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Let's say that I am using the gutless method and leaving the leg meat on the bones.

Do you recover all the neck meat? Do you recover all the rib meat (I've seen the "rib roll" and that looks quite efficient)?

How many game bags do you use?

How many loads for the carry out? And how are the loads divided up for the carry out? 5 loads (left rear leg, right rear leg, both front legs, misc cuts, head/antlers)?

If alone, it would be 3 meat loads as I could not get one of the bigger loads on without help! :) It also depends on the size of the particular animal.

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Here are the AVERAGE weights of: Field dressed elk

Bull---

2 1/2 year old, 337 lb,,,,,,,,, boneless 168

3-4 400 lb boneless 200

Cow---

2 1/2 year old 304 boneless 152

3-4 329 boneless 164

So depending on your method of haul, your strength, the distance and topography to traverse, it might be 3-4 round trips. to bring out 150 to 200 lbs of boneless meat.

I can haul out 40- 50# at at time, and I break that down to two 25# bags.

Yes, some rib and neck meat. If I am close to the truck I will bring out the ribs whole as they are a great eat.

Have fun, Paul

The bull I got last year took 6 loads of meat and one load of antlers. I would have taken the antlers the last load of meat but it was just too much. I did leave the bone in the quarters but didn’t pack out any hide. I got more meat off that bull than any butcher ever would have even if he had the animal brought to him whole.

I took one rear quarter and all my gear out the first trip. Brought a friend that night for the next trip and we started off with a full load each (hind quarter for me and misc. meat for him) and half way out he had to drop his pack because he was too tired to go any further. I got my load out that night, (trip two). Next morning hiked back in and picked up the friend’s load and took it out (load 3). Three more trips with front quarters and misc. meat that day. Next day went in to get the antlers and bears had already got to the carcass.

I weighed every bone I packed out and I won’t pack bone again. Could have saved myself one trip.

Two years ago, I got a small cow and I got all the meat out by myself in 3 trips. I carried a hind quarter and gear first trip out and a hind quarter and front quarter in second trip out and front quarter and misc. meat the last trip out. The hind and front quarter trip out was weighed when I got home and it was 123 lbs. of meat and bone, no hide. I had a front quarter strapped to my chest and the hind quarter in my pack. I could hardly pick up my feet when climbing up the hill and the nether regions of my anatomy fell asleep when I sat on a log to take a break with the load on. I had to put the pack on lying down on the ground and roll onto my hands and knees to get up.

I would wager that a bull's neck meat is two to three times the weight of a cow's neck.

3 trips for me if alone, 2 trips if with another person. Those loads can be brutal with a decent bull. All elk look big on the ground, but a nice bull is huge, and each hind quarter will be heavy.

One things for sure, I will take 2-3 ass kicking loads over 3 lighter. I hate coming back, and will carry as much as I can.

I do 5, bone in. I take all neck and rib meat. 4 pair of panty hose takes care of all of it, and they weigh just a few ounces and take up little space.

But, my first load is just loin and antlers, then I bring the frame down for the next 4 loads.

I'm always going up the mountain a couple thousand feet in elevation, and sometimes 2 miles...so I'm not going to pull a Cam Hanes, and try to kill myself getting it all out at once. The meat is good for 3 or 4 days hung in the shade.

Best of Luck, Jeff

Our usual loads are:

Rear quarter = 1

Rear quarter = 1

Front quarter,straps, loins, trim = 1

Front quarter, horns, cape = 1

A long or nasty pack out might mean splitting that up more and an easy down hill hike might mean less loads but heavier.

Some folks like to push themselves and see how fast and few trips they can do it in. Others take a more casual approach.

One thing I've found to be worth their weight in gold are trekking poles. Not only do I use them to get to my feet with a heavy load, they're also great for helping with balance as you're packing.

Exact reason I started to hunt with horses. I, like Bigdan, like to leave bone in. Also, although I am 15 years younger than Paul, I am not in as good as shape! ;)

I have boned when the pack out was brutal but prefer to leave the bone in on the quarters.

rear 1/4 rear 1/4

front 1/4 front 1/4 loins/neck/antlers

If its a cow, I will package front 1/4 loins / neck from each side into the last 2 bags.

Treking poles are a must as well.

If it's just a mile or two, I'm not gonna bone it out. I like to keep the bones for soup and my dogs.

I bone everything else but it's usually four trips when hunting solo.

I don't like to bone the meat of the hinds as I like it to hang a bit while on the bone.

I don't mind boning out the front quarters and neck as much as most of that is burger meat anyway.

Just my .02 and the way I do it.

formula: terrain & distance X size of animal / packer(s) & equipment = how many loads

We've taken a rag bull out in 2 loads. Calf in one. A few others in 4 or 5.

Equipment matters too. If all a guy has is a small pack like an x-2 or something that will limit his loads as compared to a Kifaru or Barneys or something. I know folks that hunt with small packs for just that reason I think...... =D

I go gutless and pull the "quarters" off bone in, hang em up and debone top down right into the game bag, I try not to lay all the meat out if i can help it, lost a backstrap to a pretty bold fisher that way once.... 4 bags usually get it, hinds one each and deboned fronts + everything else in the other 2. I do carry a smaller 5th bag just in case.

Depending on what you are packing with the meat may be easier to handle bone in. If lashing to a frame or stuffing into a main bag bone in, while more weight, the bone gives the meat some structure. My pack I can add a separate smaller hanging bag just for deboned meat that keeps it all up high and in place on the frame. Lives in my kill kit with everything else until I need it.

In the heat, I would think leaving the meat on the bone would reduce loss.

Sounds like most do a rear quarter per trip out.

When I had the full bone and hoof Moose Rear Quarter on my Frame Pack, it was so heavy that the Plastic Hip Belt buckle exploded apart, so I had to tie it in a knot... Trekking poles were a big help.

Why would anyone do that, when they can disconnect the joint at the hock with just a small knife, and break it loose over their knee..it takes less than a minute.

Just wondering...

Best of Luck, Jeff

no way anyone can say, '4 trips' it varies too much

JEFF u dont look to happy in that pic bent over like that not good .

I couldn't agree more and 4 leg bones don't weight that much. Exposing more of the surfaces of my meat to the elements is not my idea of doing everything possible to have good quality meat and lots of it.

That said in Montana a group of us have a standing agreement. I don't care if you have to be at work in 6 hours and your wife is ready to kill you "Mayday!" means strap on your boots and get your arse on the way. And in Wyoming I use horses. :-)

Good call, Lou...I've been happier...it's a steep sumbich coming out of that hole!

Been there, done that, no loss.

Use the cape or a space blanket as a table. Transfer the meat to bags upon cutting off and hang bags or place on a log.

My best, Paul

I carry a "zipper" blade that does that fast and real clean, has a skinner blade on it as well. A flexible 5" butchers boning knife for deboning. (Caping work I have a Havalon in the kit as well, just in case.=D) Like to hang "quarters" to work on if possible and let gravity slip the meat into the meat bag as you go.

One big advantage to deboning is in hot weather it drops the temps in the meat much faster. Sour meat starts at the hip socket and works it's way down through the thickest sections nearest to the big bones. "bone sour" is called that for a reason. At the very least get the hide off asap.

--Bill

I do admit I get a lot of hair and dirt, I tend to rush myself, I have gotten better but still every time I am done I look at it and wonder how the heck I made such a mess (my own fault for rushing).

I've packed a cow and a young bull out in one trip with 2 guys, but neither were fun.

I've also packed out mature bulls that have taken 4-5 trips solo.

I also do gutless and I bone out everything. I don't want to pack any more weight than necessary, especially when solo.

I think there are pros and cons to deboning. Pros are that the meat cools faster and the load is lighter. Dirt and hair are cons but you can keep that to a minimum if you're careful and use the hide, a tarp, space blanket or piece of Tyvek.

I bone right into my game bags- no flys no dirt. I take care not touch contaminated parts with my hands or knife...and then touch the meat- plus I wear latex gloves so no bacteria from my hands.

Heck, I plan on eating it...

Take the time to de-bone it. It isn't any quicker than a extra trip but, it is a lot easier. Count on a bag per pack or trip. And take sensible loads

God Bless

wait... I think I can see the "void"..... =D

Reminds me of a story a buddy told me when his partner hurt himself lifting a hind quarter off a bull they were working up..... hit his head on the swing out tire carrier....

Ouch

my first big bull was 5.5 miles and 2700 vertical net change, ONE WAY. first night was near dark and i had not eaten that day, i was out of food. i ran the 5.5 miles with all my gear after gutting the elk. myself and two others came to help the next day. we boned out everything. my friends pack was well over 100 pounds, my pack was high 80's not including the antlers, the third person was a smaller woman, she carried the cape, our extra food for the day, and the loins and tenderloins. after one day of recovery, i went back for the last hind quarter, after being boned out and all fat trimmed, it was 64 pounds. in all, we brought out 289 pounds of MEAT, no bones. after being trimmed and packaged it was 212 pounds of meat. these numbers are not estimates, we weighed the meat on a scale. that bull scored only 283. it is also the only animal where i have weighed all the meat. I have killed bigger, but never that far in.

unless i am a short distance from a vehicle, i never carry bone. i packed a moose by myself once, only about a half mile, i did it in 4 trips including the cape and antlers.

I didn't want to say this for fear of being called a liar but the bull I killed in 2013 was the biggest elk I've ever seen up close. I weighed all the boneless meat and I got over 300 pounds. His gross score was 360". I also got over 200 pounds of boneless meat off of a bull that grossed 285".

Because I'm not Superman and also had the luxury of dunking the meat in a stream to stay cool, each one has taken me three 45# trips (including hunting gear).

This year I'm going to hold out for a decent bull, and before I drop the string I'll need to consider distance from the truck, terrain, and weather.

I'd love to watch you try to get that game cart out of the holes I kill my elk in.

I leave the bones in for stability of load. I'm going over, under blowdown timber, twisting through tight brush laden game trails, and gaining 2000 feet of elevation in two miles, no roads, no horse trails.

I always have my trekking pole in my hand to help me keep from screwing up my joints.

On public land, elk are where you find them. That's where I go ;)

Best of Luck, Jeff

This year I'm packing in a mosquito net to set up over the quarters when I leave. It's that bad.

I just put the dry powder in a spray bottle and fill it w/ a little drinking water when needed. It kept the flies at bay when I shot my oryx in 85* heat in the middle of the desert.

That's a good tip, DL. I carry one also, never thought of using it like that.

I usually skin one whole side at a time all the way up to the middle of the back, and stretch the hide out to lay the meat on.

If I use the space blanket...I could be a little less meticulous about the skinning process.

Best of Luck, Jeff

Not only do I pack my quarters bone in but hide on too. What the hell else do I have to do right? That's called "Nature's Game Bag". Nothing beats peeling it off after the meat is cold just before you are going to cut it up. Eliminates the fly problem too. Eliminates every problem really. Your back has 360 days to heal up after that anyway. :-)

If you do not skin it more like 50# or more. If you skin but leave on one you save little exposure if you do below:

Also if you do it right you produce very little extra exposed surface. Make 1 cut. Cut to bone then filet around bone (kinda like a rib roll) making 1 piece of meat not 3-4 like I used to (and most still do). Meat will easily and naturally take original shape (like on bone) and leave very little extra meat exposed - and save almost a full round trip.

I take my time skinning and cutting the meat off the animals so it does take me about 3 time longer than the average Joe (about 3.5 hours on the last bull) but I have meat when I get home that has almost no dirt and at most about 25 hairs to remove. I also am getting quite a bit more meat off the critters than a lot of folks here. The last bull got a little bit dirtier because I forgot to pack my game bags in my pack. I weighed every piece of meat that got wrapped and came up with about 218 lbs of wrapped meat. I also weighed all the trimmings (fat and silvermeat) and got right about 38 lbs trimmed. That puts the total meat and bone hauled out right about at 283 lbs not including the head.

This bull roughly scored 287 by my own measurements. I will bone all meat from here on out if I have more than a mile to pack out. I will also carry game bags every time so that the trimming pile will be much smaller. I figure this will save me one round trip.

i shot a cow two weeks ago, the largest cow in the group, i drove my car to within 70 yards of where she died, so i brought the quarters out with the bones in them. after sitting in the fridge for a week and then trimmed off and packaged, i would guess that rear leg bones, upper and lower are more like 10 to 15 pounds. not both quarters, just one. leaving the hide on the quarter is a way to keep that side clean, no doubt. but archery season is quite warm, i prefer to take the fur coat off my elk so that it cools. leaving the hide on is not a good idea for most of the season. one bull i killed about 12 years ago was just before dark. i gutted it, skinned what i could get to and propped it open as best i could. the neck was laying over a log so it was off the ground. the next morning the meat on the neck was already green and stinky. that night was not as warm as some.

boning out a quarter is also a good way to help it cool faster. the only meat that i lose to air exposure is where the muscle itself was cut loose.

i gave up on mesh game bags many years ago, never seemed to keep the flies out. i also gave up on the pepper idea. i gut it as fast as possible, skin one half and take the loin and quarters off the top side, then roll the animal over and do the other side. having the gut pile removed helps give the flies something else to land on. if the flies are not bad i draped the quarters over logs to keep them relatively clean and maintain air circulation. if the flies are bad they go into trash bags immediately.

a 300 class bull around here is going to go about 800 to 900 pounds live weight, i have always figured about 30% of live weight is boned out weight. even a yearling cow will go 350 or better.

next one i get where i can take a machine out to pick it up i will weigh one.

20% guts

20% skin/horns

20% bones/sinew

another 15% in fat not used, cartalidge, brain, hooves etc.

Trust me this has been rehased many times and everyone thinks I am low - but the guys who carefully weigh it all and take off fat added, pork, etc always agree.

I read a looong book about the biology of elk, how they are made up - they have literally taken an elk apart and weighed everything.

Sorry guys, kind of like the 180# field dressed whitetail doe I always hear about................

I weighed the leg bones from a pig just the other day and it weighed in at 6 lbs. A bull has leg bones more than twice that size.

It's best to debone the quarters in one big piece if you know how to do it properly. If not, leave the bone in and debone later for easier cooler transportation, flight home, etc.

I like to skin one side, cut of quarters, backstraps, rib meat and hang in a tree. roll the elk over and do that side the same way. Open the belly and let the guts roll out then take the whole tenderloin. Let it all cool over night then back the next day to debone and pack out. There are two pictures above showing this method.

the reason you never see bulls over 500 pounds on the scale is they are too big to get out whole!

i personally weighed the meat only off my bull from 1998, after it was deboned, and lightly trimmed, it was 289. since i have never brought out a big bull whole, it is impossible to get an accurate measurement of its weight live.

i am saying LIVE weight of an animal to processed meat is 30%, on the bigger animals it is a little higher.

i had a few elk quarters processed professionally a couple years ago, i got FAR less back than when i do it myself.

i did weigh a deer a few years back, not a particularly large deer. it was 205 without guts, lower legs, or head. a cow elk dwarfs a deer.

http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B594R.pdf

- fat added - ice - bones - pork/other meat added - skin - cooler/pack weight

Study above basically says no one gets over 290#'s (270# max plus 20# variance).

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/natres/06504.html

I like TD's comment

330 pounds.

I think Big Dan, Don and butcher boy need to work on their processing skills, cause obviously they are way be hind the curve!!!

Come on man....

It's not wise to come on a public forum and insult a butcher that has way more experience than you could possibly imagine. A thousand times more experience. I've spent 25 years trying to educate people about processing meat, field care, meat yield, etc. Some listen and learn, some don't.

Now if I shot a elk that had 300 lbs of meat on it I'd be so high. I think I could pack it out all by myself in one trip :)..

Just me and how I do it.. Ed

This is from a 6 pt bull, all boned out. Head had complete skull on it less the bottom jaw, no skin.

Again all boned out #s

MikeC.. I dont get to hunt elk this year! well maybe!! just gotta wait and see

"BowCrossSkin- You just spewed forth the funniest and most exaggerated amounts on processed meat I have ever heard. I think I can teach you a thing or two about processing."

Yes i did. That would be cool Chad, I don't even get close to the number stated by others.

"I think Big Dan, Don and butcher boy need to work on their processing skills, cause obviously they are way be hind the curve!!!"

If you read this as sarcasm, which it is 100% its supposed to be a joke.

Big Dan is a living legend and any advice he gives is invaluable.

Don had very good reports of other studies.

Butcherboy hell your a butcher you do it for a living, if anyone knows what there talking about it would be you!!

I hope everyone has a great hunt!!!!

I'm going to believe Butcherboy, Big Dan, and Don (for the reasons you stated above)...and their estimates are right along with mine.

Some of you other guys should think about having someone come and calibrate the scales that were used.

Best of Luck, Jeff

That bull I shot in Utah was the size of a moose. I think we were more amazed at his azz end than his antlers.

Nice Bull bud, have a fun hunt this year.

I'm sure there are exceptional individual animals just as there are NFL linemen and NBA centers. Just nothing anyone would say was "normal". Then there are old decathlon champs......

Lets just say that I asked the butcher how much meat I should expect off my sons mule deer last year so I could get the appropriate amount of sausage seasoning. They said I would be lucky to get 45lbs and at most 50 lbs of meat. I cut it myself and weighed every bag of meat and came up with 78 lbs of deer meat and that deer had been shot 3 times so I had thrown out quite a bit of bloodshot meat. I am not saying anything bad about butchers as they are fast and know what they are doing, but saving the most possible meat on an animal that they can cost extra money and is not worth it if you have to charge someone for it so they don't spend the time or try to salvage every speck of meat from an animal. Doing it myself, I have that option and take advantage of it.

The average weights of processed meat from animals is probably weighted pretty heavily towards the butcher's weights and not necessarily the DIY meat processor.

A butchers reputation is on the line every time he cuts up an animal and will probably error on the side of throwing out a little bit of good meat if it is in the least bit questionable. I am eating the meat that I process and I haven't gotten sick yet from any meat that I processed.

Funny! I thought you were joking but you played it well.

Good stuff!

A Washington bull my buddy killed that scored 359" hind quarters weighed 75 and 74 lbs with the bone in. A bull I killed in Washington that scored 350" the hind quarters were 83 lbs with the bone out.

The two bulls killed in Washington the parts we weighed were weighed on calibrated shipping scales.

Most of the bulls we kill we pack out in 3 loads total.

The bull I killed in Colorado last year I packed solo in 2 trips. All just depends on the size of the bull. Also when it comes to your animal having more or less dirt I think it has nothing to do with boning out in the field or back at camp. It has more to do with the person doing the deboning. To claim otherwise means you aren't very good at one of the techniques.