Breaking down a moose, what do YOU do?

[Smokeeater]

Ive processed multiple deer but I've only ever dealt with one moose and would likely do it differently next time....
If you have ATV/vehicle road access and are a planing to be out in the woods for a week or more.
How far do you take your moose apart to hang? Do you split it down the middle and across the ribs, 4 pieces? Or do you break it down further, take out the back straps and bone out the ribs? Or break it down even further?
Looking for everyone's opinion...

[Bustercluck]

Ideally… if it’s a decent size I cut it up in 4 pieces. Pull the guts, tie off the dink tube in two spots and cut between them, cut the ass out, pull through. Cut with the grain of the the fur from the neck down the sternum to the bone, saw down the centre of the ribs up to the neck. Start skinning from front and back hoof down past the spine until half of the moose is skinned out. Lay down a clean 8 foot tarp, roll the skinned side onto the clean tarp and skin out the other side. Cut between rib 4 and 5 down to the spine and split the spine in half. If you have a sawzall than you can split the front and back pieces in half by following the spine with the longest/coarsest blade you can find. If you don’t have a sawzall you can Indian quarter it by cutting around the rear socket and follow the front leg up around the muscle group until you can rip it off and you have six pieces.

This is what’s worked best for me dealing with a mature bull. I always go to the dollar store and look for cheap tarps and bring a bunch with me. If you have to haul it down a road I try and bring a bunch of tie downs and duct tape to keep it clean.

[moosinaround]

Depends on the temperature as well. If I am close to town, and can get it to a cooler, I break it down into quarters. If I have to quad it out and then hang it, again depending on temp, I'll usually quarter it. If its a packboard show, I donot pack out bones! I'll field dress it the gutless method, it goes into game bags, and then hung. The gutless method does not require a saw, just a knife. A tarp is handy, or a couple, and I usually buy the cheese cloth on a roll, and I can make my game bags as large or small as I need. Cooling the animal as quickly as you can goes a long ways to making it enjoyable at the table stage! Moosin

[Bustercluck]

Bring some paracord, baby wipes and paper towel. I use at least one good fixed blade knife and a havalon with a bunch of blades. But you can never have enough knives.

[Bigdoggdon]

Depends on a few factors. How big is it? How far is it? I use a specially prepared chainsaw. Remove all chain oil, clean saw and replace oil with vegetable oil or mineral oil. If the animal is within reach of a road or quad trail, then for a Small bull (spike/fork), after dressing it out cut in half between the 3rd and 4th ribs. Anything bigger cut into 4 pieces, remove the head just under the chin, cut in half between the 3rd and 4th rib, for really big bulls (700lbs+) cut between 4th and 5th rib to balance the weight of the quarters better. Then split down the backbone. Cut the front legs off slightly above the knee. Cut the back legs off slightly below the knee. Cut a hand hold on each front quarter two ribs up from where you halved him.

If the moose is a ways off the road and you can't get a machine or a rope to him then it's a different game altogether. I shot a bull a few years ago in an old burn that was a horrible pile of jammed logs and Christmas trees. I don't have a pack board so we ended up cutting that bull into 10 pcs plus the horns to pack him out. Cut in half between 2nd and 3rd rib, removed head just under chin and split both sides down the middle. Removed front shoulders from front quarters then cut rest of front quarter in half again. Removed back hips from hind quarters. I Lost 25lbs in 2 days packing him out, climbing through the burn in -20 weather.

[high horse Hal]

We take off four legs, neck meat, and backstraps/inside loins, the rest gets whittled down and put in pillow case meatbags. The spine, ribs, and lower legs stay where they fall
Often the legs still have the fur on til they get home, other times are skinned and wrapped in bed sheets
One rubbermaid tote is the kill box and stays packed with the sheets, cases, rope and tackle, rags, long rubber gloves, ziploks,
Depending on the kill site, sometimes the whole carcass gets moved to camp to work on, once hanging in cool temps the carving can be done over a couple days between hunts
Other times the carcass has come home intact, once we had two whole moose and two whole mule deer on their backs with legs in the air in the pick up box, just how it came down fast and furious
Have never and don't plan on ever backpacking one further than I can throw a rock, its either drag parts to the shore or road or the whole thing comes out, often in pack boxes on beasts of burden

[digger dogger]

Depends on the temperature as well. If I am close to town, and can get it to a cooler, I break it down into quarters. If I have to quad it out and then hang it, again depending on temp, I'll usually quarter it. If its a packboard show, I donot pack out bones! I'll field dress it the gutless method, it goes into game bags, and then hung. The gutless method does not require a saw, just a knife. A tarp is handy, or a couple, and I usually buy the cheese cloth on a roll, and I can make my game bags as large or small as I need. Cooling the animal as quickly as you can goes a long ways to making it enjoyable at the table stage! Moosin

^This here^^^

[MRP]

I've only had to do 6 pieces once to pack it a couple of 100 yds to the canoe. In the 45 years I've always and a canoe, 3 wheeler, power saw and a mile of 3/8 and 1/2" rope. I take a pack bord but have been lucky enough not to have ever use it. If I do I'll be trying the gutless method, been looking at some videos like this one.
https://youtu.be/sv65NUhnSmE

[Arctic Lake]

Shot a moose about a 1/4 mile off a main logging road one year 47” 48” antler spread , had to cut it up into primals and then some to make the loads light . Took forever to get it back to the truck

. If you can’t hang it traditionally at the time on a game pole ,get the guts out hide off and get it off the ground to facilitate cooling with air circulation .
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Lots of knowledge here on HBC from experienced hunters ! YouTube is your friend !
Arctic Lake
Ive processed multiple deer but I've only ever dealt with one moose and would likely do it differently next time....
If you have ATV/vehicle road access and are a planing to be out in the woods for a week or more.
How far do you take your moose apart to hang? Do you split it down the middle and across the ribs, 4 pieces? Or do you break it down further, take out the back straps and bone out the ribs? Or break it down even further?
Looking for everyone's opinion...

[Sitkaspruce]

I am a gutless method guy for elk and moose. It is quick, easy once you learn how to do it and the best part, very little mess. Just need good quality game bags, a good knife or two, some rope or paracord and a small tarp.

Moose are too big to be packing a bunch of bone around, so why do it? Leave it in the bush and pack out the 4 quarters with the leg bones and the rest is boneless meat.

Cheers

SS

[ratherbefishin]

My hunting partner is a surgeon,I let him figure it out

[Bustercluck]

You always have a choice on where you call moose from too. I always look around at quad access before I start hunting.

[Smokeeater]

I split the backbone and cut at the 3rd-4th rib. 4 pieces, with the last moose but I'm thinking I might try the gutless method next time.

[Ferenc]

Shot a moose about a 1/4 mile off a main logging road one year 47” 48” antler spread , had to cut it up into primals and then some to make the loads light . Took forever to get it back to the truck

. If you can’t hang it traditionally at the time on a game pole ,get the guts out hide off and get it off the ground to facilitate cooling with air circulation .
Arctic Lake

A good thing to do and I have done this is if you have quad ramps is to lay them cross way across a utility trailer or two logs ... just to get it off the ground .. ramps work good.
Most times by time you get back to camp and too tired this works well laying the meat on them ... a bed sheet works well to lay on the ramps ... place meat ... fold bed sheets over.

[Greenthumbed]

I am a gutless method guy for elk and moose. It is quick, easy once you learn how to do it and the best part, very little mess. Just need good quality game bags, a good knife or two, some rope or paracord and a small tarp.

Moose are too big to be packing a bunch of bone around, so why do it? Leave it in the bush and pack out the 4 quarters with the leg bones and the rest is boneless meat.

Cheers

SS
I’ve never killed a moose, but have dealt with several elk, bears and deer. The gutless method makes the most sense to me. As often as not we’re packing it out on our backs so gutless it is.

[guntech]

Two or three of us always hunted moose together... and always had 500 yards of rope and snatch blocks... and always made sure we did not shoot anything we could not drive within that distance. We preferred to gut the moose where it died and bring it back to camp whole (less lower legs) where we could hang it and do all the skinning, quartering, final cleaning and bagging... then take any remaining bones, hide, head back out into the wilderness and leave them for the scavengers.

[bcsteve]

Two or three of us always hunted moose together... and always had 500 yards of rope and snatch blocks... and always made sure we did not shoot anything we could not drive within that distance. We preferred to gut the moose where it died and bring it back to camp whole (less lower legs) where we could hang it and do all the skinning, quartering, final cleaning and bagging... then take any remaining bones, hide, head back out into the wilderness and leave them for the scavengers.
That's how we've always done it too. So far (knock on wood) it's always been possible. Lewis chainsaw winch and quad with trailer.
https://i.postimg.cc/3R8j9MGQ/6EB8F268-0928-4EC9-A779-53938C1239F4.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/sDbNHZ8z/CIMG3971-zpscvkm6wai.jpg

[Arctic Lake]

That’s a good idea !
Arctic Lake
A good thing to do and I have done this is if you have quad ramps is to lay them cross way across a utility trailer or two logs ... just to get it off the ground .. ramps work good.
Most times by time you get back to camp and too tired this works well laying the meat on them ... a bed sheet works well to lay on the ramps ... place meat ... fold bed sheets over.

[wallz]

On or near the road, 1/4 him up. Easy to hang and still manageable with a crew of guys.

Or I've done the gutless as well when it was just my daughter and myself with a big bull. Gutless, skin one side of him, and remove the front and rear legs and into bags. The backstrap comes off nicely in one pc and I usually tie it to the front 1/4, so when I hang the 1/4 it hangs as well and doesn't just drop in the bag. Debone rest of the 1/2 that is skinned, then roll him onto his own hide and proceed with the other side the same. Usually yield two smaller bags with clean meat that was deboned and the 4 quarters, with the two backstraps in there.

[HappyJack]

We bring them to camp whole [same as bcsteve pics] and get them up on a meatpole to breakdown, unless we are close to a processer that offers skinning services, then we take them there whole [or halved] and the butcher takes it from there, they tell you they like it that was as most times the meat stays cleaner.