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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022 |
You experienced elk hunters, how many young guys do you bring with you to pack out your elk?
Can you get away with just one, if he's a hard worker?
Horses, mules, and llamas don't count.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 10,653
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 10,653 |
Me brings along myself and I. So two young guys.
You're Welcome At My Fire Anytime
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 6,264
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 6,264 |
I’ve done it solo. But I’m now 40, and have other options so I’d rather not do that again. And I generally don’t elk hunt solo anymore either. 2 guys my age is a good number. But three of us with packs isn’t enough to get an elk out in one load if you have significant distance or elevation to climb. So 1 human total is a minimum, but not preferred. And I have goats now.
Last edited by exbiologist; 02/23/21.
"For some unfortunates, poisoned by city sidewalks ... the horn of the hunter never winds at all" Robert Ruark, The Horn of the Hunter
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Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,358
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,358 |
Your post made me laugh - I used to be the young guy. It doesn't take more than one elk kill miles from the road to realize that hunting near a road has it's advantages. I shot a small cow a few years ago and we had a 20 year-old Army infantry soldier in camp. Super cool kid and he had legs like a draft horse. He literally ran to me after hearing I shot one and said load me up. He (mostly he) and I packed that thing out in one trip. If it was a big bull, I think you'll need at least three guys for the meat while you carry the head/rack.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022 |
I’ve done it solo. But I’m now 40..... . LOL, depending on your perspective, 40 could very well be the young guy.....
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,203
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,203 |
I used to hunt off horses quite a bit and do still some, but haven't for elk in a while. 10 years or so.
I have only had help from other people getting two elk out that I have killed, ever. 2003 and 2016. The rest were completely solo and honestly, I prefer it that way. I like the exercise.
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Joined: Apr 2017
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,358 |
What are you doing this fall?
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,917
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,917 |
I bred and raised my own packer.
Easier that way. like TinyCOCK, I’m usually solo and enjoy the pack out.
The real question is, who packs in a hot little cook?
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022 |
I bred and raised my own packer.
Easier that way. like TinyCOCK, I’m usually solo and enjoy the pack out.
The real question is, who packs in a hot little cook? Now we're getting somewhere, to the important stuff. I've packed out a few solo myself and like you and Tiny, I enjoy that part of it. Mainly because it means I got what I came for, but also for the physicality of it. The real reason for the OP was to mention something that really matters, other than caliber and premium bullets. Along those lines I was gonna do a thread on the minimum number of miles on your boots before they're broken in for an elk hunt, but that would've gotten zero replies......
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,917
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 18,917 |
Read you loud and clear.
It’s funny how many threads here and everywhere else about bullets, rifles and how “tough” elk are to kill, but very little about the stuff that actually makes or breaks the hunt before and after the shot.
A good 15 to 20 on the Zamberlans before they go anywhere.
Think I’m going to start recruiting 20 to 30 year old females at the gym and start a Sherpa business.
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,662
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,662 |
When hunting Alaska for Moose, we found that the average Moose required 11 man-trips to pack out, if that's any help.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,507
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,507 |
Along those lines I was gonna do a thread on the minimum number of miles on your boots before they're broken in for an elk hunt, but that would've gotten zero replies......
My Salomon boots always seem to come already broken in off the shelf for some reason.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,647
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,647 |
It’s funny how many threads here and everywhere else about bullets, rifles and how “tough” elk are to kill, but very little about the stuff that actually makes or breaks the hunt before and after the shot.
Welcome to the 'Fire...grin.. Where 99% of topics relate to 1% of what it takes to be successful and have a good hunt....
- Greg
Success is found at the intersection of planning, hard work, and stubbornness.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,265
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,265 |
It’s funny how many threads here and everywhere else about bullets, rifles and how “tough” elk are to kill, but very little about the stuff that actually makes or breaks the hunt before and after the shot.
Welcome to the 'Fire...grin.. Where 99% of topics relate to the 1% of what it takes to be successful and have a good hunt.... Isn't that the truth...
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022 |
Along those lines I was gonna do a thread on the minimum number of miles on your boots before they're broken in for an elk hunt, but that would've gotten zero replies......
My Salomon boots always seem to come already broken in off the shelf for some reason. Same with my Lowa Renegades, they need very little break-in. I used to think they were on the soft side, but now that my feet are old and cranky they seem just about right.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022 |
When hunting Alaska for Moose, we found that the average Moose required 11 man-trips to pack out, if that's any help. Damn that's a lotta meat!
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,203
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,203 |
When hunting Alaska for Moose, we found that the average Moose required 11 man-trips to pack out, if that's any help. Damn that's a lotta meat! I've been told that before.
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,075
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,075 |
For a decent sized Roosevelt we usually try to do it in four trips. Whether it’s yourself doing all four or you and a pal doing two or four guys doing it all at once is up to you. Done smaller bulls in two packs if it’s short mileage but that’s not preferable.
Brad ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~ Let’s Go Brandon
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 21,167
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 21,167 |
Read you loud and clear.
It’s funny how many threads here and everywhere else about bullets, rifles and how “tough” elk are to kill, but very little about the stuff that actually makes or breaks the hunt before and after the shot.
A good 15 to 20 on the Zamberlans before they go anywhere.
Think I’m going to start recruiting 20 to 30 year old females at the gym and start a Sherpa business.
You be a millionaire in a couple years!! Haha that’s a hellava idea!!
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
Ain’t easy havin pals.
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,711
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,711 |
Raghorn was 2 heavy trips boned. Bigger-than-raghorn-but-not-a-monster took 3 trips boned, including camp. Seems it would be a really big elk that required more than 2 trips for 2 guys, not including camp.
A big AK bull moose can be done in 6 bone-in if you nest one shoulder into a rib cage for a trip, but I figured that one out after taking one shoulder out by itself, so 7 trips it was. Those loads are heavy though; I'd not carry those loads uphill. Probably 9 or 10 trips if uphill. Wife and I did one in 8 trips (4 each), boned, but we were a lot younger and tougher then! A boned moose neck plus backstraps is a pretty solid load. Flank/trim, tenders, liver and horns for the last load. Add a load for a big cape and skull.
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