Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

I'm (thankfully) moving out west to Colorado this summer and looking forward to elk and mule deer hunting. I'm used to hunting whitetails in the relatively flat and accessable Iowa countryside, so it's not too hard to get the 150-225lb dressed deer back to the truck, or the truck to the deer.

But it occured to me that not only are elk a much bigger critter than a whitetail, but they are hunted and shot in rough terrain possibly miles from where any truck can go. So the obvious question is this, how do elk hunters do to get the animal out? ATV's? Pack horses? Cut it up and hump it out on your back?

Thanks,

Mike

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

All of the above, depends on what you have, where the elk ends up and distance.

I am far from an experienced elk hunter with 2 hunts and 1 elk, all guided. My elk was kind enough to die next to an old logging road we could get the 4WD truck on, so we winched him hole into the ATV trailer. Hunt was over for the day til he answered the call at dusk.

You can also gut him and get him onto the ATV hole, or quarter him out and carry or use horses/llamas if you have em. Alot of folks just put it on there back piece by piece and start walking.

--Bob

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Lets get real, quartering an elk is the real deal most of the time. I take no bones home, except the shoulder blades. This allows you to pack out an animal with the least amont of weight. I have 2 systems. #1 the backpack, one quarter at a time. I can go through anything this way. I have had to pack elk out farther than you want to think about. #2 plastic sled, I prefer this way. Two quarters at a time, 2 trips instead of 4, no weight on my back. I have been able to get elk out of more places than you would believe this way. The sled goes over rock, trees just fine. You need to tie the quarters into the sled or they fall off. I get the sleds a Kmart end of season sale for about $9.00/ good for 1/2 elk depending upon how far and how bad the drag out. Important thing, when you quarter an elk make sure you put the quarters in game bags. Where I hunt there are no roads so these are my options.
Gselkhunter

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

I do not "quarter" big game animals, I filet them Alaskan style. You get less bone this way. For me, it's a piece at a time on my back and out they come. You need a good external frame pack.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

I have hunted elk for almost 20 years and this year was the first time I ever got one out hole,it's like 1 out of 15.
My first elk I killed was a big ol'cow,I was 15 and it was a late season hunt.My dad broke me in to elk hunting with a WWII pack frame and 2 feet of snow I packed that cow out piece by piece,man I swore I would never kill another,well as everyone else knows it a addiction.
Now the only thing diffrent,I have a better pack,and if I hunt with my father-in-law we use horses.
A guy can do it with a game cart,4-wheeler,Pack animal,pick-up or your self.

If you don't want to do all the work you can set up prior arangements with most outfitters to have your animal packed out.This usally cost any where from 250-450 dollars depends on where and how much work.
BBJ

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Were we hunt here in CO we use a game cart as we have alot of old logging roads we can get arund on. In most cases I hear alot of guys pack them out the old fashioned way...on there backs.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Depends on the location, but all the above.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Do you mean this procedure?

1) Get the animal laying on it's side

2) Skin the 'top' side of the animal

3) Lay the hide, hair down, on the ground.

4) Remove the now exposed flesh taking the minimum amount of bone that is legal

5) Roll the animal on to the other side using the hide to protect it from the ground

6) Skin this side of the animal.

7) Remove head and cape

8) Take meat from this side taking the minimum amount of bone that is legal

If not, I'd be interested in hearing your method.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

I'm with GS onthis one. The sled combined with a pack is the best way Ive found..............Except for getting one next to the truck of course

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

You can't beat a HORSE or MULE. However thats not an option for everyone. There are good ideas above.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Driftrider,

Good for you and welcome in advance. You'll find Colorado is a wonderful state given it's millions of acres of beautiful public land. You'll find an investment in computer mapping software and a GPS to be a big help in efficiently exploring your new, and I might add, very different home. Compared to a lot of mountain states Colorado has a lot of roads criss-crossing the place, but even at that you are very likely to find yourself and your kill a long ways away from the road with some mean hiking between you and the truck. (In the area I hunt, ATV's are NOT allowed to leave the maintained road, Thank God.)

You know you are hunting BIG game when you can't move it once you've killed it (not more than a couple feet). A lot of game goes to waste each year because hunters come to hunt but have not come to grips with the "transport" problem you have identified, so I commend you for thinking about that in advance. The basic keys to getting them out comes in two parts: (1) being ready, willing, and able to "make little parts out of big parts." Use either the Alaskan method or the traditional field dressing method and then further reduce the animal to pieces that are managable in terms of weight and size. Quartering is a common step. Deboning the carcass completely is a common back packers route; and (2) having the raw "power" to physically haul it out in reliable fashion by one means or another.

Personally I recommend horses. Nothing says "big game hunting" like horses and wall tents (the wall tents are a seperate story). You can either rent your own horses (Sombrero Ranches, but you'll need your own panniers) and then you can either hunt with them (leave them tied up in the woods close to where you are hunting) or leave them in camp until you need them. Another worthy route, especially in your first years elk hunting, is to make arrangements with a packer/outfitter who also operates in your general area to get your kill out for you. The $200 to $400 per elk may sound steep, but it is some of the best money you can spend IMHO.

On the other hand, if you have failed to damage your knees in high school or college athletics and/or you are wanting to que up for an early heart attack or you simply want add additional pain, suffering, and exhaustion on top of what you already endured to just shoot the darned thing, then the backpack method may be best.

If you decide to use back packs, then I would recommend that you leave the backstraps for the last trip as that will make sure you actually make all the trips in and out until the task is acthally done. Some folks fail to recognize that repeated trips with a 75 pound pack in even mild terrain or pulling a sled on dry ground may or may not be physcially doable for them and then we find abandoned front shoulder quarters still hanging in the tree next to the gut pile.

In any case, I predict you're going to love it out here. Coming from Iowa, I am sure you will be able to handle the cold, but please bear in mind that it is a big, big, big place and you don't want to be needing to call 911 because help can be a long time in arriving. The big game and the scenery easily offset the downsides though. I predict that in a few years, returning to Iowa for white tail hunting, though okay for heritage and social reasons, will seem quite tame, and will likely slide waaaaay down on your list of hunting priorities. Good luck and welcome to Colorado.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

EKM gives some great advice. Nice to see you are still lurking from time to time EKM. You always make a conversation lively.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

I move from kansass to montana 7 years ago.I HATE HORSES. I now own 4 very good hunting horses.There is no way you or any one else could take them from me in hunting time.

Here is about how it comes down.

1 use the truck

2 use atv

3 USE HORSE

4 cart with no snow==sled with snow

5 back pack AND 3 FREINDS

6 Take a fork and get fat

What I am saying is, it is best not to try to pack an elk out ALONE. I did this my 3ed time.With any worm weather at all you will loose tons of meat. If you do have to pack it out alone you need to get the skin off fast and hang the meat.If you leave it lay YOU WILL LOOSE MEAT and lots of it.

I now pack out 10 to 15 elk a year.You get a lot of friends if you do not charge people to get there elk out. The horses is by far the best way to go.With houses I do not skin the elk. I ride in put the elk on my saddle then walk out.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

ELK, i was wondering if I don't have a house should i skin the elk? I only rent!!!!!!!!!! sorry I couldn't let it goLOL

By the way, good advice

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

I get a ton of crap for my spelling. hehe Most of the time it is from people trying to cut me down in a balttal of wits. It is good to see some one just making fun and not telling me how dumd I am for it.Sure am glade my post dont get graded.


If you do not own the house it is best to skin the elk in the kitchen.This way when you do not get your deposit back you will not feel so bad about it.


Have a good day elkcrazy8

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Where you out of elkcrazy8?

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Although I generally get my Elk behind the house a 1/4 mile or so, I like those cheap kids sleds. I find they go over deadfalls much better than anything with wheels. I also doesn't hurt to have a kid in high school with friends to give a hand.:D

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

I hunt elk in unit 12 here in colorado. I have passed up many nice elk in the back country. I have seen people shoot elk in the back country and pack em out for 4 days. Before shooting an elk think about where you are at. As far as rental horses not a bad Idea but in our hunting camp every year someone goes to the hospital off a rental horse. that is something to think about. Last year a guy not only ended up in the hospital but lost his brand new browing off a rental horse be care very careful with rental horses. Maybe I will see ya in unit 12 sometime. 2nd season.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Yep, gotta be careful with rental horses, one year we didn't get any elk but the rental horses provided all the excitement, adventure, and timeless stories we needed for the year!

A few thoughts regarding getting good results from rental horses:

(1) We predominantly use our horses to pack NOT to ride. I grew up on a ranch but I am more than willing to walk the route leading the horse and the panniers full of spike camp or full of elk. If I got a real good feel for the horses after packing on them and there is an empty trip, then I will ride the horse. If you don't ride, then you are less likely to get hurt.

(2) We get what are called "cold blooded horses" (versus "hot bloods") these are essentially your draft horses: Belgians and Shiers (sp?). The may not look too stylin' but they are wonderfully tame level headed horses by nature versus quarter horses, arabians, etc, etc. Plus you can pack a LOT of weight on them versus your standard saddle horse.

(3) Learn how to take care of those horses! When the rental company picks them up they can tell if they have been abused. We buy the feed (both hay and grain) from the rental company. We could get it cheaper elsewhere but it is convenient for them to deliver it and then THEY KNOW the horses are going to get fed. Water them 3 times a day. Take excellent care of their backs and make sure that the panniers don't cut them. If you prove to the horse renter that you are a top notch client, then they will go out of their way to get you their best horses.

(4) Every year our camp buys the horse foreman and his family Xmas presents and thank you notes for his services. Most renters either say nothing or bitch and moan, never anything positive. We make it a point to stoke the man who decides who gets what horses. It has been many years now and the horses have been top notch for a long time --- if it is your first year, then this your opportunity to start moving up the quality list; it is never too late.

(5) If you are new then Davis Tent & Awning in Denver Colorado runs a 1 day "packing school" in May so you can learn the fundamentals of how to pack your camp in and your elk out and they sell the lashing ropes, top covers, and panniers you need to get the job done.

On a seperate note:
If you are kicking your hunting up a notch and going for a do it yourself, remote/away from home elk camp with main camp, spike camp, and lots of animals to get out, then it doesn't just happen by accident, it requires effort on the hunters part to be ready, willing, and able to "play ball." We watch a lot of amateurs each year, some that are amazingly on top of their game for first timers and others who essentially don't have a clue. Interestingly enough the non-resident folks are typically MUCH MORE prepared (time, equipment, money, and tenacity) than a huge portion of residents, probably 5 to 1 in my honest opinion. Of course this is on public land. Many of the true local residents probably have private land connections so I don't get to see most of them in the field. Of those I do see in the field, resident Colorado hunters are some of the sorriest.... $30 tag, $50 tank of gas, a box of shells, daddy's closet rifle, an unheated pup tent; show up late Friday night for just the weekend portion of the five day hujnt and then have to be back to town by Sunday night for Mondays work (and no time to pack out anything they shoot).

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

Here in Idaho we've got most of the animals trained to run to the rig and jump in the bed. Then we shoot them.

Where I hunt elk in Idaho the roads are gated before elk season opens. The two spots I've found elk are about a 5-6 mile walk in - one is downhill going in, the other is up mountain (this isn't a hill). We usually call a fellow in the nearby town who has some pack horses and for $50 he'll haul his horses up and help us get an animal out. If he's busy, we'll usually debone it where it is and carry the meat out in pack frames. It's a lot of work. This year I'm going to experiment with a trailer on my bicycle.

RE: Getting the critters back to the truck?
 

I live in HELENA MONTANA. If any one comes out this way to elk hunt and kills an elk,ANY where close to me. I would be glade to bring my hourses and come help get your elk out.Every elk I take out teaches my hourses to be better.My horses have packed out around 30 to 40 elk in the past 7 years for difrant people.

This allso would depend on if I am hunting or not :} Gun seasion I am normaly just goofing off.Bow I will most likely not be home:}

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