I have done it that way mainly on road kill. But I do like keeping the heart, liver, ribs and bones if for no other reason than for the cats, dogs and even toss some to the chickens in late winter when there are no bugs out for protein.

The only thing I normally throw out is the hide, hoofs, head, lungs, stomach, intestines and kidneys.

My animals love hunting season.

Well I have shot a few moose and I have helped butcher a few and so far I have never seen where my Alaskan friends and relatives have ever gutted a moose. But if you want to gut a moose that's up to you.

my great grampa & grampa were both butchers by trade & i noticed in the old time deer camp "buck pole" pictures they made as small a hole as possible to get the guts out, minimizing hair and always a stick propping it open to cool down the carcass quickly.

I use this method for elk, but I have a walk-in cooler and like to let me deer dry age for 10 days so I gut them in the field.

I haven't tried it with a whitetail but with an elk its pretty easy to get the inner loin out with the gutless method.

ol' dad

Beav, I would say that your experiences aren't representative of the majority of Alaskans. Not gutting a moose requires either a lot of boning out in the field or.........leaving behind a lot of meat. I've been in Alaska since 1978. Haven't encountered anyone in the numerous places of the state I have hunted or helped that didn't gut in the field.

Different strokes for different folks.

Ya definitely know when 'ya'll ain't from round here are ya' when you see someone dragging or hauling a deer with the guts still in them. Only the TV hunters do that so they don't offend you by showing blood. Just wouldn't make any sense at all to leave the guts in if you hunted some of this back country mountains. Can't legally just bone out and carry it out without head/hide so why bother. Oh, and dragging, don't drag them backwards!

Sorry. I could never leave the best of the deer behind.

Beav, if you had one of those hitch mounted hoists your could get a deer in your pick-up without help. Mine rotates on a bearing after I pull a locking pin. I can hoist the deer up above the tailgate then pull the pin and rotate so the deer is over the tailgate/bed.

I like to use the ice fishing sled to transport and load deer works like a stretcher 2 people can pick it up fairly easy because it has a good lip all around and stays rigid

to get them in lay the sled upside down over the deer lash the front legs to the sled and roll it over


been thinking a ramp might be in order when doing myself , so far I have had help and I am not as old as most of you yet.

most truck beds have the tie downs at the front , some rope from one of those to the other , a pully and a simple plywood ramp with some rails on the sides for support you can strap the ramp to the rear 2 tied down points so it doesn't drop on you,

then tie off the rope to something like a tree in with the sled started on the ramp and pull forward as you drive forward the ramp drags with the truck and the sled goes up the ramp
same thing could work without the sled the sled is nice to minimize the mess in the truck bed.

I got started loading them with a sled when I had the van , really save the cleaning.

and I don't miss having a wet but deer hunting because we got blood all over the tailgate

Me too.

I have only shot 4 moose and been in on a few others. All of them were gutted in the field. The 4 I got were also quartered and packed out. Actually 1/6thed, lol Took ribs off each side and made two loads out of them. With elk I have left ribs on front quarter but that's when my mule was doing the carrying, not me!lol

Sound like the hunters you hunt with in Alaska should be prosecuted for waton waste,and rightfully so.

Anyone that leaves ribs ,neck ,back is wasting meat, its deemed waton waste here if you leave any of it.

Nope . You ever let one hang for 2-3 days with the guts in it. LOL Get that meat cooled down as soon as possible is priority number one . Fastest way to do that is gut it. If I was shooting them off my back porch I might dress without gutting. Only deer I ever didn't gut was one I shot that fell over a bluff. All I could do to get to it quarter it out, and cut off the horns then pack back up.. 80 % of what I used to shoot I had to drag out alone. Loosing 25% or more of the weight I had to drag is the first thing I did ....

Guess it depends where you hunt. Most land owners and mangers don’t want anything left in the woods. Some have a spot we can go and take care of business, such as a pit already dug out to dump whatever is left of you want to gut and process right there. It’s deep and covered somewhat after a kill. Their reasoning is they done want to entice any more predators than they already have. We had the same thing in Arkansas at the duck camp, one huge deep pit where we dumped all the carcasses after cleaning.

Best money a fat cripple guy can spend. Easy loading. Heck great for gutting too...

I installed a cheap 2000lb 12V winch in my toolbox of my truck (actually mounted to a plate between the box and cab) and I have a sheet of plywood in the back of the truck for a ramp. I use it to load deer, big field stones for carving, appliances, etc...

I always gut them in the woods, hold them open with a stick to let them start cooling quickly. Wash out the insides with snow if available. Then transport it.

he isn't saying let it hang with guts , or to not gut if you have a long drag. but if your 83 or otherwise busted up and you make a phone call for help and practically drive the truck to the deer it doesn't make much sense to gut it in the field is what he is saying.

many people don't gut on location because of land owner wishes

if you can easily do it , you have a cleaner job of it at home where you have hoist to raise it up and do it at your level than on the ground.

here a LOT of people who hunt their own farms go get the tractor and bring the deer back and hang it from the bucket then process when the meat is in the cooler all the mess can go in the bucket when your done and you go put it in the compost pile

it is 66 and sunny , nicely warm here presently not far from Beav's location so there isn't hanging it for days , there is get it off the bone and in the fridge or a cooler with ice.

With a cordless sawzal you can take out the ribs on a moose with out gutting It. I don't remember leaving any meat behind when working on those moose.
So what do you accomplish by gutting a moose? Other then taking the heart and liver. And I don't see that as being wanton waste if I don't take those parts.

I always field dress them, Buzzards gotta eat too! Besides, I keep the liver, pancreas and heart.