1st Elk hunt
 

Hello everyone.

Obviously I am new to this site, but I was hoping I could get some advice and clarity on some questions I have about elk hunting. I’ve tried to do multiple searches but I still have a few questions.

1. Do you take a frame pack with you when you do the actual hunting or just have a small pack and wait until you get your game down?
2. Once the game is down, is it best to bag the meat in to breathable sack and hang everything near by?
3. If packing the meat out with an internal frame pack, do you place the meat into a plastic bag to keep blood from getting all over the inside of your bag?
4. Is it OK to haul the meat out in plastic bags instead of cloth bags?
I am not new to hunting or backpacking but I am new to Elk hunting and hauling the meat out with a pack. I always like to have certain items with me whether I am going into the woods all day or simply just staying in the woods for an hour or two. So what is my best approach to being able to have a camera, knife, fire starter, water, first aid, GPS, map, compass, flashlight, extra socks, gloves, etc. and still be able to carry meat out?

Thanks
Flatlander88

We usually just carry the light packs and when someone gets one down one starts in on the cutting (I usually carry the game bags with me so I have them to start right away). The other guy goes back for the frame pack and I usually have a couple quarters ready for them when they get back. I have also just tied them to my pack and hauled them out. I have a blackhawk pack that I put all the loose stuff inside in a game bag and a back quarter tied to the outside (Lots of weight) got all bloody but it washes off. You want the meat to cool and breathing helps. If it is cold enough the plastic would work but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Hello,
We try and take are frame packs with us. You can waste alot of time and energy, by walking 7 or 8 extra miles. As you will find out the terrain can be tough.

Thanks so far! I have quite a while before next season but I am trying to gather as much info as I can.
Flatlander88

I hang the quarters in the shade and generally in plastic bags. A mild load will go out with me in my day pack. I'll be back with a packframe for the quarters and head.

hunt with a day pack. 1800-2200ci then you can take a 40lb load out and go back for a internal frame for the 60lb loads. should have about 4 of them. plus head and cape if ya choose. i have used game bags for my meat and put a plastic bag in the day pack for the first load when i have a lot of other gear in there. then just a game bag-mesh type and wash my pack when im home

I use pillow cases for game bags and bone out the animal. A small tarp or piece of plastic allows you to lay the meat out to cool as you are boning out. The load in the pack goes into a plastic bag for the pack out and then out of the bag into a cool place (still in the pillow case) with good circulation. If your not too far from a road that allows motorized vehicles, then you can pack the quarters bone in and hide on if you so wish. Very far and you will find boning it out to get rid of excess weight can save a trip and some wear and tear on your body. The quality of pack counts for something. Make sure it fits you correctly and that you can cinch it up right. It makes a huge difference.

I hunt with my internal frame pack. It usually has a sleeping bag and bivy in it so I can spend the night. I compress it down so that it isn't too bulky, but I usually ditch the pack in the last few hundred yards of a stalk. I want to get the biggest load out first before my legs start feeling like jello. I might use a day pack if I had a buddy to go get the frame packs, but I like the challenge of getting an elk by myself. I bone the thing out putting the meat in 4 game bags and hang em in a tree. Bags go right in my pack, put anything I don't want soaked in blood on top of the meat.

I try and shoot mine next to a road.

(lol)

If you're going in a ways, take the frame with you. As said above, make your first trip out the heaviest load while legs and lungs are fresh. And don't be in a hurry. It's taken us a couple days at times to get the elk out.
I had some backstraps go bad in plastic, so I never use it.
There have been times when we skinned and boned it out before hauling it to the truck. It's amazing how much "haul" is left! Much easier and lighter.
Unless you're one of those guys that has to hang a whole one at camp . . .

Great info. If I am lucking and do end up getting an elk but it's late in the day I would just hang everything in some trees and come back for it the next morning right? I'll need to call the Wildlife and parks department but the tag usually stays with the head, right? I'll be hunting in Colorado.

Like others have said, quater it out, put it in breathable game bags and hang what ever you cant imediately pack out in a tree, I have seen elk spoil from laying on the ground, get it off the ground where the air can circulate arround it and help it cool off.

yup you have to let the heat out first before u put it in something that wont let it breath.

Man, you Elk hunters work too hard!! LOL!

Partly it would depend how far from your camp/car you would expect to down your elk. I carry a bunch of stuff with me too, but I think that is inefficient and unnecessary. In the future I would like to go in with my Bull-Pacs (excuse my spelling if I have mispelled this brand) with my heavy cotton cloth game bags lashed to the frame, my tools (two knives and a Wyoming saw), and my other necessaries (bottled water, clothes, extra cartridges). I would like to be able to make my first walk back to camp carrying a load of elk meat.

With reference to the plastic bags. If you put your elk in a cotton game bag, and then put this cotton game bag inside a plastic bag to keep blood from leaking over you and your pack, I don't see that the elk in the plastic bag would cool any slower than the elk in the cotton bag alone. Heat conducts across a thin layer of plastic. What is of concern is keeping the elk meat wet -- from blood contained by the plastic bag -- which is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. I would think that if you did not leave the elk in the plastic bag for long -- say for 90 minutes while packing out that portion -- that this should not be a problem.

One thing to remember about bacteria is that it is always present, you aren't going to entirely avoid it. What you want to do, however, is to discourage the rapid reproduction of bacteria -- warm wet conditions. If you can control the bacteria long enough to get your meat frozen, then your meat will be in good condition. No one's meat, however, is truly bacteria free.

If I have to hang the meat for a few days, even if the weather is cool, should I "mix" or "rotate" the meat inside the bag or will it be fine? Also how much meat do you leave in one bag to cool?
Thanks
Flatlander88

I got a Just One pack last year and am very happy with it. I thought it carried so well that I didn't even bother swapping out for an external pack frame on the 2nd trip, just used my J34 on the 2nd trip as well.

Here's my elk cut up and ready to pack out.



I posted this on another site and someone pointed out that it would probably be better to use clear garbage sacks for the loose meat because some of the colored sacks have anti-fungal stuff in the plastic. Seems like a good tip and I'll probably be switching to some clear sacks for next year.

Here's the first trip out. I had one front shoulder in the pack, plus what I started with and of course the head.


Here's the 2nd trip out. I had one deboned hind quarter in there and a front shoulder. I had emptied my pack out of everything but the neccessities for this trip.


Here's my New Mexico elk quartered up and hanging in the tree. We packed out the head and cape and the loose meat (backstraps, tenderloins, neck meat) on the first trip and actually paid some guys on horses to pack the quaters out the next day.

I'm going to add a pulley to my pack for the future so I can get the quarters higher up in the tree next time. It worked this time, but a big bear could have gotten to them as they were only 8' or so off the ground.



Here's the head and cape going out on my back.


I personally use the Alaskan game bags and think they do a great job. I've even reused them a few times with no issues. After using them 3 times this year they were pretty worn though so I bought new ones. Don't get the deer sized ones, those aren't very sturdy, get the ones specifically for the quarters.

I really like my Eberlestock J34 pack. Really nice carrying your rifle in on your back when you are bushwhacking in several miles in the dark every morning.

Thanks for the pics npaden. I've been all over the internet looking at packs. I think the guy I am going with likes to keep the meat on the bone in quarters. Would the J34 hold a quarter with the bone? Are there any packs that would?

npaden's excellent advice above and this should help http://elkhunter2.tripod.com/

The J34 would hold a quarter with the bone, but I don't see why you would want to haul out that extra weight on your back.

You probably couldn't get 2 quarters in there without boning and skinning them like I did with 1 front quarter and 1 hind quarter in the same load.

Don't ever put your game meat in plastic bags unless it's well below freezing. Plastic doesn't allow the meat to breathe and will promote bacterial growth. If you want light weight game bags these are the bomb...

http://www.pristineventures.com/products/game-bags.html

They're light, take up very little pack space, and they're washable so you can reuse them. I've used them for five or six years now and I won't go back to the old cloth type.

I've been checking out the website, good info there. Thanks for all the other tips.
Flatlander

"Just hang everything in some trees..." When it comes to Elk, everything is hard hard work, never simple. Hanging an Elk 1/4 quarter would be tough.
So, be careful how "late in the day" you take a shot at an Elk. They can be very tough and go quite a distance, even with fatal shots. You got to get it opened up field dressed and cooled off within 1-2 hrs at the very most.
That heavy hide and coat will cause the meat to sour, if you leave it intact for many hours, even when it's cold outside.
If you need to leave it overnight and can get 1/4s or boned game bags of meat up in trees, it'll keep it away from some predators (not all). Birds (e.g. eagles, ravens, magpies, etc.) can start tearing it up if left exposed for long.
If you are in non-motorized areas only and not too rugged or steep, a heavy duty 2 wheel cart can work too with a couple guys to pull/guide (mostly down hill).
Be safe... be safe... Have fun.... Good success.

I'd pay a guide to do all the work, and walk out with my rifle. :D

You might consider taking some course ground pepper in your pack. On my last elk hunt we went light and of course killed a nice 5x5. My son-in-law took all our stuff back to truck to get both of our external frame packs. Some how in our haste we had left our game bags and pepper in the truck. I started skinning but had a heck of a time keeping the flies off while i worked. It was very hot so I couldn't wait. The pepper would have really helped keep them flies away. I would skin as far as I could in one area then lay the hide back on that area and go to another. Applied some pepper as soon as he got back and the flies were'nt a problem.