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It's a long Hard Pack

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It's a long Hard Pack

Postby Swede » 06 07, 2017 •  [Post 1]

I read and hear of elk hunters going 5 miles back in to start their hunt. I have read of bow hunters backpacking and hunting 12 miles in. I don't know anyone else's capabilities, but I can tell you from experience; packing an elk out a mile can be a big job. If you don't think so, you have not been some of the holes I have hunted. It depends on the grade, type of terrain and other obstacles you are dealing with. If I am by myself, 3 miles going over easy ground is my absolute limit. If I shoot one 2 miles in and am alone, I am praying "Lord help me." I need to bone out everything, carefully weigh my pack so it is not over 50 pounds and take several trips over a couple of days. Weather can make care for the meat critical. I am maxed out.
I suppose two miles seems wimpish, and it may be to some, but I know my limits. When I am over two miles everything needs to be better than average on the ground I need to cover. What are your limits? What have you actually done in the area you hunt? What is the pack out like? I ask to get an idea what others are experiencing.
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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby Lonnie » 06 07, 2017 •  [Post 2]

I usually hunt by myself. So I hunt from the truck. I have GPS on my distance. I fill that more than two miles off the road is not rilistc by your self. I like good tasting elk so I want to get it off the mountain as fast as I can. I am 40 years old and in great shape. But more than two miles packing a elk out for one guy is a night mare of a workout. I don't bone out. Light elk four trips heavy elk five trips.
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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 06 07, 2017 •  [Post 3]

Holes? I've got some holes for you mister ;). For me, its just like real estate.... "location, location, location", and... the mode/quantity of meat transport available. Time of year and prevailing weather have a bearing also. Yes sir, I will absolutely say "nope, ain't happening" if it's mid morning and the indigenous group of wapiti have moved down, down, down, into XXXXX Creek for the day.. I'm not going down there and if I did, we'd be eating Barney Bull where he falls. Most guys that talk about extreme backwoods kills are packing (on their backs) downhill for the most part and are 1/2 my age or less ;). When I mountain bike in to some of my WA areas, it's straight uphill in (up to 4ish miles) and the meat comes out in bike carts... doesn't take that long. For normal base camp, let's go hunt this or this area, again it depends on the location (terrain/incline) and how many strong backs I have at my disposal for that particular year/hunt. 1/2 mile can be brutal if its straight uphill through an alder jungle and just as harsh as 3 miles on relatively mild terrain. A trail system (USFS, outfitter, or game) is also a contributing factor in how far away from a road I will shoot an elk. It all just depends ;).
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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby Elkhunttoo » 06 07, 2017 •  [Post 4]

Everyone's situation is different, for me if there are trails I can push where I want to because I have horses. I drew a rifle bull tag a few years ago and got into the elk with about an hour of daylight left... I was with in 200 yards of 4 rag horns and one decent 5 point. I was 4+ miles from the pickup and on the back side of the mountain I was planning on hunting. I had to be to work at 7 the next morning. I watched that bull for a long time and to this day I'm grateful I didn't shoot, I had hiked in that afternoon and it would of been an all nighter just to debone him and then get back to the truck. A few days later a was able to go back and was fortunate enough to take a 6 point at 2 miles ... the deciding point on that one was, (conversation in my mind that lasted half a second) "I can't see for sure how big he is and I really want a 6 point, but I can get the horses right to him" Boom!!! Game over

The bull I shot last year was less then a mile in but a complete jungle and no way to get the horses to him so he came out on my back. Even deboned it was all I wanted to do just at that distance.
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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby Swede » 06 07, 2017 •  [Post 5]

RJ, I understand what you are talking about. There are areas where you use your hands to lift yourself up by grabbing ahold of the brush. You can step up a foot high, but you lose 8 inches of that ground because it breaks under your feet. Nasty, and not for older men. Some of those places are a short drive from your home. There are some mean holes in my neck of the woods too, but nothing quite as bad as what I have worked on in the Olympics. I will surely let you know when we are in an area that concerns me.
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It's a long Hard Pack

Postby slim9300 » 06 07, 2017 •  [Post 6]

For around 15 years we have packed our elk out of the MT backcountry on our backs. We have always done this to an extent in Western WA but the packs out are simply easier and shorter since roads are everywhere, even if they are gated. Plus we normally have mountain bikes and our gear/elk trailer.

The last few years we have been forced to push in to the 10+ mile range from the truck. 75% of this there is no trail. We used to find the elk at the 3 mile mark, then the 5, then the 7 and now they don't even bugle until we get to 10-12 miles. We are young and dumb and I train hard to be prepared. My partner doesn't train at all but he's mentally tougher than 99% of hunters and he's big. We bone out the elk, trim everything we aren't going to eat and then pack them out in halves with our gear. In the last 5 years (we are both early 30s) we have found the peak of our mental and physical toughness. In 2015 we killed two 6 points. One at 12 miles and the other at the 11 mile mark. These two elk were our biggest test to date.

So Scott killed his at 9am and we recovered the bull around 10am. By 1pm we had the bull broken down and loaded up. By just before dark we made the truck after stashing unneeded gear. We went slow due to the weight and the fact that we knew we would be coming back in the next day to kill another one. Then we drove to town, had a celebratory baseball steak and beer, grabbed some dry ice for our cooler and passed out in the local hotel. Woke up the next morning and headed back into the basin. Couldn't kill one that night but woke up the following morning and I was able to kill my bull about 10am. Recovered him at 11am or so, and broke it down by 2pm. Packed it back to camp and broke camp by 4pm, then headed the 10 miles out to the trucks. Got to the trucks about two hours after dark. Since we took two trucks due to me having more days to hunt, we both drove straight through to WA the 12 hours it takes. Lots of Red Bull and adrenaline keeping me going, and thank God for audio books. When we got home my hunting partner tried to convince me to start packaging and grinding but I couldn't stay awake. That was good day and a true test for us. We earned those bulls.


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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 06 07, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Holy hell... He does exist! Glad to see you swing back around Conlan. Gentlemen, for those of you who don't know.... Slim9300 is arguably one of the most accomplished elk killing machines that I have had the pleasure to know.
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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby Roosiebull » 06 07, 2017 •  [Post 8]

for me, best case scenario (easy walking) 3 miles is my limit getting one out on my back solo. I have packed one by myself 2.8 miles, other than getting it to the top of the canyon, the rest was mild walking for here, and it took me all day.

luckily it is really tough to get 3 miles from a road I can drive, so I am still pretty much wide open where I will kill one. back in the timber company hunting days, the ground traveled away from where I could drive was much further potentially.

i'm 32 and stay in good shape, but there is only so much a person can do solo, if it's 80* out, you could get into trouble with the meat if the pack was a long one.
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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby twinkieman » 06 08, 2017 •  [Post 9]

I have mules, and when we have to, our group also uses our backs. We have no distance criteria. We do use available trail systems, including those made by elk. For, myself, I will go where ever the elk are, although, I did choose to not hunt a particular bull last season, terrain is broken, lots of loose shale, and I didn't find a safe route to get the mules in there. When I find a way into it, then the elk in that "hole" will be huntable
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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby saddlesore » 06 08, 2017 •  [Post 10]

I have mules also and the furthest we have carried elk quarters is abut 200yards.Most of my kills have been within 5 miles of the truck the last 15 years.Since about 5 years ago, ML hunting it is more like three. Last year a friend and outfitter let me stash the elk in her walk in cooler.

There are several areas in the state where I know I could kill a 6x every year.I don't hunt those areas , even though I could get a mule to them . I sit upon a bluff and watch the bulls down below, then put my safety back on and go some place easier
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Re: It's a long Hard Pack

Postby olympushunt » 06 09, 2017 •  [Post 11]

Totally terrain dependent. Western Oregon....3-4 miles away is a different world completely. Seriously....a guy might as well be talking about hunting different states. Eastern Oregon terrain has places that are nasty for sure but there is a ton of flatter ground where you can do 3-4 miles in a matter of 2 hours.
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