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

This article appeared today in the Idaho Statesman. This family makes and sells these pack bags that they claim can enable a conditioned person to carry a full 1/2 elk. Maybe they can but I'm not about to try.


For most of his 60 years, Chris Peterson has been hunting elk and, when successful, packing them out on his back in boned-out quarters, sometimes over the course of two days.

“Elk hunters enjoy pain, sadomasochistic I guess,” joked the Middleton resident. “And we hunt steep country.”

But even sadomasochistic elk hunters would like it to be easier to pack meat out.

“I hate making more than one trip up and down that mountain if I don’t have to,” Peterson said.

He thought he had the answer when he bought a portable winch, but that proved to take too much time and effort. He still had to go back to get the winch and gas, and the process was slow. Discouraged and sitting around the campfire in 2000 after a three-day pack trip to haul out two bull elk, Peterson had a game-changing idea.

“I used to help the neighbor deliver newspapers,” he said. “And I was always amazed that on Sundays he would have that pack so loaded that I was surprised he could ride a bike.”

Why not use the same kind of packs to haul out elk meat, he suggested. So he posed the problem to his wife, Adrienne, who — after some measurements to ensure they were big enough to carry an elk quarter — sewed up three newspaper carrier-type bags. She made them out of Cordura fabric and with clips and webbing to hold the load and cinch it up tight to the wearer.

“My husband wanted to make sure they held up well,” Adrienne said.

“We’ve used the same packs for more than 15 years and probably packed out a ton of meat in those bags,” Peterson said.

Other elk hunters took notice of the unique bags, so Peterson’s son — also named Chris — and the rest of the family suggested that since Peterson was retiring, he should sell the bags as a business. That’s when the company Pack Out Bags was born.

“It’s not making us rich, but it’s paying for itself,” Peterson said.

“It’s pretty steady from the middle of the year to the end of the year,” Adrienne said. “The word has gotten out a little bit.”

The bags sell for $89.95 and are available in either camouflage or fluorescent orange material. An additional $6.50 is tacked on for shipping. The bags are cut and sewn in Idaho.

“The hard part is trying to keep the price down,” Peterson said. “Hunting is so expensive anyway. We shopped around to find the lowest-priced materials we could.”

Making the bags out of cotton or a cheaper material didn’t make sense to Peterson.

“If you’re going to put your name on the bag, make it good,” he said. “I don’t want them falling apart the first time you use them.”

The bags are fairly light, said Chris Jr., and when folded up can fit in the palm of your hand. So the bags are easy to throw into a backpack or fanny pack to always be handy. No need to go back to the truck to get a frame backpack or game cart. Plus, the bags can be loaded in the front and the back to help balance the load. The bags can also be thrown in the washing machine after a trip.

Peterson said the easiest way to load the bags is to bone out the elk, put the meat in game bags to keep it clean, and then hang the bags from trees with baling twine or rope that you don’t mind cutting. Then fit the Pack Out Bag around the bags, step underneath the load and cut the strings. Otherwise, it can be hard for one person to lift the loaded Pack Out Bag high enough off the ground to get under it. A video on the Pack Out Bag website demonstrates the technique.

“It’s a chore to get underneath them,” Peterson said. “That’s a big load.”

He admitted, though, that not everyone probably wants to or is physically able to carry out half an elk.

Photos on the Pack Out Bag website show that the bags can also be used for hauling other heavy loads, as well.

Although advertising has been by word of mouth, they’ve sold bags around the Northwest, Florida, Colorado and a few to Canadian buyers. Although the family approached a patent attorney, he told them it wasn’t a unique enough design to qualify.

It’s become a small family business. Chris Jr. stars in the videos on the website that his wife built. Chris’ brother takes care of orders when the rest of the family is gone. Otherwise it’s their mother, Adrienne, who fills the orders.

“Even if we don’t get rich off of it, it’s fun anyway,” Chris Jr. said. “One of th

From left to right, Chris Peterson, Kelly McLean and Christopher Peterson packed out an elk from Idaho’s Sawtooth Zone in 2010 using their homemade Pack Out Bags that the family now sells online.

...here's a pic. Photobucket is having problems today and I can't get it to upload from my computer. It's not a jpg so I can't link it here. http://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoors/hunting/xrz2z/picture44078751/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/IO%20packs

I can and have, but I used a backpack. Not sure I'd care for that method of having all the weight on my shoulders.

My hunting buddy and I knocked three elk down one day (one bull, two cows), three miles from the truck. Including the head, which came out the first day with the straps and filets, it took us three additional days to get the boned-out meat back to the truck and then to camp.

Pretty close to half an elk a day for each of us, three days straight plus what we got out the first day. Pack frames for both of us.

Won't ever do that again and couldn't if I wanted to...

Interesting ........I like the ability to stick the bag in my daypack.

These guys didn't invent the front/back pack. It's been around forever. They just modified it and went commercial with it.
I've never tried one. A pack with a good waist belt will put the all the weight on your legs, though, with no extra strain on the spine.

I don't know if I can; but, I don't. Three trips for me.

I like the load-balancing aspect of it. Reminds me of the yoke for carrying water. It is not a bad idea but I'm not seeing it to be dramatically better than a traditional heavy pack.

A well made full size pack would distribute some weight onto the hips and allow adjustments for shifting the load to take best advantage of the porters core strength. I'm a little concerned about this much load all on the bearers shoulders.

In the photo I see 3 very strong looking guys with a small bull, It looks to be very similar to the manpower required to carry by other carry methods.

One thing I really like is how high the loads are being carried. In certain situations that could really be a nice for moving through certain types of cover.

I'd probably buy one. It might be years before I use it but every carry is different and someday I'll probably encounter a situation where this is ideal.

At my age today I'm not under the illusion I can pack out an Elk period

That looks painful. I wonder how you get into it if you are by yourself.

You didn't read the article. They'll hang it from a tree by small ropes then load it. They get under it and cut the ropes to drop it to their shoulders. In my case, it would hit the ground with my knees crumpled, too.

5 trips last time I packed one out, deboned.

These are pretty similar and about 1/2 the price:

http://waynecarlton.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16

I'll stick with Kifaru.

Given 225-250 lbs of meat alone, I will say no.

With antlers, I think I could get a bull elk out in three or four loads. Lots of variables there though.

I useta could.

My brother shot a spike, he took a ham, my dad took a ham, I took both front shoulders and neck.




P

Yes, I can pack half an elk out.

In two trips.

Not worth ruining my knees trying to pack that much. If doing it myself it's a few trips. If I got my mule its two

I did it sorta on the November 1st.
Was with a friend and she shot a cow, it went to the bottom of a coulee in the Missouri breaks. To follow the drainage out would have been a 2 mile plus walk. To go straight back out was 500 ft semi vertical. I know it was 500 ft because the spool of rope we threw over the edge almost reached the carcass. I quartered and pulled the backstraps while one guy carried out the front shoulder. When he returned I loaded a front and a hind in my packpack and using the rope pulled myself upwards. Upon return I was not thrilled to find the last hind quarter waiting for me. So I loaded my gun, binoculars, and the last ham, I climbed it again. I could not have done it a third time, and my friends declined to go back for the ivories.

No matter how you do it, the fun stops when you pull the trigger. Sometimes the work afterwards just sucks a lot more than others.

Every time I look at a downed elk I realize how much work is ahead of me. This year my 6x5 was just under 600 yards to the truck with only a 50' rise. I got it all out in one trip with my cart and went to my knees in exhaustion after getting it to the top of the rise. My buddy helped some but only the last 80 yards across the flats. (He is pretty limited as to what he can do physically due to his diabetes and resultant problems.)

A couple cows popped up on the skyline as I was quartering the bull. I waited and watched, rifle just out of reach. Had they come my way off the skyline I'd have probably filled my cow tag. After getting the bull out I was very thankful they went the other way.

On a rag bull or average cow, I can normally get both fronts, the backstop and T-loins out in one trip. That's roughly 1/2 an elk. I'll usually bring my rifle and gear out with one hind quarter on a second trip. The other hind quarter and antlers and/or trim usually come out on a third trip. So while I normally can get "half" an elk out in one trip, the full elk normally at least 3.

A mature bull takes me 4, sometimes 5 trips.

In regards to those packs, I have often thought it would be nice to balance the load with equal weight on the front. Those packs don't look comfy but the idea is sound.

or any good pack designed to put the load where it's easiest to carry. Why anyone would want to put a heavy load on their shoulders is beyond me.

I packed out 1/2 of a mature bull on 3 different occasions this year. No worse for the wear yet, but I was using a Kifaru...

Tanner

I might of 15 years ago. Not with that bag though.

The legs have to carry the weight no matter what kind of pack is used. A good frame will put almost all of it on the hips and none on the spine and shoulders. What purpose is served by stressing what doesn't need to be stressed?

Two years ago I dumped a decent size cow, quartered her, hung her up and packed out the backstraps, tenderloins and trimmings. Next day my son and I packed out the quarters and the hide. All in it was 10.8 miles over two trips. While were were packing, my buddy filled his cow tag. We met up with him after he had it quartered. My son put both hind quarters on his packframe. Not to be outdone I took the fronts on my packframe. My buddy had the trimmings, the hide and his gear. One trip and about a mile, mostly downhill. The cold beer and Advil hit the spot when we got back to camp!

That's exactly my point. This product puts all the weight on the shoulders.

Kids...

Doing that is what I have sons-in-law for.

You mean like this? I stopped for a breather and my buddy snapped this picture. You can see the two game bags with the bottom one carrying a hind quarter and the top carrying a front shoulder.

Acutally, I was sucking quite a bit of air and not really breathing!

With these shoulder bags you could get the other 2 quarters in front and saved a trip.

I can't imagine using one the newspaper delivery bags to pack out elk. The bag looks like it would be about as comfortable and akin to having some 115 lb chick riding on your shoulders on the trip out.

Bullpacs are about the only one I'd buy at this point. Have not used the Kifaru packs lately but had a friend with one years ago that regretted his decision. I use an older Dana Designs pack for the comfort. Well balanced loading is about all I can take now between my knee issues and back.

And what's wrong with that?

Boy you love controversy dontcha?? Learn to zip your lip and grin to yourself....

It depends on how she looks whether it would be a chore or not.

I'm with bea175.

donsm70

Depends on how far the pack out is...

I've done it a few times, roosevelt bulls, I was young, had my brush legs, and very eager...

No pack involved, simply the pelvis straddling my neck, both honda together....

And the old saying goes, "help, I've fallen and I can't get up"...

Having gotten final yields of between 80lbs and 250lbs, I would answer anywhere from "I can pack an entire elk" to "no chance I'll pack half an elk."

I regularly get a cow out with one partner in one trip, including hunting gear. Rarely with a bull (snow, drag rear quarters). I'm usually a couple of miles from the truck and hunt uphill.

You must be able to put weight on your hips though. Anything else is a sick joke.

My buddy says the weight of our packs was 174 lbs of meat from the four quarters he dropped off at the processor. This means my pack was roughly 87 lbs without the weight of the pack and any additional items, i.e. Knives, water, etc.

My phone said our round trip distance was 9.78 miles.

really,

Every Sunday papers loaded front and back.
I was just contemplating this very option. was trying to figure out where I could find an old fashioned paper bag. had no idea they were already marketed

Only about ten times a season. 👍

Lets be serious here...at my age .the real question is can she make coffee?

Well, I was giving you credit for not toting ugly women around in the mountains...

The last elk I had custom processed was a big cow. Bone in, on the hook, she weighed 330. There's no possible way that I could carry 165lb.

If you were packing it on your back, you'd leave the bones in?

That's how I did my first one - unzipped him right down the middle of the spine with a hand saw. Took the ribs and neck. Could only do a quarter at a time, though. I was a lot younger and dumb as a brick when it came to elk hunting. (Sometimes I think the only thing that has changed is my age.) It was a nasty, uphill job. Learned the benefits of hunting uphill that trip.

Have never done another one that way and never will again. These days it is not even an option.

Even I'm not that much of a fool.

Left yes, right no!

Then I don't understand your comment about not being able to carry out half of a bone-in elk carcass.

I could pack half a boned out cow on my back at the tender age of 60. Picture shows me with 114 lbs. of meat on my back after climbing out of the canyon. It was 128 lbs. total with pack and gear. Last year at the age of 65, 80 or 90 lbs. about crippled me in a short and fairly level pack of about 1/4 mile. So no, I won't be packing half an elk any more! Usually its three trips per elk anyway.

You fellas are tougher than I am.

I do know a girl who has packed out a bull or 2 whole, including the head and horns, and she preferred a system similar to the OP.

She liked to split the weight left and right.



Another whole bull.



She has done it more than a few times but at 1300 Lbs she is sort of strong.

It figures that a guy who's too lazy to sneak in close would take the easy way out....

That's how I would pack one out!

I did it last year taking 1/2 my 4x5 in my exo pack, 4 + miles back to the truck, I don't think I'll do it again, at 49 I'm starting to learn.

Not any more!!!
Don't even try...

I hauled 1 1/4 elk out in 3 trips/days this year. We shot 3 bulls with our day packs and each hauled 1/4 out that day. The next day I hauled half of my buddies 5x5 on my pack frame. That was easier than hauling a 1/4 on my day pack. The next day I packed out half of my 6x4 bull. The trips were over 7 miles a day. My cow was much easier. I drove the 4 wheeler right up to her. The most I've pack out of a single elk was 3/4 of a spike bull. My dad carried a hind quarter and I carried the rest out. The heaviest load I've ever semi weighed is my moose head with cape and most of a hind quarter. Without the frame it was 147lbs. So it was over 150lbs with the frame and wet from being snowed on.

To consistently kill elk on public ground you have to be in good shape and be willing to pack them out or have horses. I bet I've packed out part or all of 30+ elk on my back and I've shot most of those 30+. It does get harder and slower as you get older though. Now that I'm in the back half of my 40's I have to think a bit more about where I shoot stuff. In my 20's I didn't care where it was.

I have been known to make it even easier.

Last year I packed out each half of an average-sized cow, with hide on and bones in (but lower legs off) in two trips out of a deep but not super-steep draw. But I had it on a Neet Kart with my wife Eileen steering the front end. There's a reason humans invented the wheel a long, long time ago.

But, can she make coffee?

That looks like a good one, if pricey. Cheaper than back surgery, though.

I have a cheap 2-wheel, but discovered that the plastic, roll-up toboggans are easier to pull. Of course they don't push very well. The 2-wheel is hard to balance and the proper balance for level ground ain't necessarily the right one for uphill.

No, at 66, now I'm all about horsepower like here, whether in piston form or with the four-footed version. At this stage of life, it's tough enough to stay in decent enough core shape to battle an altitude change of 8000 ft for a week let alone carrying very heavy loads over very uneven ground. But in my early 40's I would do a hind quarter + while taking my time and over not very long distances.

I'm 6'0" and still 205 lbs but this year going from 1460 ft to 10k and then spending about 40 hours in the saddle in rough country over that week I somehow tore/strained a back muscle/ligament, and strained a groin muscle both of which took almost a month to heal. I hobbled around home and the hospital grimacing most of the time. Ironically, you gotta get tougher as you get older.

Not anymore.

2 wheel carts are pretty much useless here. It's too steep, too rocky, and the trails are too narrow. I have packed a couple in a wheelbarrow, though. It's easier than a cart but you really don't want to go uphill with one.

Myself and two great friends packed out my bull in one trip just three weeks ago.

3 miles as the crow flies according to google earth

Down one steep rock and deadfall covered mountain

Accross a deadfall covered canyon then up and down one more mountain to the truck

It was a hell of a test of mental and physical strength and it hurt badly

We completely boned him out



I had the light load





I was glad to rest now and then



Back at the truck after over 3 hours with meat and horn.....cheers!!!

But I sppose it depends on your physical abilities

Your mental state......are you crazy?

How big the elk, how far and your help

In my case

We were in great shape
We are completlely insane
He was indeed pretty big
It was a long way to the truck
My help.......there truly is no better friends on the planet then my buddies

The Three Amigos and ol' sleepy

It takes a really tough man to own an Appy, yet alone an Appy mule. I'm just not that tough.

I have packed bone in, hide on, 1/2 elk (whole elk 2 trips total) out plenty of times on my back. These are at high elevation, often in pretty rough country. I never enjoy it, but at times I need to get meat out quick. I use a Bull Pac when engaging in said torture. The worst I remember was two hindquarters, some trim, survival gear, pistol, and spray. Quarters weighed 98 and 97 pounds respectively.

90% of the time my elk come out on the horses though. In all the elk I have been on in the last 20 years, I only remember 1 comming out whole, the rest were in quarters. I would rather carry an entire elk out on my back, barefooted over a bed of coals, than disgrace myself and my elk by slinging it on a llama.

Here's one for the quotable quotes...

You must be in your 20's or 30's. Us old guys like to do it the easy way. Besides, I've never heard of anyone getting busted up by a llama. Read the thread on horse accidents.

You missed the point. Using a Llama is the same as driving a Subaru...

Not at all. Subaru has spent a lot of money advertising in queer magazines. The American Llama Assn. has not.

In addition - I've found that pack llamas are chick magnets. I can seldom take them anywhere and not have women stop me to ask questions and take pictures. They're great ice breakers. If I was young and single again, they could be used to great advantage.

I like using my llamas.............I think I'll take a look at those Subaru's.

Lefty C

3-tripped a bull and my camp 4 miles and 3000' down to the river a few years back. Not a monster bull though. Elk are a cakewalk compared to moose.

Well I carry my elk on my back and drive a Subaru. I don't put my elk in the Subaru though. It goes in the Ford PU. I don't have a 270 either. Now what?

I believe Rock Chuck is right. Llamas are chick magnets. However I would still never defile an elk by putting it on a llama.

Looking at the loads, I keep seeing a thought balloon over Christopher Peterson's head that says something to the effect of "...[bleep] short straw..."

Never yet had an elk turn down a llama ride. I've been very convincing.

Well taken care of adult elk are 5 to 7 trips on good pack frames. Unless you are a monster, then 3 to 5 trips. Any other method leaves to much for the Ravens and Magpies. My dogs love Elk Bones.

My dog loves elk bones too. And the next time he shows up to help pack one out, he'll get some.



Unless you're in good shape, with a good pack, and willing to bust ass.

Mine pitches in to lend a hand. These little dog packs are handy for him to him to carry some loin or backstrap.

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.