For those of you that break down deer (even elk) in the field, anything special you carry to make the job easier? Also looking to see what knife people prefer for quartering in the field. Saw a video of a guy that uses small "S" shaped meat hooks. He skins out the outer portion of the shoulder or rear quarter and then cuts the inner before skinning to remove the shoulder/rear. He takes a meat hook and hangs the quarter from a branch to skin out the inside after removed from the animal. He commented that by doing this the exposed meat never touches the ground. I know some lay tarps down or use the skin to protect, but thought this was different.
Things I use: 1) Havalon knife with a couple spare blades (don't typically use a spare) 2) cut resistant glove for left hand 3) couple rubber gloves (obviously not necessary, but keeps me and my cut resistant glove clean) 4) game bags (3 for deer and 5 for elk)- I use Alaskan game bags and I usually throw them away when I'm done (but could definitely clean and reuse them) 5) smallish (3'x5'ish) piece of tyvek
Same as Scoot. I use the synthetic game bags though. When done I soak them in a mild bleach/water in the sink and then run them through the washing machine/dryer and use them again. I think I have about 15 uses out of my current 5 synthetic bags.
Trying to think if I ever have a deer and don't think I have, but plenty of elk, and a sheep. At least one deer on a tail gate. If you have never done try it when you get home with your next deer. Do it in the garage or concrete so you don't get meat dirty. As easy as it seems to keep out of dirty it seems to happen to me more than I care to admit. After you done one at home under more ideal conditions, when you have to do in field and on side of a mountain, in the rain or dark you had a little practice. Will give you a better I'd of what you need to bring it sucks caring a bunch of crap you don't need.
Havalon and honey badger knife. Rarely use the havalon anymore because the D2 steel in the honey badger knife doesn’t dull easily. A 5’x3’ piece of tyvek. A wire saw. 3 game bags and a gallon zip lock bag for the heart.
I've been boning them out using the gutless method since I was a kid doing it on rabbits.
Incision from tail to neck up spine.
Peel hide all the way down one side.
Remove backstrap, Incision in last rib to peel out the tenderloin, bone back quarter, front quarter, then neck roast.
Roll animal over and repeat.
Put in meat sacks, feed sacks, or gunny sacks and pack out with a buddy. Way easier than dragging or carrying whole and can be done as fast as some people gut a deer. I use any knife I've got, from pocket knives to big Gerber survival knives. One time I used a sheet rock knife.
Shot this young bull at 0730, boned him out, put in feed sacks and pulled him 1.5 miles down the mountain on a Pelican sled. Headed back to Kansas by 1030.
Glad to see this thread. After my experience dragging, gutting, loading, skinning and discarding a buck last week I’ve decided it’s time to change my ways. Like Thornton I’m going to go to the gutless method and break everything down in the field. I will get a hanging arm made up so that I can use a hoist pulley lift so I don’t have to do the skinning on the ground. I appreciate the tips here.
I would never drag anything more than 100 yards. Even small deer get quartered out.
Get some Ovis bags. Put them all into one bag. I used to use a Havalon, but switched to outdoor edge which I think is superior and easier to change blades out.
I like the outdoor edge swing blade for the hide, and a small victorinox boning knife for the meat. A couple of game bags, a small sheet of plastic, and a frame makes quick work of a whitetail.
I will echo, a cut resistant glove can be a lifesaver when you are in the middle of nowhere and it's starting to rain, and the wife is complaining you're always late, and you get in a hurry. Or, you're just clumsy. Either way, it will help ensure you get home with all your digits and most of the blood you came with.
I think it's alot different between elk and deer in the midwest.If I had to break a deer down I would just quarter and pack out the skin the quarters when back at garage.If I don't have pack frame throw over shoulder.Elk always get the gutless method
Solo hunt on a Monday morning 11/11/24. Skin out one side debone and put meat in pillowcases use pack frame to haul out meat. I use a couple fixed blade knives.
Agree, dragging deer is nuts. You don't what you don't know. I remember dragging a deer for over 2 miles in the UP back in the late 80s. The whole side of him was hairless when I got him to the truck. I do miss those days of seeing 2-3-4 deer hanging from the buck pole though.
Cazador, they do make game carts. Florida rules state that the head or evidence of sex cannot be removed on the management area. Some areas do not allow you to field dress the deer in the field. Most times when I get to the truck, I do this:
Lawdog, I'm talking 80s here. There were no carts in the UP. It was drag them out! I would never do that now, and haven't drug a deer further than I needed to position him for a photo. They all go out on a pack frame no matter if they're 5 minutes from the road, or 5 hours.
Havalon is just too easy. It's my knife of choice for it. Yeah if I kill anything that looks like a tough drag I just won't anymore. Take my time getting good pictures and then quarter or debone.
Havalon for breaking them down. If it’s on private and I can get them to a cooler quickly I’ll just carry them out in contractor trash bags. Use game bags in wilderness areas.
If on private where getting a vehicle to them is easy I’ll typically bring them out just to haul the carcass elsewhere. Also makes it easier to cape them hanging if you wanted to shoulder mount one.
Seems to be a lot of Havalon scalpel blade knives here...I carry one in my pack as a backup knife because of it's extreme light weight although I haven't ever had to use it, and up until now have always gutted deer and dragged them but due to health I'm now think I'm going to start quartering and backpacking or sledding the meat out... Quarter it and pack/sled out in pillow cases... Going to quarter it with hide on giving time to hang and butcher at home...
I kinda have a knife collection and heard good reviews of the Esee Izula knives which are light weight as a small fixed blade for breaking down deer, anybody use them? Why I brought up the Izula is because I don't know if one scalpel would remain sharp enough to do a whole deer afield and don't want any part of trying to replace Havalon blades with freezing, bloody, greasy wet hands in the rain or snow...
For deboning in the field, use an eight inch fillet knife or the boning knife you use at home. It gives you a much cleaner (less jagged) cut of meat than the Havlon or Outdoor Edge. I have both in my pack and Fillet life. The Outdoor Edge is a better design but not as sharp as the Havolin.
And being a good senior, I resharpen the OE blades.
Hmmm, I’ve been doing it wrong ! ;-)) I gut them, put them on my hitch haul and in thirty minutes they are at my processor. I used to quarter and put them in an ice chest, but I never did it on the ground. We always hunted where you could get a vehicle fairly close, pickup, side by side, or four wheeler. I did hunt one place where I had to drag a couple a fair piece, probably five or six hundred yards, but I was young then !
Just did a gutless, had no blood trail from a high hit and waited for daylight the next morning, the wolves got the back quarters but left me the back straps, front quarters and neck muscles and horns, I knew there was higher % this was going to happen but made it a lot easier with the call check in.
I broke down a mule deer and a pronghorn this year. No trees or anything to lift the carcass off the ground. One was miles from a road or access other than by foot. The Gerber Vital looks like the Havalon piranta but the blades fit more securely. I use the round point blades. So that is my knife of choice.
Next a light weight tarp (tyvec would work great) to put the quarters on. If it’s warm I will use my black ovis game bags, but if I can get the meat out and cooled down I use heavy weight plastic bags. Keeps the meat and my pack frame clean. Several pairs of latex gloves and plenty of water to drink and maybe something to snack on depending on how far and how many trips are needed. If convenient I use heavy bungee cords to lash the meat bags to my frame pack, if not then para cord. Hiking sticks help negotiating terrain when you have a good load on your back. If daylight is an issue then a good headlamp with fresh batteries.
Again, this was open ground with nothing to hang anything from but that would be my choice. I have a set of pulleys I have used when there are tree branches available.
It’s been years since getting an animal out whole and even longer since I dragged one.
One last comment, the gutless method isn’t rocket science and nobody has patented it. Pretty straight forward. Remove quarters, back straps, neck roast and any other meat you want to save. Roll it over and repeat. You can then reach in behind the last ribs to access the tenderloins. I will usually open the cavity prior to relieve the pressure and make it easier to remove the tenders.
One thing I like is a tiny, thin tarp. I get these little 5’x6’ tarps that are just about useless for covering up something outdoors but are perfect for setting meat on to keep it clean. Gotta be thin and pack easy or it’ll get in your way.
Those emergency space blankets that you can buy in the camping section of Walmart work great for laying meat out on. They're cheap and are folded up to a size smaller than a pack of cigarettes.
Would assume large size commercial plastic trash bags and Tyvek would be the lightest in weight of all the other meat pads mentioned above... I know a lot of the bicycle/hiker bivouac campers use Tyvek for their lightweight tent footprints...
Deer and elk are as different as night and day. I will always bone out an elk, just too many pounds of meat. I like to leave the bone in a deer, unless I'm miles in.
Most whitetails just aren't that far in. I've only broken down a few that I couldn't drive to because of mud or uncut fields. I always have a few small harbor freight tarps. Garbage bags stick to the meat but are better than nothing. I still use conventional knives but use a havalon for caping. I always carry a leatherman. My leatherman has broken down more deer and elk than I can count. I sometimes have a light skinning knife. Split the skin down the back all the way to the Y cut behind the antlers. Lay the skin out on the top side. I never cut off quarters with the skin on. Doing so gets hair on everything.
On deer, I pull off the legs with the bone in. Then I bone out the hip, neck and ribs. I then cut off the ribs, hip bone and neck bone. I like to keep the backstraps on the bone to help with aging the meat. All goes in a cooler with frozen water bottles until you get it under 40 degrees. I think leaving it on the bone, as long as it's cool, enhances the aging process and makes it more tender. I like to age it in a cooler for at least 7 days.
Thanks all, very informative and some great suggestions. Most drag deer here in the NE and I’ve been doing it for way too long. Don’t mind the short drags with cart or sled, but we do hunt some places upwards of a mile walkout. Told my brother we got to change things up, even when together and one can do the walk out to get the cart, it’s still tough. He’s a bit resistant to it but I always end up doing a majority of the dragging. Told him why are we dragging out stuff that we are going to trash anyway like lower legs, hide, ribcage, etc.
When i lived and hunted in NH gut and drag was it. By law deer had to come out whole. Here in WY it's gutless and pack, so much better. A decent sized whitetail is one load.
In the UP, sometimes I just quarter, hide on. Then I cut the body in half, hide on. Then I load on cart, but it does take 2 trips, but easier for me to handle. Then I butcher, skin and bone out, on a nice table. Easy peasy
That’s how it was always done growing up in MI also, everyone drug deer out. Never again unless it’s close and I can get a cart to it. Deer are small enough I leave quarters bone in, and after you’ve done it a few times you’ll wonder why you drug so many! I use same gear as mentioned above, only add in the Wyoming saw.
If I can’t get a vehicle to it, the gutless / bone out method works well……and you should be able to get all the meat required. This is one half of an elk completed in a very steep canyon….my hunting partner had already gutted it by the time I got there to help.
Just did gutless on my truck tailgate last night. Whitetail. Only thing I missed was the heart. As an old guy with a bad back that tailgate works real well. Just have to figure how to get the heart out for the next one. Nice video on the elk too. Thanks for posting it. Jim
Zbone I carry an esse 3 around my neck every day and have skinned and quarters plenty of deer and elk with it. Yesterday I processed an elk and a deer with it. I do wish I’d have gone back to the izula when I lost my original but the 3 is nice also.
Thanks fubar racin, yeah I'm wanting a Izula but don't know if Izula 1 or 2 with the 1/2" longer grip... Just lost an auction bid on a "1" yesterday and don't wanta drop $70+ on one and wish it'd have got a "2" instead, plus the "2s" are $80+...
Wish there was a place local I could handle them, and since losing my bids, I might go the route of getting a Chinese knock-off to get the feel and them make the choice....
Well I finally broke down and broke down a deer using the gutless method in the woods yesterday for the first time in my almost 38 years of hunting. Learned a few things you can only learn by doing, but overall all went well. Wasn’t scared of the process because I’ve been butchering deer for a long time now, but it’s certainly different when you’re used to skinning and quartering them while hanging.
I was alone about a half mile away from the truck, snow on the ground. Definitely would have been a lot easier with someone there to help like getting quarters in game bags and holding things, etc. The carry out was good, but it was a heavy pack with meat and gear. I didn’t bone out quarters. It was a small buck probably would have dressed 120 pounds.
I used my Buck 102 fixed blade to skin and quarter and hauled with my Kelty Cashe Hauler. Thanks for all the suggestions, much appreciated.
Most of my whitetail spots are load directly into the side by side spots. Last weekend. I killed a buck and had about a 200 yard drag/deer cart ride to get to an old logging road. It took me about 1.5 hours due to all the brush, briars and dead snags. I won’t drag another one more than 50 yards and was kicking myself for not quartering this one and packing it out.
Everytime i drag i say never again. This year antelope on private land we did gutless for both. Even with the truck 10 feet away, gets them on ice better and leave the hude , and all that hair that gets on everything, in the field.
Wife shot a small spike at dusk, stupidly we gutted and dragged, said never again and it was an easy drag. Realier this week I shot a buck, medium sized on 2 inches of snow and dragged it. Level ground with snow, no problem. Hit the hill, small hill, or spots with no snow, and it felt like my wife sat on it for the ride.
Also we butcher better on the table eather than hanging.
It works great. Unfortunately I used the remaining carcass for a coyote bait pile 100 yards from my house. I like to shoot the yotes from my bedroom window with a thermal at night. I have the remnants of a doe there now, but no visitors yet!
