I've never shot an elk and I have avoided hunting them in the past simply because I fear shooting one way out in the woods and not knowing what I'm doing. Also, I am concerned with using all the meat appropriately since I am the only person in my family that eats meat (yeah, you can bet I'm popular with the liberal in-laws). Do you guys generally hunt with partners nearby? Do you gut and quarter your elk, or do you bone it out? Do you ever have a problem finding friends that can take extra meat if you can't use it all? I don't want to shoot an animal and then waste any of it. Lastly, can any one briefly explain the steps in gutting and preparing an elk for the butcher? I have gutted and skinned deer before. How different and what is different about elk? Thanks, Brass

An Elk is just a big Deer. In the past we've gutted,skinned and butchered just like we would a Deer. It just takes a little longer. I wouldn't be too concerned with having too much Elk to eat. It's some of the best venison around,and is usually eaten pretty fast. Unless you shoot a Big bull or a huge cow,you won't have that much meat anyways. Say you shoot a spike thats about 300 lbs.

start with 300lbs,subtract

50lbs guts
50lbs hide
25lbs head and horns
50lbs bones

You're left with about 125lbs of meat,that's not much to have to eat in a year. Thats like a 1/3 of a lb per day,who eats 4 oz. oz meat ea. day? Heck,if it comes down to it just start the Atkins diet. Then all you'll eat is meat.

Just like HBP said, just a bigger deer. Figure on twice as long to break down the different muscle groups, remove the tenderloin BEFORE splitting, etc.

A few things will come in handy, like a pack frame, a selection of good filet knives and a bone saw, 6 or more pillow cases and a queen sized sheet purchased at Value Village for a work area in the woods.

That is unless you can drive up to your elk....





.......and take it out whole!

Holy Smokin' Catfish! That's alot of meat. Nice work. Is that a cow or a bull (looked like a cow, didn't see a rack)? Did you take it with a rifle or bow? Either way, it looks like it was a good hunt. Thanks for taking the time to respond with good advice. Good hunting. Brass

Its been 13 years since I have been able to get an elk out whole The last 8 I have shot have all had to be quartered and packed out. It is just like gutting a deer. Your first elk may be a bit overwhelming, especially if you are alone, just because of the sheer size. One thing that might help make it easier is a length of small rope or twine that you can use to tie the back legs open, so you can get in and work without the top leg weighing down on you.
Since I am usually alone, I always gut, skin, and cut mine in at least half to get it cooling. After you get it gutted, you can start skinning one side. Skin as far back around the animal as you can, then pull the hide back over the elk, and roll it over (easier said than done). Once over you can skin the other side. Then I usually cut the elk in half and prop both halves up to get them cooling. I then pack the head out back to camp or my truck to get a pack frame. For quarter bags, I use cheap bed sheets sewn into bags. When I go back for the first quarter, I usually bag and hang the remaining quarters in trees. Opinions will vary, but I prefer to pack the quarters out with the bones in. It makes it easier to tie the bags to the pack frame. Twice I have gotten large elk that I could not cary a quarter at once, so I had to bone it out. Once was in the Mill Creek Watershed and I took 3 days getting the elk out. Another option is to quarter it with the hide on. This helps to keep it clean and will prevent drying out (according to something I was reading). My main objective has always been to get the meat cooled as quickly as possible, and the hide holds in heat. Depending on the temperature next time, i might try this though. I would be interested in others opinions on this.
I usually process and cut up my own meat, but I have taken the quarters to the butcher shop and had them do it. For knives and saws, I use a Wyoming Knife (got one as a present, sat in the drawer for 5 years until I realized that they WORK), and a folding saw. I am considering carrying a small hatchet for chipping thru bone though.
Keep in mind that I am no expert at any of this. Most of it was learned thru trial and error, and may still be wrong . Once I get to my downed elk, I can have it gutted, skinned and quartered in an hour. But it is a LOT of work. You know the old saying, "the work begins AFTER you pull the trigger". Also, I am not a small guy at 6'2" and 220#. I have packed the back half of several spikes, with hide on, out at once on my pack frame.
As far as eating it, you should be able to take care of an elk in a year. I never have any trouble finding people that want a nice elk steak. When I was still in college, I had some buddies over for an elk steak BBQ. This elk had been a particularly tough pack to get it out. So I made my buddies each put on my pack frame, with 2 cinder blocks tied on it, and hike around the block before they could have any. You should have heard them whining

gator

Gator,
Good reply,You emphasized several times about getting the animal cooled off as soon as possible.As important as it is with a deer.I firmly believe its way more important with an elk.
The hide is way heavier on an elk,thus providing lots more insulation to keep the heat in.
Gut an elk on a cool morning,and seeing the steam rise out of it stomach cavity should give you a pretty good idea how much heat is stored up in there.
Its nice to keep your meat as clean as possible,but its second to cooling ot as soon as possible.You can always clean the meat later.
When I have my deer and elk hung,I always use a bottle of white vinegar in a tub of water, to wipe my animal down with.It makes it a lot easier to get the hair off.I've even used a garden hose to rinse them first.Getting the heavy blood and hair and dirt off..People have told me not to because it makes the meat tough,but that has not been my experience at all.
I dont worry too much about the meat drying on the outside.I usually trim the outer film off when I cut my steaks anyhow.
Its pretty nice to have some of those disposable latex gloves on you when gutting and skinning.It makes cleaning your hands a whole lot easier when your done.
Once again when it comes to elk,heat sucks.
If I dont have a cooler to store the animal in.I use the temperature of the days and nights as an indicater of how long to let it hang.Usually between 3-5 days.

Cooling the meat is the most important thing in Elk preperation and after getting the hide off don't be affraid of washing the meat as it helps the cooling process you'll have better end product and if you have it packed commercially the packer will thank you.

In talking with Larry Jackson in Longveiw/Kelso and a number of other custom meat processors here on the Olympic Peninsula their biggest peeve is the number of animals that come in that have been improperly cared for and transported after they were down.

Unless you get that Hide off ASAP the meat will sour and spoil real fast. We'll even dump the meat in a stream and wash it if we are close to one and the cost of game bags to put the meat in are cheap if you you want good eating, besides after the hunts over and the meats processed the game bags or sheets used can be washed and used again on the next hunt.