Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Preparations for my rookie backpack hunting trip

Heya fellas

I'm starting to make preparations for my first ever backpack hunting trip. I'm heading up into the Cascades into the western side of the sisters wilderness. I've scouted a nice series of ridge tops i can hunt from my base camp that have nice views and hopefully shots down into meadows.

Camp is 3.5 miles from the rig. From my scouting the longest pack i'd likely 6.5 miles.

I'm an experienced backpacker and hunter, just never combined the two, ironic given that i'm usually thinking about one or the other...

On to my questions:

Once the elk is down and it's field dressed and boned out what kind of bags do you use to transport the meat in your pack? I've ruled out trash bags because they are coated with pesticides. Is there a commonly used bag? Is there a good option for protecting your meat while you leave it unattended aside from praying to the almighty? Or is that an unthinkable option, do you always leave someone behind with the meat?

*edit* Another question: Am i okay using my normal 80 liter backpacking pack or is an external "pack frame" type pack a requirement? It's a really heavy duty North Face, i've loaded it up to 70lbs before and it wasn't fun for me, but the pack seemed to handle the weight.

I have more questions but i'll have to get back to it later.

Thanks

Tag for answers

this may help:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7959206/Game_Bags#Post7959206

and good luck on your hunt.

Kurt

Pillow case, or buy game bags.

Get 100' of para cord.

Take the remaining items about 50-100 yards from the site where you boned the Elk hang em high. At least 10' off the groud.

You want you stuff asfely away from the site where there's been a bunch of blood gts etc. Ole griz may sniff ya out.

as lonf as you pack can handle a 50++ lb load and keep it secure. I'd say you're ok. I've recently been using a Eberele Skycrane. pretty multi-fuctional so far.

Pillowcases suck. TAG game bags would be money well spent. Also, paracord sucks balls for hanging anything because, under a load, it stretches like a rubber band. Braided spectra cord, at least 725# works a million times better 'cause its slick and will slide over limbs. Google PCT bear-bagging and PRACTICE if you don't already know how 'cause you will not remember how to do it if you don't.

Para cord does stretch. But it is easily packable for the amount of length you can get. I've often doubled it up.

I also use my fair share of mule tape.

twist and half hitch.. no big deal.

the key is away from the tree and over 10' tall.

Yes ole griz can climb trees.

Theyre grizzly bears in oregon?

You think a griz is the only thing that likes steak tartar?

Try 2.5 or 3 times that unless horses are involved or you want to take a ton of trips in and out. Pack choices get beat to death on the internet...you can probably get by with what you've got for now. I favor Mystery Ranch, Stone Glacier, and Kifaru in no particular order, and have had some of each.

I use Kifaru meat baggies and Sea to Summit dry bags for meat. The other options listed will work as well, that's just what I like.

If you are truly efficient at backpacking you're ahead of 99% of hunters in the backpack hunting game, as you probably know. Good luck and have fun!

Nope sure dont, but the talk was about grizzly's, never heard of grizzly's in Oregon, thought I might learn something new today.

Tag bags or Caribou bags are nice. The canvas bags should also work for what you want to do. You can throw meat bags inside a contractor garbage bag inside your pack, or you can just wash your pack after...

I wouldn't worry too much about bears. Don't be camping right next to the gut pile, and it would be nice to string the meat up high. But I wouldn't get too worked up about it.

Personally I've never seen a 125-150lb elk quarter. I've never even seen a 150lb moose quarter, but I've been told about lots of them. I guess a guy is always free to double them up, and depending on the hike out that might make sense.

dunno never hunted there.

I imagine prolly black and cats though...

Double post....

No Grizzlies. Plentiful Black Bear in SW Oregon and up the valley, lots of cougars throughout the state. Wherever deer are, you'll find the big cats.

Generally some good advice.

Don't worry about what it weighs, just load the pack to what you can handle and make as many trips as you need. Heavy loads or many lighter loads, packing out an elk is sheer plain work and you are wise in the way you are facing up to that.

FWIW I like to leapfrog quick detachable loads of meat, so that I'm never very far from any left behind briefly, and it all arrives at the trailhead at about the same time. I don't take bear precautions for such short leapfrogs in black bear country. That way you have no long heavy loads one way and long empty loads the other. Short heavy loads trade with short empty return shuttles and I don't get as tired. YMMV

For your internal frame pack, meat in bags that will slip into and out of the pack bag without too much trouble would work for leapfrogging. I carry distances from 100 yards per trip on really bad ground up to half a mile on good ground or trail. Pick a place to swap loads where you can set meat bags on something to keep them clean: clean grass, on top of a clean log etc. A few clean poles laid side by side or across a couple of logs can make a good platform for meat whether in bags or not.

Urinating on a pile of sticks or branches and then placing those around a meat cache you have to leave overnight has kept coyotes, black bears and cougars away from meat for one night, as shown by circling tracks. For griz and wolverine, bets are off on that!

With your experience, you are going to enjoy this!

Thanks for the replies. Some good ideas. Maybe i'll go with tag or kifaru meat bags and put them inside of contractor bags to save having to scrub my pack. It's going to be pretty cold up there.

Seems like most people hump out their quarters and bone out the rest, to me it sounds like it would be worth the time to leave all the bones behind.

I have another question: My plan is to camp about 500 yards down hill on a bench on the leeward side of the top of the mountain. From the top there are 4 different ridge lines that spur out, each with at least a few meadows that look like good spots to find elk. Some of the closest meadows i'll be "hunting" are within 1000 yards of my camp. Is this too close? I'm really a blacktail guy and although i've hunted elk here and there since i was a kid i'm just now starting to get serious about it. I'm thinking these elk are probably not too habituated to humans. Honestly not sure if that's a point for or against my efforts.

Thanks again!

I can't offer much here but if you do use any contractor (or other) plastic bags, make sure the meat is cool and get it out of there asap. Sealing it up in plastic, especially if it is still warm, can cause the meat to sour quickly.

Don't ask me how I know this.

I would rather use pillow cases over trash bags and throw the pack in a laundro mat washer at the end of the hunt, or just use proper game bags,

I like caribou gear carnivore bags for boned out meat, and if you're farther than a mile from the rig then bone it out.

The pack will work. A good external frame will work better, one of our packs would work great, but I don't know how much you want to invest.

Don't bite off more than you can chew. Dropping a big bull 6.5 miles from the truck in difficult country if you're solo is a chore, and may be a bad mistake in hot weather.

Nathan

Pretty much how I roll.. I'll wash my pack out at the coin open car wash if I get around to it.

I'll only use trash bags if I need to drop the meat in a creek to stay cool.