I would just concentrate on the elk. It will be more than a handful if you get one.

Yes It will be quite a job if I am fortunate enought to get one. I Drug a 400lb black bear for nearly 1 1/2 miles off a mountain and down 1100 ft or more in Alaska. That was several years back with me in much better shape and it still nearly killed me. LOL

We don't drag elk. :)

Skin and quarter it out, and then the work begins to get it out.

If, a mighty big word to be only two letters, i manage to find a elk and connect, I suppose it will be quite a challenge packing it out. Deboning would be a big help I suppose but I hate doing that unless I have a stream nearby to keep everything clean. Dragged that bear in Alaska untouched with a knife just to get it down to shore where I could find one of my buddys to take pictures of it. I sometimes write a article or two freelance for some magazines and needed the pics to go with the story. Not asking for any hunting spots, but is unit 78 a good choice to try in late Octobler? I just need to stay in a unit in which I can use a OTC. I am looking at a couple others in that area. Have even looked at a couple closer to the plains east of unit 78.

I can't help with that unit, but as I suggested. Ask the warden.


edit Get a hold of MountainDevil54 on this forum. He lives and hunts in that unit, or next to it. I forget.

By yourself: plan on deboning. If you luck out close to your vehical than bone-in quarters are okay I suppose, but boning--while a bit time consuming to the novice--saves a ton of wear and tear on the body. Bone in quarters are four trips. Boned are three. The average bull or large cow will probably lend to about 220 to 225 lbs of meat, so a bit over 70-75 lbs in each of three trips. You don't need a stream. Take your time. Watch a couple of youtube videos on the gutless method. You can still gut the beast to speed cooling a bit, but it will show how you to skin off one side so you can work the meat off. Cut the muscles off in muscle groups and you won't have to cut cross grain much. Cutting cross grain before rigor has set and released lends to a bit tougher meat. A few cuts are okay, just don't steak it before then. Lay the meat across rocks, branches, spruce boughs you've put down, etc... so it can cool as you work on the animal. Boning and airing the chunks like this are no doubt the quickest way to get that meat cooled. Then put up the meat as cooled into breathable sacks. I've generally used pillow cases but there are lighter sturdy sacks out there made for it. If the meat is cooled it is okay to put the sacks in a garbage bag in your pack to get it to camp, but then get it out and hung in the shade to breath. If it is warm, keep the meat out of the sun and if there are cooler micro climates (draws, creek bottoms, etc.) close to where you kill it, get it all packed there and then shuttle the trips to camp. I was into some elk two years ago. It was over 80 degrees and I realized that I was close to 5 miles to the truck. Stopped hunting and went home for the day. You probably won't have temperature problems to worry about spoilage in a late hunt. But with mountain weather, you never know...

Thanks Wyoming, Deboning if I am far from camp or the truck will be what I do. I debone all my deer but of course that is after I have skinned, gutted and allowed them to cool at either camp or my home. I debone them in muscle groups as well but never knew that cutting across the grain before rig had set and released would make the meat tougher. I'll make sure I take some sacks and garbage bags with me. I have been talking to a couple friends and with any luck will get someone adventuous enough to tag along. Not going to hold my breath for it though.

Thanks again Muley Hunter, I will look them up once I figure out how to use all the features here. I am just wanting to try and make the best choices I can.

It may be the case that your elk will go down in snow, in which case you shouldn't have problems with your elk getting dirty. If your elk does get dirty, just wash it off when you get down out of the mountains. For example, I usually end up staying in a hotel my first night down out of the mountains and leaving for home the next morning. In your hotel you can take out your elk meat and wash it off. I take my elk meat home to butcher myself -- 900 miles from elk country to home -- and I keep my elk cold in coolers and with a modest amount of dry ice. I'm not trying to freeze the elk during this return trip just keep it cool. The first day that I'm home I butcher it.

Under some circumstances you can drag your elk to a more advantageous position. For example, one time my elk was on a slope of about 25 degrees to 30 degrees and I slid it about 50 yards to a patch of snow in the shade of some trees. As I took the elk apart (skinned and cut apart into major portions), I packed the meat into the snow to help start the cooling process and to keep birds off. After I had all the meat free, I then put the meat into heavy canvas game bags. Others use light game bags. Others use pillows. Pretty much any cloth bags will do. I then piled snow over the meat, and we fetched the meat the next day. If your elk is in a gully, you won't be able to do this, and you'll have to play it where it lies.

Different people have different ways to deal with elk. I field dress the elk. I then skin off one side of the elk, starting from the upper half of the backbone. I take off the backstrap on the upward side of the elk. I saw off the lower leg and hoof of the rear leg. I cut this rear leg loose. I then saw off the lower leg and hoof of the front leg. I cut the front shoulder loose. I take off as much meat around the pelvis and neck as I can. I take off as much rib meat as I can. If it is a bull, I then saw off the antlers. I roll the elk over onto its other side. This can be difficult. Once rolled over, take off the hide on this side of the elk, and take off the meat as was done on the first side. Then take out the tenderloins from inside the body cavity of the elk. These are big pieces of meat on elk and they are the best meat on the elk, so don't neglect them. If I could readily extract the tenderloins without gutting -- the "gutless method" -- I might prefer to do that.

This last year I shot my elk about 6:30 PM. I field dressed it and returned early the next morning to skin and cut up the elk. The meat was OK. This does make me a bit nervous -- nervous about the meat going bad or being of lesser quality -- but in this case there was no problem with the meat. I think I would prefer to take the meat appart rather than leaving it over night as I did this time. As it was, we were about 5 miles in from the road (but serviced by a relatively level trail to walk out on), and it was maybe 9:30 PM when we got back to camp that night. If we had cut up our meat, it would have been after midnight getting back. Still, maybe in the future I'll do this anyway.

The meat will cool much quicker when it is taken off the main carcass of the elk. We tend to leave our elk out, often packed under snow, for a day or two. You can sort of think of this as like a big outdoor refrigerator. At 11,500' elevation in mid-October, it gets down to about 20 degrees at night and maybe 55 degrees during the day during fair weather. I think last year it was a bit warmer at night, maybe getting down to 25 overnight. Nonetheless, it is pretty cool. And if you put some snow over your meat this too keeps things cool. We have never had our meat molested by critters, but maybe this varies by location.

You can bone out the meat to make lighter loads. This last year I skinned and cut up my elk and packed out tenderloins, backstrap, and antlers on one trip. Next day we went back and got the rest of the elk.

Thaks Alsatian. Only animal I have ever skinned on the ground was that bear I took in Alaska so your info will definately help me out. I have ordered some cloth washable gamebags earlier this morning. Mossey oak brand and they are for guartering a elk. I have been trying to study unit 78 and am leanig toward hunting the Chalk Mnt area. Its south of Pagosa Springs. Not sure if its a good starting spot since there seems to be a lot of info online about it for climbers, hikers etc. I noticed it has a migration route off its western slope into the winter ranges. Not sure if I am figuring things right.