Some Questions on Field Dressing Moose

[sheephunter]

I am all for doing the least amount of grunt work possible, but no single method works in every circumstance. I like the gutless method, it looks like the way to go but I want to have a back up plan just in case gutless won't work where we drop one.


Mark

Not sure where it wouldn't work.,....I've done it standing up to my crotch in water, on the sides of mountains and everywhere in between. I agree that if you can get a ORV right to the moose that dragging it to a drier location might be preferable but then, the gutless still seems the most prudent. I think the only time I didn't do it was on a -40 day. But we had the luxury of getting a truck right to it and loading it to take it somewhere warmer to work on. I've honestly never seen the need for more than a knife and maybe a small amount of parachute cord when moose hunting.

 

[mmattockx]

We hang deer when we do them too but moose are too heavy to do that way. You'll break the pole.

Yeah, I can see that. I was also thinking that by the time the whole moose was hanging you would need an 8' step ladder to reach the flanks. For a big critter like that doing it as it is lifted makes sense.

Not sure where it wouldn't work.,....I've done it standing up to my crotch in water, on the sides of mountains and everywhere in between. I agree that if you can get a ORV right to the moose that dragging it to a drier location might be preferable but then, the gutless still seems the most prudent. I think the only time I didn't do it was on a -40 day. But we had the luxury of getting a truck right to it and loading it to take it somewhere warmer to work on.

That seems fair to me, but until I have tried it I will remain cautious on assumptions. I was thinking of a wet location as where I wouldn't want to try it, but it would have to be quartered regardless if we couldn't get a rope on it to drag it out. It certainly sounds like the easiest way to deal with such a big animal.


Mark

 

[sheephunter]

Ya, I was shown the gutless method about 25 years ago on a Quebec caribou hunt and am so glad I was. I'm honestly not sure how many animals I've done it on but between guiding, going with friends and my own hunting it would very easily be over 100. I've used it on critters as big as an 1,800 pound Yukon moose all the way down to an antelope that required a several mile backpack to get out. If a long pack is required, it doesn't take much more to bone out the quarters as well....leaving proper evidence of ### and species of course.

 

[07blackwater]

Ya, I was shown the gutless method about 25 years ago on a Quebec caribou hunt and am so glad I was. I'm honestly not sure how many animals I've done it on but between guiding, going with friends and my own hunting it would very easily be over 100. I've used it on critters as big as an 1,800 pound Yukon moose all the way down to an antelope that required a several mile backpack to get out. If a long pack is required, it doesn't take much more to bone out the quarters as well....leaving proper evidence of ### and species of course.

I have to ask you, say on a hunt where the animal might hang for 10 days or so don't you find it a pain to skin? I find they skin way easier fresh.

 

[07blackwater]

Here is a pic of my buddies dad.

Load your moose any way you want to, but I like doing things the easy way. I've wrestled and fought with enough whole animals to not want to do it anymore if it can be avoided.

All I see is your buddy's dad hauling horns. Like I said, I'm a meat hunter, Most moose I shoot are immy's or 4 point. I've given up paddles for spikes because I want to eat the damn things.

Believe me, I understand the efficiency of taking the easy meat but when you do the 'easy method' ....what about all that nice rib meat you leave behind? Fack! All I see is waste! That's a lot of lost moose tacos, mooseghetti, mooseanja GONE to the critters!

 

[sheephunter]

I have to ask you, say on a hunt where the animal might hang for 10 days or so don't you find it a pain to skin? I find they skin way easier fresh.

You do skin it fresh just like in the video. If it's really cool out sometimes I will leave the hide on the quarters so they don't dry out and then skin when I'm ready to butcher. It's a bit tougher to skin then but still only takes an extra 10 or 15 minutes. You can skin fresh or after...the choice is yours.

 

[sheephunter]

what about all that nice rib meat you leave behind? Fack! All I see is waste!

Why would you leave the rib meat behind?

 

[07blackwater]

Why would you leave the rib meat behind?

I'm sure you are VERY proficient at doing this.

Wanna know why I'm pissed about this method? I found 3 moose this year that people had followed it. 2 bulls side by side. Just the quarters taken, no tenderloin, no rib meat.

About 15 miles away a calf at the side of the road. Same thing.

I have no doubt guys like you and Gatehouse know enough about the anatomy of a moose to perform this. What I DON'T like is promoting it to inexperienced hunters that know nothing about the anatomy of a moose to do it.

There it is in a nutshell, it's not personal man.

 

[Gatehouse]

All I see is your buddy's dad hauling horns. Like I said, I'm a meat hunter, Most moose I shoot are immy's or 4 point. I've given up paddles for spikes because I want to eat the damn things.

Horns are on the shoulder, meat in the pack. He was the oldest so he got the lightest pack plus the horns.

Believe me, I understand the efficiency of taking the easy meat but when you do the 'easy method' ....what about all that nice rib meat you leave behind? Fack! All I see is waste! That's a lot of lost moose tacos, mooseghetti, mooseanja GONE to the critters!

There is no reason to leave meat behind when doing the gutless method. You can pick the carcass clean.

 

[sheephunter]

Wanna know why I'm pissed about this method? I found 3 moose this year that people had followed it. 2 bulls side by side. Just the quarters taken, no tenderloin, no rib meat.

About 15 miles away a calf at the side of the road. Same thing.

I have no doubt guys like you and Gatehouse know enough about the anatomy of a moose to perform this. What I DON'T like is promoting it to inexperienced hunters that know nothing about the anatomy of a moose to do it.

There it is in a nutshell, it's not personal man.

You don't need to know much. You take the meat parts and leave the non-meat parts behind. It's not rocket science.

 

[Gatehouse]

I'm sure you are VERY proficient at doing this.

Wanna know why I'm pissed about this method? I found 3 moose this year that people had followed it. 2 bulls side by side. Just the quarters taken, no tenderloin, no rib meat.

About 15 miles away a calf at the side of the road. Same thing.

I have no doubt guys like you and Gatehouse know enough about the anatomy of a moose to perform this. What I DON'T like is promoting it to inexperienced hunters that know nothing about the anatomy of a moose to do it.

There it is in a nutshell, it's not personal man.

Less meat for them, and they might be in trouble if they run into a CO, but it's very simple to get the rib meat and tenderloins.

 

[sheephunter]

Less meat for them, and they might be in trouble if they run into a CO, but it's very simple to get the rib meat and tenderloins.

By law in BC, you don't need to take either of those do you? We are required to here in Alberta and you are correct that they are simple to get.

 

[07blackwater]

I went bear hunting with a guy one time and he was mad because they made you take some of the meat in the regs.

First and last time.

 

[Gatehouse]

By law in BC, you don't need to take either of those do you? We are required to here in Alberta and you are correct that they are simple to get.

I think it is worded as "all edible portions of the 4 quarters" so it's somewhat up to interpretation. I doubt very much if rib meat is required to be recovered. I have never been asked to produce tenderloins or rib meat by a CO so I am guessing that it's not an issue. They seem satisfied to see the fronts, rear and backstraps.

 

[Gatehouse]

I went bear hunting with a guy one time and he was mad because they made you take some of the meat in the regs.

First and last time.

Alberta and several other provinces and states have no such requirement. The bear meat retention law was put into place to appease anti bear hunting people, so that they couldn't call it "trophy hunting" I wouldn't be surprised to see grizzly meat retention laws appear soon, too- for the same reason.

 

[sheephunter]

I think it is worded as "all edible portions of the 4 quarters" so it's somewhat up to interpretation. I doubt very much if rib meat is required to be recovered. I have never been asked to produce tenderloins or rib meat by a CO so I am guessing that it's not an issue. They seem satisfied to see the fronts, rear and backstraps.

Looked it up....

Edible Portions - with respect to big game,
excluding grizzly bear, cougar, wolf, lynx, bobcat
and wolverine, means the edible portions of
the four quarters and the loins of the animal

I'd say there is no legal requirement to take rib meat reading that.

 

[07blackwater]

I don't know what to say. Just the way I was raised I guess.

I'm obviously out classed.

 

[Gatehouse]

Looked it up....

Edible Portions - with respect to big game,
excluding grizzly bear, cougar, wolf, lynx, bobcat
and wolverine, means the edible portions of
the four quarters and the loins of the animal

I'd say there is no legal requirement to take rib meat reading that.

"the loins" should include tenderloins, but agreed, not rib meat. I rarely recover deer rib meat, as there isn't much to them. Moose ribs come home though. Or more likely get cooked on the hunting trip, slowly braised in a pot all day with lots of onions, garlic, tomatoes.

 

[07blackwater]

I especially like the shanks braised. After they're done, heat some honey and butter and roll them it that. Awesome.

I also keep the brisket and make corned moose. That's facking awesome with cabbage.

Rib meat? I love moose ribs. Rub 'em, wrap 'em, cook at 350 for an hour and a half then BBQ sauce 'em under the broiler then eat 'em.

 

[looch]

Between dirt, flies, and proximity to vehicles we have always gutted, quartered, and cheeseclothed - leaving the hide on. A spray-bottle of vinegar helps with the flies. These choices can be argued up and down - it won't be the first or last time. As for tips, though, and if you are going to gut the animal, I saw something a few years ago that had never occurred to me to do: relieving diaphragm pressure via the neck/collar bone. This gives much more room to work while eviscerating.