Utilizing the Gutless method in Ontario

[Turkeyslayer 1300]

Has anyone ever discussed the use of the “Gutless” method of dressing a game animal in the woods with a CO.

I have performed it a few times to salvage roadkill deer, but have a hunt coming up where it may if performed correctly significantly reduced amount of work to remove an animal. My local CO is very good to deal with but I have not had a chance to ask him about it yet.

 

[Galt]

Not sure what a C.O has to do with how you decide to cut up a carcass.

 

[Trimmer 905]

Not sure what a C.O has to do with how you decide to cut up a carcass.

In Ontario,It's an offense to allow usable game meat to spoil. The "gutless" method or the Alaskan method is a legal means to field dress game meat in Ontario. Take all four quarters,the hide plus the head and we're good to go.

 

[Paul_T]

What do the Hunting regs in ON say about possessing/transporting?

As long as you retain whatever parts ON regs say then your method of field dressing should not matter.

Are you required to keep rib meat in ON?

 

[Galt]

In Ontario,It's an offense to allow usable game meat to spoil. The "gutless" method or the Alaskan method is a legal means to field dress game meat in Ontario. Take all four quarters,the hide plus the head and we're good to go.

right..but you're reading too much into it.

 

[Potashminer]

In Ontario,It's an offense to allow usable game meat to spoil. The "gutless" method or the Alaskan method is a legal means to field dress game meat in Ontario. Take all four quarters,the hide plus the head and we're good to go.

Maybe should add to your list of parts to take to include the tenderloins from inside / underside of the spine??

 

[Paul_T]

Maybe should add to your list of parts to take to include the tenderloins from inside / underside of the spine??

Yep,

In BC 'Edible Portions' are defined as

Edible Portions - with respect to big game, excluding wolf, lynx, bobcat and wolverine, means the edible portions of the neck, ribs, four quarters and the loins of the animal and with respect to game birds, means the edible portions of both breasts of the bird.

Must be similar in ON ?

 

[Galt]

Identifying Features: For deer, moose
and elk you must keep relevant ### and age
identifying features with the animal until it
has been transported to the site of processing
and is being prepared for long-term storage.
This means you need to keep these parts
with the animal until it is dropped off at the
butcher or until you have prepared the animal
for long-term storage yourself.
The instructions provided with your tag
will specify what identifying features must
remain with the animal. The relevant ###
and age identifying features must remain
with the animal regardless of whether
you have attached the tag, or you are
accompanying the animal without the tag
attached.


With the exception of furbearing mammals
or double-crested cormorants (subject to
disposal requirements, see p.93) you may not
let the flesh of any harvested game wildlife
that is suitable for food become spoiled

 

[cdn1canhunt]

Always a bit confusing the legalities on this.. was once pulled over by CO’s on HWY 35/115 while coming home from a shotgun week all venison was processed cut and wrapped in coolers. We had hunted with a group of 10 hunters we quartered appx 6 deer bucks, does, fawn ( all legally taken and tagged) we numbered the piles and drew numbers for each quartered pile of meat. We cut and wrapped…disposed of bone, hide etc.. nearby where deer were harvested. The 2 CO’s began asking questions about the cut and wrapped deer meat…how many animals, ### age, hunter that harvested each deer their phone numbers etc, their licence numbers what ### of each deer in each package of meat. Needless to say the seemed to be going a little stupid with the questions about who shot what, when, where. Etc. they eventually were satisfied with our answers. But just a word of caution just because it’s cut and. Wrapped they can will and do ask these kinds of questions. So be warned and prepared to answer. If party hunting and travelling have the names and numbers of all in your group. Have a list of animals taken, a rough age and ### of each animal.list the tag number on each punched tag etc.. he who is prepared passes GO and receives no fines

 

[DBeato]

Any way to do this so you can still enjoy the heart and liver?? Takes a few mins to gut the deer guys, lots of waste with this method, I see no advantage, especially with the way most of us hunt in Ontario. As mentioned above, how are you to identify the ### of 4 legs and a couple back straps? One thing to be coming out of the woods and explaining to the CO, another to be bringing cut and wrapped meat from the butcher.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

If it's a buck only season or tag, you might be advised to keep something that identifies the ##### For Manitoba, a buck is defined by exceeding a certain minimum antler length.

 

[Galt]

here is the tag instructions.. keep the head

 

[Butcherbill]

If it's a buck only season or tag, you might be advised to keep something that identifies the ##### For Manitoba, a buck is defined by exceeding a certain minimum antler length.

In bc they removed antlers for proof of ###, it’s now a testicle/##### or mammary gland plus an unskinned tail.

 

[Gatehouse]

Any way to do this so you can still enjoy the heart and liver?? Takes a few mins to gut the deer guys, lots of waste with this method, I see no advantage, especially with the way most of us hunt in Ontario. As mentioned above, how are you to identify the ### of 4 legs and a couple back straps? One thing to be coming out of the woods and explaining to the CO, another to be bringing cut and wrapped meat from the butcher.

If you do the gutless method and want the heart and liver, just cut it out of the carcass once you have removed all the meat. It's easy.

There is NO EXTRA waste with the gutless method unless the hunter chooses to waste it. All parts of the animal are available for you to retrieve if you desire.

 

[canadian hunter312]

Considering it takes less than 5 minutes to get the guts out I will always remove them first to make the carcass lighter and to eliminate risk of meat contamination while butchering.

Why would one want to go with the gutless method?

 

[pipeliner]

I have done and seen the gutless method. You can get all of the meat no problem, even the organ meat if you wish. Personally, I prefer to gut them, that way I can get everything without having to deal with the guts so much while removing rib meat etc. But it’s one of those to each their own things. Legally you will be fine. I haven’t heard of anyone getting charged for that and there’s some pretty awful field processors out there my man.

 

[tokguy]

If you do the gutless method and want the heart and liver, just cut it out of the carcass once you have removed all the meat. It's easy.

There is NO EXTRA waste with the gutless method unless the hunter chooses to waste it. All parts of the animal are available for you to retrieve if you desire.

Much as we poke back and forth on caliber debates, I can find 'Zero' wrong with your statement.
It's damned handy method of dressing an animal IMO as well.
As far as why use it? Well I put an elk on the ground and was driving away about 20 mins later. I was Solo, driving an old Power Wagon...no bale picker or such. The quarters still protected by the hide til you get home.
Fine to do it the Traditional way when you are hunting with buddies... but solo hunting...tough to beat it

 

[Norton]

I gutless/bone out 90% of the time, big reason is that the main location I hunt the meat has to be backpacked out or skidded on my little calf sled.
Another very good reason for me is when I get home the meat is already 3/4's done being cut up.
There is no meat lose of any kind, it's laying right there, cut the bits off, no different than if it's hanging in a garage.

Yes there's some fiddling dealing with ### evidence/tail boning out, but it isn't that big of a deal.
I do that leg first because of the hair cutting needed to leave bit of hide with ball sack/udder/tail attached to leg & then straight into a game bag.

I also carry a space blanket in my pack, bone out the animal, lay out the bits by their meat type on the space blanket, transfer to game bags.
Nothing beats cooling off the meat ASAP as boning it out does and if a person uses a bit of care it's also very clean of hair and such.

 

[Gatehouse]

Considering it takes less than 5 minutes to get the guts out I will always remove them first to make the carcass lighter and to eliminate risk of meat contamination while butchering.

Why would one want to go with the gutless method?

Transportation is the most likely reason. If you can easily drag a deer to your vehicle then gutless may not make sense. If you have to pack it some distance it makes a lot of sense.

Big animals like moose or elk it's practically mandatory unless the moose is dead on the road and you have a loading system ready. But you are going to have to cut the animal up anyway, so why go to the effort of loading the whole animal in the first place? Cut it into pieces and make it easy, plus get it cooling fast.

There are all sorts of different ideas on how to deal with a dead animal, depending on the circumstance, some work better than others.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

We've switched to the gutless method for whitetail. It's so easy if all you want is meat off the bone, and there is no risk of contamination of the meat from a perforated gut. Last thing we remove is the tenderloins. If this season turns out to be a buck only season, with the stipulation that the antlers have to be longer than a certain length, then we will have to keep the head or skull plate until we get home. (I think that's the sensible approach given our rules, but hey, correct me if I'm wrong).