Skinning and Quartering Question...

[Pixem]

I have never deboned and packed the meat out, Ive only dragged. It's hard work but if you have the right conditions ( down hill, snow ) etc, it works great, but like I said it can be very challenging and hard, my last deer I dragged on a slight up hill grade for at least 1/2 km and then down hill the rest of the way. It was a nice little 2x3 so it was manageable. I like to hang my deer with the hide on for 3-7 days depending on how the temp is. I am going after a big mulie soon and if lucky I will most likely have to debone and pack out. Good luck you all.

[MichelD]

With the animal on the ground, I skin out one side, take the front shoulder off and bag it, roll it over onto a tarp, its own hide if the ground is clean grass or moss, skin the other side, take the front shoulder off and add it to the other one. Then I separate the lower back and hinds from the chest/portion, bag that, cut the head off and bag the chest and neck portion.

[Bustercluck]

I think experience is the best teacher here. Every time you cut something up you learn something. If it's small enough to man handle I'd leave the hide on until you can hang it. If it's a small moose somewhere you can get your quad in then cut it in half and load it on your quad. The bigger it is and the further from your quad/truck the more cutting you have to do. I watched a guy do the gutless method on a small moose one day too. Seemed to work good for him, but seemed like he left a bit of meat behind.

[ncurrie]

I have always left the hide on until get home or until ready to process. So did my dad and his dad. Hide is natural protectant.

[hawk-i]

I skin as I quarter...as the hide goes off a game bag goes on, then quarter or dismember and set aside....continue until finished. I can do a moose by myself from start to a finished stack of game bags in under 2 hours. For ease of packing its 4 bags of legs, one or two of backbone and a sack of ribs plus the heart and liver.

[SeaScene]

Just yesterday ...same as all the previous years with BlackTail down I quarter and skin... debone and put in game bags. As soon as a quarter is skinned it goes into a game bag (sometimes without deboning sometimes quick debone). Meat is kept clean this way. By the time I get back the meat is cooled. I butcher per my preference and freeze right away. Never a problem with "gamey" taste ... always prime. No hanging etc..

Interesting coupla days ago when the deer was down a black bear arrived within 30 minutes of the shot and sat patiently watching me 50' away until I left. Yesterday... no trace of the deer. This method has an additional plus (in my view)... in that just the meat goes home and the rest feeds the forest.

[Bustercluck]

The other thing I'll add is I buy those cheap blue tarps every time they're on sale at Canadian tire. With a big moose you can skin one side down to the spine and flip the carcass onto the tarp and do the other side. Then you have a skinned moose sitting on a clean tarp. If you have a couple more small tarps and some duct tape you can keep everything clean. I also bring lots of paracord for tying off limbs etc. The moose we got this year I used a 2 person sol survival blanket. It was barely big enough to do the job.

[blu-nsr]

As many have mentioned, there’s tons of effective methods. I use many depending on animal/location. I ‘short quarter gutless’ for the most part. Knock off front leg and rear leg, set aside. Peel hide back, remove rib meat, back straps (place in game bag). Flip critter, repeat. Last to come off is neck meat and tenderloins. If it’s a long pack out I’ll then disarticulate knee joints, skin quarters and bag, if it’s not too far I’ll peel that stuff off at home. I’ve never had issues with contamination from hair or dirt and I’ve taken apart elk in two feet of swamp. If it goes dirt on it wipe it off with some cold water and a bit of vinegar when the pieces are hanging at home.