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Packing em out here boss.....

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Packing em out here boss.....

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 10 24, 2017 •  [Post 1]

Well, how did you pack out your big game critter this year? Did you get all those tasty chunks out successfully without any meat loss/spoilage? Did you bring out all of the meat you normally do? Lastly, would you.. with hindsight as a reflection point, have done anything differently in your '17 season?
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Swede » 10 24, 2017 •  [Post 2]

I recruited two excellent packers and we got out my giant in one load. All of the meat was brought in, and was in great shape. My thanks and appreciation for not only that help, but for a great time out in Idaho. The only thing I might do differently would be to hunt a certain saddle early in the season. It looked to be too much of a pack by myself, but I could have gone when help arrived.

Well one other thing comes to mind now too. I might have waited until later in the night to start the cougar call by RJ's tent.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Fridaythe13th » 10 25, 2017 •  [Post 3]

It was awesome. 1st bull, hunted for 15 minutes Had him deboned and in the freezer by 1. 2nd bull was shot .66 miles from camp right before dark, had him.in the freezer before midnight.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Tigger » 10 25, 2017 •  [Post 4]

First bull ran towards the four wheelers. Still had a mile pack out up hill. 4 guys got it out in one trip. Got it all. Second bull was 2 miles up hill and steeper. same 4 guys got it all out in one trip. This one was harder as we still had 2 daypacks to deal with. got everything. Thank goodness for younger, bigger guys who can take the rear quarters!
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby MTLongdraw » 10 25, 2017 •  [Post 5]

First bull we took out in one trip (2) guys. Second one took two days. It's nice to be done but I also enjoy the experience so taking the extra time didn't hurt my feelings...or my back. I tell you what. Those high dollar packs are worth every penny
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Trumkin the Dwarf » 10 25, 2017 •  [Post 6]

Thanksgiving week, I will either be dragging my elk to the nearest ranch road and calling the owner for truck permission, or I will be going gutless and putting my Kifaru Reckoning to the ultimate test at the top of a 1500 ft climb through nasty post burn, avalanched boulder field. I bet you can guess which I'm hoping for!
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 10 25, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Trumkin the Dwarf wrote:Thanksgiving week, I will either be dragging my elk to the nearest ranch road and calling the owner for truck permission, or I will be going gutless and putting my Kifaru Reckoning to the ultimate test at the top of a 1500 ft climb through nasty post burn, avalanched boulder field. I bet you can guess which I'm hoping for!


Nasty post avalanche zombie burn? :). Good luck on your hunt bud.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Swede » 10 25, 2017 •  [Post 8]

Malachi, I would be most happy to help you with either option one or option two if I was close by. I would also help you with option three, but forget the happy part. :D
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby otcWill » 10 26, 2017 •  [Post 9]

I decided to test my pack and my body this year and packed a big bull out solo in two trips. Took about 120# first trip and 150# including the head on the second. I'm not sure I'll do that again but I was very happy to get back to camp after the second trip and not have to go back again.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby BrentLaBere » 10 26, 2017 •  [Post 10]

Yikes otcwill! Thats pushing it haha
Mine was a half mile away from the vehicle and slightly down hill on some game trails. two of us had a comfortable pack out. Coolers of ice were needed in the heat. It was nearing 80 degrees. No spoilage over night. I was able to get the meat to the processor by 9 am the next morning. About 12 hours on ice did the job. Not sure I would do anything different on this one. Maybe take the heart. Its one thing I haven't done yet.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Washington Wapiti » 10 26, 2017 •  [Post 11]

otcWill wrote:I decided to test my pack and my body this year and packed a big bull out solo in two trips. Took about 120# first trip and 150# including the head on the second. I'm not sure I'll do that again but I was very happy to get back to camp after the second trip and not have to go back again.



:shock: :shock:
I blew 3 vertebrae reading that.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Washington Wapiti » 10 26, 2017 •  [Post 12]

Combination of humping it over the shoulder and in my new Eberlestock Team Elk Pack (sure thought this thing expanded bigger) to a staging area and wheeling it out on game carts. Like Swede, I was also able to recruit two great, young workhorses. Thank God, they were not hunting that far away! We got it out in one load with the 3 of us, plus their bikes. But the real comedy started when we got it down to my wife's Jeep Liberty with a double 12" sub box in the back and full of extraneous gear I brought, in-case we discovered more of our gear was stolen when we got there. One of the brother's remarked incredulously, "Ahh c'mon man, this is ELK hunting!" They were out lol! It took me an hour, but I masterfully got it all in there along with the head, with the right antler sticking out the rear passenger window. :D Sometimes you gotta think outside the box. I sure miss my Silverado. No spoiled meat. Definitely brought out more this year. Although, I question the cost-benefit of taking the meat between the ribs. I only did so on the request of my son. He wanted ribs, and I wasn't gonna let him down. I also wasn't about to take the whole rack either, so we did the next best thing. I think the only thing I would've done differently this season is not put my treestand out in advance like I normally do. I should've learned my lesson after last year. Won't be doing that anymore in my area unfortunately. I don't know about anyone else, but putting those things up along with screw-in steps is just exhausting. Not something I'd prefer to do in the middle of a hunt, after already doing it once.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby olympushunt » 10 26, 2017 •  [Post 13]

This was by far the most challenging packing meat session as I have ever encountered. Not for the degree of pack out length/difficulty but due the the shear volume and highest temps I have ever seen during season. So our camp of 5 knocked down 3 elk in a 24hr stretch from opening day to the next day. Stringunner kicked things off by killing a nice 5 pt opening afternoon and since he was down in a canyon it took us until about 2 am before we got done with that one. My buddy and I figured we will get all the sleep we need when we are dead....we're back up at 430am ready for more. At 7am I took a cow. My poor buddy couldn't even get half a chance to hunt as he was back to the pack frames with another elk. He and I didn't want to disrupt the others in our camp so we busted our arsses to get her packed out asap. We were done at noon with her in the back of my truck. I headed to town to find the nearest meat locker.....unfortunately they didn't open for a few more hours and it was 103 degrees! So not wanting to take a chance....I iced her down while waiting. I think that was overkill but me spending money on ice is a drop in the bucket to ensure quality eats....and man...she sure is good. So I finish dropping her off and headed to pick up pizza for the gang. A well deserved pizza feast was in order. I had been texting back and forth with my buddy as he was telling me he was being cooked in his stand and it was dead quiet, no elk would be moving until the sun went down. He texts me back literally 2 minutes later with "Taco meat is ready" which is our code for "Get your butt over here I need held". At first in my sleep deprived state, I was like..."What??? Ya....I just dropped off our taco meat, we are going to have good eats this winter....lots of tacos." Then it hit me....."Oh no...no....noooo..nooo...I hurt." I sent a text to my wife saying..."Oh dear God.....Tim just killed another one...." I sent my buddy a text asking...."did you just???" lol Even though I was hurting pretty good I was hit with a surge of excitement and adrenaline so I raced back to him pushing 80 mph and we got that one out by 9pm. I slept pretty well that night!
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Swede » 10 27, 2017 •  [Post 14]

I commend all that take their game meat out of the field and either butcher it themselves or take it into a butcher shop. As you know, when you shoot a critter the hunt is finished and the work really begins. Depending on where you are, what and who you have with you, the work can go from difficult to agonizing. Over the years I have seen several deer and elk left in the field, and some hauled to the garbage dump because it hung until it rotted.
Shooting an elk, or anything else, does not make us a better Man. It is hardly the essence of being a good hunter. I know of people that get elk nearly every year, I would hardly call good hunters. They have access to a place we can't go. The good hunter has a great time in camp, enjoys the hunt, hunts smart, and takes care of things properly when there is game down. The good hunter will as the title of the thread suggests, be "packing em out here boss....."
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Roosiebull » 10 27, 2017 •  [Post 15]

my elk pack this year was a blur, there was so much else going on, that part didn't really get highlighted. what I do know is it was easy relatively. had 2 good friends with me, and we got it out in 2 trips. after all said and done, I didn't even get to notice how my new horn hunter pack did.

my buck I was able to really "enjoy :D " the experience, I don't know how heavy the pack was, but I took it all out at once and it was heavy enough, if it was any heavier I would have went home and grabbed my game cart....it was heavy, and a little over 3 miles, starting in the bottom of a very steep canyon. I will say, my horn hunter pack carried the weight amazingly well (better than my hideaway pack boards I normally use for hauling meat) which I thought was awesome. first pack I have owned that was a good hunting pack, and GOOD meat hauler. my previous kuiu pack, I would not have tried packing that much weight in, it did ok, but was far less stable feeling with a heavy load.

I learned a tip this year for electrolytes in your water, I added lemon juice to my hydration bladder, just added to taste, not sure the mixture. that made that pack pretty nice, it was so refreshing having that mixture to drink the whole way back, I will never have "just water" in my hydration bladder again.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Lefty » 10 27, 2017 •  [Post 16]

A friend just posted on Facebook while packing his brothers elk out sounds like there was a bit of a rodeo, the pictures were of him in the hospital with pretty messed up head.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Roosiebull » 10 28, 2017 •  [Post 17]

Lefty, as we all know, heavy loads on our back in rough terrain is a good recipe for injury. I hope he is alright,

being that top heavy going down steep terrain can get sideways real quick (no pun intended :D )
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Lefty » 10 30, 2017 •  [Post 18]

His horse rolled over on a steep slope. They both went down. He mentioned the horse will be OK but I dont have anymore details

Saddle-sore has got to have similar stories.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby vertical limit » 10 31, 2017 •  [Post 19]

Not my elk, but a good family friend's bull. My dad's very good friend drew a Nevada NR bull tag. He is 76 years old. My brother and I were acting as guide for the week and he shot a decent 330" 6x6. We had another friend with us to help with the pack out, so we made the haul in two trips. He was a big bull with the largest head I have ever seen on an elk. And he died in the most inconvenient spot possible, go figure. Between the sheer steepness and the loose, shale-rock type footing, we made the entire pack out from first cut on the elk to last pack in the side by side in just under 4 hours. The pack was about 1 mile in length with about 600' of elevation gain.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Swede » 10 31, 2017 •  [Post 20]

Limit: That is what elk do. They die where it is very hard for you to work on them and get them out. Deep down inside they are mean and vindictive. It is just an observation, but seems to work that way frequently.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby vertical limit » 10 31, 2017 •  [Post 21]

Swede: I agree with you 100%. I hear stories of elk dying next to the road or in a very flat spot where the pack out is easy, but I am beginning to think they are just that, stories haha. :D :D
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby snowbank » 11 27, 2017 •  [Post 22]

a calf came out on the horse - whole. Three cows got quartered and packed out on horseback. Two cows got dragged out on a rope behind the horse. When we pack out we leave four lower legs, a gut pile, and a head unlike a growing number that take the best cuts and leave the other half of the elk in the woods. I even saw a dead calf this year that they only took the back straps. I guess an increasing number are only hunting for the thrill and the horns. Truely a sad time for the sport of hunting.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby elkstalker » 11 30, 2017 •  [Post 23]

This year the wifes deer was just a short 20 yards from a road, my buck was about a half mile drag, an antelope went right on my shoulders for a 1.5 mile walk out, and my bull elk was quartered and packed on a pack frame and game cart for 1.5 miles.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Swede » 11 30, 2017 •  [Post 24]

elkstalker wrote:This year the wifes deer was just a short 20 yards from a road,


I like those drive-by shootings. I just can never find one that close and handy.
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Re: Packing em out here boss.....

Postby Dorobuta » 12 13, 2017 •  [Post 25]

Well, this years big game critter (other than bonus points) was a coues deer. Hardly a giant critter. However, because I decided to go where the deer were and get away from the other hunters, I ended up shooting him several hills / canyons away from any roads or access.

He slid halfway down a canyon and his antlers got caught up on an ocotillo, with him dangling down the steep incline. Once I decided on a course of action - I debated leaving him, letting him drop, etc. I decided to slide down to him, and bone out the carcass in place. I ended up tying off his hind legs to one small bush / tree on the side of the slope. then I tied off his head and front legs to the ocotillo and to another bush.

I always have about 30-50' of paracord in my pack.

There was no way to get him back up, and I once I slid down to him, I was not getting back up - it was that steep. So I boned him out, putting the meat into a elk bag I had in my backpack (also tied to a tree).
because I had to brace my feet against bushes to not slide down the canyon, it was very slow going. but I ended up getting him pretty much boned out and then I loaded the game back full of meat into my day pack, a sitka flash 20. While this is a well made pack, it is not designed to be a meat hauler. I lashed the head to the back of my pack, facing behind me antlers up. to make room in the pack, I re-arranged the contents and took my rain gear, which was in an orange compression sack, and tied it off next to the head.

got it all loaded on my back and proceeded with my semi-controlled fall down the canyon. (I only ended up with a couple really good bruises). The bottom of the narrow canyon was, of course, filled with cats claws. I ended up looking like I got in a fight with a bobcat and lost.

Shot the Coues at about 9:00am, didn't get to the bottom of the canyon until 12:30 / 1:00. Then it was a 4 hour hike out with the load being carried completely by my shoulders. Had to go way south east in the canyon, then do a wide swing northwest to get back to camp.

it sucked, but was worth it. Now I'm looking for a good meat hauler that I can use as my day pack as well.
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