| Posted: Wed Jul 25th, 2007 04:31 PM |
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TasunkaWitko
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The Gutless Field Dressing Method
From HuntingNut.com - Posted by DallanC on Tuesday, October 18, 2005 (02:58:04)
I learned this method of dressing animals on a Wyoming Pronghorn hunt. Antelope meat is VERY good, but only if you take care of it immediately. This means getting it on ice ASAP! I started quartering the animals with the "gutless" method and getting them on ice. Boy since we started doing this our antelope have never tasted better. I've gotten alot of "woah" and "how did you do that???" from other hunters or landowners when they see me take a critter apart in a couple minutes and deposit all the good eats on ice. Also, who really wants to gut a stinky antelope? LOL not me.
The "gutless" method can be done two ways, either by skinning the legs before removal or skinning them after removal. Personally I usually remove the quarters with the hide on to keep the meat cleaner, then skin each leg out after.
You can start with either the loins, front or rear quarters. There is no right or wrong way to do it. I usually do one sides front, same sides rear, flip the animal followed by the remaining front and finally the remaining rear. Then I cut out the loins and call it good.
For this example I also took pictures of how to cape an animal (for another guide) so the front quarters at least are already skinned. Hide on or hide off the legs, it really doesn't mater for the actual extraction of the quarters.
Lets begin. With the animal on its side, grab a frontleg and lift it up and away from the body. Place your knife into the "armpit" and cut right in the crease, angling slightly towards the ribcage. Cut away the meat, cartilage where it meets the ribcage. There are no bones in the shoulder of deer or elk that attach the front legs to the ribcage, its all held together with muscle and cartilage!
Keep lifting the leg as you continue making cuts as needed to free the leg.
Continue working your way across until the leg comes free from the ribcage. Most of it will cut free very easily, some cartilage can be stubborn but a good sharp knife will get through it.
Once the leg is free take care of it how you wish, either into game bags, coolers, panyards or whatever. You can even debone it now that its free and is actually alot easier to work with (hang it in a tree so you dont have to bend over while working with it).
Depending on the size of the animal I'm dressing, I'll either process an entire side then roll it over and do the other, or you can do the fronts then the rears. The order is largely irrelevant. Here I am continuing with the other front quarter only because for the caping guide I skinned out the other leg and wanted to get it in the cooler as soon as possible, antelope is time critical when it comes to getting the meat cooled quickly. Generally I remove one entire sides quarters before flipping it over.
As with the other front leg, pull up on the leg and cut away the meat and cartilage along the ribcage where it attaches.
Continue carefully until it comes free. Once it does, store as needed.
Thus far it should have been amazingly easy! Those front quarters come off with very little effort. The hinds are slightly more tricky, but they come off nearly as easy!
Ok lets begin by talking about how to do the hind quarters. These are attached to the pelvis by a hip bone and socket. Inside of the ball and socket is a tendon that must be cut. It isn't terribly hard, but I recommend in doing this for the first time, you just take your time. After doing it once, any future animals will seem easy. Also I really recommend you use your finger or thumb to feel around where the bones are so you don't dull your knife too much. There is also a bone at the top of the pelvis that we need to cut around, it is easily felt with your fingers to identify and then cut around.
Start by having someone lift the leg up off the body, or tie it to a bush / tree to keep tension on it. This frees up both hands and makes things alot easier. You can at this point skin the quarter before removal, or after. I chose to skin it after.
Begin by cutting along side the penis, back towards the rear of the animal.
Take short careful strokes.
Cut the skin towards the front of the hind quarter, and begin cutting the meat downward towards the hip and body. Be careful to keep your knife away from the belly area as we don't want to puncture anything.
Right in the middle of the leg is the leg / hip bone socket. You will be able feel it with your fingers. Moving the leg back and forth will also allow you to identify where this socket is. Cut the meat away around it, exposing the socket itself. With some minor pressure pulling on the leg, the socket will open up allowing you to cut the tendon inside (visibly right at the tip of the knife)
Carefully cut any muscle or cartilage around the ball and the bone should pop free from the socket.
Next identify the pelvic bone that sticks out, it will be easily found by feeling around with your finger. If not continue to cut the muscle away until you do. Here I am pointing to the tip of it with my finger. You will want to cut around this bone to free the rest of the hind quarter.
Here you can clearly see the pelvic bone exposed. Continue to cut the meat away from the hip.
A few more careful slices and the entire quarter comes cleanly off. Process it further how you want.
Flip the animal over and repeat for the other side.
Cut along the penis down until you reach the ball joint. Carefully cut the muscle around the joint until the ball begins to pull out, cut the tendon inside.
Continue to cut the muscle until you reach the pelvic bone, then cut carefully around it.
Continue cutting muscle away from the pelvis until the quarter comes free. Process as needed.
Thats it! Not terribly hard was it? We are not done yet however, the best eating part still needs to be removed, the tenderloins.
Removal of the tenderloin / backstraps. As with the other steps, it can be done at any point but I usually leave it for last.
Begin by cutting the skin enough you can access the tenderloin. Next cut along the spine from the hip up towards the shoulder.
Using your fingers, carefully pull the loin away from the spine, and carefully cut the meat loose in small tiny knife stokes. This isn't a job to rush so take your time. It is hard to get it started, but once you do it comes off quite easily.
Repeat for the other side of the loin.
That's pretty much it! After a couple practice tries you should be able to do a deer or antelope within 10 minutes or so... yes it is that fast. The great thing is if you have a gutshot animal, you have almost zero chance of getting the fluids on your meat.
The downside to this method? Well there actually is one... the Fillet Minion. It is located inside the body cavity opposite the tender loins. For small animals like antelope I don't feel its worth the effort to remove. For deer I always remove it as its my most favorite cut of meat. For Elk its not even a question, I'd rather have that cut than any other.
You can extract it either by traditional field dressing or you can remove it actually after doing the gutless method but its fairly tricky. I do not have pictures of how to do this but you position the animal on its belly with the back in the air. Cut along the spine from where the last rib ends back towards the pelvis. Be very careful you dont puncture the internals. You can then reach up in the hole and cut free the Filet. Repeat for the Filet on the other side. I'll be blunt, this is tricky stuff. You better have a good idea of what the Fillet Minion is, how its attached and how to cut it free. This is good knowledge to have but best learned by removing it from traditionally field dressed animals.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 25th, 2007 04:59 PM |
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TasunkaWitko
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i've often thought of trying this, but worry about the meat i would leave behind, especially the tenderloins. also, the benefits of hanging and aging the meat would, as far as i can see, be lost.
in some situations it could certainly be a blessing, though.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 25th, 2007 07:32 PM |
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Timberghozt
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Good read Tash.
That is the way we handle most wild hogs.Provided we can get em to the barn fast enough.I do not like to leave entrails inside an animal any longer than necessary after the shot.
Otherwise,its gfut em time.
As Doc said,gut shot deer.I do the same way...
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| Posted: Thu Jul 26th, 2007 01:29 AM |
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sdb777
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Always gutted the animal, and hung in a tree for at least 6 hours. But I moved to Arkansas, and that isn't a possibility....especially when it's 75-90* F!!! Now it's getting every possible piece of meat, and getting it in the ice chest...fast!
Gene, the hogs around here and considered a PITA, and most are dropped and left for the buzzards....you guy eat 'em? Maybe during the cooler months, but not during the summer! Yuck!
Scott (pork is okay) B
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| Posted: Thu Jul 26th, 2007 01:39 AM |
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Timberghozt
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Nahh bro.I don`t mess with em much in the summer months.Meat goes rancid fast in the Texas summer.Otherwise,we eat the shit out of young pigs..
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12th, 2007 10:57 PM |
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BPCR Bill
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I learned that trick from a buddy in Wyoming who guides Elk hunters. We do it on Elk, deer, antelope. Also did it last month on Caribou in Alaska. It is a handy method, and fast!
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| Posted: Tue Nov 13th, 2007 07:22 AM |
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Mark V
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We do it all the time. You essentially get everything except the t-loins. When you kill 100 deer per year, it is a good method to use sometimes. 
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| Posted: Tue Nov 13th, 2007 02:10 PM |
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saddlesore
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I have done it for several years. With two exceptions, I skin out each side first. I t doesn't get as much hair on it this way. I would rather have grass on it than hair. Most of the time,I am in the snow though and the meat stays clean, If I have to, I use my paucnho to lay the skinned side on, or I spread out the hide and use it.
The 2nd differnce is that I start at the brisket for the front quarter an fillet everything down along the ribs to the loins and then cut it free of the spine.
Getting the tenderloin ( fillet mignon) out is no problem. You just pres the paunch in, and using a rounded , not pointed knife, you slip it in and cutat the back and front and the tenderloin pulls right out. Yes you have to be careful.
Takes me about 45 minutes to do an elk. The more you take your time and be careful, the more meat you get
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| Posted: Wed Nov 21st, 2007 03:36 AM |
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racefan3119
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I had done this a few times on deer i hit with my truck in Upper Michigan and started using it again in Texas if it was warm. The only difrence is i start with the deer on his belly and cut down the back bone and skin it back out to the side about 6 inches and then cut along both sides of the spine until i get the tenderloins out then i quarter the same way as the pics show. Great post by the way, with the pics someone that has never done it before should have no problem.
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| Posted: Thu Feb 11th, 2010 04:22 AM |
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El Torote
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saddlesore, I do it the same way, skin each side I am working on, then from the belly side filp over the back, and use the skinside as a blanket to keep clean and less hair on the meat. Especially around the back straps! If caping, I make those outlines first, split up the spine line till tween the horns, and cut the head off. Brisket same way as you, sometime getting the neck muscles with same piece, else cut-peel the meat off the neck seperate.
As for the tenderloins, after removing back straps and quarters, I saw thru the spine about 3 ribs up from the rear, cut down thru the meat between the ribs about 4-6 inches, then saw back thru the last three ribs (I swiped my wife's Martha Stewart folding pruning saw cuz it works better than my gerber!.) Now I have a hatch that I just flip over and remove the tenders in a similar matter as the backstraps.
Aint no way I'm leaving the tenderloins for the coyotes!
If I am packing out, I will de-bone right then and there. Carry a couple of 13 gal trash bags to line the big deep pocket of my pack. Keeps the blood smell to a minimum on my pack.
Note: Minimize the warm time in the plastic bag as much as possible! Better you can get on ice quickly, and if temp cool enough, I like to air out a bit before packing on ice (unless the meat bees are out.)
Only time I gut now is if close to truck or bike, and I can get the critter to camp to work on 'em in a more relaxed, clean environment (also closer to the beer cooler.) I usually leave the skin on to keep the dust off for the ride back to camp.
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| Posted: Fri Feb 12th, 2010 02:00 PM |
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swampratt
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Thanks for the article and pictures never seen it before.
Might have to give it a try...Timed myself once it took me 30 minutes to hang skin and quarted and have my deer on ice. and get back in the truck to go hunt some more
but it was already gutted in the field...We have to check our deer in usually whole...
I am going to talk to a game ranger and see what the exact rules are on that
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| Posted: Fri Feb 12th, 2010 09:18 PM |
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wheezengeezer
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The only way to do roadkill.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 13th, 2010 01:16 PM |
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woodsman777
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we hunt in a lot of rough mountain type terrain
if i can i gut-em out normal and take the animal out whole thats what we do ,
but if there is no way to do that we section them up the gutless method
and make multiple pack trips, lot of sweat equity in that meat 
thats a nice cape job on that speed goat
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| Posted: Sat Feb 13th, 2010 04:55 PM |
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Gutshot
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What do you do in the states that require you to harvest the heart and liver? Also on an elk them tasty tenderloins go to waste. Looks like this method was developed by poachers!
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| Posted: Sun Feb 14th, 2010 01:46 AM |
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woodsman777
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we do harvest the heart, liver and tender loin,
call it a tactical extraction
once you separated the large quarters , the back straps ,neck meat ,ect
you can make a couple of cuts to expose the tender loins and heart and liver
you have to know they are at or it gets messy real quick,
and it never goes quite the way you plan
if you have never gutted an elk ,they are a lot bigger critters than you think
2 or 3 times the size of the average deer
my adopted motto "Adapt ,Improvise and Overcome"
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| Posted: Sun Feb 14th, 2010 03:38 AM |
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Gutshot
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I know and an elk's cavity is full as compard to deer. More like beef.
Gutshot
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| Posted: Sun Feb 14th, 2010 03:40 AM |
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swampratt
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I was back about 5-7 miles in the thick oklahoma woods,,walking and enjoying nature,,found a really nice spring fed pond,
I stayed a couple hours watched the critters and drank my fill of mother earths cool liquid.MMM MMM
I got to thinking ,,Man if i get one this far in I got to pack it out..
I figured i would skin the animal leg hide attached,
debone the whole animal make a carry bag out of the hide and keep the head for checkin purposes...
Thanks for the gutless idea i could do the above without gutting
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| Posted: Sun Feb 14th, 2010 07:16 PM |
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Gutshot
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Well you could sneak up on him and ride him out. Please take pictures though.
Gutshot
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