How to Field Dress Elk
Once you have successfully brought down an elk, the real work begins. You will need to field dress your elk where you are before you can bring your kill back to the car. Because elk are so much larger than deer, field dressing can be a time-consuming and rather gruesome task for those who are not used to butchering animals.
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Instructions
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Cut the elk from between the hind legs all the way up to the throat. Avoid cutting too deeply. You do not want to puncture the stomach or the intestines, which will cause a smelly mess that may ruin your meat.
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Cut the skin away from around the genitals of the elk. Be sure not to cut into the penis, or you will be covered in elk urine.
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Cut the skin all the way around the anus of the elk. This is the only way to release the pelt from the large intestine when finished gutting.
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Reach into the chest cavity and begin removing the internal organs. Pull out organs that will come free easily as you field dress the elk.
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Grab your knife and reach back into the cavity to remove more of the innards. Be sure to cut slowly and carefully, as you will not be able to see what you are doing. You can cut yourself easily if you rush.
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Stop every few minutes to pull out more insides. This will create more room for you to cut out more tissue.
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Reach in as far up into the elk as you can to reach and remove the wind pipe.
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Skin the elk once you have all of the organs removed. Skinning immediately is important to be able to keep the meat fresh.
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Cut the carcass in half length wise to allow the animal to cool. You will need your hacksaw to get through the elk's thick bones.
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Cut off each leg with your hacksaw.
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Cut the carcass down the backbone with your hacksaw to begin to quarter it.
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Remove the head with your hacksaw. Use your knife for smaller tissue that the hacksaw is too large for.
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Cut each half of the elk horizontally at the third rib to complete quartering your kill.
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Pack one quarter at a time out of the woods. You will put one section in a game bag, put it in your backpack and hike back to your car.
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Return to your elk and continue to pack out your meat until you have all of it.
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Tips & Warnings
Bring a flashlight to see better when field dressing.
