With the last light of the day, elk on the ground, you learn to appreciate a great knife that holds an edge and skins like a lightning bolt!
Hind Quarter Funk
- Thread starter jarodjohns
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Last light elk down and midnight packouts make for some "Type II" "fun"....
Kinda miserable while its happening but love the packout stories to be told after its over. Day or night regardless, I think the amount of work we do to put wild game on the table is what makes hunters more appreciative of their food than others, hunting really puts life in perspective.
And zero judgement on the OP there's never a need to lambast someone for a mistake or asking questions, in fact brave to share here to ask and learn as others will learn too.
Kinda miserable while its happening but love the packout stories to be told after its over. Day or night regardless, I think the amount of work we do to put wild game on the table is what makes hunters more appreciative of their food than others, hunting really puts life in perspective.
And zero judgement on the OP there's never a need to lambast someone for a mistake or asking questions, in fact brave to share here to ask and learn as others will learn too.
cjholler
Well-Known Member
Trim out the off parts and now you know for next time. A lot of the time I solo hunt, when I down a bull far from the truck, I skin and quarter. Like others I carry 550 which I hang the rest to cool. Still looking for a good bone saw that's pack able. Congratulations on your elk! Enjoy the meat you have. Very few hunters get to harvest an elk. Most of the time, the successful hunter fills their tag most years. Don't worry about the negative comments and just learn from your mistake. Happy hunting
Muddybuddy
Well-Known Member
It's hunting season, my back is always sore!
I'll kill a bull at last light over any other time. It's cool, there's no bugs, the stars are beautiful, and the cool mountain breeze cools quarters very well! God made headlamps to butcher elk in the dark.
I can't fathom standing over a dead elk and saying, let's come back tomorrow when it's warm and the flies are out.
Hell, if nothing else, that's an extra trip. I don't mind leaving quarters hanging over night, but I'll be damned if I don't take the first load out at midnight.
I'm just glad that in the state of Arizona there is several hunting units that elk can be recovered off road. A quad works good ! Throw the elk on the back and put the legs forward and tie to the front rack and you step over and your good to go. I sure do love my sxs for hunting and elk recovering. A snatch block and a winch do wonders. My buddies elk from a few weeks ago was winched up a tree then into the sxs to camp . We put up a hanging pole and use a simple chain hoist . Skin as you have someone work the hoist and it's short work.
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It looks like Picasso painted a picture of your elk.
Congrats on your elk, sorry you had a painful learning experience. Elk are too large to leave intact and the quicker you break them down the better. In situations where you shoot and can't find it right away, always good to debone those rear quarters. Already noted above that bone sour is where it starts. You may still have some sour meat near bone but more likely to salvage more meat in those situations.
Axl
Well-Known Member
If you take the guts out they don't spoil overnight. If you leave them in they always spoil, even when it is really cold.
Please let me know where these clear, cool wonderful stary nights to cut up animals in the moonlight are ordered up?It's hunting season, my back is always sore!
I'll kill a bull at last light over any other time. It's cool, there's no bugs, the stars are beautiful, and the cool mountain breeze cools quarters very well! God made headlamps to butcher elk in the dark.
This is definitely not the cold, miserable, snowy/rainy, death March packouts till 4am that we usually do....
COBrad
Well-Known Member
If you left it overnight without gutting it I would expect the entire animal to have soured. Doesn't take any longer to quarter one using the gutless method than it does to gut it, but never leave one overnight without at least gutting it. There are circumstances where I won't shoot something late in the day because I won't be able to properly care for it that night. This has been my experience over 49 years of elk hunting and 38 of those guiding elk hunts.
AllOutdoorsman
Member
I am new to hunting, but I listened to a podcast recently (Rokcast #34) about early season meat care and the speaker, Larry Bartlett, said to cool the meat for 24 hours and to not even pack out in a backpack for 12 hours if it's warm outside. The point was to get the meat below 50 degrees. He said above 60 degrees air temp get all the fat off right away as that will begin to spoil the meat. He uses citric acid powder sprinkled on the meat to prevent blow flies from laying eggs. Larry Bartlett has YouTube videos that have more info but I haven't watched them yet.
See post #34. forget the saw. Front quarters should take about a minute each. Hind quarters still use a knife at the joint, maybe around five minutes. Learn this and you will never pack any saw.
lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
Toss the rear quarter. I wouldn't risk it. Sorry to say, I am surprised any of it is good.
Twice, I have seen entire elk bone sour overnight in single digit temps and snow when left whole overnight. Best to go up, quarter and hang them next time if you can't pack it out in the dark. I have packed game out until the break of dawn to keep it from going bad.
Take this as a lesson learned. It happens. I bet it won't again.
Twice, I have seen entire elk bone sour overnight in single digit temps and snow when left whole overnight. Best to go up, quarter and hang them next time if you can't pack it out in the dark. I have packed game out until the break of dawn to keep it from going bad.
Take this as a lesson learned. It happens. I bet it won't again.
tjm1534
Well-Known Member
You don't gut and get the skin off,yes it's gonna spoil and a warden could have gave you a ticket for wanton waste and should have.
