Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

Gutless method on OYOA YouTube channel

Big Fin

Big Fin

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Well, here is the first example of some stuff we are doing with old OYOA footage and our new YouTube channel.

Many of you ask how we get these animals out of the hills. I decided that when Oak killed his MT whitetail in Season Two, that we would film it, start to finish, and show people how we do this.

Some will ask why we did this with a deer and not an elk. Well, a lot of guys live where there are deer and they can practice this at home, rather than do it for the first time while the hot September sun is baking their elk.

The cuts are the same, the technique is the same. Like I say in the video, depending upon the species or the lay of the animal, I might start with the hind quarters and work my way forward. Also depends on whether or not I am going to save the cape, or not.

Either way, if you learn this, it will make you far more comfortable hunting away from roads and trails. And, you will also realize why we put such huge emphasis on high quality packs.

Hope you enjoy. We are thinking of making this in a download format, so guys could use it as a reference, rather than having to stream it. It is 16 minutes long.


Link here --------> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_7AHA2TyqHo


Thanks to RMEF and Caribou Game Bags for making this possible.

http://www.rmef.org/

http://www.biggamebags.com/

http://www.biggamebags.com/
 

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Well done Video Randy. I really respect your knife skills Jointing those legs and neck with that thin blade.
 
Great video. I can do a whole elk start to finish with one blade, Unless I break one. I also take the meat off the bone on the quarters.
 
Randy, great video! I've heard of the method, have a decent idea on how to do it, but this helped so much! Also as Kansasdad asked, is the Havalon a good knife? I have a few different blades but I sure do like my swing blade.
 
Great demo Randy! I usually don't take the leg bones out either. But I was wondering how you get the rib meat out via gutless? Sharp side of the blade up like you're gutting normally?
 
Excellent... I learned a few things while watching that. I'm going to try that with the front leg next time and also keep the hide on the hind legs until they are off.

FWIW, I gave up being a gutless purist.... when doing this all worn out on a hillside it has proven to be too easy for me to forget where the meat ends and the stomach starts. I now split the belly after the hide is off and let the stomach fall out a bit to get it away from the animal. You can even get rid of the stomach entirely if it gets in the way by cutting the intestine as far back as you can and cutting the esophagus where it goes through the diaphragm. No mess at all if you don't get into the bloody chest cavity. Makes getting the tenderloins less of a grope in the dark too.
 
Last edited:
RobG said:
Excellent... I learned a few things while watching that. I'm going to try that with the front leg next time and also keep the hide on the hind legs until they are off.

FWIW, I gave up being a gutless purist.... when doing this all worn out on a hillside it has proven to be too easy for me to forget where the meat ends and the stomach starts - and I've done more butchering than most. I now split the belly after the hide is off and let the stomach fall out a bit to get it away from the animal. You can even get rid of the stomach entirely if it gets in the way by cutting the intestine as far back as you can and cutting the esophagus where it goes through the diaphragm. No mess at all if you don't get into the bloody chest cavity. Makes getting the tenderloins less of a grope in the dark too.
Click to expand...

Yes, on an elk, if the stomach expands, poking a very small hole in the very low end of the expanded stomach will slowly let the air out, almost like deflating an air mattress. That makes is very easy to get to the tenderloins.

Don't poke fast or deep, unless you like wearing half-digested elk feed for a day or two.

I can usually get through an animal with one blade in my Havalon. Keeping that blade sharp is the key.

Always cut with the grain of the hair. It will remove less hair follicles, resulting in less hair on your meat and more hair on your cape. And, it will keep your blade much sharper for a longer period of time.

As for the rib meat, that is pretty easy. Just cut between the ribs. Since the animal is laying on its side, you can poke your knife into the rib area without worry, as gravity has the organs on the bottom side and you are cutting from the top side.

If you want to salvage the organs, it is pretty easy to do at the end of the process. You don't have all the legs and other body weight hindering you.
 
Well, hunted elk twice now and haven't had to worry about gutless or not. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to see if the 3rd time is the charm like they say... Now, if some big, famous TV star wanted to host an eager flatlander trying to kill his first elk before he gets too old to hump it in the mountains anymore it just might make that 3rd time thing possible. Just sayin', lol!
 
Interesting.

Sure goes to show that there is more than one way to skin a cat (or a deer or elk). Quite a few minor differences from my method, but the end result is pretty much the same (although I tend to bone everything out if I'm going to have to carry it).

I skin the entire side I'm going to work on starting from the belly, then take the hindquarter off first, then the front shoulder, then the backstrap, tenderloin and loose meat. Flip, repeat. Unless I'm caping it, I never cut along the backbone, when I'm done there is a full size hide there laying on the ground hair side down.

I get plenty of pigs down here to practice on. Depending on where I shoot them, I will take the entire ribcage out if it's not too blasted up. Pork ribs on the smoker are pretty tasty if they have been eating decent at all. I even end up taking the ribs out without a saw, but I need a sturdy knife for that, the havalon doesn't quite hold up to that.
 
Big Fin said:
Yes, on an elk, if the stomach expands, poking a very small hole in the very low end of the expanded stomach will slowly let the air out, almost like deflating an air mattress. That makes is very easy to get to the tenderloins.

Don't poke fast or deep, unless you like wearing half-digested elk feed for a day or two.
Click to expand...

Mine was on a steep hillside up against a tree so the belly had a load on it. I was putting the slice under the backstrap and didn't notice I was off the ribs and, well it was like slicing into a balloon full of putrid chunky gatorade. :eek: A small hole wouldn't have worked there, but I'll try it if I find myself on flat ground.
 
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