into the Nalgene bottle.

Randy