Moose field dressing question

[jlirot]

So. In one of the areas I've hunted I have seen a lot of immature moose the past few years. Fortunately, where I see them is mostly off the trail so there's a chance that all the road hunters don't know my spots. That being said - with some perseverance and planning - I think I could get a quad pretty close to where I've been seeing said moose. This is good because I have no interest in humping out a moose. I hiked a pile of my deer out at least a mile and it wasn't fun. I'll go in on foot but I can get closer via quad to haul one out if I'm successful.

Since I have a good spot where I've seen a bunch of moosies - I'm thinking I might spend a couple days deep in my spots. I'm thinking there's a chance that at least a couple of the ones I've seen are probably spikes now.

Now on to my question.

If I drop one, will field dressing and propping open the body cavity be enough to cool it down to prevent spoilage? I've seen people say that you should take the front shoulders off right away, etc. I would hope to quarter it without skinning so I could transport easily without ruining (dirtying) a lot of meat. I'm open to suggestions. If it's recommended to skin to get the temp down - I could do that I guess. It's just a lot of work for 1 guy in the field.

For deer, I just carry a couple of knives and field dress immediately. For a moose I would make sure to keep my electric saw in the truck to make my job easier. Where I'm hunting I don't think I would ever be more than a mile (at max) from my truck. I am capable of breaking down most stuff with just a knife but I am kind of on my own and hitting the joints with a saw would definitely speed things up.

With all that rambling let me reiterate, my question is - is just field dressing good enough to cool down a moose?

For the sake of argument let's say the temperature will get to freezing or below at night and during the day not above 40-45 degree F.

[albravo2]

Big fan of the gutless method, but I typically end up removing the guts at the very end to get easier access to the tenderloins. I've never needed a saw. A havalon is good for everything other than removing the head and if I was more patient I could probably do that too.

I found when I left the hide on to keep the meat clean I ended up with a lot more hair on the meat when all was said and done. Now I prefer to skin the whole thing and use game bags to keep the meat clean. Once you feel the weight of a moose hide I think you'll agree you don't want to be lugging that around, even if it is just on the quarters.

This time of year I don't think cooling is a huge issue as long as you have air circulating around the meat. We cut a bunch of deciduous branches to lay the quarters on and flip the quarters frequently. Even in cold air it takes quite a while for the meat to come down to ambient temperature so it will get hot spots if you leave it laying for too long on one side.

Good luck!

[jlirot]

Solid advice. Thank you. I agree that gutless is an interesting option. It would certainly drop some weight and cool things down faster. I'm just worried about doing it single handed.

I also agree that a saw really isn't necessary. I didn't use one to break down my deer. But again, I'm wondering if it would be helpful to speed things up.




Big fan of the gutless method, but I typically end up removing the guts at the very end to get easier access to the tenderloins. I've never needed a saw. A havalon is good for everything other than removing the head and if I was more patient I could probably do that too.

I found when I left the hide on to keep the meat clean I ended up with a lot more hair on the meat when all was said and done. Now I prefer to skin the whole thing and use game bags to keep the meat clean. Once you feel the weight of a moose hide I think you'll agree you don't want to be lugging that around, even if it is just on the quarters.

This time of year I don't think cooling is a huge issue as long as you have air circulating around the meat. We cut a bunch of deciduous branches to lay the quarters on and flip the quarters frequently. Even in cold air it takes quite a while for the meat to come down to ambient temperature so it will get hot spots if you leave it laying for too long on one side.

Good luck!

[KodiakHntr]

To the OP’s question, field dressing will be enough, to a point. If you can roll the guts out and you are going to be a couple hours and then its in the truck and rolling for home and skinned inside of 5 or 6 hours you are *probably* ok.

That said, it is ALWAYS easier to break a moose (or elk) down into manageable sized pieces. The average spike/fork isn’t that big of an animal, but lodged up against or under a stump or tree and not able to move your bike will have you wondering what you got yourself into, and more importantly, how are you getting yourself out....

The meat will absolutely be cleaner if you peel him from skull to tail down the spine and skin that side off. Lift your quarters off into game bags, peel the rib and neck meat off and tuck those into a game bag with backstraps and front and rear tenderloins and everything will cool nicely AND be manageable when you get your bike in there.

If you insist on taking rib bones a small axe or hand saw weighs 2 lbs or less and you can pop those slabs off into easily man handled chunks.

Even if I can get a bike right to a moose and can skid him whole onto a trailer I will take clean and cool meat over a picture of a moose hanging whole stewing in its own juices covered in mud and sticks and leaves from spinning tires every single time.


This years moose was processed into backpack-able chunks with a single havalon blade in under an hour and 20 minutes. No ropes, no pulleys, no electric saws, just one havalon blade that was already on the knife and a Stone Glacier frame. (Interesting side note, that same blade also managed to gut the elk I shot a couple seeks ago without even a touch up.)

[skibum]

...

I found when I left the hide on to keep the meat clean I ended up with a lot more hair on the meat when all was said and done. Now I prefer to skin the whole thing and use game bags to keep the meat clean. Once you feel the weight of a moose hide I think you'll agree you don't want to be lugging that around, even if it is just on the quarters.

Agreed - game bags and get the hid off, especially if you are worried about cooling. Meticulous about picking hair off the meat, not leaving the hide in the bush just makes this way harder

[wideopenthrottle]

I have seen where a guy really wanted his moose out whole so we spent 2 hours on a chainsaw and used 2 quads in a row like a train to get it out whole...the lead quad really helps to keep the front tires down on the 2nd quad....otherwise skin it, debone and bag it is your best bet

[j270wsm]

All of the immature bulls that I’ve killed or been part of killing have ended up coming out whole and weighing in around 280-330lbs. Yes they are bigger than a deer but they are still manageable. Punching in a quad trail will only show other hunters your secret little hunting spot.

[walks with deer]

depends on location if i need to leave a animal and theres lots of bears and i will be back with help in a hour i dont open them up tell i have extra eyes.

opening up is the dinner bell.

if i cant get help i go gutless and move the 4 quarters away from the kill site then go back for the rest.

[Gateholio]

Gutless and game bags for me.

Several years ago my hunting partner dropped a moose in the afternoon on the top of a ridge. It was Nov 3 or so, and we were at a fairly high elevation so it was plenty cool. We did the gutless and packed out what we could then came back in the morning with a couple of family members. There was a light dusting of snow, it had dropped below freezing in the night. The meat had all been skinned and was in quarters lying on top of buck brush and it was all nice and cool.

The head however was unskinned. We peeled back some of the skin to cut the antlers off the skull and the meat inside was warm and steaming. This always serves to remind me that removing the skin is always the best way to cool down your meat, especially with a large animal like a moose that will retain lots of heat.

[jlirot]

Guys. This is really helpful. And it makes sense that the hide keeps so much heat in. In my 'spot' I have bumped moose that were lying down on the frozen ground just chillin'. You need a pretty good jacket for that.

[Bustercluck]

I didn’t read the other comments, but I get the hide off as soon as possible, cut between rib 4 and 5(counting from the back of the animal, wrap them up in game bags, throw them on the quad wrapped in a fresh blue tarp and duct tape the seams the best u can. Ratchet straps work wonders for tying the meat down to the rack too.

if u can’t get half of the moose on in one piece I recommend cutting each quarter in half with a cordless sawzall.

[tyreguy]

If you're going to just knock the guts out and leave it propped open overnight i suggest splitting the hide along the backbone to open that up a bit and get it cooling, my butcher also suggests to skin it back a bit. That hide and hair is very good insulation and it will really help in the cooling process.
Had a moose down overnight in the snow, gutted and propped open and came back to qtr in the morning and the meat along the backbone was surprisingly warm considering it was 10-15 below 0c.
Good suggestion too is talk to your butcher, they have tips for what will work in different weather and what they like to see. They're the ones that have seen spoiled meat so its a good source of information.

[two-feet]

Problem areas for heat retention are hips around the ball joints, and neck. The hide at the neck and butt is 1/2” leather and holds heat. I am all for breaking it down into liftable pieces. I grew up getting them to the truck whole with hide on, my dad is fanatic about this. My preferred method is to gut the moose and then work one side at a time taking off pieces. I use a small foldable saw to split the sternum and pelvis and remove the entire rib cage off both sides. All that is left in the bush is the hide, guts, lower legs, spine and head (minus antlers and incisor tooth for CI).
Most of this is work that has to happen anyways so doing it in the bush makes sense.
The small moose that my partner and I got this year resulted in 3 trips each with manageable loads.

[Opinionated Ol Phart]

Hey Sitka !! Perhaps you can inform these boys why leaving a moose, split open, gutted, and covered with jackets overnight to deter Smokie from snacking on the carcass is NOT a good idea !! :rolleyes::-D

[srupp]

Depends on temp.
If you decide to just open it up ..leaving hide on..for certain roll moose on its side and place a log under the hips then roll moose back..the log will alow air to circulate under and around the meat...
I have taken hide off and other times just gutted. And elevated hips.
Srupp

[hawk-i]

Agreed - game bags and get the hid off, especially if you are worried about cooling. Meticulous about picking hair off the meat, not leaving the hide in the bush just makes this way harder

You need to be rolling the game bags on as the hide comes off, everything stays nice and clean this way.

[cameron0518]

I believe that taking the hide off of any animal asap is the best way to avoid meat spoilage. It is an insulator so it only makes sense to take it off and let the heat escape.

[boxhitch]

Depends on temp.
If you decide to just open it up ..leaving hide on..for certain roll moose on its side and place a log under the hips then roll moose back..the log will alow air to circulate under and around the meat...
I have taken hide off and other times just gutted. And elevated hips.
SruppThe right stuff here, S
Have dumped bulls late in the afternoon, just get the guts out, prop them open and if possible off the ground.
Yes, parts will be warm the next day, but still cooler than live heat, and with the generator out no more heat is being created

There are some folk that like to hang moose whole and in the skin for a couple days of aging before butchering, no problem once the cavity is bare.
Another method is to build a meat pole at the kill site, hang the quarters with hide on, skin before packing

[todbartell]

Go gutless method. I packed my elk out solo this year for 2km (x 5 trips), it really isn't fun in the moment but a couple months removed, it's the most memorable part of the hunt