The problem of moose hair whilst skinning

S

Saafire

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Location
Sudbury Ontario
I have skinned a few moose now, and loose hair has always been a hassel. It gets on everything... especially the meat, and its almost impossible to take off. But last season the calf we got rolled into the swamp and was in water for 20min while i got help to shoo the 2 adults away to retrive it.

the 3 grey hairs with decades of hunting experience all said it was one of the easiest to skin mooses they had seen. almost no hair on the animal when we were done. Even the butcher was impressed, and they see alot of meat.

The hair on the hide had become a little matted after its dunking and since the weather had remained cool the hair had dryed but stayed clumpy. this seemed to really make a difference.

anyone experience something like this? or have any tips to keep the hair to a minimum? I am really considering giving our next moose a "shampoo job" water and some conditioner rubbed into the hide a few hours before removing to see if it has similiar results and makes the job a bit easier.

any thoughts?
 
We wash /wipe our skinned moose/deer down with a mixture of cold water and vinegar ...followed by a quick brush with the flame from a propane torch....it singes the few remaining hairs into an easily wiped off ball of soot.
Being careful not to scorch the meat , of course .
 
I just carry 3 knives and peel them laying on their backs one side at a time.Then roll moose onto the loose skin like a tablecloth and do the unskinned side.Half/quarter and load.................Harold .........no dirt
 
Adults skin the beast, the kids get to pick the hair off and are send back repeatedly until it is done right. Once bed time hits or the little buggers aren't around, I finish the job over a 6 pack and listening to the radio. Not that big a deal.

It is easier to get the hair off if you let the skinned animal hang overnight as it dries out a bit. Never taken a torch to one yet but may give it a try this year.
 
the keepa said:
We wash /wipe our skinned moose/deer down with a mixture of cold water and vinegar ...followed by a quick brush with the flame from a propane torch....it singes the few remaining hairs into an easily wiped off ball of soot.
Being careful not to scorch the meat , of course .
Click to expand...

+1 on the torch

running the torch over the quarters also helps the meat firm up sooner and gets a " skin " quicker
 
vineger and water, leave over night brushes of easily next day, vineger also keeps the flies off of it, once clean wrap in cheese cloth let stand for 2 more days then butcher.
done this for many years and was suggested by the butcher we've used for those said years.
 
We always took our moose out in quarters with the hide on to minimize the amount of dirt/hair on the meat. Once hanging in the shed, they get skinned and picked clean 'musical chairs' fashion. Every 15 min you trade quarters with the guy beside you and ##### about what a poor job he has done picking hairs. :p Repeat until silence.........
Leaving them hang a day does help with the picking.
 
A moose needs to be skinned immediately after death or the heat is kept in the body souring the meat in only a few hours even in -20!I shovel snow inside the chest cavity to cool it and clean any blood or debris. Then clean it out.............Harold
 
We used get the unused mail bags from the railroad we worked for,approx.55x40in.then quarter and completly skin our moose and pack it out in these.We would seperate the fronts from the ribs then d-bone the rib sections(two fronts would fit in one bag from a smaller moose).The material would let air through but little or no water as on a couple of occasions the meat hung in these bags for a day or two and always come out firmed up and fresh.The beauty of it was your meat stayed very clean and you did'nt have pack out a couple of hundred lbs. of hide and bones then at the end of the year you simply took the drawcords and hardware off,threw it in the washer with some borax,dry,and put it away for next year.
 
They guys that I've seen get hair all over animals (not just moose) can blame poor technique.

Turn your knife over to that the cutting edge is up and run fron the stern to the bow just cutting the skin (I get a finger up on the point of the blade to keep it from digging in). Skin the beastie completely as Mbogo3 says using the skin side of the hide as a clean working surface (works great in the fall). When I'm doing a moose I like to peel one side of him and cut off the quarters, ribs, tendies and straps then peel the bottom side as I roll him onto the laid out hide. Don't even bother dumping the guts out as once you get the top side knocked off you can roll him over nice and easily. Unless you're saving the hide, hauling him back whole because he fell where you can get the truck to him (I hate you lucky buggers) or really like being shoulder-deep in a moose chest cavity, there's little to be gained from gutting him before peeling. In fact, I peel caribou that are being packed or going in a toboggan before I gut them. Pell, cut off the head and then pour the puddings out of him and quarter. Too easy!
 
mbogo3 said:
A moose needs to be skinned immediately after death or the heat is kept in the body souring the meat in only a few hours even in -20! I shovel snow inside the chest cavity to cool it and clean any blood or debris. Then clean it out.............Harold
Click to expand...

Either I have been enjoying sour meat for ~40 years or thats a slight exaggeration. ;)
Our quarters are hung and skinned that night and we have never had any issues with spoilage.
 
We've hung moose in our camp for days (gutted), driven home 14 hrs in warm weather and he still tasted like nectar of the Gods.
 
I've always found the torch to work well in getting the last of the hairs off the hanging meat.

I saw something new in Newf. last fall. The boys used the sponge side of a windshield squeegee dipped frequently in a bucket of water. The woven cover on that sponge is a real hair magnet. It worked very well. The quarters had almost zero hair after the squeegee treatment. The rinse in the bucket removes the hair from the sponge and you're good to go again.

I was skeptical at first and thought I had the makings of a new Newfie joke but it was not to be...
 
sjemac said:
Not true.
Click to expand...
While it might not be true, it is better to get the hide off any game ASAP as to assist in heat loss.

I do this and wash down the carcass (ins. and out) with cold water and then wipe down. Hanging for seven days or more will make the eating better as well.

.
 
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