How Long Does It Take To Quarter An Elk? (Best Way To Do It)

Fact checked by Steven Lines, lifelong Hunter and Outdoorsman.

Quartering is a butchering terminology that refers to cutting an animal into four parts, i.e., into four quarters by slicing the carcass through the spine and sawing through the ribs to make four sections. This is done to reduce the animal’s size to a manageable level, making transportation easier. But how long does it take to quarter commonly hunted animals such as elks? And what is the best way to go about it?

An expert set of hands may quarter an elk in as little as 45 minutes. That means quartered, skinned, and in bags. Boned and in bags will take another 30 minutes.

Once an elk has been hunted, bringing it back from the woods can be challenging. Thus, it is essential to cut it into more manageable pieces before deciding on transporting it. This is where quartering comes into play.

Quartering large animals such as elks help make the transportation process more manageable and lower the game’s chances of getting damaged by externalities. Let us discuss what quartering is and learn the best method to quarter an animal?

In this post, we'll cover:

Quartering

Quartering in the traditional sense means splitting the entire body of a gutted animal into four sections by cutting it vertically from the spine and seeing it horizontally from the ribs resulting in 4 quarter pieces. These pieces are then loaded onto transports and transported to their destination.

However, it can be very difficult for backpack hunters to carry such huge pieces since they usually have no transportation means.

Therefore, quartering looks a bit different for back hunters than it does for traditional hunters. When backpack hunters discuss quartering, they usually refer to the practice of gutting and separating the four leg sections and separating the meat from the bones.

What Is The Best Way To Quarter An Elk?

There are various ways to quarter an elk, but one method, in particular, has become very popular in recent years. This method is known as the gutless method. This method works on any big animal and not just elks.

This method has become popular mainly because it saves a lot of time and is comparatively hassle-free and less messy.

This method saves upwards of 15-20 minutes compared to traditional methods and keeps the meat safe from the internal organs. It enables the hunter to completely salvage most edible meat without opening the animal’s body cavity.

Thus, it is widely used nowadays and is considered the best method of quartering large animals such as elks.

Gutless Method

In Lamen’s terms, this method involves skinning and cutting the animal’s leg quarters and taking off all the edible/boneless bits without cutting into the animal’s body cavity. Here is a step-by-step process on how to quarter an elk using the gutless method:

Removing Skin & Hide

Laying the animal on one side, skin the exposed portion from the knees up to the backbone, exposing the neck, front shoulder, ribs, hind quarter, and backstrap. Once this is done, you will prepare for the second step.

Removing The Shoulders

The shoulders on elks are only attached by muscles. These are very easy to remove. Guide your knife between the shoulder and the animal’s body cavity and separate it from the carcass.

Separating the Rear Legs

Muscles attach the hind leg and one ball joint. Therefore to separate the body from the rear leg, you must cut through the muscle and the ball joint.

Salvage the Rest Of the Meat

Now it is time to separate the rest of the meat from the body. After removing both the legs, the neck meat, brisket meat, rib meat, etc., are all in the open. You will have to remove these sections, including the backstraps, now.

Hang the Quarters

You will now hang the quarters in the open to enable faster cooling as large animals need to be cooled to preserve their meat’s taste. Keeping the quarters out in the open helps us cool the meat faster through air circulation.

Cut the Tenderloins

This is technically butting into the body cavity, but this is doable with small incisions. A small cut along the backbone just above the rear flank will allow us access to the tenderloins. This is the most tender meat in the animal’s body, and we shouldn’t let go of it just because it is technically inside the elk’s body cavity.

Repeat on the Other Side

Once everything is said and done, repeat the same process on the other side of the elk.

Bag the Meat Properly

Once the dressing and quartering are complete, put the meat into game bags. This will preserve the meat from parasites, germs, and dust and help the meat cool faster. This should preserve the hygiene of the quality of the meat overall.

Now that we have learned how to quarter an eld in the gutless method, the question of whether this method is worth following or not may arise. This method, though popular, is also very controversial. A lot of seasoned hunters have criticized this method for being inefficient and wasteful.

Steven Rinella, a vocal critic of the gutless method, thinks this method is only favorable for those who prefer a hassle-free hunting experience and don’t want the inconvenience of adequately handling their game. He says,

“I can’t avoid touching the guts because I like to eat some of them. I need to get inside the carcass to retrieve the heart, liver, tenderloins, skirt, caul fat, and rib racks. What’s the point in doing this gutless bullshit if you need to open the thing up anyway to retrieve the gold?”

However, others swear by the efficiency of this method. Thus, to help you get a clear idea of this method, I have listed the advantages and disadvantages of using this quartering elk method.

Advantages

It is faster than all other methods, saving time in the wild and helping keep the meat fresh.
Since this is faster, this method will come in handy if there is an apex predator nearby.
There is no spilling of guts; thus a less of a mess is made.
Protects the meat from any of the internal juices such as stomach acid that could have leaked due to bullet/arrow wounds.
Less spoiling of meat due to the heat since the meat stays less long in the sun.
Easy to do, and beginners can pick up this method very quickly.
Much more convenient and a lot less messy compared to traditional methods.
Easier to do for backpack hunters since the meat is cut in more manageable portions and easier to freeze.

Disadvantages

The guts are wasted. Some portions of the guts are edible and quite delicious. The gutless method avoids guts entirely, and a lot of tasty meat is wasted.
Again, large animals need to be appropriately cooled to preserve the taste of their meat. The gut section is the hottest part of any animal’s body, and not opening it at all may result in the heat not being released efficiently, causing the taste of the meat to get spoiled. This can be detrimental to the taste of the meat, and a lot of traditionalists despise it.
The weight of the carcass’s guts makes it hard to move the body around or dress it appropriately, which is also something to keep in mind while quartering an animal in the wild.
The time the gutless method saves is just not enough to justify the inconveniences that this method causes. If it saved a lot more time, maybe this method could have been worthy of consideration for many hunters.

Conclusion

The discussion above gives you a clear idea of all the advantages and disadvantages of using the gutless method. Hunting is a game of patience. Therefore it is worth it for any hunter to step back and consider all the positives and negatives of any action they decide to take in the wild.

I sincerely hope this article will give you a proper idea of the gutless method, perform it in the wild, and all the advantages and disadvantages of using this method. Because despite the controversies, it is still one of the most widely used methods these days and is worth looking into for every ambitious hunter.

Steven Lines is a hunter and outdoorsman from Safford, Arizona, USA. Since he was a child, he has been hunting and fishing and has over 20 years of outdoor experience. Steven works as a hunting guide in Arizona during his spare time and runs a Youtube channel dedicated to sharing his outdoor adventures with others.

Sources

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