Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Can you pack out 1/2 of an elk yourself?

Yep, I've heard about that dog. Mine would love to go, but he hates packing, always wants to bring llamas....

This first is an old pic that I've posted before. Those panniers are full of elk meat. It was a lot harder getting up there than getting down. The day before, it took me over 2 hrs to climb up to where the elk were. We'd spotted them from camp down near the road. Going down was a slow zig zag through sagebrush and rocks and most of it was a lot steeper than this pic shows.

Backpacking down stuff like this is hard on the knees, especially knees that have been doing it for well over 50 years.

For a contrast, the 2d pic is a deer that I packed for one of my partners this year. It was 3 miles in but all on a good trail with only about 3/4 mile being steep. It was a piece of cake.

I couldn't disagree more, based on my experiences with well taken care of adult elk.

Tanner

No offense Rock Chuck but I'm pretty sure that when the OP asked the question, when he said "yourself" he meant without pack animals.

Rock Chuck I'd have llamas if the wife's horses weren't deathly afraid of them. I compromise and own mules. I won't look down on anything that will take the load off my back

6-7 trips for a bone-in (per regulations) alaska adult 50" + bull moose is more like it.

I won't either. I'd love to have a few pack goats myself. But pack animals are an entirely different subject than the one the OP asked about.

I AM the OP. I was just posting that OP pic of the guys using and selling those packs and we got to talking about how to get the meat out. I have no problems with the hijack. I'm always interested in how other guys get it done.

Horses very quickly adjust to llamas unless the horse is an idiot. They're just something different. Some guys ride a horse leading llamas although you need a slow horse or they can't keep up. Llama speed is the same as a medium speed hiker. Our neighbor has horses in the next pasture from mine. They were spooky at first but got over it in a day. We've had them together many times with no problems.

My mistake, how 'bout those llamas?

I have a couple goats that I'll be training this winter. I lost the use of 2 of my llamas this spring so I only have 3 now. That's good for packing a cow but not a bull. I don't know if I can use the goats and llamas together. I can't turn the goats loose because they interfere with the string. I might be able to string them together but it might not work.

A couple of my pack out photos that I've prolly shared before.

Nice to have 5 guys to carry a cow down from above timberline.
The rest of the story is that there was also a bull killed there that needed to be brought down as well.


This large green army duffel my partner is wearing has shoulder straps and has been handy. In hot weather you can get some evaporative cooling by wetting it. The thermarest pad makes it a bit more comfortable. Blue heeler is hauling his share hidden in the scrub oak.

I guarantee that that leg would have been left behind.

Here's another hijack for you.

There's some pics on here of guys packing elk heads out. Why aren't you caping it out first? Don't want to, don't know how, no saw to cut off the horns anyway, just like it that way, think it packs better?

My question really isn't a slam I just prefer to cape them out first thinking that I can lose weight and think they pack better with the cape off the head. And sawing the horns off saves the weight of most of the skull. I'm usually using horses or mules.

If you have pack stock to carry it, a battery recip saw works great for sawing the antlers off of a head. I wouldn't backpack it, though.

When I lived in elk country I usually used the leap frog method. I'd go a few hundred yards with a load, set it down and go back for another. When I finally got to the truck it didn't seem so bad only having to go a few hundred yards for the remaining loads. It always took me about 3-4 loads (bone in) to pack out a spike or a cow. I never took big bull so don't know how many loads it would have taken me.

I do the same for caribou if I'm alone and not able to use a four wheeler.

The rule of thumb on packing moose is, "one moose, one man, one mile, one day."

This ranch dog would disagree with you.

"Got Hoof?"

Speaking just for me it is mostly a time thing.
At the time I'm faced with that task I also need to get a bull dressed and transported.

I've field dressed a whole lot more of them than I have caped. I prefer to cape them back at camp where I am not pressed for time and can do it sitting comfortably.
Often I don't plan ahead to be faced with a potential trophy. Even afterward I'm often still not decided whether to do euro mount, shoulder mount, or just hang antlers on the barn. I hate feeling like I have to decide right now.
Location and distance have a whole lot to do with it as well.

Yes....time

After we hiked in this year to pack out my bull we did a complete bone out and packed bags 1x1x1x1 ect

After the 3 hour hump in then the meat prep we had less than 4 hours of daylight left with a 3 1/2 hour hump left

Didnt read thru the whole thread, but the best i've done is 3 trips. Totally deboned,cape left and antlers removed with a little POS saw. Removing the scull cap with that POS saw probly burned 2x the calories than packing it out would have.

This years bull took 6 trips, but it was only about a mile so i didnt cut the meat off the quarters.

The above is solo. Ive helped pack out spikes/cows where me and a pard got them out in one trip..Sometimes elk really aint any bigger than a mature mule deer buck,such things are relative the conversation also.