[Bears Butt]

While hunting during times when the weather is too hot to allow the hanging of game until you are ready to break camp and head back home. You take the time to remove the meat from the carcass and store it in a cooler with ice. Of course you take all of the precautions necessary to stay legal with your doing this. The tagged head remains with the cooler full of meat.

Now, what is the right thing to do with the carcass? Are there written laws that tell us what to do? What do you guys do???

 

[sagebrush]

with me you can find some of the carcass at the kill site, or even at camp depending how i get the animal out of the woods. so you can say scattered all over the place.

 

[north slope]

Almost all the animals I kill, the carcass stays at the kill spot. I take the meat and leave the rest. Packing a whole animal miles is not going to happen. I think a lot of birds and coyotes love me.

 

[Duckholla]

I agree, the gutless quarter is the only way to go when you are way back in the hills. Less of a mess, and quicker to pack the quarters out. Leave the carcuss at the kill site in the woods. There are enough critters where I hunt that will benefit from that. I try to take all the meat I can, but there is always a little I miss.
North Slope, you do the gutless quarter too right?

 

[proutdoors]

The gutless method is the only way to go, less bloody and the meat cools quickly. If I am unable to drive to the animal, which is ALWAYS, I gutless quarter them and get that hide off the meat ASAP. It improves the taste of the animal and I am still able to get the bulk of the meat to the freezer. If it is along way from the road, I will debone it before putting the meat in gamebags.

PRO

 

[Treehugnhuntr]

I agree, the gutless quarter is the only way to go when you are way back in the hills. Less of a mess, and quicker to pack the quarters out. Leave the carcuss at the kill site in the woods. There are enough critters where I hunt that will benefit from that. I try to take all the meat I can, but there is always a little I miss.
North Slope, you do the gutless quarter too right?

I will never, ever, ever, drag or gut an animal again. Why do the extra work? Skin it in the field, take the meat off and haul it out in a bag. A deer can be done in less than 30 minutes if you know what you're doing. Larger animals such as elk and moose may take longer, but that is the ONLY way to get them out. Whay haul all of the BS back to camp/home just to throw it in the trash? LEave the carcass in the field and give the coyotes and magpies something to chew on for awhile.

 

[Bassman]

I've seen this method (the gutless quarter) used first-hand by a friend only once. Unfortunately I don't have a very good memory. Does anyone have a link to some good instructions on how to do this for us "less experienced" ones out there? Also, when using this method how do you get to the prized tenderloin?

 

[Treehugnhuntr]

Gutless quartering HAIR OFF

You cut a few ribs out by the spine. But if it's a small animal like an antelope or deer, It'll probably be jerky by the time you butcher it. I seldom bother unless it's an elk sized critter.

I looked at the method shown in fatbass's link. I'm not a big fan of leaving the hide on, so here's how I do it:

Make an incision in the belly (skin only) like would if your were gutting it. Cut the hide along the belly/sternum all the way to the mid neck. Make a "Y" cut from the beginning of the incision,on the inside of the hind leg past the hocks. (A gut hook works great for of these steps.)

Make circular cuts around the leg just above the hock. Skin the legall the way around and down exposing the rumpmake on more hide cut around the genitals and just above the anus. continue to skin the until the entire rump is exposed. Make a cut along the natural line in the crotch, you'll hit an artery and blood will seep, but don't worry. continue to make your cut next to the pelvic bone and up over the backside to meet the point where you started. Press the leg outwards and make small cuts until you get to the hip socket. You should be able to push down and get your knife in between the ball and the socket to loosen any conective tissue. The leg should be off. Repeat for the other side.

Leave the hide on the back to protect the backstraps while you do the front legs.

Make another incision up the inside of each front leg past the last knuckle. Repeat the skinning process to expose the entire leg. pull the leg away from the body of the animal and cut away the connective tissue along the back side of the scapula until the shoulder falls off.

Turn the animal over on it's belly and skin the remainder excluding the head. Cut out the backstraps and neck meat.

I leave the meat I have cut off on top of the game bags (s) to cool while I am doing the rest of the animal and cut the legs off at the joint right before I put them in the bags. Like pro said, If it's a big critter or if you are miles from the road, you might want to get it off of the bone.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it. :wink:

PS, I wrote this before fatbass posted the link. Thanks alot man! :twisted:

 

[proutdoors]

I've seen this method (the gutless quarter) used first-hand by a friend only once. Unfortunately I don't have a very good memory. Does anyone have a link to some good instructions on how to do this for us "less experienced" ones out there? Also, when using this method how do you get to the prized tenderloin?

This shows how to get the tenderloins but the filet mignons can only be found through the guts. You need the heart and liver anyway. 8)

http://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?nam ... cle&sid=27

You can get to them by carefully opening up the 'guts' near the top of the rib cage, then simply reach in and cut off the steaks and leave ALL the guts(heart and liver are nothing more than guts) intact with the rest of the unedible parts of the carcass.

PRO

 

[CP1]

I first cut it up so that it will fit in my trash can, then I lace the heck out of it with the strongest laxatives I can find. Then stratigecally place it on top of my trash so the neighborhood dogs that continually wreck my trash will find it and soon give thier owners a nice mess to clean up, hopefully one in their home!

 

[Treehugnhuntr]

You got me pegged Mr. Fatbass. I'll have you know my tongue wasn't hanging out, but I was sweating profusely.

 

[proutdoors]

WRITE ON, Mr Treehugnhuntr, WRITE ON!

That is funny 'write' there.

PRO

 

[bwhntr]

This year was the first time I performed the "gutless" method. I have never seen it done but read about it here enough that I had to try it. We had two bulls down side by side and I had both skinned and quartered in about an hour! This is the way to go. I don't know why I have never done it this way in the past since I usually quarter my animals in the field anyways. If you have not tried this you really need to. Thanks for the advise.

 

[callofthewild]

i throw mine out to the dogs and let them play tug-a-war for a couple of days before it disapears. but that gutless method is worth a try, sounds a lot easier.

 

[truemule]

I have done this the last two years and There is no other way to go. It makes getting the meat off the hill so much easier. As PRO mentioned before it cools the meat much faster, which makes it taste so much better.