Cutting Up Moose without Gutting

[Sourdough]

Was with a young man a few years ago that shot a Moose and totally disassembled it with out gutting it.  When he got done all that was left was the hide lying on the ground with the organs and intestines still in their membrane lying on top.  First time I ever saw anything like it.

  First off the Moose was lying on it's belly, with all four legs under it.  The only tool he used was a short ax, one about 24 inches long.  He split the hide from base of the skull to the tail, then peeled it down on both sides.  First he cut off the head, got it out of the way.  Then he cut off the hind legs, got them out of the way.  Next was the front legs, and neck, and briskit.  Then he cut through the ribs, cut the diaphram loose, and removed them.  Then we lifted the back off as one of us reached under it and cut all connecting tissue loose.  Done.

  This was the slickest job I ever saw.  He said an old cowboy taught him how to do that in Montana, when Elk hunting.  Just wondering if anyone else does it that way? 

  Anyone else do this or seen it done?

[ihookem]

 I know a guy that went to Quoebec on a caribou hunt and he saw the guide do it this way. I don't know if he did it the same way but he did say they don't gut the caribou there.  I don't know how they get the tenderloins out though, must leave them behind.

[burntmuch]

Makes alot a sense. I gutted a elk once. Thats alot a gut. Up to my armpits.

[Dand]

I've tried it on caribou and moose but usually gave in to gutting at some point.  If I think the guts were hit or if the animal needs moving and was too heavy then the guts come out.  Also, going through the thick hair of the neck and back mane is a hassle and sometimes I worry that I'm going to get too much hair on the meat.  Sometimes I get half the animal removed before dealing with the guts.  The more meat I can get off it before dealling with the guts, the better.

[Sourdough]

Nothing was left behind, except the guts, orgins, and hide.  When we lifted the back off, we took the entire spine with all it's meat and tenderloins attatched.   We never broke the membrane encasing the intestines.

[Daveinthebush]

I have been not gutting moose and caribou since the Eskimo's taught me how to do it in Shaktoolik.  Makes a lot of sense when water is in short supply and bathing to clean up is not going to happen.  Been doing it this way ever since.

[SDS-GEN]

Me and the guys I hunt with always butcher anything bigger than a deer this way.  I've used it on caribou and elk.  One of the guys in our elk camp is a veterinarian, he can quarter out an animal quicker than most guys can gut and skin one.

[akchuck]

Don't guess anyone happens to have some pictures? I would like to see how this is done.

[bearfat]

Hmmmmm....this should work on a big old fat bear I would think.

Is there a special trick to prop the legs up underneath to stabilize the carcass from rolling while you work on it?

[Dixie Dude]

I routinely clean deer without gutting.  Not really enough meat on the ribs or inside tenderloins to deal with gutting.  I fillet the back loins off, cut the hind quarters down to the ball joints at the pelvic area and pop them out and cut the ligament holding it in, and fillet the shoulders off. 

[james]

Thats the way we quarter our elk.  I had an indian friend from Oklahoma with me once when we got through cutting up an elk.  Out of respect for his ancestors and knowing they let nothing go to waste, I asked him if he wanted me to retrieve the liver.  His response was "I don't eat out of the gut pile".   He is an excellent camp cook and I never miss a chance to go to elk camp with him.  I don't like liver either.

[weasel]

Did this once with an elk, we had to pack it a long way, so we quartered it and boned it out, then slit open the cavity enough to get the tenderloins, it was messy, but we had all the rest of the meat off by then to keep it clean. We always do this with mountain goats, only once could we get horses to it, usually has to come out on your pack. You don't want to get into the guts of a goat, a smell you won't forget. Usually the client wants the goat full body mount, so cutting down the backbone works well for the taxidermist.