For What It's Worth

By Mike Raether

It was a fair question to ask of someone entering their sixth decade of life.

“At your age, why do you still backpack in to your hunting areas and pack the meat out on your back?”

A fair question deserves a fair answer.

“Because I still can.”

Backpack hunting offers many rewards. The solitude, the greater abundance of game, and the increased chance of bagging a real trophy. But for me, one of the greatest rewards is the satisfaction of harvesting game in the back country and packing out the meat. To test myself against myself, and then sit down to a meal centered on wild game I packed out of the wilderness always makes me smile. But packing out big game from the outback can be hard work. To make it easier I quarter the critter, drop the pieces into game bags, side the bags into my backpack and walk out of the woods triumphant.

If this thought appeals to you, then you’ll want to learn how to quarter your prize. That’s what this article is all about. Step by step, here we go:

Step 1. You’ll be butchering your prize one side at a time. Starting at the base of the head, make a slit down the center of the back to the base of the tail and then skin the animal from the backbone down.

Step 2. Remove the legs from the “knee.” After you’re done, the first finished side will look like this.

Step 3. Standing or kneeling over the animal and

at the animal’s backbone (with its head to your left) remove the front shoulder by grasping the shank and bending it back toward you, progressively cutting the shoulder free by making slices toward the backbone, staying close to the rib cage (be careful!). Keep making slices towards the backbone and the shoulder will come free.

Step 4. Now it’s time for the rear quarter. Again standing or kneeling over the animal at the animal’s backbone (with the rump to your right) grasp the shank, pull it toward you, and carefully slice between the body and the inside of the hindquarter.

Step 5. Progressively cut deeper until you encounter the socket that attaches the hindquarter to the body. Work the tip of your knife into the socket to cut the cartilage that holds everything together to free the ball from the socket. Keep cutting to free the hindquarter from the carcass.

Step 6. The prized back strap comes next. Starting about where the neck joins the body, slide your knife along the backbone (as if filleting a fish) to the point where you removed the hindquarter.

Step 7. Returning to your first cut near the neck, now work the knife back towards the hindquarter by sliding it along the top of the rib cage with the point of the knife following the backbone. Lift the back strap free.

Step 8. Now comes the tricky part: removing the tenderloin. It lies on the inside of the body cavity up against the backbone, beginning just about where the rib cage ends and continuing back about 9” (on an average size deer) towards the rump. To remove it, make a careful slice just under the backbone and just at the end of the rib cage (if you’re not extra cautious here you’ll cut the paunch – yuk). Reach in with your hand, feel along the underside of the backbone and you’ll find the precious tenderloin. Holding down the paunch with one hand, use the fingers of your other hand to work the tenderloin free from the backbone (it lives up to its name – it’s very tender and will come loose with a little encouragement).

Step 9. Now flip the animal over and do the other side. Note the finished product: one animal, quartered and ready to slip into game bags and then into your pack! At this point you can slit the belly open and easily remove the heart and liver without going through the whole gutting process.

A last note: If you’d like a more detailed booklet of this method you can easily slip into your pack, complete with expanded text and more color photos send a check to me for $5.95 to P.O. Box 528, St. Regis, MT, 59866.

By Mike Raether

Busyness is thief, a villain that saps our strength and robs us of life. Although it’s true that a busy life is a purposeful life, we can get so busy with life that we forget to live. Especially if our lives include serving others in some way.

A few years ago, this got my attention like a flashing blue light in the rear view mirror. I was leading a small country church at the time. You’d think that shepherding a rural church would yield a relaxed lifestyle, but forget it. In a small church you wear a lot of hats. I was so busy running here and there that I rarely took time to slow down, rest up and simply live. I was flaming out fast, until the morning that I got up, looked at my schedule, and just about threw up. At that moment I seemed to hear the voice of God, “Come away to a lonely place by yourself and rest awhile.”

That did it. Although I felt a little guilty with so many places to be and so many people to see, I cleared my calendar, fired up my old pickup, let the dog jump in beside me, slipped the truck in gear, and headed for the hills. We hiked up into two mountain lakes that day and I returned home physically exhausted, but mentally refreshed and spiritually rejuvenated. Ever since, I’ve made it a priority to set aside one day each week for personal renewal. Although this blots a valuable day off my schedule, I find I’m able to accomplish more and better work for others in the time that remains. And just as important, the quality of my own life has catapulted.

How about you? When was the last time you took some time for yourself? You might think it’s selfish. But I don’t care if you’re a busy mom, a dad, an executive, a teacher, a writer, a pastor, or a little league coach: if you don’t take time to fill the glass, you won’t have anything to pour out to refresh the lives of others.

The “to do” list will always have more on it than you can do. Dirty dishes will always pile up in the sink, work will always be there, and the lawn will always need mowing again. Forget about it for a while. Give yourself permission to slow down, rest up, and live.

So what is it that fills your tank? Go do it. Take a hike, read a book, watch a movie, take a nap, go to a ball game, whatever. How about a day off? As Dr. Laura Schlessinger would say, “Go do the right thing.” It’s the right thing for others, and it’s the right thing for you. Slow down, rest up, and LIVE.