Gutless cleaning

S

Salmon

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Was wondering if someone a video of this. It was on this site about 4-5 years ago. A guy had a bull elk he showed how to do this. Very good video. Had a friend bag meat. Thanks in advance for any help, guess I'm not very good at finding it.
 
I carry a small saw and cut through the spinal cord and a few of the ribs until I can cut the tenderloins out.

I believe the Wyoming dept of game and fish made a video a while back.
 
Search youtube you'll find it. After the quarters are off you can get to the loin meat, carefully cut right behind the ribs and below spine, not to difficult easier than gutting..
 
No, they push the gut's to the side and cut the tenderloin out. After trying both ways I just get the gut's out of the way. I guess I am just old school?
 
you can cut in behind the ribs or simply saw the ribs open to get the tenderloins. There is zero reason to actually field dress an elk unless you'er going to be leaving it for a while and you want to get the temp down. I arrowed a bull this year that we weren't going to be able to get to until the following morning so we did gut it and propped it open so it would keep cool.
 
No need to cut anything with a saw when using this method. To get the tenderloins, you just make a small opening behind the ribs and carefully cut out the tenderloins with a small knife. I have done 2 elk this way and prefer it, especially if I am by myself. I can do an elk in about 2 hours, not that difficult. I use a 2 1/2" Old Timer folder knife for the entire animal, no need for large knives either, just let the animal separate naturally.
 
I've done it both ways for many years, but rarely do the gutless method anymore. Just a personal preference. Of course you won't be taking the heart, liver or ribmeat if you go gutless. Nor is it likely you'll get a nice clean, careful and complete removal of 100% of the filet sections, which are the best cut of meat on any animal. The extra few minutes of gymnastics it takes to fish and hack out part of the two filets, you could already have the animal gutted and cooling. Also I like to learn exactly what the broadhead did to the internal organs. Like I say just personal preference.
 
I use this method almost exclusively. Elk, Mule deer, and already this year I did it on a Mountain Goat. Takes about a hour and 30 minutes if your careful, much less if your not. Strangely it takes me the same time no matter which animal. If I have someone with, that likes to eat some of the guts I get them out last. Tenderloins come out easy once you do it one time, but remember they go far back. Too many people leave part of the tenders in the animal. I also agree that a short blade is better than the modern semi machete knives I see even non-Texans carrying.
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-26-14 AT 04:24PM (MST)[p]Salmon....go the Elk Forum as I just brought back to the top of Forum the story on my elk hunt last year in Nev titled "An Old Bull for An Old Hunter", and I took pictures of the procedure of the GUTLESS METHOD done by my Guide and my buddy.....then listen to the others that posted here and it will give you a great idea on what to do....good luck on your hunt. My buddy and I hope to do this same thing again this year up in Wyo on our Elk Hunt in a month from now.

Side note: the two used ONLY the Havalon knives for the job and guide had to replace his blade do to prior useage on hunts before me.

Brian
http://i44.tinypic.com/es7x8z.jpg[/IMG]
 
I do not like the gutless because of reasons already stated. The rib meat is way to good to leave behind. We need 3 elk a year to feed the clan and I practice waste not. I'm no expert but my son saw fit to video me cleaning an elk. Here is a link, you have to be signed in to you tube to watch as it is a bit bloody.


DZ
 
Its also called Indian quartering. Its easy to pull the quarters and backstraps. The key is the tenderloins. after you pull the back quarters you kinda push the inside parts back to get them out. Its not bad at all... It only saves a couple minutes. I do it in the backcountry if I am in a hurry and dealing with grizzly bears and don't have to let the animal lay over night.
 
Just did it last week on an elk, took 1.45 hrs, and used only a havalon. It's a great method that's worth using. A buddy has a mountain goat tag next week that hopefully we will be busting out the havalons again!
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-26-14 AT 08:10PM (MST)[p]Tenderloins start at the last full rib and run back to the pelvis. They're directly under the spine, under the backstraps.

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Ive learned you need to do the tenderloins 1st, right after backstrap, easier to get out before the guts start swelling up
 
I've tried both and found that I cant gut without putting holes in the guts and don't like gutless because I feel it wastes to much. I started doing the gutless then after all major pieces are off and outta the way gut it quick and pull out the loins, heart, liver, and rib meat. This way if you poke the guts, you don't ruin much other than rib meat.
 
I'm with BIGJOHN on this one!

Especially on Elk!

Get the Guts Out & out of the way & get that Meat cooling!

The few Guys I've seen do the GUTLESS Method were Slow,I'm sure there are Guys that are way faster!

To Each their own!










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I Know I'm Out Numbered by Pusssies & Brainwashed Democrats that'll Throw Their Hands in the air & I know I can't Lick the U.S. Military by Myself when they Turn on us but I'll make
you one Guarantee,They'll be Enduring a Situation where I Hope to Hell All Americans become True Americans once again & Stand up for their Rights!
 
Slow would be referring to me! Just did my nephew's CO bull Wed night gutless and the tenderloins are the hardest part for me. I think a lot depends on gravity and how the bull is orientated as to on how much pressure is on them by the guts...

Horniac
 
My rule:

If I can back up to it with a vehicle and load it, I will gut it

If I have to haul it out on my back: gutless.

I can do gutless in an hour if I don't worry about rib meat. You can still take the ribs off with the gutless, just adds some time and maybe a saw. Without the ribs, any sharp cutting instrument will do. I use a 3 & 1/2 inch folding buck type knife that I have had since high school (LONG time ago)

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
I've already done two elk this year with the gutless method. It took me about an hour each and the only thing that was left was guts and bones. I did them both with my Havalon. I was four miles from the road when I did them. If I am close to the road I rather gut them and bring them out whole.
 
Well said! I don't understand what everyone is referring to when it comes to waste and the gutless method. You can get every stitch of meat from the animal using the gutless method, except for the organs.

If your back in and have to haul it out wouldn't you want to bone it out anyway? If so then why not gutless? Unless you have to leave it over night. Then I would gut so it can cool properly.


>I've already done two elk this
>year with the gutless method.
>It took me about an
>hour each and the only
>thing that was left was
>guts and bones. I did
>them both with my Havalon.
>I was four miles from
>the road when I did
>them. If I am close
>to the road I rather
>gut them and bring them
>out whole.


"The problem with quotes on Internet Forums is that it is often difficult to verify their authenticity." - Abraham Lincoln
 
I was a holdout on gutless for a long time but am now a convert. I can field dress and bone out an animal in about an hour. Tenderloins are easy to get once you know where they are and how to go about it....no saw necessary. I also love to eat heart and always take it with the gutless method as well. You simply separate the ribs (around second and third) the best you can (I prefer the right side of the animal) reach through with a knife, cut the sack that holds the heart, cut the heart out, and remove. I have done it on elk, deer, antelope, and mountain goat with only a knife.
 
Gutless doesn't waste any meat, cools the meat much faster and is much cleaner than gutting them and dragging them out. Nothing like getting the bone out of the meat cool them down in a hurry. If you say otherwise, you've never actually done the gutless method in person.

Cheers,
Pete
 
C3 I have done it and no way to get the rib meat without gutting them. I don't drag anything out. And my meat has no dirt on it when I get home. Sometimes the bones come home and sometimes they don't. I use the gutless on Antelope but not Elk. Keeping the meat clean and cooling it as fast as possible is my main objective.

DZ
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-03-14 AT 10:38PM (MST)[p]I have always done the gutless method thinking I haven't wasted anything. Until I watched a friend cut up a deer that works in a slaughter house. The gutless method does leave quite a bit of good burger meat to waste. All the rib meat and the belly flank all grind up perfectly to make good burger meat. I use to leave the neck meat as well. It all grinds up just like any other meat. I learned a method that is almost a cross of the two. I will have to make a video on it and it leaves nothing for the birds except guts and bones. You bone out one whole side the same way you would gutless. Once you have removed all the meat you use the hide as a blanket to keep the belly flank and ribs clean from dirt. Roll over the carcass and bone out the other side. Once you have finished with all the meat on both sides you start along the back where the tenderloins are. After cutting a hole to get to the tenderloins if you reach in and grab the belly flank and lift hard enough to lift the pelvis off the ground, all the guts will fall far away from the flank making it easy to cut along the edge of the pelvis. If you keep pulling up the guts will never get close to your cutting area. After removing the flank, bag it in a separate bag for burger. you can move the guts aside and remove the tenderloins without missing any of them. To get the rib meat cut the diaphragm free around the rib cage but not along the back. (That is also a muscle and can be ground for burger) at that point you will have already cut off all the neck meat leaving the windpipe exposed. Detach it from the rib cage and brisket by cutting down towards the heart and lungs. then Cut it off as short as possible. If you do that right all you will have to do is grab the top of the heart and pull. The heart. Lungs and windpipe will all pull free and come out to where the diaphragm is connected. If you take your fingers in a hook like shape along the spine you will find a handle where the diaphragm connects to rip the diaphragm free. Give it a quick hard jerk and it will come loose. If you are going to remove the diaphragm for meat it will be easy to cut free. At that point you just cut along the ribs removing any meat you can. You should be able to get a good 8 to 12 lbs of burger meat (15 to 20 lbs on elk) between the flank, diaphragm and ribs. By doing that, the carcass should look like it was picked over with nothing left. De boning deer and elk take close to the same amount of time. 30-40 min with experience. taking the belly flank, diaphragm and rib meat should only take an extra 10-15 min. 20 with elk. You can do the same thing by gutting it first if you want. It's all just preference. I like leaving the guts in until the very end so I don't have any type of gut contamination (or bacteria) swimming around while dealing with the bulk of the meat
In my opinion If your going to kill it, you shouldn't let any salvageable meat go to waste. The only case where I won't take the belly flank and rib meat is if it is gut shot and covered in Poop. (I had a bad experience with that once.) I even like to take the heart and liver either to the sheep herders or someone at home who likes them.
 
I use gutless every time now. Once you do it a couple times it becomes easy to get the meat off. One small tip on the tenderloin - I usually do it last and find that if I cut open the stomach a little to let some of the guts come out it relieves pressure in the cavity and the tenderloins are easy to get out without hacking them up or tearing the meat.
 

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