Tools for quartering elk

[Adikted]

What's the best hand tool for cutting through elk bones? A buddy of mine says he likes a Sawzall but I'm looking for something light to carry with me. I've used the little Gerber and Browning hand saws but they leave a little to be desired on whitetail, not sure how they'd handle the heavier bones animals.

 

[BigGrizz]

I take a boy's axe or hatchet with. It doesn't always get used. You really only need a knife to quarter an elk.

 

[wyowinchester]

We take a knapp{ I think that's the name} saw with us. Only use it when we cut thru the spine if we are going to hang

half's over night. Most of the time a good knife does the whole thing. Four legs then all the meat, back straps, ribs, neck, tenders.
find the joints.

 

[J E Custom]

[QUOTE="wyowinchester Most of the time a good knife does the whole thing. Four legs then all the meat, back straps, ribs, neck, tenders.
find the joints.[/QUOTE]

That's the way I like to take one apart because when using a bone saw, you can end up with bone meal in everything and you have to carry all of the extra weight of the bones.

I have seen guys use a chain saw, meat saw, limb loppers, axe's , hatchets and they all leave some bone and most of the methods are/can be unsafe. That's why I like to use a good knife.

An Elks hind quarters is very heavy and if the state allows boneing, it makes the quarters manageable. you can de bone and still leave proof of sex and the skin for protection of the meat and reduce the weight a bunch.

Just the way I like to quarter an Elk

J E CUSTOM

 

[Barrelnut]

Try a good higher end pruning saw like this. They are light and pack easily. After you cut up your elk you can build yourself a fort with it. They are incredibly useful. You can use them to clear sapling and such if you need to cut a trail to your game. They work great on elk bone.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BAFD6E/?tag=lrhmag19-20

 

[Plinker147]

I just quarter with a knife, no need for a bone saw. But if you like to do it that way a Wyoming saw are nice, light and easy to pack. If your at camp a saw-all work great

 

[bigngreen]

Absalutely no need for a saw!! Every joint can be cut through easily, even the spine can be severed faster with a knife than a saw. Bag the rib meat and back straps.

 

[J E Custom]

Just to clarify the reason I use a knife.
Most of my Elk hunting was bow hunting and we walked in for 6 to 8 hours and you only carry what you have to going in (We normally eat only what we can shoot or catch) and carry only dried food for emergencies.

And on the way out you have to carry everything, so packing any bones was out of the question. Even then sometimes we had to make two trips to pack the Elk.

On a few trips we had pack horses but they could only carry so much and in that event, we became pack Mules ourselves.

J E CUSTOM

 

[jaeger19]

I only make one cut in bone and i actually saw through disc. I use the gerber saw. I use whats called the gutless method of taking apart elk and the only bone cut is the 10th vertebrae to pop the tenderloins out.

 

[killerBeee]

For a saw, if and when you need one, I like the Bahco Laplander. Swedish steel and a great tool to have in your pack whether or not you actually use it on the elk.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001IX7OW/?tag=lrhmag19-20

Beee

 

[newtonian]

The best tool is a hatchet. Surprisingly, you can split the spine quite easily with one. If one hunts way back, it can be used to blaze trails, build a fire or even build a quick shelter if you have to spend an unexpected night out. I have quartered many elk with a hatchet; mostly when I could get a horse to pack out. When I carry the meat, I bone. From what I see in the woods, most hunters lack the anatomical skills and knowledge to avoid significant waste. Bone only if you know how. The best boning knife is flexible with a rounded point so you don't stab yourself. Sometimes, I build a little table to bone on; saves the back. Incidentally, I do not notice any difference in elk meat when I hang for 10 days or so and when I bone immediately; I have done a lot of both.

 

[djfriesen]

I only make one cut in bone and i actually saw through disc. I use the gerber saw. I use whats called the gutless method of taking apart elk and the only bone cut is the 10th vertebrae to pop the tenderloins out.

Jaeger,

Can you provide some clarification on this? I was also taught the gutless method, but don't know anything about going through the neck to get the tenderloins. Do you have a link to a video or something?

 

[greatwhitehntr]

Love my little havalon still carry my granddads KBar from USMC

 

[dfanonymous]

I take a boy's axe or hatchet with. It doesn't always get used. You really only need a knife to quarter an elk.

i do this too. i carry a heavy head tomahawk. not a tactical tool it, has a penetrating spike that breaks up bone and a nice blade for breaking up everything else.