splitting the spine on a moose

[sisu]

I was just wondering what people are using to split the spines on their moose when they are quartering them.  We shot two bulls last week (10 feet from each other).  When I was young some used hand saws or two axes.  Some guys I know use reciprocating saws or even chainsaws with vegetable oil for the bars.  My Wyoming saw did not cut it (no pun intended).  I had forgotten about the engineering part of moose hunting and gutting them and dragging them out of the bush when it's minus 8 celsius and getting dark was very interesting.

[HuntRGathRR]

a good recip saw is nice but frozen batteries never last long. I had a nice put together gerber hand saw but broke the blade last year then in the dark our "volunteers" saw batteries both died and i finsihed off with a very very sharp axe that i luckily keep handy and take good care of.  Now i wonder is it do able to quarter a big bull moose with only an axe or even a hatchet? I have heard rumour and tale but not from the butchers mouth. this is a good question

[RevJim]

 I bought a Swedish axe ( I think it was a Gransfors Bruk) that was supposedly made for moose hunters. It was medium in length and the Poll was rounded and smooth. The idea being that one used the rounded Poll to beat/pry the skin away during skinning and the blade of cutting. I never used it, instead, I gave it to a Guide in Pinedale, WY to use on Moose/elk. I never heard how it worked, it looked good in theory, and I know the Swedes shoot a lot of moose (Elg). I've only seen Shiras moose on the hoof ( one cow in particular chased me for awhile!) they sure are big animals! I can just imagine how big the Canadians and the Yukons are! That chain saw idea sounds great to me, ha.

[atitagain]

Personally, it sounds to me like the small chain saw and veg. oil is a good way to go.
Especially if it is getting dark. I hear there are things out there that will want to drag that moose "back" into the woods.

[Ranger99]

excuse me for being ignorant
having never seen a moose or
moose carcass. i think all the
moose in texas were shot out
before i was born.
can't you just take off the front and rear
quarters as with a whitetail deer?
i was trying to understand the
need for splitting the spine.
the only thing i ever split on a deer
is the pelvis when i get to that point.
just curious about the why and how.

[hillbill]

splitting the spine is always done when butchering cattle.mainly so you can cut out the steaks from the back area with the bone in.i assume this is why you would want to split a moose as well.
 
there used to be a butcher years ago around here that used a medium sized heavy sharp hand axe to split the spine. he did it with the carcass skinned and hanging from a gambrel.took him about 5 minutes but i think he had a lot of practice.the spreading tension from the gambrel just let the 2 sides of the carcass fall apart as he chopped.
 
i think doing this on a moose laying down would be a lot harder.personally i would use the axe but use another axe or hammer to pound it thru the spine.that would make it easier to keep everything inline.
 
if i got a moose i would be tempted to fillet the back straps out like i do a deer after removeing the quarters.then bone out the rib cage and flanks for burger.
 
im not a moose hunter but i envy yu guys that can hunt them. but it is a big job getting that size of animal out of the woods and into the freezer.

[Ranger99]

well i was wondering if the anatomy
of a moose was different from a deer.
i never keep a bone in anything that
comes off a deer if i have the time to
bone it out. and i always bone out backstraps.
the classic butcher cuts imo are to include
some bone weight in your cut of meat
to get paid for several ounces of bone
that would otherwise get tossed. not
trying to be critical of anyone, but my
freezer space is at a premium, and
i like to have fish fillets and boned
meat instead of bone occupying the
scarce space.
i had just thought there might be a reason
for splitting the spine that i wasn't aware
of since i have no moose experience
other than rocky and bullwinkle
when i was a kid.
(hey! watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat! !)

[hillbill]

well i was wondering if the anatomy
of a moose was different from a deer.
i never keep a bone in anything that
comes off a deer if i have the time to
bone it out. and i always bone out backstraps.
the classic butcher cuts imo are to include
some bone weight in your cut of meat
to get paid for several ounces of bone
that would otherwise get tossed. not
trying to be critical of anyone, but my
freezer space is at a premium, and
i like to have fish fillets and boned
meat instead of bone occupying the
scarce space.
i had just thought there might be a reason
for splitting the spine that i wasn't aware
of since i have no moose experience
other than rocky and bullwinkle
when i was a kid.
(hey! watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat! !)

i butcher deer same as you. there is no deer bone in my freezer.or fish bone. but butchering techniques are also regional.if them northren moose hunters want to haul out the bones then thats the way they like it and i got no prob with it.they must know sumpin we dont.

[Ranger99]

i wasn't trying to be critical.
i thought there might be some
special something i didn't know
that i could take a tip or a shortcut
from. i've never seen anyone do that,
so i was thinking that maybe there
was some reason for it that i'm not
aware of. i'll be the very first one in
line to say i don't know everything.
sure didn't mean it to be critical
if it sounded that way. i've yet to
see a moose much less draw down on
one so i wouldn't know if there is
something different to making moose
pieces or not.

[RevJim]

 I think Alaska Game Law dictates that "all" the animal must be packed out; not sure if that means just the meat (boned) or includes the "running gear", ha. Elk are the biggest I've dressed, and a sharp hatchet was real handy. My vehicle was close enough that I didn't have to pack any I've ever shot, in which case, I would have boned them out.
 Side note: one of the best knives on big anials I ever used was a Cold Steel Recon Tanto- I field dressed a big cow elk and it would still shave hair off my arm when done, that's a good edge! I replaced it with another Cold Steel, an Outdoorsman, which is also a gee wizzer. lol

[hillbill]

i wasn't trying to be critical.
i thought there might be some
special something i didn't know
that i could take a tip or a shortcut
from. i've never seen anyone do that,
so i was thinking that maybe there
was some reason for it that i'm not
aware of. i'll be the very first one in
line to say i don't know everything.
sure didn't mean it to be critical
if it sounded that way. i've yet to
see a moose much less draw down on
one so i wouldn't know if there is
something different to making moose
pieces or not.

i dont think anyone took your post as being critical at all.you were just seeking knowledge as am i.
 
when i was a kid we butchered all our own cattle for food. my dad always split them.so when i started doing my own deer i did it too.then a buddy of mine showed me a easier way.

[Thebear_78]

I have never split the spine.   Usually we just fillet out the backstraps and you can cut around the top of the rib bones and pop the entire rib cage of the spine.  All we usually leave behind is the spine/pelvis but all edible meat is taken off.   If we were in an area where you had to remove the bones we just remove one side of ribs and leave the spine attached to the other side to facilitate carrying.    The backstraps, tender loins and any other loose meat go in a seperate meat bag.    I only use a saw to cut the hooves off.    The chain saw with veggy oil sounds like a good idea, but makes an ungoddly mess and I sure wouldn't want all that bone chips mixed into my backstraps.


I have several lengthy packs out with moose,  it makes me much more selective of where I shoot them.  I've passed on several moose because retrieving them would have been too difficult.

[ratherbefishin]

we shot a nice bull up in Prince George, British Columbia this year.We gutted it on the ground ,then hoisted it up off the ground on a tripod  made from poles.That makes the job of skinning and splitting and quartering infinitely easier.We used a new ''fire tooth'' carpenters saw with the hardened course teeth ,only cost about $7 and are really sharp when new.You don't sharpen them-get a new one.Don't know how big it was but the quad winch wouldn't hoist it,we had to block the wheels as it was.These aren't out typical little deer,that you gut and haul out-count on several hours of hard work.We shot the bull at first light and it was supper before we had it skinned ,quartered and hung back at camp[can't leave it in the bush overnight with grizzlies around,when you have a bull down-you start working and keep on working

[hoytcanon]

I have bowhunted for moose for over forty years, and can tell you that there are many ways to "skin a cat..." So-to-speak. I mostly depends on where the moose is taken. I have shot a bull at the end of a three lake portage plus an additional mile into the bush... That bull came out as "meat only" packed in "Trapper John" packs. I have also called bulls to the truck and had them drop next to the road... Those bulls were gutted and then taken out in one piece, hooves and all. Most of my bulls were taken by water, either boating in to remote areas or canoeing in, or both. We call from stands at the waters edge and in most cases the bull drops within 100 yards or so of the shore... With these bulls we usually butcher them in the traditional way by quartering and splitting the spine and then reassembling the quarters in the boat for transport. The reason for this is to keep the quarters "rigid" (for easier carrying) and "clean" as the hide is left on, until the meat is hanging in the garage. To split the spine we use a classic 24" bowsaw with a meat blade, which is a fine tooth blade with reverse swages designed to release sinew and tissue. For those deer hunters who wonder why moose can't be dressed like a deer and hauled out, you have to stand beneath a huffing, grunting bull holding a quaking bow to appreciate their size... Or put on a harness made of tumpline with a reversed lifejacket for shoulder padding and attempt to slide it along the forest floor... Three of us took out a small bull this way once... Every little stick the carcass hit brought us to a screeching halt.   

[BBF]

It has been so long...........
Hmm, quarter them and then a good meat saw if I recall.

[Sourdough]

Like the Bear, In over 40 years I have never split the spine.  We just don't do that here in Alaska.  We take off the hind qtrs, the front qtrs, then we cut off the head.  We debone the neck.  Then we cut the ribs off about 6 to 8 inches from the spine.  Once the ribs are out of the way we trim the back straps, and tenderloins off the spine and pelvis.  We leave the legs on till we get them loaded, makes them easier to handle.  When we leave all that is left is the organs, intestines, stripped neck, spine, pelvis, legs, and head.  We take the hide to make rawhide, or to send in to have it turned into leather.  Makes a beautiful yellow leather.  Not good for jackets or pants, stretches too much.  Makes good vest, and trim for all kinds of things.

[mcwoodduck]

excuse me for being ignorant
having never seen a moose or
moose carcass. i think all the
moose in texas were shot out
before i was born.
can't you just take off the front and rear
quarters as with a whitetail deer?
i was trying to understand the
need for splitting the spine.
the only thing i ever split on a deer
is the pelvis when i get to that point.
just curious about the why and how.

A big 200  to 250 pound deer or hog once the guts are out are still pretty easy to move through the woods, but a Bull moose is about the size of one of the heads of beef you have down there in Texas, and the moose like to be in dense woods and usually down hill in the creeks, streams, swamps, ponds, and lakes.   
What they are talking about is gutting the moose, and cutting the moose into four large primals  after removing the head to make it easier to drag or carry out of the woods or to fit it in a boat or canoe. 
I am not sure how a pair of 200 pound men can  drag a 1200 to 1800 pound moose through dense woods and up hill with out cutting  it into parts and dragging the smaller pieces out. 

[Sourdough]

Back when I was using pack horses I cut Moose up into ten pieces.  Two shoulders, two hind qtrs, two ribs, neck, brisket, spine from the shoulders to just in front of the pelvis, and the pelvis.  It takes three horses to haul a good sized Moose out of the woods.  If you want the head and hide add another horse.  The whole hide will weigh one hundred fifty to two hundred pounds, and the head will weigh 75 to 80 lbs.

Two men don't drag a Moose out of the woods.  In fact you don't drag a Moose any where unless it's winter and on snow.  Then it takes a snowmachine.