Gutless field dress method
Elk
Does anyone know of a good video or dvd showing this method? I alway tell myself I'm going to try it on a whitetail first but always forget(easier to throw in the truck than an elk)Thanks guys..
Any way of posting a link on here that shows how it is done ?? I am very interested ......Jeff
go to www.bowjackson.com. Here's the link to their photos on the gutless method:
http://home.att.net/~sajackson/guttless1.html
They have a series of photos that show you how. I had to do that this year with a friend's bull that died in a ditch. We could not move, nor roll it, so we did it the gutless method. It's pretty easy when you think about it.
Taking the neck roll with the backstrap is pretty common, but awkard on big animals like elk and especially moose, I usually cut the backstrap at the neck and roll the neck as a seperate piece.
The method shown does not demonstrate the rib roll, and advocates leaving all the rib meat on the carcass. This is the most common mistake hunters make. This will get you a ticket in most states for wanton waste, especially in Alaska.
The Colorado Fish and Game site has a video in there "shop" page, in the DVD section
Sent you a pm. I sell the video that "bugle" did on the gutless method. "bugle" is the one responsible for the pics and commentary on Jackson's site.
Hollywood, I'd love to learn more about the "ribroll". You're right, 90% or the time we leave the rib meat after taking the backstrap. Not much of it on a deer, etc. but an elk would add up.
We usually go "gutless" and just bone out the animal. this year we gutted before boning, first because an old friend here asked that if we get anything we bring him back the liver and heart, second it was a good "CSI" session. =D
Gutless is a great way to keep the site and the meat clean. And if you have to take it out on your back boned is the only way to go.
Actually, the rib meat that is left in the gutless method shown is just that connective tissue between the ribs, not the meat. I have shown the DWM the pictures here in CO and got the comment that he wished that everyone could clean up a carcass so good!
The stuff in between the ribs? That is the best part of the rib meat! And it can easily be remooved with the rest in one whole piece of meat from the last rib to the back of the head in one whole piece!
Lance
When the ribs are "peeled" in the gutless method, what is left is not worth eating as it is the inner lining of the chest cavity. Virtually all of the edible meat comes off in this process leaving only that inner lining. I have compared the gutless to when we would gut and bring the animal in whole and found that there is virtually no difference in meat lost/gained. If you don't peel the ribs and only cut the backstaps and quarters off, that is a totally different scenario where there is definite waste of meat from the ribs.
I have a video of this. I had a friend of mine video me performing this on my first of the season this year. I was hoping to put it on the stickbow site. However, the camcorder I have sucks and I'm unable to view what I filmed. It's a Panasonic Camcorder. Can someone help me so we can get this posted! Thanks, Dennis
the gutless method also works well for bear, done it and watched it a bunch of times. i really don't know why people go thru the trouble of gutting a bear, other than to help cool the carcass.
Hollywood is spot on. I know of a co-worker here in AZ who was cited for wasted meat. He left the rib cage and some other spoiled meat from a bull elk he had shot the day before. When he found his elk some spoilage had occurred and he left those parts. Well the game and fish didn't see things his way, probably because it was a tremendous bull. Scored above 380". Maybe there is more to the story, but that is the part I heard.
The bottom line on the rib meat is to know the rules BEFORE you go in the woods. If you use the gutless method, retrieving the rib meat is no big deal. As you peel the meat off the ribs, just cut along the rib into the chest cavity on the back side, peel up then cut the meat from the other side leaving that small flap of meat attached to the whole thing.
I do all my own butchering, and have for over 30 years, so I can tell you from my standpoint, that much of what is on the ribs is VERY hard to salvage as edible meat. There are so many layers of muscle/fat/muscle/fat..... that to take that little 1/4" layer of meat away from the fat layer is very, very hard to do. The one constant for good meat from elk is that ALL fat be removed. It is far different than beef fat and will go rancid quickly. If you are putting the ribs on the BBQ right after the kill, it is one thing, but if you are storing them for later use, they may not do well.
Fawn what is the rule in Colorado? You got pictures of that last explanation or do I not need to worry?
The rule in CO is "edible meat". The interpretation of what constitutes "edible meat" is up to the DWM and the judge, should you get cited. Internal organs, liver, heart.... are specifically excluded. Where I hunt, leaving that bit of tissue between the ribs is not seen as a waste of game meat. In other areas, it will get you a ticket.
No, I really don't have any pictures, but maybe I can find a critter and do so just for ease of explanation.
Nochawk, if you're talking about "Down to the Bone", I got it a few years ago and did;nt think it was much help, There's got to be better info out there. I'm wanting to try a deer here first so I'll kinda know what I'm doing before elk season next yr.. Thanks for all the help..
This is what the CO rule says:
Its Against the Law to: 12. Fail to prepare edible wildlife meat for human consumption. At a minimum, the four quarters, tenderloins and backstraps are edible meat. Internal organs are not.
So, if you shoot up a shoulder and its not edible do you still have to prepare it?
