3 of us are heading to Wyoming in 2 weeks. Hoping for the best. Will be southeast of Yellowstone. We will not be looking for trophys just legal elk. Any good estimates of how much boned out meat from an average size elk ? Wondering what we should take in the way of coolers.
Boned meat estimates
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rammac
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Somewhere around 200 pounds. About 30 to 35 percent of the live weight.
nmbarta
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Depends a lot on the elk, and the shot. Depends on if you only take the legal parts you're required to take, or if you take all the good edible meat. Here in MT you dont have to take neck meat, but there are some awesome roasts and a lot of good burger there. Heart, brisket, shanks, neck, ribs, can all be left in the field. I pull an entire pack full of really good meat that I don't legally have to take.
Elk can weigh 500-1000 lbs.
Hope you guys get a couple close to 1000, and have some work to do.
Nothing makes me happier during hunting season than filling my freezer with elk meat.
Elk can weigh 500-1000 lbs.
Hope you guys get a couple close to 1000, and have some work to do.
Nothing makes me happier during hunting season than filling my freezer with elk meat.
nmbarta
Well-Known Member
If I had to figure a number, I'd go with about 250lbs per elk, could be more, could be less. Probably a good guesstimate to plan for.
I am in upstate NY and that is roughly what we would get from a 150 lb dressed whitetail. My granddads were both butchers so my mom and dad knew how to butcher. Other than the tallow tasting ribs we saved it all. Silverskin ground up in jerky so there was no waste and you did not even know you were eating it. It amazed me how many guys claim 50% boned out meat. It just ain't happening unless you are grinding up the hide also. Thanks Ed
codyadams
Well-Known Member
From weighing meat we pack out, a adult cow elk is usually around 200-250 lbs, on occasion more if you get a really big cow. Bulls are usually 250-300 lbs, again it varies a lot, a young raghorn bull and a 350 6+ bull almost seem like different anamals when carcass size is compared. This is from weights that we cut the meat off, trimmed obvious parts out you don't want such as the yellow sinew and some of the heaviest fat, but all meat including ribs and the sinewy lower legs, and heart are taken. I don't take the liver unless someone asks me for it, I am not a fan.
For bulls, the head and horns is added to this, and can be significant.
For bulls, the head and horns is added to this, and can be significant.
Plinker147
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That chart Above is a very good reference. I worked at a ranch where we weighed every elk killed. The weights are gutted/ field dresses everything else intact. Average cow varied from 270-330. Average bulls around 400. The big bulls I can't remember exactly but around 450 with 500lbs being giants in body size.
I also do my elk hunting horse back and weigh all the meat to make the packs even. These are quartered with leg bones, neck/ scrap meat, back straps. Rag horns are around 200-225lbs. Big mature bulls 250-275lbs not including horns and cape. Hope this helps
I also do my elk hunting horse back and weigh all the meat to make the packs even. These are quartered with leg bones, neck/ scrap meat, back straps. Rag horns are around 200-225lbs. Big mature bulls 250-275lbs not including horns and cape. Hope this helps
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John Klingenberg
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250 feels like 500 when you're packing it out, especially after that fiftieth birthday. I hate dealing with horses but they sure saved a lot of my leftover cartilage.
epoletna
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When it comes to driving butchered meat home, say 3 days away, we figured one year on two large coolers. That turned out not to be enough. We ended up going to Lowes and buying sheets of expanded foam and building out own ice chest in the back of the pickup. 2" thick foam, all taped together. Then we filled that with hard-frozen elk meat, then put dry ice blocks on top of everything before closing it up. Arrived home two days later with meat still frozen solid.
In the next 20 minutes I will be loading a deep freeze on my trailer and heading out...works better than coolers
bdyal1972
Well-Known Member
Those cows are TINY!!!
A SMALL ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK SPIKE 2-3 YEARS OLD IN EASTERN OREGON AMD EASTERN WASHINGTON OR EASTERN IDAHO WILL HAVE A LIVE WEIGHT OF 600-800 POUNDS.......
WEIGHED DOZENS OF THEM....
600LB SPIKE = 300LBS OF MEAT, LIVER, HEART AND NECK MEAT....MINIMUM
MEASURED IT DOZENS OF TIMES
ROOSEVELTS ON A BIG COW OR BIG BULL 8-12 YEARS OLD 600LBS OF MEAT LIVER WILL EXCEED 600LBS REGULARLY...
LARGEST WHOLE BIG ROOSEVELT COW I EVER SAW HUNG AND WEIGHTED WAS JUST SHY OF 1250LBS WHOLE MINUS GUTS.
SHE WAS OVER 750 LBS OF MEAT ON SAME SCALE SAME DAY....
I HAVE SEEN 4 BULLS THAT THE MEAT ALONE WAS OVER 100LBS PER PACK...
8 PACKS!!!
3 MILES UPHILL HIKE
12 MILES UPHILL BIKE RIDE
4 MILES DOWNHILL ON ATV
42 MILES GRAVEL ROAD
30? MILES PAVEMENT TO POWERS OREGON!!!
TOOK 14 BULLS OUTTA THAT HOLE IN 10 YEARS....
2 VARIATIONS (SUBSPECIES) OF ROOSEVELTS THERE.
RED WITH BROWN NECK AND MAINE THESE ARE BENCH LEGGED ELK
YELLOW WITH BLACK NECK AND MAINE
LONG LEGGED EASILY 6" TO 12" TALLER
SOME COWS HAD A SINGLE "UNICORN" SPIKE, SOME SPIKES HAD KUDU LIKE TWISTED HORNS....
RED AT RED WAY HARDWARE PIT US ON THESE ELK.... BEEN THERE SINCE 1880S WHEN HIS GRANDFATHER HOMESTEADED THERE....
LOVE SOUTHERN OREGON...
ROOSEVELT MONSTER BULLS HIDDEN IN HOLES UNDISTURBED WITH 7"-8" PEDICLES AND 9"+ DIAMETER HOOVES!!!!
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
It's funny how big elk are when you don't put them on certified scales!! I've scaled and cut over 2000 greater Yellowstone elk and Fennix chart and Cody are right in there, you'll be hard pressed to shoot a bull over 3.5 years old.
I've found the Wyoming figures to be pretty accurate. If you can weigh the gutted carcass, multiply that weight by 1.42 to get a live weight. My last three 6x6 bulls, all from northeastern New Mexico, had computed live weights that were very close, all between 705 and 730 lbs. I didn't weigh packaged meat, but it was probably very close to 260 lbs., give or take a little.
