Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Your elk hunting rig

I was going to post the same thing with respect to distance and pack out. Getting to the elk alot of the time isn't the hard part - its getting them out of there. A fully mature bull will give 225-250 lbs of boned meat. I've heard of them bigger but haven't seen one first hand, only stories, tales, and the occasional picture. I solved that issue where I hunt by having horses readily available. It cost me $250 each time I want a horse but it is the best $250 ever spent when your critter is 2-3 miles back in some steep, nasty terrain. If you bone the meat and pack smart, it is a one trip deal. Carrying elk out is a tough deal regardless of what some would have people believe. I've done it and it is doable if the pack is 'relatively' flat and its only 1-1.5 miles. Add in a canyon, distance, or black timber and it sucks real quick. 4-5 trips in that terrain will make you re-think how to get an elk out.

As to mileage, I think you are spot on. I'd also add elevation to the equation. For example, pull up West Elk Wilderness in Colorado, just W-NW of Gunnison. Quite a few elk live in the canyon; going in after them isn't about distance, its about getting out. It is the steepest elk country I've ever hunted - and I've hunted in the Selway in Idaho. Plus its at about 10,500 feet elevation. I currently hunt in northern Colorado. It has steep spots but is also a bit lower and is 'flatter'. You can navigate for miles if you follow contour and are smart about how to get to where you want to go. I hiked 4 straight days into an area this past fall. It was 2.75 miles from the trailhead to where I started hunting but only about 1.75 was on the trail. At times, I was 4.5-5 miles from the trailhead - but I knew I could get a horse into those areas for the pack out. So it was a threefer - no people back in that far, elk, and a doable pack out. I hunt alot of areas like that and have been fairly successful in the past 5-6 years. As my Dad always said: prior planning prevents piss poor performance - or the 6 P's.

I will hopefully go elk hunting this fall in the Wind River Range of western Wyoming. I will be equine-enabled so no back-pack hunts anymore for me. However, I do have a "back-pack" type rifle in a very light (6.5 lbs ready to go) .284.

I also have a Blaser R8 with three scoped barrels in .243, 30/06, and .375. I will probably take the R8 in '06 (~ 8 lbs) and the .284 and depending in how the outfitter hunts and determine which to use on a day by day basis. Incidentally, I always have a spare rifle as I don't live in the west and it's a one week, one-shot deal. No pun intended.

I have taken about eleven bulls and a few cows on various types of hunts and if one hasn't done it before, the difficulty of carrying 80 lbs of meat and gear over any distance in the mountains, especially if you're not from there, cannot be easily communicated. It's a reason I built the .284.

It's a serious undertaking but an addicting one.

Must be a custom Leupold too, didn't know they made a 3-9 VX3

280AI, 24" @ .660, Hunter's Edge, 6x42 FX3. I usually climb up, then don't have to go too far in.

I have its cousin.

Model 70 Stainless New Haven cut to 24"
300wm
McMillan Hunters Edge (Same Color)
Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40 CDS

Might as well get in here I guess.
Nothing fancy, 700 ADL in 338-06 with a 3X9 Leupold BC reticle, but it's become the one I choose most of the time
With 210 Partitions it gets it done.
I don't cover a lot of miles, I tend to move along slow with lots of stops. I like to look and listen more than to move a lot

I carry a Model 700 30-06 bedded in an HSP shooting 165 TSXs over H4831 mostly. Topped with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9 currently. I carry a Model 70 300WM and a 338WM, but these days those heavier rifles seem to get left behind more in favor of a Tikka 270 that is much lighter, wearing a Leupold, shooting 140 NABs, along with the aforementioned -06. Used to walk 15 miles a day without issue. Been closer to half that lately.

Been thinking about a Montana or Forbes as I get older... Seems a pound or so can make a difference by the end of a day.

I am old and have Horses. Love my R1 300 WinMag with Nightforce 2.5-10x32.
Honest 3 shot 1" rifles with 168 TSXs and W780.

I've used a ruger m77mkII UL 243 pushing 95 grain BT's all the way up to a 300 wby using VLD's. put the bullet in the right place and the elk will die. killed my furthest with the 243, and the closest with a 30-30.
scopes were simmons 3-9 up to leupold vx3

walking ranges have varied from 400 yards to 6+ miles in a day.

Stainless plastic ruger M77 mark II in 30-06 with a leupy 3.5-10 running 180 grain partitions. I've put in probably as much as 15, but 4 or 5 is more typical, and the year that we were all sick, it was less than that. 3 tags, 2 elk. I've taken a couple of years off due to the drought. The drought is over, but the tags aren't back yet, and the ranch where we parked the camper is up for sale, so I'm not sure when the next elk hunt will be. Thinking about going with something lighter. I've been meaning to try a fixed 6X42, but I like the 3.5-10 too much, so I'll probably stick with that.

Average for miles in a day varies, weather and area to area... Varies from 5 to 15 miles being the absolute most in one day so far.

In the 27 years of hunting elk, I used different calibers, ranging from 22 to 45. All bolt guns except one lever gun chambered in 45-70.

My go to riffle any more has been my well worn m-77 chambered in the .280 rem housed in an old ram-line stock. It has slain the most wapiti I have fired a rifle at. 98% of those elk were with a 160 grain nosler partition at 2800 fps. The ol' m77 weighs in at 8-1/2 lbs IIRC loaded, sling, wearing an old vari-x II 3x9-40 leupy.

The spike in my avatar was kilt by that rifle, @70ish yards in the pooring rain. Got lucky that day, only walked about 3 miles, rain was coming down in buckets, and shot the fool thing on my way back less than a half mile from my pickup

now assuming your not going to use an outfitter who will set up your camp and pack out your elk for you...
and assuming you'll be packing into an area or at least packing your elk back to your truck once its down...I'd say the rifle caliber or action might seem to be very important but Its been my experience that most of the 25-45 caliber rifles work in even semi skilled hands if you can get into a decent shooting position at a decent range, if you can shoot accurately from field positions the same can definitely NOT BE STATED in regard to your average back packs ability to cope with several hours of the strain of transporting 60lbs-80lbs of meat and gear out of some steep canyon. IM FORCED TO REMIND YOU, that any dead elk ,even when the meats boned out to reduce weight and placed in the 2 gallon zip lock bags and after they are placed in the snow too cool off on any elk hunt, tends too weigh a great deal more than you will feel comfortable packing out of most deep canyons on your back!.
you generally will require several round trips, from some steep canyon to your truck over rough terrain, to pack out an elk!
before you bring any back pack on a ELK HUNT youll want to test it out carefully, by actually testing it,with significant weight loaded over at least 30 minutes, what might feel OK in a 2 minute test WON,T feel the same after 30 minutes!
you need to spread the significant load on your shoulders and hips and pad it as much as you can!
you need too adjust the straps and hip belt so 80%-90% of the weights on your hips not your shoulders, and youll want too,find several trash bags and put a 80 lb bag of sand inside them,and duct tape them carefully so it won,t leak, then place the large load simulating a elk quarter or load of meat,in the pack. if your pack won,t fit a MINIMUM of that size load in its main compartment YOULL NEED TO LOOK INTO A LARGER STRONG PACK!
then spend a minimum of two hours walking around ,ideally, up a few stairs,in some out door high school stadium or condo stair case,or across local hills etc, if the pack you selected squeaks or rips, under that load ,its JUNK and you just saved yourself a whole lot of grief knowing that well before the hunt, and getting a better pack is mandatory, because you normally will be packing gear into or elk meat in or out, in your pack, and a pack that fails 1/2 way up a steep canyon is a huge problem.

I tried at least 4 different welded aluminum frame freighter style pack frames similar to this,(I'm sure theres a dozen good quality freighter packs but the ones I tried were junk!,) every one was noisy and eventually broke under the loads I packed out, of those canyons, they were a HUGE P.I.T.A. and in my opinion a waste of money
the first few elk I packed out I used an external frame aluminum frame, pack. the first year was a total disaster as the riveted aluminum frame squeaked constantly and eventually broke under the 80 lb loads in very short order, the next year I bought a far stronger name brand welded frame ,that cost over $120 which was a huge expense in the early 1970s, it lasted two years before it broke , I explained my problem at cabelas store, to an old geezer who had actually experienced similar issues, and the guy suggested a cheap PEAK ONE pack,frame,at that time or something like the CURRENT RED HEAD ENDURO FLEX but suggested I have a better bag made,with a larger compartment, I bought a heavy nylon duffel bag and heavily modified it so it securely strapped too and was supported by the flex frame at a dozen plus all adjustable strap locations, on the frame, plus

I used 20 feet of seat belt nylon and brass grommets to make a custom pack,support sewn to the edges with a great deal of sewing of seat belt web strap, to secure the duffel to the pack frame so it comfortably supported 100 lbs of sand bags inside the duffel ,the dozen plus individual buckle straps sewn so the weight stayed centered and close to my body, I bought far better quality hip and shoulder belts and added those and its lasted and worked for 30 plus years, its ugly and not high tech, but like a crowbar its hard to damage, and it works

HERES A GOOD BASIC FRAME
http://www.basspro.com/RedHead-Enduroflex-Plus-Field-Frame/product/10212624/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT



http://www.basspro.com/RedHead-RH5000-External-Pack-Frame/product/1301160606328/

80%-90% of a loaded packs weight SHOULD be supported on your hips NOT the shoulder straps so a sturdy well padded hip belt is ABSOLUTELY mandatory
you may NOT be able to fing a quality hip belt on a sturdy frame so mix & matching frames, belts and straps might be your only choice

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/311178472864?item=311178472864&vectorid=229466&rmvSB=true

Id point out that youll generally be forced to make several trips to back pack out an elk and carrying a rifle on the return to get meat trips in and out is a P.I.T.A. so I generally carry a shoulder holster and a heavy caliber revolver. you don,t want to arrive at the recently shot elk, on the second or third trip, to retrieve meat, only to find a bear, cleaning up the scraps and disputing the elks true owner, while your un- armed
the 44 mag silhouette with adjustable front site and 10 5/8" barrel

YES IT REQUIRES a shoulder holster to use comfortably
[img]http://www.grumpysperformance.com/10sho.jpg[/img]
your back pack choice to pack out meat in significant quantity is something you really need to think through

Where are you from? Just curious.

I currently live in Florida but have lived in Colorado and maine in the past, yeah I'm and old geezer now at 66 years old, 6'3" and 260lbs I used to weight 230 for most of that time frame,and worked out a good deal, but I have spend 40 plus years hunting Wyoming, northern California and Colorado.
YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH ME THATS FINE! we all have different experiences , but Id like to help the newer guys by explaining what Ive seen and done.

Gotta get me some bass pro shops pack to help me out. Could use a me a big 44 to ward off the critters with sharp teeth as well..

Woohoo, I be set..

carrying a pistol on a hunts is a bit like keeping a fire extinguisher handy, you may never need it, and 99% of the time its extra weight, but if you do you'll be glad you had it, in 40 plus years of hunting elk Ive seen plenty of evidence of scavengers on gut piles on return trips, but only once had a minor confrontation and that ended with me firing a shot into the ground and the small black bear deciding the next county was a good destination.

How much does that massive 44 mag weigh?

You carry a fire extinguisher, too???

I think you'd find carrying a portable defibrillator more useful than your handgun... 99% of the time.

Or an oxygen bottle.