Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Recovery of a whole elk?

Adam

ATV recovery winch in the back of the truck and a ramp beats all but a tractor...

I have loaded a few whole over the years, mostly cows though. I shot a bull by Flagstaff in '91 during a blizzard with my 30-30. It was up hill from me and when he finally tipped over he just slid right to me. I had to jump out of the way to keep from being mowed over. I then grabbed an antler and drug him another 40 yards down hill, by myself. I then through a rope over his antler, dallied up and drug him to the nearest 2-track.

Four of us then loaded him in the truck whole. Still not sure why, mostly to say we did.

A buddy of mine had an 82 Toyota pickup. We would put a piece of stove pipe over a limb, use a 6" wide nylon strap over the sheet metal and pull the elk up in the air with a second pickup; back the Toyota under the bull and lower him down. We put four big 6x6s in his truck to take a photo. He actually made it all the way back to town with bulls hanging everywhere. Someone told him it couldn't be done!

Mostly, I don't see the point unless you can get them to a skinning shed with a loader!

You can also pull them up your reloading ramp with the winch on your 4 wheeler...

I was lucky enough to get one close to the trail also

and a pic inside the Jeep

My son killed a cow one year that we drove up to. Somehow, the two of us loaded it into the back of my 77 F150 with a camper on it through the camper door and drove back to town. The rigor was just enough to make it impossible to get out. Took 5 of us to wiggle it out! I like the head showing between the seats!!

I've only gotten 2 cows out whole - one we were able to get a 4 wheeler to and 3 of us lifted her on the back. The other had the good manners to run toward the road and die 60 yards from it in the snow. we lifted the bottom strand of wire and pulled her under - had to use the come-along to get her in the truck.

I did get a bull out in 2 pieces with 3 other guys helping. This year I'm probably going to try the sled trick if we get one in the snow - a whole bull can come out in one trip stacked on a heavy duty plastic sled with a couple of guys pulling - works well when you hunt way above the truck.

I still don't understand 2 guys dragging for any distance, if they can carry knives and saws in their hands..

I killed a spike bull years ago at the end of an old logging road I walked in on. When I shot him he fell into an old log deck and wedged in there. I was able to get my Toyota back in there and had to skid him up on the road to gut him. Then I ran the haul rope up the bank and around a tree, skidded him up the hill and backed the pickup under neath him. I now have a little flat bed trailer I tow behind the pickup to haul the 4-wheeler then I can hook it to the 4-wheeler for elk recovery operations. It makes a great lil meat wagon.

+1. I hate dragging a fuggin deer let alone an elk

No kidding. What's the point of bringing it out whole?

Always travel uphill while hunting, and recovery will be a cinch.

er, um,.......easier, yes, but a cinch? I can give you lots of episodes to the contrary.

Manzanita, mahogany, alder, aspen groves, rocks, cliffs

It isn't always so easy going down.

Well, there's also the matter of how far you travel uphill......

Yes, but in this country one can be overrun by even dead quarry. True even with no snow. We've had dead deer and elk go 400+ yds on their own. The deer were fine as we always start at the bottom. With the elk, however, we made the mistake of coming in from the top.


It's a case of get out the horses or pack frame, because the 4-wheelers are not going there.

I agree, I keep those tools under the seat...

I am not blessed with hunting on private land so I imagine that explains why only one out of 13 came out whole and it wasn't worth it. I just wanted to do it one time.

I brought 2 out whole from public land. The benefit was we were still logging so I just brought it into the shop and hung it up with the chain hoist. Last years AZ bull died 10' from the road. There was no benefit to leaving it whole so it got boned out and tossed in coolers in the back of the truck.

Idaho has a special trespass law that opens huge amounts of unposted private land to hunting. Between that and all of our public land, most elk are shot on what you could call 'wild' land. Much of it isn't open or suitable for wheeled vehicles. Most of where we hunt isn't accessible except on foot or with pack animals. Even where they're legal, the steepness, trees, and rocks prevent you from getting anything with wheels to a dead elk, even pack carts.