Hauling an elk out of the woods?

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One more suggestion for packing elk out on your back. I always hunt with an internal frame day pack. (I use one from Fieldline, but would love to upgrade to the Jim Horn Alaskan pack by Blacks Creek.) This allows you to take a quarter out with you when you get your elk down, saving a trip. Solo, or with a group, saving a trip is huge. You then can go back with your full size pack board for a heavier load.

My hunting partner has what amounts to a meat bag with shoulder straps. You simply wrap it around the quarter, hook the straps, and put the pack on. The quarter lays flat against your back, and is suprisingly comfortable. (I used it to pack a very heavy load last season, and was amazed at how comfortable it was.) The whole thing folds into a carrying bag the size of a half a loaf of bread and weighs nothing! I can't remember the name of the thing, but if I didn't already have a good internal frame pack, I'd definitly track one down.
 
Well wild bill i've got time on my side at the age of 26. I hope guess ya never know.
I bet elkman is a younger guy too. But, more power to ya. I was fearless, when I was younger - too.

And, about those mountains in Florida, if you're ever there, just go to the beach. Magnificent!
 
Skydiver

Didn't mean any disrespect by it just whenever i hear people saying i did the right thing and hired a guide, and what really should have been said i did the right thing in my situation. As for my passion it means sleeping in a one man bivy tent at 11k feet on rock with nothing to eat but my mre's doing this four times a year, purifying my own water and also includs a 10-14 mile backpack in to were i set up camp. No disrespect i just draw certain pictures in my mind of people by what they say, and i'm sure it was just miswording that led me to the picture my mind drew about you. Good hunting and best o luck
 
Man, it just amazes me when people measure others by their own stick..
As I previously stated Bill, I am 50yrs old.
Why is it so hard for someone to believe a person can be in good shape for their age? I do about 5miles a day in my 12hr shift work job, 14 days a month. Half of which is up and down stairs.. Days off, I am either working on my Jeep, fishing, hiking, shooting. Pick one, none of them involve a couch.
Anyway, believe what you will and good luck w/ future hunts.
All of this w/ two back surgeries and one shoulder surgery.
Go figure.
elkman06
 
elkman - I hope you didn't think I was measuring you by my own stick. And, I also hope you take your own advice and don't measure others by your stick either.

But, good for you! I admire you for your tenacity. Keep up the good work and enjoy this time you have which I hope will last you for a long, long time to come.
 
Long time lurker here. I mainly hang out on the reloading and rifle forums. Lots of knowledgeable people here.

I had to join and hop into the discussion here. To the original poster, don't get discouraged. You can do this by yourself, but you need to be prepared. I have hunted off and on all my life, but really got bit by the hunting bug 5 years ago. 30 was rapidly approaching and I realized I wasn't taking enough time to stop and enjoy life. I decided to devote some time to hunting because I really enjoy it. My first elk hunt got canceled because I fell off of scaffolding at work and broke my wrist, arm, and elbow a couple of days before hunting season.:mad: My second trip was with my uncle, mainly road hunting to familiarize ourselves with the area around Mt. Raineer.:mad: No luck and I don't like road hunting. Third year/trip, I ended up going by myself because hunting partner had to cancel. I was in Eastern WA, just north of Ellensburg, because I had seen a lot of elk the weekend before while deer hunting.

I got one within two hours of first light on opening day (luck). I was not prepared at all for the size of the animal. Just gutting the animal was a huge job compared to the deer I have killed. I also had no idea what quartering an animal for packing was. I literally quartered the animal into four equal size parts with a hatchet and framing hammer. I grabbed the head and put the tenderloins, heart and liver into my small day pack. I got back to my car, stuffed the meat into a cooler and moved the vehicle closer to where I had killed the elk. Now I only had to hike downhill a mile, grab a quarter and hike back up to the car. I had no rope and no pack big enough to haul meat. I did not properly quarter, or even skin the animal. I slung one of the rear quarters over my shoulder in a modified fireman's carry and trudged uphill to the car. It was hard, akward work.

When I got back to the car, a couple of people wanted to talk and congratulate me on my elk. I rested a bit and then went and grabbed the next rear quarter. This trip was much harder than the first. I had to stop and lower the quarter to the ground several times to rest my back. When I was nearly to my car, I passed a man on an atv who was coming down the trail. I was just about to warn him that vehicles were not allowed off the main forest service roads. Turns out he was one of the guys that I had talked to up at my vehicle earlier. Apparently there was a DFW officer just down the main forest service road that had given this guy permission to head down the trail with an atv and help me. The next two quarters were very easy as all I had to do was walk beside the atv and make sure the 2 front quarters did not fall off the back seat.
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I am not superman, but am in reasonably good shape because of my job as a carpenter. The Olympics won't be calling me anytime soon, but I can still run a mile in under 6 min. and 5 miles in 35 min. Still the job would be much easier with the proper pack equipment. I am going to get one of those internal frame daypacks that are small and light, yet allow quarters to be strapped in/on them. If I can't afford one of those by next season, I will buy a plain pack frame ($70-80 at sportco). One of those wheeled carts would not work where I hunt, but they may be useful in other areas. Get all the excess weight you can off the quarters (maybe even debone the whole thing). The weight I carried was 100-150lbs and I hurt for a few days because of the akward way I had to walk with that quarter slung over my shoulder.

PM me if you want any help figuring out where to hunt and what tags you want to apply for. In general, Western WA is 3point or better, and Eastern WA is spike bull only. If you get drawn for any special permits, you could vastly increase your chances of success. I totally understand having to do it on the cheap. Carpentry work is hard to come by at the moment, so I camp light and cheap as well. Just don't go as cheap as I did for my first elk.
 
b. Welcome and just keep posting.
Looking at that picture, you sure did lug out a lot of unnecessary weight. WOW!, and packing up hill is something I avoid like the plague. :)
But then, you have the full freezer, guess I should just clam up, so congratulation!

Greg
 
1. good game bags
2. frame pack for 75-100 lbs loads
3. good boots
4. very sharp knife and sharpener
5. para cord/rope
6. time
7. water
8. pack no bone, except as required (antlers/lower jaw etc)
 
Atroxus,

Was reading your thread. Impressed by the underataking. How did it go? Have you done it? I am in a similar situation that you were in when you started the post.

I a relatively new to the area (Seattle, from the east coast) as well as hunting. I am looking for a person(s) to go out with. Even if it were to go as a tag-along, or simply getting out there to scout.

In interested in the same "path" you took in going out there on smaller varmint and game prior to the good hunting season. Getting more experience in this area

How did your search go? Any advice you care to share?
 
Get a good pack board, and get in shape. It is important to get the elk off the ground and not leave it on the ground over night if possible.

For me, I would not want to take it on, although I have backpacked a couple of moose out for about a mile. Once I had one buddy, and the next time four of us did it.

Regards,
Jerry
 
Atroxus,
I don't have the years of experience to swap hours of hunting tales, but I'm pretty sure that I'm one of the few in this forum who ever rode single track into the middle of a herd of mulies. The deer were as surprised as I was and it got me to thinking...
So, a buddy and I used our mountain bikes to go hunting pretty deep a few years ago. We didn't get our elk, but mountain biking offers unique opportunities. What you want to do is very possible. Here are a few lessons that we took away from our hunt:
1. Take a GPS (or SPOT) AND a map and compass. Getting back is the goal with or without an elk. Preferably scout the trails during summer.
2. Reconcile yourself to the fact that you will probably be making several trips. Bull elk are huge and heavy. Cows aren't made of feathers either. Try to imagine carting off a quarter horse and you're in the ball park. You can do it alone, but it isn't easy. I shot a 5x5 this year and it took my buddy and I and his brother 2 days to haul it out. I may never apply for a bull tag again. De-boning, if possible, can make things easier, but you will be carrying a lot of weight. Use tubeless tires so that you will avoid pinch flats when you load your bike up with the extra weight. Use touring panniers on the front/rear, so that you can distribute the weight evenly.
3. You can use some bungee cords to strap your day pack/rifle to your frame pack. We would ride in with our gear on our frame pack, then leave the bikes and the frame packs behind some brush and still hunt all day. The plan was to use the frame packs to get the meat to the bikes and use the bikes to get the meat out. Depending on your daylight, you might have to hang your quarters a hundred yards from the gutpile/carcass, if you have to leave them over night. Most animals will take the easy pickings at the pile first. That's where most of the blood and scent will be.
4. Use spiked tires and snow will not be an object. We were riding through a couple inches of snow with no problems. That said, on the last day, it warmed up and the trails became slippery as that mud wrestling scene from the movie "Stripes." Consider that you might have to walk out your bike and elk.
5. Lights, lights, lights. If you are riding through hunting country during the hunting season before light or after dark or near sundown, light yourself up like a Christmas tree. Let people report you as a UFO.
6. You might find yourself pushing your bike up hills rather than riding. Sweating/chilling in cold air is not good. Dehydration is another reason to keep from sweating. That Bear Grylls guy isn't all crazy talk.

Otherwise, if you find a mentor to join this season, that would be the gold standard. If you don't, it can't hurt to just go solo. Download some DVDs on de-boning or quartering from youtube. You may make a few mistakes doing this or that, but that's one way to learn. It's part of the package as a beginner. Hunt into the wind, eat and drink lots every day, be patient.

Good luck and have a good hunt!
 
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I would never go elk hunting unless it was a guided hunt. And, I would let the guide do the heavy work. At age 72, I'm not wanting to risk a heart attack carrying 100 lb. loads of meat out of the mountains. I may never be able to afford that but that is the way I would do it if I could.
I do face a similar problem with a possible bear kill. Here in Arkansas, it is unlikely a kill would exceed 200 lbs. But, still, dragging almost 200 lbs of dead weight uphill (it is always uphill getting out in the Ozarks) would be very difficult.
I bought two skids. One is a roll up plastic affair, the other is toboggan style. I also have an old ATV and would use that to get myself and dead bear out of the woods. Would have to illegally drive off trail initially but will take that chance.
 
Didn't have to pack this guy very far, but had the pack frame with me with every intention of using it..... just got lucky and didn't have to.
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