Skinning and Quartering Question...

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

I was always under the impression you should skin before you quarter, even in the field to avoid contamination (and yes, the difficulty of "avoiding contamination" when in the field is not lost on me), and I never gave this much thought until I recently read some posts where people appear to "quarter first", pack out and skin later.

Any thoughts on this? Any difference between deer and say black bear?

[Wild one]

If the temps allow it I leave the hide on till just before I butcher. This goes for packing out whole or 1/4ers

Leaving the hide on keeps dirt off the meat and prevents the dried out layer from forming so there is less waste. Deboning or if it’s too warm I skin it and pack it in game bags. It’s the second best option in my opinion. I am very picky about my meat and done right you don’t get the gamy flavour some complain of

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

Hmmm so what's the process then, cutting skin around the joints knife-edge-up and then carefully working/sawing down I assume before packing? And no game bag when hide on?

[Wild one]

Kinda but it depends on the size of the animal and time frame. I actually use a hatchet and a hammer more often then a saw so I get less bone chips. At times if it’s a bear or deer I just half it with a knife if it’s too heavy. Really I have multiple ways I do thing but in the end I try to keep it clean and get it out before dark or as fast as possible.

Been in on enough kills with different hunters seeing so many tricks I just improvise with the conditions and what I have available to get it done

If it gets too far from the road just debone it

In the end don’t over think it keep it clean and get it out it’s that simple really

[whitlers]

I'm a fan of hide off asap to cool the meat but that's just what works for me. Never tried leaving it on even in cold temps. Good idea that it does keep the meat clean. I usually quarter bone in hide off and straight into game bags. Once back at the truck it's either into the cooler or up a tree depending on the temps.

[skibum]

Hide off as soon as possible to Cool the Meat - Game Bags keep it clean

If I didn't skin my bear before the stupidly steep hike out this year, I would have been carrying another 50lb of fat on the hide out with me...... Actually that make no sense, as I wanted the hide, so I needed to skin it before quartering it. Anyways if I did quarter it with the hide on it would have all that fat underneath. You can only use so much bear fat.

[Ferenc]

I’ve always cut at the 3rd rib on quartering the larger game from the hinds... seems a lot practice this , does make it a little easier ... they can get heavy the fronts.. the hide stays on... but havin said that after lookin at the “‘Tex moose hunt” the end result looks awesome !!

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

Hide off as soon as possible to Cool the Meat - Game Bags keep it clean

If I didn't skin my bear before the stupidly steep hike out this year, I would have been carrying another 50lb of fat on the hide out with me...... Actually that make no sense, as I wanted the hide, so I needed to skin it before quartering it. Anyways if I did quarter it with the hide on it would have all that fat underneath. You can only use so much bear fat.

Haha are you sure? You are not doing it "Meat Eater" style and drink that stuff like coffee? ;-)

[Wild one]

It was actually a butcher that got me to start leaving the hide on in colder temps. Just like everyone else I was taught to skin ASAP and did so for years till he showed me this.

After seeing the quality difference I changed

[mike31154]

Myself & a buddy were newbs to moose hunting, mentored by a 3rd individual with a ton of experience. I wasn't there for the entire quartering procedure at the kill site as I went back to camp to get my pickup so we could get it back in one trip. Anyhow, Rick opened him up & cut the breast bone with a friggin chainsaw. It was dark by the time I got back to them & bullwinkle was quartered but not skinned because we decided to drag the quarters to the truck with the quads rather than lift them on the quads. Back at camp we hung the quarters & worked 'til 2 am skinning them. Covered for the night to keep the magpies & whiskey jacks off & decided to make a trip to the butcher next day since we had another week to hunt & didn't think hanging that long in warmer temp was a good idea.

[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.

https://i.imgur.com/NR0C5dB.jpg



https://i.imgur.com/XPebQVg.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/2dhF49v.jpg

[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.