Gutless field dressing?

[Quaz]

Anybody using the gutless field dressing method? If so, do you like it? Stumbled across a video and it seemed good and maybe worth a try.

[Ubertuber]

I was a little hesitant to try it, but now that I've done it, it's the only way to go. Once complete, I use a pair of pruning shears to remove the ribs and to get at the heart and liver.

[Jelvis]

No, I gut the normal way, and save all the meat, gutless is good for way back and a big pack out.
Gutless is to save work and time so if your not working at it, take all of the meat home, what's your hurry? What's your worry?
Jp .. It takes guts to use every bit of meat, no leevy behind, neck, ribs, and spine.
friend a mine. brains, tung, juicy eyeballs, lol. IMHO.

[Redfrog]

I've used it for years for everything from rabbits to bear and moose. Why mess with it?

[lorneparker1]

Did it for the first time(ive been hunting for 15 years) this year on spring bear. did my buddies and mine. I will NEVER do it any other way again. It is amazing.

[Sitkaspruce]

Simply the easiest, best and cleanest way to do an animal. For moose and elk, it cuts down on the time and makes it easier to pack, plus if you do not cut your own, it saves you a bunch on money as you do not pay for all that bone that goes into the waste pile.

been doing it for ~15 years now and will never use any other way, except on our small Island deer, which I can dress and skin one just as fast as no-gut.

Cheers

SS

[Jelvis]

You basically cutting the front two legs off at the rib cage, the back ones off, rip the loins out, meaning your opening it up and leave the rest.
The front legs go up onto the body connected with muscle they don't have joints of bone. So yah zip them off by cutting with knife.
Deer moose elk etc.

[dana]

Jelly it is more than just the 4 quarters. All that is left behind is the legbones, hide and spine with the ribcage full of guts. The cleanest and easiest way to deal with a critter in my opinion. I even do the gutless method when we have an animal close to the road.

[Ghengis Khandrey]

Do you take the neck out too? Tasty roasts.
Anyone have a good youtube video demonstrating? All i can find is people trying to sell a DVD

[dana]

Yup, I take the neck meat too. Gotta have some stew meat. :)

[frenchbar]

http://youtu.be/ZhAqaXuPR4M

http://youtu.be/2E4PCzDRkUA

[Jelvis]

If your afraid off e-coli and that's why you do the gutless method then if you cut the head off or the neck off, you get stomach juice from the asopholofa gus. Green smelly juice.
So think about that if you don't want to contaminate your venison.
Jp figure out why am I doing this gutless method and leaving the brisket and rib/spine and that's where you get the best cut in meat. Chateau Bree on.
Jelly Chateau bree aw from the brisket a tisket a tasket a brisket in a bread basket :-D

[Sitkaspruce]

Well Jellyfish, from what I can figure from your incoherent ramblings is that you would leave too much meat on if doing the gutless method.

Well I was challenged a few years ago but two old timers who said I wasted too much meat doing the gutless method, so I told them we had all day and go to it to see how much was actually wasted....1.5 hours later, two sore hands from pulling and cutting all the sinew and stuff and 7 lbs of scraps later, they said they would never do the gut a quarter method again.

Your knife never touches and crap and you do not get dirty, bloody and worry about touching the crap. And if you want the heart and liver, after you are done, just cut off one side of the ribs and it looks like an autopsy, all the organs are right there.

You should try it before you preach the anti against it Jellyfish.....

Cheers

SS

[Ride Red]

I've cleaned countless animals big and small over the last 35 years the old fashioned way. It takes me 15 minutes to clean a bull moose ( with a helper) plus skinning. I've never done the gutless method which does look interesting, but have watched a couple vids on the method. I can see however, that removing the quarters and other pieces of meat would speed up a packout as your not packing all the extra bones with you. I might even try it someday.

[dana]

Jelly,
If you are going to pack out the head, then the cut at the back of the skull where it joins the spine is one of the last cuts you'll do. All the meat is sitting nice and clean in gamebags in your pack already. Think about that eh? And that cut at skull/spine joint, is sooo much easier to do when there ain't no meat in the way. ;)

[Jelvis]

I've seen a few fellas lose their breakfast on a cold fall day with the steam coming out of the gut cavity as the knife sliced the gut cavity open and they puked their own guts out lol. One guy could not finish the job and walked away handing me his knife.
I finished the job for him while he was green in the gillz.
In the cold that steam comes out and the innard intestines swirl like snakes as if they came alive and the aroma is like internal hot tainted greeny brown organs. yuck
Jel He tossed his cookies when the putred warm organ smell filled his nostrils from the hot guts.
I told em hey ..... he won't have the guts to do that again.

[325]

I only use the gutless method. So clean, even with gut-shot animals.

[Jelvis]

Are you afraid of cutting the urinary track on a buck or a doe? Are you afraid of the feces rolling into the meat? What is it your afraid of?
Jel .. Please don't tell me you use rubber or latex gloves when you do gutless ..
Or I'll upchuck

[pittriver]

I've never tried the gutless method, maybe I will one day. But, you have to go into the gut cavity anyway to get your tender lions and on a moose/elk there are those little lions attached to the under side of the spine below the neck.

[Gateholio]

You can get every scrap of meat off an animal doing the gutless method. You can even take the liver and heart and tenderloins of course. The difference is that you don't need to flail around with guts while you are taking off the quarters, the neck meat,the brisket and the ribs and any other part you want.

[Jelvis]

Some new gutters have problems when they see the deer laying there n the ground after they killed it with a well placed shot and after the high fives they put the guns down and look, what the h is going on?
Where do I start? Every one that hunts will eventually need to gut.
Some can gut bucks ok but a doe? The udder? No penis wheres the urinary track?
Do I cut it's throat? My gad the lungs, the diaphram the intestines the guts are attached to the back inside oh my.
Jel. You need to learn this so bring a close pin for your nose when the guts come out.

[moosinaround]

I like to gut it if I can get it out whole. Don't bother me much. I have boned out a few critters in the last 3 years and doing it gutless is not all that hard! I will butcher my own from now on too if temp is not an issue! I learned from boning out bears and deer, and my calf moose this year, Oh and watching youtube vids!! Moosin

[Moose Guide]

The gutless method is slick and faster as you have deboned half the critter. You can take the tenderloins without opening the guts and only open the guts to get the heart and liver. remember it is illegal to allow the edible portions to spoil so you must take the neck meat also. You only leave the ribs and spine soupbones!

[mark]

After over 20 years of gutting probably around 100 big game animals, I too have been converted over to the gutless method!

Backpacked 2 elk out of very tough terrain last year, and I even take all the rib meat because I love it so much....heart as well!

[srupp]

yummm heart boiled and stuffed with onions and potatoes..then baked...

steven

[Deeboe]

Sounds like a great idea, i might have to give that a try this year. Not always feasible though---my elk last year was shot shortly before dark about 2.5km from the nearest road so obviously the best thing to do was remove the gut and prop em open with a stick till morning. Maybe its just me, but getting a bit of blood and guts on yourself was supposed to be part of hunting i though lol....

[dino]

I do the gutless now and havent cut myself yet. I think people are more prone to cut them selves when gutting the animal. But when im close to the truck "which isnt very often" I gut him and throw him in the back.

[huntcoop]

Then once you have mastered the gutless method one needs to try and master this......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xijmge8_NJw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xijmge8_NJw)

[Bear Chaser]

Then once you have mastered the gutless method one needs to try and master this......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xijmge8_NJw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xijmge8_NJw)

It is impressive how fast a professional can break down a carcass.
A meatcutter I know told me that he needed to process a ton a day in his shop with a meat wrapper for help in order to make money at it.

BTW we use the gutless method almost exclusively now. Last fall my hunting partner & I skinned, quartered, removed the backstraps and filets on my elk in 43 minutes without getting in too much of a hurry.

[35 Whelen]

Wow.......that was amazing to see a guy who really knows his anatomy. Wish it was that easy.

[huntcoop]

Does anyone here carry one of those hooks in the field for de-boning?

[kennyj]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/BT_09_001.jpg

I love the gutless method.
kenny

[huntcoop]

Also, what knives are you guys using for boning out deer in the field.

[35 Whelen]

Does anyone here carry one of those hooks in the field for de-boning?

I think that would be a hell of a good purhase. Sure saves trying to get a grip on slick meat and might just save a few fingers.

[huntcoop]

I think that would be a hell of a good purhase. Sure saves trying to get a grip on slick meat and might just save a few fingers.

and only $9.38 out of Stuffers in Langley

http://estores.wws5.com/stuffers.com/wecs.php?store=stuffers&action=display&target=HOBOT325

[finngun]

what about legal things ? saving evedence of sex ... does gutless field dressing means any diff..? The udder?...penis do you leave them on to legs..or what?
Gutless field dressing

intresting way to dress animal...i think i'll try it with my next deer or moose..

[DMAN009]

I am new to hunting and a bit squeamish. I am going to try the gutless method. Considering I am new to this. I always thought you were supposed to hang your harvest for a couple days. How does the gutless method affect this?

[35 Whelen]

You can hang the meat in the game bags no problem.......just make sure it is high enough in a tree that bears can't get at it. Suspend it from a rope between trees is best. If you can leave the hide on the ground under the meat, it seems to work pretty well at occupying the bears, as they will often run off with the hide. We used to do that moose hunting up north and the grizzlies would often run off with just the hide and a bit of fat.

[coquitlam]

This is an exellent gutless video
http://elk101.com/webisodes/gutless-video/

[leadpillproductions]

Do u guys debone right there or just cut quarters off . When i backpack i debone but if its close enough to rd i just quarter them, but both ways gutless.

[Jelvis]

What's wrong with eyeball soup and chitlins?

[blackbart]

To answer one of the questions posted earlier. Evidence of sex is fairly easy to leave on one of the back hams - best to do it on the first one that you remove though. That way you don't forget. You will need to leave some hide on that the evidence of sex is attached to.

[DMAN009]

I can't find a full video that shows everything. Most of them are all advertisements to buy a stupid DVD and who knows whether the thing is credible or worth while.

Anyone have a source they are willing to share? Torrent maybe? website?

PS those other two links posted earlier were advertisements...still usefull but....not 100%

[Jelvis]

Let's put it this way if you had the whole carcass brought in just after you shot the deer to a butcher, he wouldn't do the gutless method and if you worked there and did it.
Jel .. You'd be fired!

[swampthing]

I havnt seen guts in a long time either. You leave a piece of hide and the sex on a boned out rear quarter. Mark your game bag for the CO inspection on the way home, so you dont have to open all of them looking for the right one. Once home, you have half of the cut and wrap job already done.

[dana]

Why Jelly? Because most butchers get paid based on weight, and bone weighs a lot. ;) I would be willing to bet if the people who thought rutted up muleys taste like $hit were to debone, they would have a different opinion. Bone adds a lot of that harsh so-called wild flavour to wild game. Worse yet is taking it to a butcher and having it put on a bandsaw. All that marrow sprayed throughout your cuts will certain give ya a 'gamey' taste.

[Jelvis]

I guess it depends on so many variables whether a person guts or doesn't.
Personal preference is the one that comes to mind.
It's up to the individual what they prefer. And also .........................................
... how much time a person has in the field til dark on the last day
... how picky a person is to clean the meat off the bones etc
... how skilled a person is at deboning with knives
... how much help a person has at the time of kill is another variable
So many variables to figure in at the time.
Jel some are repelled by the pungent warm organ gas given off from the guts when the gut cavity is sliced open on a cool frosty day in the chilly November air.

[dana]

Jelly, people don't do the gutless method because they are repelled by blood and guts. They do it because it is so much easier. For one, you are pretty much processing the critter on site. After deboning, there isn't much else left to do when you get home other than cool off the meat and then cut into roasts and steaks and such. If you gut the old fashioned way and then drag the critter out of the bush whole, fighting and wrestling with it over blowdown and such. Having gravity pulling at ya every step of the way. Wrestle it whole into your vehicle, drive home. Hang it up hours after it was killed. And then wrestle with a tight cool hide as you skin it and still have hair and leaves and needles to pick off, and then worry about cooling it down because it is hanging whole. And after all that you still have to process it.
With the gutless method, you break an animal down into manageable pieces. Easier to get to the truck and in the truck. The hide is still warm and comes off with ease. The meat is still warm and separates from the bone with ease. No fighting. If you have your game bags ready, no dirt, leaves, or needles.

[cruiser]

Sounds like those that do the gutless method prefer it. Have to admit I'm still a bit skeptical, but I haven't tried it, yet. I have always hung the deer whole or larger stuff in quarters after fighting with it to get it to camp. Skinned immediately and let the meat cool and surface dry off. Then the flies stay off. The fewer the cuts the less places for flies to crawl into. Easy to clean up and get any needles or hair off the meat. Once cooled right through it keeps for a long time, plus I always leave it aging up to a week depending on temperature (though it seems most people here say its not needed). Cotton game bags for transport. The dry surface 'skin' and scraps/fat/bones get set aside as food for my dog. But this sure limits how far I can hike/hunt. Since I want to go much further and higher, I hope I'll get the chance to try something new this year (gutless method and pack out). If I'm going to debone for packing it out especially above treeline where there's nowhere to hang it, I can see why not gutting would be a good way to go.

[bc mike]

I have never done the gutless method. For moose I would gut it. Set up a system and pull it to the road. Quarter it and throw it in the truck with the hide on. In this example would you guys leave the guts in, pull and gutless process at roadside???

[Sitkaspruce]

Depends on how far from the road you are and how strong you are. I have done both and 95% of the time I just process at the kill site. A moose quarter done w/the gutless method weights a lot less than the old way. I personally leave the leg bones in as it is easier to pack a solid piece. I bone out the ribs, neck, brisket, BS and tenderloins. I use pillow cases for game bags as they are tough and reusable, plus at Wally World you can get them for $5, way cheaper than game bags.

Cheers

SS

[dana]

A few years ago my work partners and I were coming home from work in the Adams and come around this corner to encounter a vehicle sideways trying to pull a moose up out of a steep cut with a rope and their bumper. Was a spike/fork bull and they had cut it in half and fought for several hours and still didn't have the first half up on the road. They were super lucky no one got hurt as that rope had some serious tension on it. The front half was hooking on alder, brush and rocks. We jumped out to lend a hand and after fighting to get the first quarter to the road with all our help, I grabbed my knife and walked down to the back half and quartered it in a couple of minutes, and the 2 hunters each took a quarter to the truck in less than five minutes of hiking. Sometimes it pays to work smarter, not harder. Why would anyone try to get an entire moose whole back to the truck and then into the back of the truck only to be cut up into pieces when it gets to the butcher???

[Jelvis]

That's what winches were made for, hook moose on, walk it up, cutting the old dead wood out of the way and bingo. Done like deeeener.

[mark]

I have never done the gutless method. For moose I would gut it. Set up a system and pull it to the road. Quarter it and throw it in the truck with the hide on. In this example would you guys leave the guts in, pull and gutless process at roadside???

This is the oldtimer way of doing things, years ago old guys I hunted with told me, dont shoot a moose if its not within winching distance.......when quads became abundant they said dont shoot one unless we can get a quad to it......
once one learns the gutless method there are no restrictions!

Ive been fully converted in the past few years and theres no going back!

Ive been trying to explain this system to an older guy I work with, whos hunted moose for 40 years.
He cant wrap his head around the idea?????

[Rob]

Sounds like a great idea, i might have to give that a try this year. Not always feasible though---my elk last year was shot shortly before dark about 2.5km from the nearest road so obviously the best thing to do was remove the gut and prop em open with a stick till morning. Maybe its just me, but getting a bit of blood and guts on yourself was supposed to be part of hunting i though lol....

Is it Willyqbc that has his own hunting webpage? If so he had a clip on doing the gutless method, cant remember the link though.

[Bear Chaser]

This is the oldtimer way of doing things, years ago old guys I hunted with told me, dont shoot a moose if its not within winching distance.......when quads became abundant they said dont shoot one unless we can get a quad to it......
once one learns the gutless method there are no restrictions!

Ive been fully converted in the past few years and theres no going back!

Ive been trying to explain this system to an older guy I work with, whos hunted moose for 40 years.
He cant wrap his head around the idea?????

Just like mark and dana have said this is by far the simplest and quickest way to get an animal into the truck.
The only way I'll even consider loading an animal whole is if I can drive a truck right beside it on a flat solid surface and load it using a comealong or winch. If that is the case the guts stay in for the half hour ride to town where I can hang the whole animal from a forklift in a shop and treat it just like a cow in a slaughterhouse.
Hunting from horseback, quads, or on foot I wouldn't consider anything but the gutless method.

[fireguy]

The first time I did the gutless method I was on a solo sheep hunt a couple mountians away from my tent, I figured I'm going to de-bone this anyhow, why bother with gutting it. It worked, was quick and dropped my pack weight a little more considering the hike I had ahead of me.
For me it depends on the situation, where I am and where I have to get to what method I am going to do. On a backpack hun it is the only way to get the job done.

[325 wsm]

whenever I see the whole animal hanging I think NEWBIE and AMATEUR. Learn the gutless method it's the easiest.

[eastkoot]

Here's a good video on the gutless method.
http://elk101.com/webisodes/gutless-video/