Elk quarter dimensions
Elk
I know the question has been asked numerous times as to how much a quarter weighs but I'm curious if anyone has ever measured one, L*W*D? Reason being is I am modifying my deer meat fridge so that I can hang quarters vertically? I'm just curious if I could fit two rear elk quarters in it or not?
Maybe someone knows how tight they fit in their cooler and could figure out measurements from that?
I have a Coleman 150 qt cooler that I have fit a deboned (quarters, backstraps, tenderloins - 210 lbs worth) bull elk into I have also fit 4 bone-in cow elk quarters cutting off at the knee joint, that was a tight fit and had to put backstraps and tenderloins in a separate cooler.. the 150qt cooler is like 43 x 19 x 19...
I'm going to make the leap that you are talking about a quarter, cut off the hip structure with both bones above the knee intact and in place..
1. On a big bull a hind will weigh 85 plus. More on a Rosie. You will need substantial strength to hang it. Something a fridge is seriously lacking.
2. I've never measured a ham but they approach 40" in length. The depth fore and aft will be greater than the simple depth of the ham since you must account for the knee bend.
Mark
For reference, the table is 34"x34"
I am interested to know how many pound does a elk rear leg weigh?
"I am interested to know how many pound does a elk rear leg weigh?"
Real? Or Bowsite weight?
Here's an interesting article: http://wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B594R.pdf
A boned out hind quarter will obviously take up less room in a freezer/cooler than one on the bone. I have a couple upright freezers in my garage where I often freeze boned meat until I have time to process it.
You can take the "shank-bone...lower leg bone" off the front leaving the shoulder blade and "biceps" bone in it and really shorten up a front qtr. Otherwise they protrude a fair bit out of a standard 30" long pillow case I use for game bags.
The rear quarters almost fit in a 30" pillow case for with two bones...hip to knee and lower leg to ankle left in only protruding a bit. Again, take out the lower leg bone and they fit easily.
I use the same trick of removing the lower leg bone to fit them on my upright freezer shelves sideways, and the shelves are 27" wide. As I remember the hinds fit diagonally with both bones in but the fronts had to have the lower leg removed to begin to fit. These were CO elk....mainly 3-4 year old bulls that were usually 5 or small 6 pointers. My bigger bulls would have been larger but I don't remember how much dimensionally.
My idea is to build a frame inside the fridge and use either angle or thick walled conduit as crossbar(s). I know it will work great and have plenty of room for deer but I was also hoping I could hang a few elk quarters too as I drew a cow tag in KY and I hope to have quarters to put in it. :)
Thanks all!
Brad, you posted the cow elk weights last year on Rokslide. If I remember right. Post the up here please so we can all see them.
Last season, I was fortunate enough to fill my B List tag opening evening with a big ol dry cow
I thought it would be a good idea to weigh the quarters, as there are several threads discussing that
Here are the weights - bone in/leg cut off at knee
Loose meat [backstraps/tenderloins] - 23lbs
Front shoulder - 34 lbs each
Hind quarter - 51lbs each
Total = 193lbs
The meat is fresh and cool. Less than 24hrs from field to home This should give a good idea of what to expect
Good luck this year
After I de-boned the quarters, I then weighed the bones = 23lbs
In WY I get a chance to weigh a big elk or two regularly.
Rear legs on big bulls are about 85, bone in. You can figure 12-13 pounds for the bone and then you can also trim a little more when you bone out.
Big cows are about 55 bone in.
I converted an old fridge for hanging meat over 20 years ago. I used closet bar hangars on each side to mount thick walled conduit. I can get all 4 elk quarters in it using meat hooks to hang them. Loose meat has to go somewhere else. If it's a big bull, it's pretty tight, but it works.
I just hang them from boards cut to fit the shelves. I know an elk wouldn't fit like this, but this is 2 good size whitetails. I could fit one more in there.
Ziek....do you hang all 4 quarters on one bar or do you have 2 bars?
Just one bar. But it's steel pipe, the kind used for bar clamps. The inside of the fridge is thin steel, but sheet metal screws hold the brackets just fine. I've recently purchased a dedicated refrigerated (actually it can be used as a fridge or freezer) without a separate freezer section, so there is even more length to hang quarters. If length is an issue, just cut the shanks off and cool separately. Weight has not been issue. I have not hung true, full quarters. Only hinds cut off at the hip joint, and front shoulders removed behind the blades. Neck meat and back straps, etc. stored separately.
