de-boning vs. quartering big game??

[wapiti]

Hey guys, just thought I'd see who thinks what on this topic-if you are hunting in mid August/early September and the weather is warm, and you shoot a big critter like a moose or an elk, and you have to pack it out, if you decide to de-bone it and put in in game bags and then hang the meat in camp, is there a higher risk of the meat going bad than if you had left it in quarters and hung it that way?? Just wondering if the smaller pieces of meat are more likely to go off than one big piece...:confused:

[Schmaus]

we always quarter then hang. I think if you hung a whole bunch of smaller peices you would waste a lot more meat when you cut off the crust that develops

[Brambles]

The bone is handy when your hanging, that being said those animals have big muscle and will cool off faster in smaller pieces, Personally if it was touch and go I'd either submerge it in a creek in plastic bags or if that wasn't possible I'd hang it in the coolest spot I could find, remove the thigh bone but leave the calf bone intact so you can hang it easier, for the fronts its possible to bone out the shoulder blade and do the same, a little tricky but possible, the more you can do to open up those big muscle groups without ruining your cuts of meat the faster they will cool off.

[tuchodi]

Every time you make a cut in meat you are exposing it to more bacteia. We always just hang the quarters in a meat tent in the shade.

[Fisher-Dude]

We've always left our meat in quarters to hang, some in some warm weather, and haven't lost any yet. Be sure to clean it meticulously before you put it in game bags. Cut out all the bloodshot (especially you Nosler Partition fans! :mrgreen: ). Moisture is your enemy, so a wipe down with a damp clean cloth is okay, but water in the meat layers is a breeding spot for bacteria. Also, don't leave any scraps or blood pools on the ground under the meat, as the bacteria can breed there and end up on your meat via flies that will land on the meat sacks.

[hunter1947]

The best way i found out is to get the hid off as soon as possible so it can cool down quick. The best way if you can is to leave the bone in on the quarters if you can ,less cuts the better ,that's if you don't have to pack it far. But if you are back in a 4 or 5 miles and have to carry out the quarters ,i debone the quarters and put them in cheesecloth or big zip lock bags ,don't want to take the bones out 4 or 5 miles to much weight to take out.

[Jagermeister]

Here's an interesting site. De-boning without gutting. Never tried it, but will consider it in the future.
http://home.att.net/~sajackson/guttless1.html

[horshur]

Smaller parts cool off faster--more surface area.

[locdog_99]

i usally hang the hole animal then skin it and then quarter it

[Rock Doctor]

When i debone, I don't end up with a bunch of small chunks?
I get 4 deboned quarters, and 2 backstraps.
I have not figured out an easy way to leave the deboned Backstrap attached to one of the quarters, that will not have it hanging low and away from the quarter that it's attached to. So I hang each quarter in it's own bag, and the 2 backstraps togeather in another but propped apart.
I find that meat sours faster closest to the bone, so doing it this was has helped me out. IMHO
Also, I find that hanging the meat high, out of the "fly zone" also seems to help (about 10-12 feet off the ground). I see that some guys also like to leave some scraps down on the ground, but away from the meat, to give the flys something (away from the good stuff) to concentrate on.
Hanging the meat high also helps when Yogi comes sniffing around for an easy meal.
My 2 bits worth,
RD

[Walksalot]

We usually quarter the animal with bone in. It makes it easier to hang and easier to cut up. When it is hot one has to move quickly. Game bags are a must and in the cool of the shade they will keep for a while. We have left quarters hung in the trees over night and got them the next day with no spoiled meat.

Having said that, if you are going to shoot something back in the bush you better be prepared to deal with it of leave it walking around and take it's picture.

[Mauser98]

If you debone in camp or in the woods, don't forget to leave the testicles attached - somehow.:lol:

[Brambles]

Here's an interesting site. De-boning without gutting. Never tried it, but will consider it in the future.
http://home.att.net/~sajackson/guttless1.html (http://home.att.net/%7Esajackson/guttless1.html)

I do all my backpacking animals that way, a lot cleaner, very minimal blood to deal with.

[Husky7mm]

So your hunting the early season, and you just deboned your animal and stuffed it into you frame pack, If you need to spend another night on the mountian do you have to unload or would you just hang your pack in a tree.

[Wild Will]

If you can get a whole quarter well cooled on a chilly night, it will stay cool a lot longer in the heat of the next day than a bunch of small pieces. As many have said, get the hide off and hang it high to get it to cool as fast as possible. Keep it dry, and cut out the bullet hole and other bloody spots.

[Chuck]

Saw a show on tv how the Pygmies of Africa deal with a large forest buffalo.
The whole village comes along as packers, then when they bag one, they cut it up and build a smudge fire under a platform. Smoke the raw meat and then pack it in baskets and haul it 40 miles back home. I think it is de-boned also.
Imagine the problems they'd have if they didn't know how! No cooling there and imagine the bugs and bacteria in those conditions.

[wapiti]

Thanks for all the advice guys!!:mrgreen:
I guess if we are lucky enough to bag one, and it is close to camp, we'll bring it out in quarters and hang it that way, oterwise will be de-boning it.
Many thanks for all the input, really appreciate everyone's advice!!:smile:

[Brambles]

So your hunting the early season, and you just deboned your animal and stuffed it into you frame pack, If you need to spend another night on the mountian do you have to unload or would you just hang your pack in a tree.


I'd unpack and hang it to let the air circulate around it, if you leave it the pack its going to be insulated and heat will say in.

[hunter1947]

So your hunting the early season, and you just deboned your animal and stuffed it into you frame pack, If you need to spend another night on the mountian do you have to unload or would you just hang your pack in a tree.
Spending another night in the bush with the meat in your back pack my answer would be NO. I would look over the hole situation and if we couldn't get it all out in one shot same day ,then i would hang what meat we couldn't take out in a tree with cheesecloth around it. It would be hung up about 10 feet in the tree in a cool place. The next day we go back and get the rest of the meat. My answer to leaving in the meat sack over night would keep the meat warm and could go sower and lose it. So you would have to take the meat out of the meat sack and hang it over night.