silly question

I believe the word "Toboggan" translates from Cree to "moose slider".

OK I made that up, but I have used a toboggan to slide a moose out (in 1/4s) a couple times. And my quad a couple times has pulled a moose whole out to my truck. A budy with an Argo hauled out a big 6 point elk for me in quarters. In my younger days I have carried quarters of moose on a pack frame. A job I don't think I could do today.
A nice thick steak from a young moose is hard...no imposible to turn down.
Robin in Rocky
 
Back in the 80's, when our moose camp was fly-in only, it was serious work. Up to 2 days with 2 guys - and day 2 was usually done hung-over. A good, sharp axe makes quick work of quartering (eigthing?) - just take small swings and be careful to hit in the same place. I actually find it does a better job than a saw - no shards to get cut with.

Being the lightest, I remember flying out of that tiny lake straddling moose parts in the back of the Beaver, hoping like hell we could get some air under us. I do miss those days.
 
You can quarter, dismantle and de-bone a moose with nothing more that a good 4" blade (you'll need a sharpening stone of course)...And a couple of these to pack out.....

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We've managed to shoot 2 right near a lake and river. So we just go back to camp, get the boat, tie him on and float him right to the boat launch.
The others we've managed to get them out with the quads. Have not had to pack one out yet....but I'm sure that day will come.
 
:eek: I disagree with the axe, you use it for chopping wood. The hinds and shoulders can be neatly dismantled. The joints are exposed and taken apart. :)
 
I've found that a nice big meat saw makes butchering easy. Clean, straight cuts and even the leg bones can be cut really fast.
And yes, a good 4"-5" knife (with sharpener) does most of the work.
 
I'll stick with rope and a Quad thanks. Them big buggers are enough work without over complicating things. If I have my preference I'de shoot my moose on the side of the road. :)

Last year it took me 4 hours to gut and drag my moose out to where I could get my truck into the bush. And I shot it near last light so gutting was conducted with a flashlight, as I needed the remaining light of the day to find a trail across the frozen bog to get my quad to the moose.

Oh and 2 days later I ran across 2 moose on the side of the road, but no tag, oh well perhaps next year :)
 
:eek: I disagree with the axe, you use it for chopping wood.
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That's an asinine remark. To say that using one to quarter game is inappropriate is laughable.

The hinds and shoulders can be neatly dismantled. The joints are exposed and taken apart. :)
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Yes, sounds elegant. I suppose that would be ok if you're packing out in some sort of bag or are close to adequate facilities (I'm thinking walk-in cooler). But really an axe in the hands of someone who knows how to use it is really quick - faster than a saw. Leaves the hide on, too - which is better for deep woods situations when the ride home may be a few days away.
 
This is why I have kids.

Seriously though, a travois is better than packing in some terrain.

Also, carry some clean plastic sheeting / tarps, and lots of large, heavy-weight plastic bags, to de-bone on, and you can bag the meat, sans bone.

Then again, the last cow I took was on semi-frozen swamp, and I was some glad to see my buddies with quads and sleds appear!

Cheers,

Ben
 
Yes, sounds elegant. I suppose that would be ok if you're packing out in some sort of bag or are close to adequate facilities (I'm thinking walk-in cooler). But really an axe in the hands of someone who knows how to use it is really quick - faster than a saw. Leaves the hide on, too - which is better for deep woods situations when the ride home may be a few days away.
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Elegance has absolutely nothing to do with it, neither do bags to take it out nor does a walk-in cooler. I fail to see how these methods of packing out and processing your meat have anything to do with the chosen "cutting" tool. :confused:
 
crunchiespg said:
now, please excuse my ignorance, but not being a big game hunter ive always wondered if you shot say an elk or moose way out in the woods. how the hell do you get it back to your truck, which i guess could be many K's away..

i know some use quads with trailers, but how do you do it if alone and on foot...
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If you drop an Elk, you are looking at segmenting a 500-900lbs animal. On foot, it goes (my preferance) on an external frame pack. Depending on Animal size, trophy pref and if it is boned out at the kill sight, 4-5 trips. So a couple of partners(in good shape) are very helpfull. Where I typically hunt and have hunted, you can factor in big hills and both varieties of bear.
 
crunchiespg said:
now, please excuse my ignorance, but not being a big game hunter ive always wondered if you shot say an elk or moose way out in the woods. how the hell do you get it back to your truck, which i guess could be many K's away...QUOTE]

Don't. Seriously, this is the sort of thing most guys do MAYBE once and then never again. ATV/Argo hunters not included, because they don't really pack manually, but packing a long ways is for FNG's who don't know better. I don't shoot any big game that needs packing more than 500 yards to my boat or truck, and closer is better. You can actually do this, and get good at it. My last three moose had less than ten feet of packing to my boat; actually the last two had thier hoofs in the water when they fell - no packing at all. You'll come to appreciate this sort of thing if you get into big game hunting.
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... One more thought...
Going deeper in the bush doesn't necessary mean better luck. The further you go the more preparation you need, especially when hunting alone. You can get in BIG trouble just by a silly thing like spraining your ankle and no one is there to help you...
 
My last three moose had less than ten feet of packing to my boat; actually the last two had thier hoofs in the water when they fell - no packing at all. You'll come to appreciate this sort of thing if you get into big game hunting.
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A buddy put this 6x6 down about 500yds from his front door.

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He calls it going for groceries(not big game hunting)
 
I haven't had the misfortune of killing anything really really big too far from the end road, so I employ the same method for elk and moose as I do for deer:

Skin 'em on the spot and cut the animal up with a knife into back-packable parts. Bears and deer are cut into: neck, front legs and shoulders, chest part and the two back legs and lower back together if a small animal and the back legs sepaerated on a bigger one.

Moose and elk are pretty well the same, with the back legs on their own and either stretchered out by hand with two guys or backpacked out depending on size. The ribs can be deboned and the meat saved in a cotton bag or sawed off and saved if you like ribs intact. I've carried out the back bone with the bone intact and also just deboned the whole backstrap from behind the shoulders all the way down to the hinds.
 
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