Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Chunks of Elk.....what do they weigh..?

Here is another ticket in Montana...Meat first, head last.

No such rule here in Washington, but...if you take out the head and "forget" to go back for the meat, you get nailed.

Where'd you see that?

Here in Wyoming proof of sex is required when you are hunting an area that isn't open to either sex. You only need a nut or a nipple on one quarter. A rack doesn't count unless attached to a whole animal. As to where to put your permit. I was told by a warden that when in transit having it your pocket is fine. One time I had both halves of my liscence with me and he told I should have left half with the meat already in the field. Only to protect your carcase from theft. If someone finds an untagged carcase in the woods and claims it. You have no legal right to it. So now I always carry the punched tag with me while packing and leave the other part of the tag visibly attached to the meat thats left hanging.

It's important to note that your loads can vary hugely depending on the animal and the shot. This season we shot 4 mature cows, and seeing them next to each other I cannot stress enough how different the size is from one to the next. Also, by the time the bullet was done, we only packed out 12 quarters. 4 fronts were hit to the point where I just boned them out in the field--it wouldn't make sense to pack out with the damage. Also, you will lose meat on the ribs/brisket depending on the shot (we had alot of bloodshot this year due to close shooting I think).

Rear quarters with the skin on weigh around 50-80, fronts 30-50. The meat from the frame (backstraps, rib meat, etc) will weigh around what a rear quarter weighs. A good bull head will weigh about 50-60. These numbers could probably go up, the high end is from a 300" bull, the low from a typical cow.

I usually hunt uphill, so the pack out is down. My wife and I can pack out a normal cow in one trip. Bulls take 2. One of my tricks is to keep about half or more of the hide from the ribs with the rear quarter, then lace that hide across the rear quarter tightly with paracord and drag. You can keep the quarter quite clean this way, and after aging you won't lose any additional meat. Open the hide back up and discard the extra as soon as you are to the truck, otherwise you will trap in moisture and allow rotting. Personally, I can handle up to about 90lbs, and I weigh 185. This season I carried a bit more (94lbs) on one trip out, and it was pretty hard. I won't put more than about 40lbs on my wife (she's 125lbs), but will load my friends until they cry.

Packed out boned meat, cape, and antlers from a mature AZ bull in one trip with three guys total. It was an easy pack but probably 1 1/2 miles. I'd not do it again, due to the possibility and likeliness of injury (short term or long term).

A bone-in hind leg is plently... as well as a bone in front with the strap, loin, and neck meat from a side. If it's a tit tag in AZ, just take ivories and scalp with ears attached... just has to be antlerless, so a bull calf is technically legal.

We've gotten spikes, boned, out in one trip split between two guys. Smaller 6pts, boned, out in one trip on one mule. Smaller 5 point out in three packs, first by one guy with backstraps/neck/rib meat, two others hauled out a front and hindquarter each with bone in. For me, I'd rather take a heavier pack fewer times. But then again, I'm fat...

Took both hind quarters out on a trip of a big 7x7 I shot one time. Did not de-bone it. I could go about 15 yards and have to stop. Luckily, it was a downhill pack. Would not do this, or suggest this again. I'm a big fella, 6'6", 210lbs, and in pretty good shape. It was our last pack, after shooting two bulls together, and I didn't want to go back up again. VERY heavy.......

In the ALASKA regulations, I thought it was true in Montana, but couldn't find it anywhere in the regulations. I called the district 3 FWP headquarters and talked to Marguerite, she said you don't have to take the meat out first in Montana, OOOps...

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So if you have the rack of a bull lashed to your pack and not the nuts attached to your hams you are at risk? [/quote]

We aways leave the skinned out nuts naturally attached to one hind quarter. Every year I read about several cases where people get busted for not leaving evidence. I've also heard of people using a fresh set of spike antlers when trying to sneak out an illegal cow elk. The tag goes on the hock when we hit the main road. Until then the tag is punched and safely tucked away in a pocket where it can't be lost. Once at the road, the tag is put on the same quarter as the balls.

4 full packs for getting an elk out and we always have packs/bags, etc. with us so the first trip out isn't wasted. Never used more and never used less, but some loads were a helluva lot heavier or lighter than others.

We take off the tenderloins, backstraps, and neck meat; this all goes into one bag. Rear and front quarters are taken off, then ribs are sawn off next to the spine. 1 front quarter fits into one set of ribs and into a bag. Rear quarters go into a bag by themselves. Smallest elk weighed 50 lbs front/ribs and 56 rear. Largest weighed 100 lbs front/ribs and 130 rears; that was a fun day, 2 miles one way in 85 degree weather... Average is about 80 for front/ribs and 90 for rears.

So far, we've packed four New Mexico bulls out in the last 6 years. Last years was the biggest, body-wise. As I was lugging the hindquarters to the pack horses, I'd have bet my last dime they weighed 100 lbs. each. When we droppd the meat off at my neighbors house for processing (he's a butcher), he had a big set of scales sitting in the door of his shop, so I asked him to weigh one of the hindquarters. Imagine my surprise when he said "50 lbs. even"...!
The forequarters are a little lighter, I'd say about 40 lbs. We put a quarter in each bag and add the backstrap and tenderloins to the forequarters.

35WN

I've weighed a lot of quarters and boned out meat. A big cow will go 85-90 on the quarters pretty easy. A good size rag horn a bit more and a mature bull quite a bit more. 100-110 isn't uncommon. Depending where you make the split and what you leave as far as ribs, the fronts usually go a little heavier than the hind.

Boning makes more sense to me. We packed out three elk in four days last year. Two guys, one trip per elk.

The heaviest was a 5 pt bull I shot. My pack weighed 125 lbs and Levi's 135 lbs. Three+ miles and 3000' of vertical.

Here is Levi with a big load of boned meat:

If you limit your hunting to where you can get a truck, you are passing up one hell of a lot of elk country.

Out of the 25+ elk I have shot, I can count on one hand the numer that came out whole, and those were more work than boning would have been.

Less you got access to some sweet private ground. Which most of don't. Schrapnel does, though, I'm guessing . . . .

Each state has it's own rules. Idaho says to put the tag on the largest section. I've never heard of a citation for having it on a smaller chunk, though. Evidence of sex is left on either hind quarter and I've never been questioned about not having the tag on that piece. Usually, I put it on the antlers although in brush, it can be easily lost that way so I play it by ear.

Last year we weighed the meat. Totally boned out. 2-3 year old bulls and average cows. The cow meat weighed 99# and we did it in 2 bags. The bulls totalled 140-150# and one was in 3 bags and one in 4. This year, no scale and we did all 4 animals in 3 bags each. The cow bags weighed in the low to mid 40# range and bulls upper 40 to about 50#. Both cows this year were exceptionally large compared the cows we killed in the past. As big as our 2-3 year old bulls. We had minimal carrying to do this year, but I did have each bag of meat on my back at one point for my two animals. We also shot antelope bucks that yeilded about 25-30# of meat each and after all the butchering was done, we each had 200 a 150 qt and 50 qt cooler full of meat for the freezer. I know my brother pays to hunt and shoots 6-8 year old bulls and he gets about 120-130 qts off one bull instead of bull and cow and antelope.