How to Field Dress an Elk
Cape the elk if you want to save the hide for taxidermy., Use the right tools for the job., Make a cut around the mid-point of each front quarter., Work your knife up the neck between the shoulder blades., Work around each horn., Work around the top...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Cape the elk if you want to save the hide for taxidermy.
After you kill an elk, you need to get to work immediately to save the meat, but don't just jump in and start cutting away.
For many hunters, the thrill of any big game kill is the trophy you'll get back from the taxidermist, meaning that you'll need to work carefully to keep the hide intact, giving yourself the best possible trophy.
If you’re not interested in saving the horns or the hide for trophy purposes, you don’t need to worry about caping.
You can move directly to dressing the elk out if you want to take the whole carcass, or using the gutless method if you’re only interested in the meat.
Caping, dressing out, or gutting an elk isn't rocket science–it's an art form.
The exact process will vary from hunter to hunter, so develop your own short-cuts and tricks of the trade to do what works best for you, the situation, and the animal you've downed.
Never attempt to cut the animal's throat to "bleed it out." This is an unnecessary practice and a common misconception when inexperienced hunters are dressing an elk, and you'll risk spoiling the cape.
Work quickly and there's no need to bleed an elk. -
Step 2: Use the right tools for the job.
With the right hunting knife, you can break down a whole elk relatively quickly, but you'll also need a foldable hunting saw to take with you and get through the rib-cage and the other tough bits.
While it's possible to take most of the meat from an elk without using a rib-saw, you'll be making it a lot easier on yourself if you do.
To be well prepared for all scenarios, when you're out hunting elk, it's a good idea to have:
A very sharp hunting knife, with sharpener.
Hunting knives are typically fixed-blade, but are also available in foldable varieties.
They need to be kept honed to a razor's edge to carefully separate the hide from the meat in the field, efficiently and smoothly.
For this reason, it's good to have a sharpener with you, kept on an easy-to-access lanyard.
Gerber, Spyderco, and Kershaw are all popular brands.
Foldable bone saws are also important for breaking down a large animal, like an elk.
The best option is usually to get something like a Flip 'n Zip saw combo from Gerber, with a hunting blade and saw in tandem, but you can also shop around to find the best deal for you. , For a good shoulder-mount, the whole cape will extend over the shoulders of the animal, down to about the middle of the front quarters, and back to the mid-brisket (the chest of the animal, just behind the shoulders).
Mark where the cape will end by making a small incision around the mid-point of the animal's front quarters, to draw a guide line, then cut from the back of each front leg up the animal's torso, pulling the hide up toward the skull as you work, like you're pulling off a sweater.
It should all start coming off in one big piece.
Start pulling the hide, using your knife to ease it off, around each leg, and start working it off the front chest area of the animal. , To start, you'll need to work the blade of the knife up between the shoulder blades, straight up the back of the animal's neck.
Using one hand, gather the hide and pull backward to avoid cutting into the meat, easing your blade up the back of the neck until you get to the antlers.
Use your knife to cut all the way around the animal's hide, perpendicular to your shoulder cut, around the torso just behind the shoulders.
From here, you'll start working the hide off the shoulders, pulling it back and slipping it off like a jacket.
Use your knife to scrape just along the white fatty tissue under the hide, being careful not to pull of and waste any meat.
Continue working up toward the animal's skull. , Make your between-the-shoulders incision extend toward one antler, cutting all the way until your knife touches.
Using one hand, pull the hide up and use the flat of your blade to scrape as close to the bone as possible, gently tugging the hide back away from the skull.
When you get to the horn, scrape around the base, pulling the cape of the hide up and away from them, gently.
This should create a flap that you can use to separate the hide from the skull, keeping it in one piece. , One of the more gentle parts of the job is skinning the face of the animal, so it's important to go slowly and gently.
As you start to pull the hide loose from the face, hold the eyelid down with your finger to keep it from coming with you.
This is the most difficult part of the job, so go slowly and use care.
Pull the hide back, folding the furry side in on itself and exposing the seam where the hide is attached to the skull, with fatty, waxy tissue.
Work your knife into the crevices and the folds as you firmly pull the hide back and away.
Continue separating the hide from the face.
Work the hide loose and pull the top section of the cape away.
Work your knife down the front of the face, pulling it loose as you work. , To pull the hide free from the face of the animal, open the lips and work your knife up around the gum line, cutting through until you can feel the knife hit bone.
Go all the way around the mouth.
As you continue working the hide off the front, under the jaw and down the face, you should be able to pull it free eventually. , After you've pulled the cape loose, fold the skin-side in on itself, so the fur won't get messed up, and fold up the cape neatly and tightly as possible.
It's usually best to pack it up into a plastic bag or some kind of sack loosely.
Air circulation is important to dry things out and keep it from getting too damp.
When you get back to camp, keep the hide cool and dry.
The worst thing that can happen to the hide is getting damp.
If you notice condensation, unroll the hide and let it dry out before taking it to the taxidermist as soon as possible. , To make your pack-out lighter, it’s common to only remove the skull plate, where the antlers are attached, and let the taxidermist use a false skull for the trophy.
Work your saw around the back of the skull, behind the antlers, straight down toward the eye sockets.
Stop when you're just under the point at which the antlers attach to the skull.
Remove the hacksaw, make another cut directly above the eye sockets, straight back under the antlers, meeting at the point where you stopped.
If you're in the backcountry, it's common to strap the antlers to your back, with the points facing away from you.
This way, if you should trip and fall backwards, the sharp points on the big antlers will go into the ground, not your skin. -
Step 3: Make a cut around the mid-point of each front quarter.
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Step 4: Work your knife up the neck between the shoulder blades.
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Step 5: Work around each horn.
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Step 6: Work around the top of the eye.
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Step 7: Open the mouth of the animal and make a gum incision.
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Step 8: Pack up the cape
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Step 9: skin-to-skin.
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Step 10: Use a hacksaw to separate the skull plate.
Detailed Guide
After you kill an elk, you need to get to work immediately to save the meat, but don't just jump in and start cutting away.
For many hunters, the thrill of any big game kill is the trophy you'll get back from the taxidermist, meaning that you'll need to work carefully to keep the hide intact, giving yourself the best possible trophy.
If you’re not interested in saving the horns or the hide for trophy purposes, you don’t need to worry about caping.
You can move directly to dressing the elk out if you want to take the whole carcass, or using the gutless method if you’re only interested in the meat.
Caping, dressing out, or gutting an elk isn't rocket science–it's an art form.
The exact process will vary from hunter to hunter, so develop your own short-cuts and tricks of the trade to do what works best for you, the situation, and the animal you've downed.
Never attempt to cut the animal's throat to "bleed it out." This is an unnecessary practice and a common misconception when inexperienced hunters are dressing an elk, and you'll risk spoiling the cape.
Work quickly and there's no need to bleed an elk.
With the right hunting knife, you can break down a whole elk relatively quickly, but you'll also need a foldable hunting saw to take with you and get through the rib-cage and the other tough bits.
While it's possible to take most of the meat from an elk without using a rib-saw, you'll be making it a lot easier on yourself if you do.
To be well prepared for all scenarios, when you're out hunting elk, it's a good idea to have:
A very sharp hunting knife, with sharpener.
Hunting knives are typically fixed-blade, but are also available in foldable varieties.
They need to be kept honed to a razor's edge to carefully separate the hide from the meat in the field, efficiently and smoothly.
For this reason, it's good to have a sharpener with you, kept on an easy-to-access lanyard.
Gerber, Spyderco, and Kershaw are all popular brands.
Foldable bone saws are also important for breaking down a large animal, like an elk.
The best option is usually to get something like a Flip 'n Zip saw combo from Gerber, with a hunting blade and saw in tandem, but you can also shop around to find the best deal for you. , For a good shoulder-mount, the whole cape will extend over the shoulders of the animal, down to about the middle of the front quarters, and back to the mid-brisket (the chest of the animal, just behind the shoulders).
Mark where the cape will end by making a small incision around the mid-point of the animal's front quarters, to draw a guide line, then cut from the back of each front leg up the animal's torso, pulling the hide up toward the skull as you work, like you're pulling off a sweater.
It should all start coming off in one big piece.
Start pulling the hide, using your knife to ease it off, around each leg, and start working it off the front chest area of the animal. , To start, you'll need to work the blade of the knife up between the shoulder blades, straight up the back of the animal's neck.
Using one hand, gather the hide and pull backward to avoid cutting into the meat, easing your blade up the back of the neck until you get to the antlers.
Use your knife to cut all the way around the animal's hide, perpendicular to your shoulder cut, around the torso just behind the shoulders.
From here, you'll start working the hide off the shoulders, pulling it back and slipping it off like a jacket.
Use your knife to scrape just along the white fatty tissue under the hide, being careful not to pull of and waste any meat.
Continue working up toward the animal's skull. , Make your between-the-shoulders incision extend toward one antler, cutting all the way until your knife touches.
Using one hand, pull the hide up and use the flat of your blade to scrape as close to the bone as possible, gently tugging the hide back away from the skull.
When you get to the horn, scrape around the base, pulling the cape of the hide up and away from them, gently.
This should create a flap that you can use to separate the hide from the skull, keeping it in one piece. , One of the more gentle parts of the job is skinning the face of the animal, so it's important to go slowly and gently.
As you start to pull the hide loose from the face, hold the eyelid down with your finger to keep it from coming with you.
This is the most difficult part of the job, so go slowly and use care.
Pull the hide back, folding the furry side in on itself and exposing the seam where the hide is attached to the skull, with fatty, waxy tissue.
Work your knife into the crevices and the folds as you firmly pull the hide back and away.
Continue separating the hide from the face.
Work the hide loose and pull the top section of the cape away.
Work your knife down the front of the face, pulling it loose as you work. , To pull the hide free from the face of the animal, open the lips and work your knife up around the gum line, cutting through until you can feel the knife hit bone.
Go all the way around the mouth.
As you continue working the hide off the front, under the jaw and down the face, you should be able to pull it free eventually. , After you've pulled the cape loose, fold the skin-side in on itself, so the fur won't get messed up, and fold up the cape neatly and tightly as possible.
It's usually best to pack it up into a plastic bag or some kind of sack loosely.
Air circulation is important to dry things out and keep it from getting too damp.
When you get back to camp, keep the hide cool and dry.
The worst thing that can happen to the hide is getting damp.
If you notice condensation, unroll the hide and let it dry out before taking it to the taxidermist as soon as possible. , To make your pack-out lighter, it’s common to only remove the skull plate, where the antlers are attached, and let the taxidermist use a false skull for the trophy.
Work your saw around the back of the skull, behind the antlers, straight down toward the eye sockets.
Stop when you're just under the point at which the antlers attach to the skull.
Remove the hacksaw, make another cut directly above the eye sockets, straight back under the antlers, meeting at the point where you stopped.
If you're in the backcountry, it's common to strap the antlers to your back, with the points facing away from you.
This way, if you should trip and fall backwards, the sharp points on the big antlers will go into the ground, not your skin.
About the Author
Diana Armstrong
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in cooking and beyond.
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