Field Dressing Game in The Backcountry

The Kill Kit

Meat care in the field is essential to producing a quality product in your freezer at the end of a hunt. 

Hunting big game species — such as elk and mule deer — takes time, money, and no shortage of hard work. A good kill kit will maximize your yield and ensure that the process is clean and efficient.

Over the past 10 years we've refined our Kill Kit to the following items:

1. 7 game bags
2. A fixed blade knife
3. Pull through sharpener
4. Latex gloves
5. Paracord
6. Contractor bag
7. Sheet of tyvek
8. Zip ties
9. Handkerchief
10. 2x shooters of bourbon

 

 

Game Bags

Most game bag kits come with 5 bags: 4 larger ones for quarters, and a smaller one for loins and tenderloins. In our opinion, this is not enough. 

On a mature bull elk each side of the neck alone can weigh 20 lbs — a substantial piece of meat. Additionally, bags are needed for brisket, flank, heart, and rib meat.  

Game bags are light enough that carrying an extra bag or two is worthwhile. We usually go with an additional large bag for the pieces mentioned above and another for the skull, as we often start to skin it and remove the lower jaw between packing trips. 

Good game bags can be found at Black Ovis. 

 

Fixed Blade Knife

A fixed blade is simply a personal preference. There is no folding mechanism to  clean out later and it's a sturdy tool. Although the replaceable blade style knives are popular, the blades can break when working through joint capsules. We prefer a good old fashioned hunting knife. 

 

Sharpener

Something simple to touch up the blade as you work. For smaller animals, like deer, this may not be necessary. 

 

Latex Gloves

There's no faucet out there to wash your hands. Wearing gloves makes it a bit easier to keep the hands clean. 

 

Paracord

Having precut lengths of around 10-15ft for each game bag allows for tying them up high to avoid getting the "backcountry tax" from local carnivores. That length might sound too long, but trust us- it's better to have too much than not enough. 

 

Contractor bag

To line your pack while putting a bloody quarter into it. A liner makes clean up easier and can double as a meat tarp. 

 

Tyvek

This is our preferred ground cloth to lay quarters on for quick cooling. It also keeps the meat much cleaner than laying it on logs or grass. 

 

Zip Ties

Get the long ones. These are used to cinch up the bag tightly to keep flies from getting into the top of the bag. An extra piece of paracord works for this as well. 

 

Handkerchief

To keep your tools clean and for general clean up.