Originally Posted by
flags
Bone it out where it hits the ground. Most mammals are about 42-45% edible meat and the rest is bones, hide, head, guts and blood. Even a big buck of 200 lbs live weight can be brought out in 2 loads max by a guy in decent shape. An average buck only requires 1 trip.
I haven't drug a deer 5 feet in over 20 years. I always carry a packframe, 6 game bags, 2 knives, parachute cord and a small folding bone saw. I don't see the logic in packing out a bunch of bones and inedible parts when the coyotes and buzzards need to eat too. That's their share and I leave it in the field for them.
Learned my lesson several years ago while hunting the Adirondacks near the High Peaks Region. Been hunting there since the early '70s. I've taken quite a few big buck-125+ class 160+lbs. Each one I dragged to camp, canoed to a trail, and hauled out nearly 5 miles on a fire trail. This included two bear, 170-180 lbs. NEVER AGAIN.
Past three years, the buck has been hung and boned where it dropped. Very little, if any, meat 'wasted '.
I don't carry the equip that FLAGS speaks of while on the hunt. It's left in camp until needed. A mile or so walk back to camp for the boning gear is SO much easier than a drag of that distance I couldn't imagine trying to accomplish this using block and tackle, regardless of how far, especially by myself.