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Packing Out

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Packing Out

Postby Swede » 03 26, 2018 •  [Post 1]

About half of the time I get an elk when I have no one around to help. Often I butcher and pack all after dark. When I am alone, the pack out is a major consideration in where I hunt. Have you ever had to butcher and pack your elk out all by your lonesome? Did you find the butchering or the packing to be the most difficult?

The most nerve racking case, for me, came in the 1990s. I had the elk mostly butchered and had carried out one quarter to the truck. It was almost dark when I went back for another load, but I took a flashlight just in case. When I got to the elk, I saw that I still had a little skinning around the neck and shoulder to do. I finished after dark and loaded my pack frame to get out another hind full quarter, when the bulb in the flashlight went out. It was very dark out that night. It was the dark of the moon and it was overcast. Since it was mostly uphill, I decided I could use the braille system to find my way out to the truck. Thanks to the Lord it worked, but I was extremely nervous as I was unsure where I was at some of the time. I was guessing at the location of the truck which was parked along the road on a large flat.
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Re: Packing Out

Postby Roosiebull » 03 26, 2018 •  [Post 2]

Probably a little over half of my elk have been solo packs. You are right, it's a serious consideration, but I stay within my realistic means.

I actually kind of enjoy it, it's peaceful and quiet, life is both simple and hard. Always good memories down the road no matter how hard it is at the time.

It is a daunting task if you think too much into it, the best thing for me is not to think about it, just start working on it.
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Re: Packing Out

Postby Lefty » 03 26, 2018 •  [Post 3]

My first rifle elk a fellow with a new horse wanted to have his horse drag the bull up to the ATV trail 1/2 mile or more away.
Where I had hunted in the past ATV access was available generally within a 100 yards, They were gutted and drug.
My only archery cow elk I cut up and packed in the heat of the day to the truck,.. really not too bad. I had been following a couple bulls but the pain I felt packing out, I bumped these two when I walked past these guys a number of times while stalking was painful. I had time to dig out the camera

smallbullsafterthehunt.jpg
smallbullsafterthehunt.jpg (15.81 KiB) Viewed 2635 times


Now even through we followed go advise moose hunting, always shoot up hill of the truck, cutting up the meat was the biggest job packing out isn't as big of a job when closet to the truck trail .
Deer I always seem to shoot them in some deep steep canyon or thick sidehill, I should just bring wrapping paper , I bone the all out Most pieces only need to be cut in 1/2 then wrapped once at home.
A long time ago I shot a big stinky rutty blacktail,.. just over a mile from the road on a skid trail,. 1000 elevation drop, mostly rode the deer down the hill

Swede: I learned a long time ago to avoid hunting where I would need to get on my knees to ask for help getting out,...
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Re: Packing Out

Postby Swede » 03 26, 2018 •  [Post 4]

Lefty wrote:Swede: I learned a long time ago to avoid hunting where I would need to get on my knees to ask for help getting out,...


Everywhere I hunt when alone is a place for kneeling and asking for help. Of coarse that too is a part of the experience and a good time to express a lot of appreciation.

For me night butchering and packing leads to sleep depravation, and pains in most of my muscles. The worst part is being dog tired, but hurting too much to sleep when I get back to camp. I don't use any medicine to help, so I guess that too is my own fault.
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Re: Packing Out

Postby otcWill » 03 27, 2018 •  [Post 5]

The vast majority of the bulls I've killed have been packed out solo. I'm built for it and it is my absolute favorite part of elk hunting. The homerun trot! The walk out is more physically wearing but the solo butchering makes me most sore.
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Re: Packing Out

Postby saddlesore » 03 27, 2018 •  [Post 6]

Many times I have done my own field processing/quartering and bagging. I never saw much sense of carrying parts of elk on my back though. Probably a 100 yards is the furthest I have very carried elk meat.I did pack a mountain goat off a 14K mountain years ago. That was about alI I needed to learn about that.
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Re: Packing Out

Postby ishy » 03 27, 2018 •  [Post 7]

I've only had help twice. My first bull, buddy cut while I packed. The other was with two cows down three miles from the road only to have my buddy have his knee give out after 1/4 mile. So that ended up being as bad as any solo pack. A tad masochistic but I like that complete exhaustion that comes with packing.
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Re: Packing Out

Postby elkstalker » 03 27, 2018 •  [Post 8]

I've packed out the majority of my elk and deer, and one moose, by myself. I definitely consider the pack out when choosing the location that I hunt. I almost always hunt uphill, or if I drop off a major ridge, I make sure I can get it out the bottom on the other side. I had an opportunity to shoot a raghorn and multiple spikes last year in an area where the pack out would have been hellacious, so I passed them up, and had a great time watching them an being close to the herd. If there was a huge bull with them I don't know if I would have made the same choice...
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