Texas chainsaw massacre!

[3Dshooter]

Originally Posted by winged1

Love the smell of ungulate prions in the morning.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies! CWD reference (cervids), of course, and good point! Unfortunately, this is something we need to consider when processing our deer, elk and moose, especially if we are transporting them any distance from the kill site.

It's best to leave the large bones, skull (cut antlers off on site), brain, internal organs, and the parts of the hide you won't use, at the kill site. It's a great habit to get into if we want to stop the spread of and win the fight against CWD. It lightens your pack considerably as well!

[3Dshooter]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

You still end up with four full quarters to hang if you are so inclined and it's so much less work and there's no possible contamination from cutting bones and there is no difference in wastage.

If you're deboning the backstraps, neck, ribs,tenderloins in the field, you're not left with 4 full quarters to hang, just the hams and the front legs....

Consider processing the meat from the neck, ribs and the like, as soon as you get home. Most of us, I would assume, are using these cuts for burger or sausage and it doesn't need to hang. Clean the backstraps, tenderloins, and sirloin (depending how you debone). Leave these cuts whole, vacuum bag and age them in the fridge. Cut into steaks, then package and freeze. Hang and age your hams and front legs as you'd like. Process the meat. Assure your trimmings and bones go to a landfill if you've transported the meat any distance! Or return the scraps to the immediate area of the kill.

[alpineguy]

I agree with leaving as much in the field as possible. Why pack all the extra weight home. I feild dress with only a knife as well. Before the gutless method I used to saw the brisket but that was all.
As for the steer in the picture, the electric chainsaw is the ticket for those who slaughter at home. Completely splitting 1 takes 30 - 45 seconds.
I am still waiting to see if Pope is going to post the kill video. LOL

[Mountain Guy]

Originally Posted by sheepguide

We do beef and wild game the same. But in the bush Indian Quartering is the wat to go, just when at home I dont because if you take the quarter off the shoulder or off at the hip and hang for a bit you get your crust on it(not so much on the front quarter) where you seperate it. Just saves a bit of trimming(alot if your doing 3 or 4 animals) if it comes off fresh the day you butcher. No one is wrong in the way you do it and know one is saying there way is better(or im not anyways) just saying how we do it.
SG

what if you don't have an indian??

sorry don't know how indians do it...

[ishootbambi]

^^^use your knife to cut the joints to quarter...no bone cutting required.

[Andrzej]

I've posted that we use chainsaw with mineral oil to quarter elk or moose but this depends on circumstances...weather, temperature day and night, access to cooling facilities, length of hunt and if we get big game first day or last day of hunt... We don't cut any bones on deer as they can be handled by one person without need for quartering...with help of block and tackle or winch if needs to be.
Gutless method is good if you need to pack elk or moose out of bush, but deer shot at last light will be gutted and split open and hang so it can cool down....same with moose or elk if we can get to them with track or quad and trailer.
There is no best method to do it, there is best method for given circumstances that works well to protect quality of meat, prevents waisting of edible parts of your kill...Same with skinning or not.
When butchering game at home we don't cut any bones it is debonning only for all animals...trying to avoid entering nervous tissue like brain, spinal cord ...
There is no best way.There is best way for given circumstances....

Andrew