If you take a mature bull elk and cut up the meat at the kill site, taking only meat and leaving all bones, you are liable to walk away with about 200 LBS of deboned meat. I think there is more weight invovled than you are thinking. I'm guessing a mature bull elk can weight 700 LBS and more live weight.

In most states it is against the law to abandon good meat -- the backstraps, the rear quarters, the front quarters would certainly quality, and in some states rib meat and neck meat may be viewed as requiring harvest. It is not an option to just carry out what you can carry in one trip and abandon the rest. Anyone who observes you doing this will promptly report you to the authorities, I would speculate.

There are two general approaches to getting an elk out from a kill site. One is to gut the beast, leave the skin on, and cut the elk into quarters -- two rear quarters cut down the middle of the back from somewhere forward of the pelvis, two rear quarters cut down the middle of the back somewhere around where the neck meets the chest. These quarters may weigh as much as 100 LBS each and may be packed out two quaters to a horse or one quarter on a pack frame on a strong man's back. Another option is to remove the skin and remove the meat from the bones, taking only the meat. This will reduce your load considerably and is advisable for those packing out the meat on their back. Leaving the skin on helps keep the meat clean and moist; but if you are packing it out on your back, every extra pound wasted carrying out products you won't cook is ill advised and should be eliminated.