Elk Down—Now What? The real Wyoming guide to getting meat out: gutless quartering, DIY sleds & pack goats

Hollywood loves that shot of a whole elk lashed to a pickup. Reality check: in Wyoming, most elk hit the dirt miles from a road. The job after the shot is part butchery, part logistics, and a little farm-animal ingenuity. Here’s how hunters here actually get hundreds of pounds of protein from the mountain to the freezer.

A mature bull can yield 200–300 lbs of boned-out meat (cows: 150–200 lbs). Unless you’ve got a horse string waiting, that means multiple trips with a pack—often solo.

Wyoming Game & Fish requires you to remove all “edible portions” from the field: the quarters (minus lower shanks), backstraps, and tenderloins. Pro tip from the agency: don’t leave value on the hill—neck, shanks, belly and between-the-ribs meat are great for grind, sausage, stew and jerky.

No, you don’t have to open the cavity. The gutless method is cleaner, faster, and keeps meat off the innards.

How it plays out:

1. Open the top: Make a cut along the spine; peel hide down like a banana to keep hair off the meat.
2. Backstraps first: Those long straps along the spine come out clean once the hide’s off. Steak night secured.
3. Front quarters: Use your knife to free the shoulder at the scapula—no bone cuts needed.
4. Hindquarters: Game & Fish recommends a bone saw at the hip/spine. Knifing deep to find the ball joint can invite bacteria; a clean saw cut is safer.
5. Tenderloins: Small, precious, and inside. Make a small incision near the lower spine and carefully free them from under the backbone without gutting.

Laying meat on a tarp or old bedsheet keeps it clean while you work. Boning out in the field is extra knife time, but saves real weight.

“You’re looking at 110–120 pounds of bone you’re just packing as extra weight,” says Kemmerer hunter Vance McGahey, who nearly always debones before packing.

Bag finished cuts in breathable game bags (store-bought or clean pillowcases). Avoid plastic—meat needs to cool.

Backpacks are the baseline. Creativity makes them smarter.

• Travois sled: Roll up thick plastic, unroll at the elk, lash meat on—then drag over sage, grass, rocks. Surprisingly slick.
• “Indian drag” sled: In timber? Cut two sturdy poles, rig a tarp stretcher between them and drag. Pair with a backpack to split the load and spare your spine.

After experimenting with pretty much everything, McGahey landed on goats.

• Why goats? Sure-footed, quiet, and when raised right, they follow like puppies—even on the hunt. Elk and deer mostly ignore them; on rare occasions he tethers them at camp.
• Loads & pacing: Cap at 20–35 lbs per goat (they can handle 40–45, but don’t overdo it) and rest every ~20 minutes.
• You still carry: Heads/antlers and a chunk of meat ride in the hunter’s pack; goats take the rest, trip after trip.

Field kit: the short list

• Sharp boning knife + bone saw
• Tarp/bedsheet (clean work surface)
• Breathable game bags
• Flagging tape / GPS pins (mark the site for return trips)
• Paracord (hanging, lashing, drag sleds)
• Headlamp with spare batteries
• First-aid (for you and your knife hand)

Plan the exit like you plan the shot

• Cool fast: Get meat off the carcass, propped on sticks/brush in the shade to let air work while you shuttle loads.
• Think routes: Steep and short can beat long and brushy. Sometimes two medium trips are safer than one hero haul.
• Mind the regs: Don’t leave required edible portions behind; it’s the law—and just good ethics.

There’s no single “right” way to pack out an elk in Wyoming. There are a hundred decent ways—from gutless quartering and clean deboning to travois hacks and bleating pack animals. Pick the combo that keeps your meat clean, your body intact, and your freezer full.

The original story by Mark Heinz for Cowboy State Daily.