Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Helping pack out a stranger's elk

Would I help a stranger pack out elk? ...no

Would I help a friend pack out anything? ...yes

11 times out of 10

Evidently my choice of words was raw. Its how I feel though. My apologies to you for that.

But I won't change what I do or how I tend to do it or how I think of others for not offering to help. 9 out of 10 times I"d personally turn it down. If not 10 out of 10, but I appreciate the common courtesy.

OTOH I don't doubt that you would offer me help and I'd certainly help you if in need.

I hate to simply get caught up in words.

Regards, Jeff

When you have horses, nobody thinks they're a 'stranger'. "How about packing this elk out for me, old buddy old pal"?

No apology necessary. It’s not your choice of words I take issue with, but what’s implicit in them.

Helping your fellow hunter or backcountry traveler when it’s truly needed is a given, no question about that. But I come at it from a different direction—personal responsibility. If you’re going to hunt big game in the backcountry (especially elk) it’s your responsibility to have a plan for how you’re going to recover it, and have the wherewithal to do it. If you don’t have both you risk wasting the meat and nobody wants to be that guy. You shouldn’t need help and I would never expect a complete stranger to drop what he’s doing and help me pack my elk out on his back. If someone wants to offer his help, that’s his choice and a great gift but I have no right to expect it. There are any number of good reasons a person could have for not offering that kind of help, and I don’t believe it’s my place to question his motives or label him lazy or greedy if he doesn’t make the offer.

Calling someone lazy means (to mean anyway) he’s shirking his duty. The way I see it, it’s not his duty to help pack out my animal. And I'd hate for any new elk hunters reading this to get the idea that other hunters should be willing to help them pack out their animal if they're successful. Because they need to rely on themselves, not the kindness of strangers.

To some really obnoxious ones,I have offered to pack in a skillet for them.

I was packing out a load of meat once and ran into an a-hole with two mules. He was on his way out, with no loads on the mules. He was a real piece of work, hauled in a couple dudes who he said were his "friends" but it was pretty clear he was being paid and my guess is, was not licensed.

I didn't ask for his help, but he made a really generous offer. It was about two miles out, and like I said he was headed out with two mules and no load. Said he'd "help me out" and "give me a great deal" and "only charge me $300." I guess he thought it wasn't possible to haul meat in a backpack because he was shocked when I turned down his generous offer.

My experience with this happened only once. I and another guy I didn't know each killed elk from the same heard. I shot and then heard him shoot. I gutted my elk. Then I went looking for him. I helped him and his young son get his out. Then when I was walking back to mine two young, much larger than me, guys came by and asked if I could use some help. I got out of their way and they literally dragged the whole elk to the road and loaded it for me!

I have helped but more often than not my offer has been declined because the hunter had it covered.

The best help I got in CO elk hunting was a guy who helped me haul a buck up a very steep grade and then he helped me drag it all the way down the hill to my truck while we had a nice conversation. He was hoping the buck would get past me and saw me shoot it the it kick and roll into the canyon.

Other than that occasion with the deer help has been from my group and rented horses. I have had group help more than a dozen times in the last several years some of that hauling wasn't too bad but some was areal pain in the back, legs and knees. I have taken a few UTV, car and jeep rides that were offered without any meat and I've given and offered a few as well.

Elk hunters are pretty self sufficient and most would prefer to hunt first and haul on the way out even in my own group, I don't blame them once a hunter knows what they are doing that should be OK.

Not an elk but ,I helped a young fellow drag a mature mulie out of the woods. His girlfriend passed me on the trail with two packs and two guns and I asked her if they need help. She said they got it but the look in her eye said otherwise. I went to see if the boyfriend wanted help, he also said no, but looked tired. I said" well I am headed the same way , I might as well grab a horn. When we arrived at the truck his girlfriend was all smiles. We took a minute breather and swung the beast in the back of the truck. He then had a relieved look in his eyes , said thanks and shook my hand.
Two weeks later I had an appointment for a haircut. As I was getting cut, the girlfriend appears from the back of the place where they do pedies and such and says " anything he wants is on me" and smiles then says" Do you believe he wanted me to drag and him carry the guns????"
They are no longer together and she moved out here a while ago..........
Funny to hear her perspective on their days hunt.......

I just thought of a slightly different twist on this! About 12 or so years ago, we were hunting deer in the Big Horns about 15 miles west of Buffalo. Earlier in the evening,while watching a clearing, we watched a father and his teenage son (elk hunting) pass by us. We saw no deer, but, watched a group of elk move into our opening. There were several bulls, one of which, was a real nice bull. At last shooting light, we saw the father/son duo approaching us. We got their attention(by flashing a light at them), they saw the elk and the boy got his first elk. Much nicer than anything that I'd ever taken. They had no lights, no camera, and no equipment for packing. We took the pictures, held lights and helped field dress. When we got the pictures processed, we sent them to the hunters (from Buffalo). We never got so much as a Thank You!!! memtb

I have helped a couple folks get their elk out, I have never been offered help.

No matter. Help those in need of help, especially your elders or those youngsters on their first kill.

Someday I hope to be old enough that men in their prime feel compelled to help.

I hunt with my dad and brother. Whoever shoots the bull, we all pack.

Several years ago I shot a really nice 5x5 bull miles behind a locked gate. Some guy on a motorcycle saw me on the road, still miles from the truck. He offered to carry my pack board to the truck and he wouldn't take any meat or money. He was excited to do it because he had never killed a bull or even been in on a pack out. He just wanted to know what it felt like.





P

A motorcycle behind a locked gate?

I have helped before.Just depends.

I actually had a guy tell me one time that his son was stalking an elk up ahead, and then went on to say if he shot it that there would be a "party of three packing it out"..the two of them and me.

He found out quickly that I wasnt willing to help.

You're just lazy. And greedy.

The A-hole with the mules that I mentioned came into our camp and told us not to burn a fire because it would scare the elk. He was camped nearby. It was kind of warm and we didn't need a fire but we lit one up anyway.

Then he proceeded to tell us to stay away from the area he'd be hunting. We had no desire to go there but if I hadn't tagged out the next day I would've. He also told us he'd been hunti,g that spot for the last 10 years during the muzzloader season, which was BS because we'd been hunting it for the last five and never seen him.

He shot a cow but didn't recover it. He and his party of four were skunked, our party went 2 for 2. That part was sweet but they left a bunch of trash and [bleep] piles with TP everywhere.

And we wonder why hunters get a bad reputation with others.

I hear you..I've met some real pieces of work in the hills.

I don't thinks it is lazy or greedy to not expend hunting time to help a stranger as there is not a "one size fits all" reason to help. I have encountered many pilgrims that hunt elk with no thought or plan of getting an elk out of the field.

If I am not actively hunting I will help if needed. There was one exception, though. While hunting out of a spike camp I was glassing the opposite side of a drainage and noticed what looked like a hunter struggling with a loaded pack. Earlier I had spotted a group of elk in the direction where the hunter was headed so I thought I could use his movement to my advantage and moved to a spot hoping he might kick some elk to me.

A couple of hours later he emerged into a small clearing and he was visibly hobbled and I hailed him down. He said he had put down a bull and while starting out with the second pack load he sprained his ankle. I made a makeshift crutch for him and took on his pack load and got him down to the trail head.

The hunter told me where the bull was and his spike camp and drove to the nearest hospital to check out his foot. I got the rest of the elk packed out but with nightfall coming on I decided to wait until first light to pack out his spike camp.

He returned to the trail head about midnight with his foot in a cast and said the ankle was fractured.

The next morning I found his camp and on the way down to the trail head I spotted some elk, made a brief stalk on them after they moved into a blow down. Jumped a 5x5 from his bed.

The hunter thanked me profusely and insisted on my address. Received a nice letter from the guy with a confirmation of a booked pheasant hunt for two hunters out of a lodge in South Dakota.

Almost the exact same story with us.

Just 3 of us packed far into our spike camp of many years the night before the opener.
Found an outfitters tent at our spot but nobody there.
We set up about 1/3 mile farther on.
Opening morning I shoot a bull but the trail is too muddy to bring in our game cart.
The 2nd day of the season the outfitter shows up with clients. (Still can't figure what outfitter misses opening day).
I offer the outfitter several hundred bucks to pack out my elk. He mutters and mumbles and says he's not sure and he's got to wait and see - weird reaction with 8 horses standing idle.
Meanwhile that day, elsewhere, his guide starts picking on the youngest member of my party - tells him they've had that spot for years (a lie), that we are camped in HIS prime hunting area, that we are too close to the trail. (it lit my fuse that he was picking on our young guy).

The elk were already gone by then. We wanted to get out and hunt elsewhere. They obviously wanted us gone. Instead of using their idle horses to fill their pockets with cash we spent the next few days humping the bull out to basecamp on our backs.
Ran into that guide fellow with his clients on the trail and he proudly proclaimed "We saw elk today". Days later when we got the bull out and left that sighting was as close as their entire camp had gotten.

It could have worked out much better for everyone but turned into a lose-lose. They could have made money, got rid of us, and had more area for their own clients. The only fun part was carrying a good set of antlers past their camp in front of their clients.

I never go expecting help from anyone, and if an elk goes down from my rifle or bow it is my problem. However, with that being said, I have not, nor will I walk away from good folks in need, and I have instilled that in my daughters. Twice my middle daughter has been along when this has happened hunting elk. I do have a conversation with them, and if they are an azz hat, I will carry on. If they are simply down to earth honest folks, I'll set aside my endeavors and spend generally what amounts to half a day with them.

My daughter and I jumped some elk but couldn't get a shot. When we came out we found a guy and his pregnant wife with a cow down out in the middle of a flat. His pickup was on the road and you could see it from where the cow was down. We walked over and learned that we had run those elk right to him. He was not about to let his wife touch one piece of that elk, (I'm sure it was their first kid). I asked if he wanted help and he declined. I basically said to him, look, we're all here, if you get the guts dumped out, whack her in half, we can have her in the back of the pickup in an hour or less. That is exactly what happened. The daughter and I grabbed the front and took off and he started with the hinds. Once we were at the pickup I went back and helped him finish with the hind, and after a thank you they were on their way.

The next was the most fulfilling for me as it made me realize how proud I am of my kid. I have always known that she has a heart of gold, but she proved it on a hunt two years ago. We both had cow tags but we're having trouble finding the skinheads. I put up a tree stand in the bottom for her to get into and see if something would come by. After dropping her off one afternoon I ran into two older guys one of which had a coveted either sex tag for the area. He had been putting in for years and finally got drawn. They couldn't find any bulls, but that was all I could find. He simply wanted to shoot a respectable six as it would be his biggest bull. After talking with them for some time and learning they were really good guys, I offered to take him along with me for what I had planned for an evening hunt. We all went in but didn't find the bulls till we were coming out and it was past shooting light. I had heard a shot from below, so I told them I would go get my daughter and see if she had killed, but I would stop by their camp and see what the plan was for the morning. Found my daughter sitting on the road in the dark playing on her phone, but it wasn't her that had shot. She asked why it took so long for me to come get her and I explained it to her. I told her that I planned to do. I told her I'd take her to the bottom in the morning or she could come along with us.

Even though she had seen elk where she was she elected to come along. The following morning it was my daughter who spotted the elk first. We found a respectable bull. It was not one that I would have shot in that area and I told the tag holder (Steve) that, but he told me he would be happy with it. I left my daughter and his pard on the hill to watch the show while Steve and I made the move. Steve killed the bull he was after that morning and while he and I got it ready my daughter and his pard moved the pickup to where we would come out and then brought the packs in to us. As the crow flies the distance was not great, about a mile, but it was straight up. We sent Steves pard with a front. My daughter got a front and Steves rifle. Steve took a hind, and I grabbed a hind and the loose meat. We had that bull in the back of the pickup by 11 am and I had a kid that was grinning from ear to ear. Steve was in his early seventies and his pard was pushing 80. Because they had packs that they had probably had since the sixties I sent them back in for the head with my pack. I told Steve to just drop it at my camp on his way out.

My kid killed her cow (first elk) that evening, and Steve offered to help bring it out the following morning. I turned him down simply because it was easy, 1/2 mile and flat. He offered me a quarter from the bull and I turned that down too, we had two cow tags. He insisted on my address so I finally relented, and I have never seen Steve again. However, shortly after returning from that trip two envelopes arrived from Steve, one for me, and one for her. Mine simply told me what a great kid I had and how much he appreciated all the help. Hers also held a thank you and a 75 dollar check. She looked at me, held up the check and said, "what's this for?, he didn't have to do that". I will have to say, that is probably far and away the most fulfilling hunt I have ever been on, and I didn't trip the trigger on anything!

As a side note, I killed a cow the following week with no one else around. Got her out, and into the pickup whole by myself, lmao, the 60 bucks on that otter sled was the best money I ever spent!

Long and short of it, this world is too full of self centeredness, stop and lend a hand to those in need and are deserving of it. Teach your kids to do the same. You never know when you might be in a situation where you get way more out of it than simply a critter on the ground. The rewards can be much greater!

Those are the ones I don't even talk to. If I could have gotten my phone camera in action a couple years ago, I'd have been sending a video to the Game Warden.

In our group, I'm the youngest, so my hunt can be overcome by events beyond my planning. That's Ok, it's time with my Dad and family that is precious, more so than getting a perfect hunt in.

We've helped others we have come across, been offered help, and have just gotten out of the way of some. Each situation is different, each group of hunters are different, and the response given by us is matched to the input received. Going in, we are going to offer to help, it's just our nature.

We generally have pack horses with us, I agree with the comment above, EVERYONE is your friend when they see the horses coming, and they are at the end of the trail. Some offer a price, some just expect that you will carry them out - "just because".