On-ranch processing facility
What happens after your bull or buck is down. Field dressing, pack-out, on-ranch cooling, aging, cut-and-wrap, and trophy prep — all handled by the same hands that recovered the animal.
The short answer
Elk Glade has an on-ranch processing barn with a walk-in cooler. Field dressing, pack-out, hanging, and aging happen on the property. Final cut-and-wrap is either in-house or via a Cripple Creek / Colorado Springs processor we refer to. Trophy caping and shipping handled in-house. Standard processing services are included in the hunt fee; specialty cuts and shipping are billed at cost.
Six steps
The moment an animal is down, the guide and a pack-out crew move in. Field dressing happens on the spot — we open the animal, remove the entrails, and cool the body cavity. On hot September days the guide carries cooling gel-pack inserts and an emergency hide-on cooling strategy for the walk-out.
Most kills happen 0.5–3 miles from a vehicle access point. The pack-out is by horseback (the most common method on this country) or ATV depending on terrain. Average pack-out time for a quartered bull elk is 90 minutes to 4 hours from the kill site to the ranch processing barn.
Animals come into the processing barn within 6 hours of the kill in nearly all cases. We hang the quarters in the walk-in cooler at 38°F. The cooler is sized for two elk simultaneously or one elk plus two deer or three turkeys.
Elk benefit from 7–10 days of dry aging at 36–40°F for tenderness improvement. We hold the animal in the cooler at no charge for hunters who want the aging benefit. Hunters returning the same week typically skip this; hunters who're already heading home and arranging shipped processing usually request the full age.
Final cut-and-wrap is done either by our in-house processor or a Cripple Creek or Colorado Springs processor we refer to. In-house gets you the standard cuts (steaks, roasts, ground, stew meat); the referral processors offer specialty cuts like jerky strips, breakfast sausage, brats, and burger blends if you want them.
If you're keeping the head, we cape the animal, salt the cape, and freeze it for your taxidermist. We can ship caped trophies via standard ground freight or hold for personal pickup. Antlers + skull go to the saw at the ranch unless you want a full mount, in which case the cape and skull stay together.
Included in the hunt fee
Billed separately at cost
Cut-and-wrap typically runs $1.50–$3.00 per pound depending on the cut menu. Specialty cuts add $0.50–$2.00 per pound. Shipping varies by destination.
Yes. Elk Glade has an on-ranch processing barn with a walk-in cooler that can hold two elk quarters simultaneously plus one or more deer. Initial cooling and hanging happen here in all cases; final cut-and-wrap is either in-house or via a Cripple Creek / Colorado Springs processor we refer to depending on what cuts you want.
Standard hanging is 7–10 days at 36–40°F in our walk-in cooler, at no additional charge. Elk and mule deer both benefit materially from this aging period. Hunters who want longer aging can request up to 21 days for an additional cooler fee; beyond 21 days we don't recommend.
Yes. We cape the animal, salt the cape, and freeze it for your taxidermist. Caped trophies can be picked up at the ranch, shipped ground freight to a taxidermist of your choice, or carried home as checked baggage on the flight back (we provide cooler instructions for airport handling).
Yes. Vacuum-sealed processed meat ships frozen via overnight or 2-day ground freight depending on destination. Most domestic ground freight to the eastern US lands within 48–72 hours and stays frozen with included dry ice. Shipping cost varies by destination and total weight; we get you a quote at the time of processing.
The hunt fee includes field dressing, pack-out, initial hanging and cooling, basic caping for taxidermy prep, and trophy hold for pickup or domestic shipment. Cut-and-wrap fees, specialty cuts (jerky, sausage, brats), shipping, and taxidermy-grade cape prep beyond basic are billed separately at cost.
Yes — some hunters bring coolers and process the animal themselves at the ranch processing barn. We supply the cooler space, the hanging room, the saw, and the tarp; you bring the knives, the wrap, and the elbow grease. Self-processing has no additional cost.
Hunt with us
The same crew that puts you on the bull recovers the animal, packs it out, hangs it, and preps the trophy. No handoffs to a third-party processor you didn’t meet.
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