The gutless method. Why aren't you doing it if you have to pack out?

[NRA4LIFE]

I know from experience it is impossible to flip a moose over on your own with the guts still in. A deer I can gut in 5 minutes or less. So no, I don't use the method anymore. I have done it a few times but I didn't see the point as It wasn't really much if any help timewise.

 

[fishslap]

I’ve done the gutless method a few times and I still find that gutting the animal first, peeling back the hide on one side, taking off the quarters/meat, then flipping over and repeating is easier. I will do gutless if they die in a difficult spot.

 

[flyfisher117]

I'm not doing it because I don't know how to do it efficiently and I'm worried I'll mess up and lose some meat.. watched a few videos and get the principals just wish I had an experienced person that could teach me.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I’ve done the gutless method a few times and I still find that gutting the animal first, peeling back the hide on one side, taking off the quarters/meat, then flipping over and repeating is easier. I will do gutless if they die in a difficult spot.

Is it easier because it’s easier to flip? I don’t understand the guys saying they gut first then do gutless (remove 4 quarters and trim). The whole point of the method is not dealing with guts. The only “hard” part about the gutless is getting out the tenders. Depending on the situation I’ll save the tenders for last then zip up the belly and let some of the guts spill out to relieve internal pressure that pushes on the tenders. If done right, I never touch the guts, gravity allows them to spill out. Just make sure you do it last so you don’t have to deal with the guts.

This wasn’t exactly directed toward you specifically, a few people mentioned similar. If someone wants to take a look at the wound damage then gutting seems about the only option, but once the hide and shoulders are off, it’s usually pretty apparent what damage the bullet did.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I use whatever method works best for the situation I am in...Getting a elk out whole is still on my bucket list.

 

[fishslap]

Is it easier because it’s easier to flip? I don’t understand the guys saying they gut first then do gutless (remove 4 quarters and trim). The whole point of the method is not dealing with guts. The only “hard” part about the gutless is getting out the tenders. Depending on the situation I’ll save the tenders for last then zip up the belly and let some of the guts spill out to relieve internal pressure that pushes on the tenders. If done right, I never touch the guts, gravity allows them to spill out. Just make sure you do it last so you don’t have to deal with the guts.

This wasn’t exactly directed toward you specifically, a few people mentioned similar. If someone wants to take a look at the wound damage then gutting seems about the only option, but once the hide and shoulders are off, it’s usually pretty apparent what damage the bullet did.

Probably just personal preference. I find it slightly easier because I don’t need to worry about guts trying to push out around the hind quarter, back strap, or rib cage when removing meat. For some of the September elk I’ve killed, they bloat quickly creating pressure. As always, someone will reply with how to do it differently or why this isn’t an issue.

I just did gutless on my moose last year and my last elk but the conditions favored that approach. I gutted my last muley and whitetail because it was easy and I could just blaze through the rest and pull off belly and rib meat easier, pull out tenderloins and heart, etc. Yes, I know how to pull these using gutless also.

I’ve done both enough to feel competent with each and in general I prefer removing the guts.

 

[Macintosh]

Some folks referenced comments in other threads to the effect of “if you arent doing gutless, you arent in the backcountry”. Is it possible those making said comments are equating “gutless” with breaking the animal into quarters, loins, etc, and assuming the alternative (gutting) means taking the entire carcass out whole after removing the entrails?

I dont have as much experience with elk and moose having only done a couple animals that size, but have always either broken down or been able to get a vehicle directly to them. But deer, in some places its actually illegal to break the animal down for field transport, a solid bunch of states actually force you to remove the animal from the field whole, OR their regs are so vague as to be a defacto prohibition for most people. Im very hopeful my state will make breaking down deer in the field explicitly legal in the near future—that’s the only reason I have gutted (ie dragged out whole) my deer in many cases. Of the animals Ive broken down I have done so both gut-in and gut-out depending on size, location, temperature, etc.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I use whatever method works best for the situation I am in...Getting an elk out whole is still on my bucket list.

Even if you get it out whole, you still have to get it into the pickup. I remember helping a friend years ago with a permit he drew. He killed a nice bull, and one we could drive right up to in the sagebrush. However, we still had to cut it in half and then we could still barely get it into the back of my Dodge.

 

[Taudisio]

I use whatever method works best for the situation I am in...Getting an elk out whole is still on my bucket list.

This last fall, we had the perfect situation occur and got to roll the whole thing off the mountain and on the truck tailgate. Drove back to camp and quartered it out on the tailgate. The other pair in camp were in disbelief. We were able to take our time and grab every little scrap of meat off of it, while enjoying some cold ones, which was nice.

 

[WCB]

Basically only time I'm gutting and have any desire to take an elk out whole

 

[MtnHtr]

Depends on the animal and situation. Either way unloading that last load into the truck bed feels great.

 

[HuntHarder]

 

[Harvey_NW]

View attachment 741499

Even then, gutless and rib roll

 

[CobraChicken]

I am mixed. If I have time or feel like it sure. My hard and fast rule with antelope is always gut to get it as cool as possible before the truck. Always had great table fare this way.

For late cows, I am spending as little time as possible messing around in the elements lol.

TLDR Depends on the weather

 

[Marshfly]

I am mixed. If I have time or feel like it sure. My hard and fast rule with antelope is always gut to get it as cool as possible before the truck. Always had great table fare this way.

For late cows, I am spending as little time as possible messing around in the elements lol.

TLDR Depends on the weather

Same with antelope. I firmly believe the people that don’t like antelope are treating them like eastern whitetails and throwing them in the truck to deal with later. I don’t gut though. I just start cutting quarters off. They are small enough that its super quick.

Get that meat off and on ice ASAP!!!

 

[Harvey_NW]

Same with antelope. I firmly believe the people that don’t like antelope are treating them like eastern whitetails and throwing them in the truck to deal with later. I don’t gut though. I just start cutting quarters off. They are small enough that its super quick.

Get that meat off and on ice ASAP!!!

This. Even with mule deer, people shoot a buck, gut it in the field, drag it to the truck skin on, drive around all day hunting for another or showing it off to their buddies, then get it home and hang it in the garage in 60° temps and skin it the next day. Then say "mUlE dEeR tAsTe LiKe ShIt".

Ever since I learned gutless method and starting skinning them and getting the cooling started quickly, I haven't had bad meat. If it's early season and I don't have a good cool spot or creek nearby and it's gonna take some time, I'll get it off the bone too because it can spoil from the bone out just as fast.

 

[Grundy53]

It depends on the situation. It takes 5 minutes to gut a deer.

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[jbrun63]

I think it’s cleaner to gut the animal personally. It doesn’t take very long and then all the bad stuff is out of the way

 

[Marbles]

I do gutless until the end. Once all the meat I can take without guting is off, I gut, take the heart,loins, and rib meat (AK salvage requirements). It is just cleaner to me.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Another example is with coues whitetail bucks and coastal black tail bucks. You can gut them and pack them out whole, hide on, and then get back to base camp, hang them in a tree and skin. Very commonly done in Mexico and makes for a good time around a fire with friends.

My buddy had twisted his ankle bad and couldn’t climb up into the steep saddle he had shot this spike buck, last day of the season. I hiked up and gutted it for him and brought it back down the knob.

Once I got to the deer it took less than 15 min and the buck was tied to my pack heading down. Another buddy had hiked back to camp and grabbed the ATV, and we hauled him back. Easy and fun.

The “back country mountain hunt experience” doesn’t always have to be difficult. I love a good challenging hunt as much as the next guy, but sometimes it’s nice to take it easy after 10 days of hard hunting and two other bucks already killed and packed out earlier in the week.



He tasted good!