Hauling an elk out of the woods?

[Atroxus]

I have some questions about how one would go about getting an elk out of the woods. Lets say you hiked, or mountain biked a good distance into the woods to avoid competition from other hunters and bagged a nice sized bull elk. Assuming there is no motor vehicle access, and you are not an olympic weight lifter that could single handedly carry an elk out on your shoulders, how would you get the animal out of the woods?

I am also curious how much a bull elk would weigh fully field dressed and quartered, vs a cow elk indentically processed. I am just looking for a ballpark weight range. I am thinking the meat and hide alone would be pretty heavy. This is assuming you are also bringing out the skull/rack if applicable, and hide to have a mount of some kind made. That would be what 300-600+ pounds for a bull, 200-500 for a cow? Or am I way off?

This year will be my first hunting season and I just want to make sure I don't find myself out in the woods with a dead animal that I could never haul out on my own.

[markj]

My buds butcher it there and take out the meat and skin unless it is a very nice rack then they take this along too if possible.

Some guys kill then get the ATV and haul it back with that. Cabelas has game loaders like a 2 wheeled dolly for game.

[zoomie]

If you're going to be on foot, get a nice pack made for the task. Eberlestocks are popular.

http://www.eberlestock.com/hunting.htm

[kilimanjaro]

If you're hunting with buddies, the rule is you all help pack it out for a share. Quarter it up, wrap in plastic, and lash to a packboard, you can walk it out if you can't sling on a bike or ATV. The good hunting is where the wheels don't go.

You can carry 100 pounds on a good pack frame, downhill. Use a staff and go slow.

Gut it and bone it on site, leave the ribs, should run 500 pounds of meat, roasts and burger.

[Atroxus]

Unfortunately I don't have any hunting buddies. I am pretty much gonna be teaching myself to hunt this year. I think I may look into getting a mountain bike with a cart, or just a cart that I could pull along behind me. Just trying to figure out what would work best for a solo hunter who wants to get deep enough into the woods to avoid the majority of other hunters.

[Scorch]

Unfortunately I don't have any hunting buddies.

If you are going to hunt elk, you better make some friends fast. A bull elk can tip the scales at 1,200 lbs, but most would weigh about 800-900 lbs on the hoof. That translates into about 300 lbs of guts, 150 lbs of hide, 150 lbs of bone and antlers, and about 300 lbs of boned meat. So, assuming you are going to haul it out in quarters, that is about 6-7 round trips with the cargo pack loaded. Sounds like you need some friends.

Of course, once the work is all done and the elk is in the freezer, you will be amazed at how many friends you will have!

If you are going to hunt solo, I recommend you stick to deer.

[FrankenMauser]

Some states don't allow deboning a carcass, at the site of the kill, or in camp. You must retain all parts of the carcass, until leaving the area. (Here, that means leaving the meat on the bone, as well. Simply having the bones in possession is not enough.)

Around here, leaving even rib meat will constitute a Waste of Wildlife charge. Everything must be carried out.

I have not yet participated in a hunt that required packing the quarters out (lucky ), but our rules are about the same as Kilimanjaro's.

No matter who is hunting, where they're hunting, or how bad you want that 6x6 Bull... If some one drops an Elk, everyone helps pack it out. Quarter it, tie it to a pack frame, and get moving. We always carry extra orange rain ponchos or full rolls of orange tape to mark antlers (which are carried upside down), hides, and the trail back (if needed).

[Atroxus]

Easier said than done. I don't really know anyone that hunts unless you count people on this and other forums that I have not met in person. A friend of my mother's offered to hunt with me, but he is a bow hunter and I have never used a bow, and can't afford to buy one. I have tried asking on a few forums if anyone would be willing to mentor/hunt with me, but had no luck as of yet.

I will have to do some more research on washington state regulations. If I can legally debone where it drops, and just haul out meat, hide, and maybe antlers/skull I could probably manage an elk by myself. If I have to haul out the entire carcass though I may not be able to hunt even deer without a partner, which would mean the money I spent on a .30-06 was a likely complete waste

[crghss]

You can definitely hunt deer. Maybe best place to start anyhow. Deboning any animal isn't easy if you've never done it. So maybe you should start with deer and learn to slice and dice before tackling Elk.

Also if you've never hunted maybe don't

avoid the majority of other hunters

Get a feel for it and learn from others just by being in the woods watching and learning. BUT DON"T crowd others. And if you got into trouble, heaven forbid, somebody would be around.

Are there any hunting clubs in the area? Shooting clubs? There are a lot of ways to make friends.

Above all don't get discouraged. Living in WA hunting would be a must and think of all the great days you have ahead.

[Atroxus]

Ideally I would like to have a hunting partner, and have been trying to find one with no luck. When I said i want to avoid other hunters I meant other hunters I don't know. I have read a lot of stories of "hunters" doing really stupid/dangerous stuff in the name of hunting and it is those people I want to avoid. Also I figure that as a newby I might have better chance deeper in where the road warriors are not pressuring the game as hard. I have been wanting to learn to hunt since I was a kid, but did not grow up around hunters or hunting. So now at 37 I decided that one way or another I am going to learn to hunt, and have been researching diligently for the last 3-4 months. If I can find a hunting partner/mentor awesome! If I have to learn on my own though I am very determined to succeed.

My plan is actually to start the year hunting small game such as coyotes, then in september when forest grouse and raccoons are legal add those in. The whole while scouting/exploring for deer/elk areas of course. Then november would be deer season here so I would try my hand at that, then october Elk season. I have a GPS already, will be getting a compass, and maps as well since batteries can die. Other equipment I plan to purchase as my budget allows throughout the year. If by deer season I am not geared up enough I will wait until next year, but I am hoping it will not come to that.

There are a couple local shooting and hunting clubs but memberships are pretty expensive. I had actually set aside money to join one. But then saw really good deal on a .30-06 and a scope and spent the money on that instead.

[Gbro]

My 1st Elk hunt was suppose to be with my 2 BIL's. The day we buried the 2nd BIL I marked the calendar. I was going regardless.
One week later a co-worker I had never hunted with was on board with me and we have repeated our hunting trip every other year for past 16 years.
How far north of Seattle are you? I have hunted the Olympic Peninsula with my kid brother, well he was the hunter, I was the mule.

The level of fun changes when an animal is on the ground. Its all part of the experience though.
We use bicycles and sometimes a cart. I bone out on the spot, do not enter the abdominal cavity until last to retrieve the tenderloins.
Someone posted about experience, well the 1st was the easiest because its a dive in and "GIT'R DONE" kind of thing.
Make up some meat sacks like a pillow case only about 20% bigger and a good frame pack. I do not lash to bare frame just put meat sack into pack pouch and lash tight to keep center of gravity close to mid-line.
Practice with the pack. I train in the summer. I enter the local independence day 10K event in the Jackass division. I carry 100lbs of shingles most years and the one everyone remembers was the year I carried an 8 gal beer keg. Not the weight but the center of gravity almost put me down. another year I was training with an automatic transmition and that one did hurt me.
I will be carrying the shingles again this year and one thing has always stayed the same, I have always won my division

[bullspotter]

A dead elk on the ground is alot more work then people think. A game cart of some kind would be a good aid if their are trails, or flatter ground to use it on, you may end up in thick deadfall or steep areas when it would not work at all. Dont know where your hunting. I would get a GOOD pack Frame of some sort. I use a Bull pack, works great and rated at way more then i could ever pack. After you get your pack, load about 50-60 lbs on it, and go for a good hike, I mean a hike in the area you be hunting, not 3 laps around the block, Im telling you now you better work out, and get usto the pack, it will make you sore if your not usto it. When you get usto it, load about 20 more lbs on it. And keep working out, Just remember if you get a good bull down 3 miles from the road, your looking at 6 trips to get it out. Figure 36 miles. 1/2 of that with a good load. You also need to account for time to take care of the animal, gutting, boning out ext. Dont see this being done in a single day.

[Doc Intrepid]

Atroxus,

From a guy who taught himself to hunt, recommend you listen to what these guys are telling you.

If you bag a mule deer, you will soon learn that just moving the animal's carcass around by yourself is challenging, rolling it over, etc. - and a mule deer weighs perhaps half what an elk might weigh (and is much smaller). Gutting it, physically manipulating the carcass if you're going to hang it to skin it, hoisting it up, dragging it, all these things are interesting by yourself, because its between 300 and 400 lbs deadweight. By yourself, (especially when each step is something you've never done before,) it will wear you out.

Aside from the fact that in WA an antlered elk tag can be tough to come by, (and spike bulls are only slightly more plentiful than unicorns,) the weather is often a bit less snowy during deer season. Consider starting with a deer first, then move to elk.

About the mountain bike. Have you done much hiking or backpacking where you intend to hunt? (Will you be in the Blues, or over by the White Mountains?) Recommend you spend quite a few weekends this spring and summer backpacking in the area you intend to hunt, to find the water, locate the food sources, and get a feel for the lay of the land. This will also give you some idea of how far in you want to go, if you'll be pulling 800 lbs of meat back up the way you came. By all means, check out the area where you intend to hunt, but where I hunt the slopes are far too steep to think about trying to roll a bike either up them or down them. (I hunt in the Blues, in the extreme southeastern corner of WA.)

Like they said, the process is pretty simple - but the devil is in the details. You bone out the meat, some guys put it in muslin pillowcases, some wrap it in cheesecloth, pack it in a canvas bag, and then lash the bag to a packboard of some type. Then you spend the next 2 or 3 days getting the elk out (depending on how deep it is in one of the ravines...somehow they never fall "up" to the top of the ridgeline!) You generally hike down in the AM, load up your packboard, hike up, have lunch, hike back down, load up, hike back up, have dinner...x 3 days. Take it from me...this process goes faster with 2 or even 3 guys humping out elk meat. (If you've gone on numerous backpacking trips to get ready for hunting season, carrying something heavier than a 45 lb pack, then you may have some familiarity with the routine! )

There may be guys who drop an elk where they can drive up to it on 4-wheelers..., but I've not seen them. There ARE outfits that use horses, and these work well - but horses are expensive, one way or another. If it's just you, and you're lucky enough to bag an elk, you'll be humping meat for a few days.

(And I also recommend you look around for someone else to go out with - even if your buddy does not actually hunt. Some guys just like to get out for a few days, maybe cook some, sit by the fire, take photos, etc. Worth considering. If you break your ankle a few miles back in there, getting out could take you awhile. Be sure you file a flight plan if you go solo.)

If you practice your processing on a deer first, you'll learn a lot of valuable lessons when it comes time to pull an elk out.

Best to you, whichever way you choose to go.

Doc

[grubbylabs]

Not sure when elk season is for you but for us in Idaho it can be very warm. If I let a elk site for a day or two while I had to pack it out like that it would spoil in the heat before I could get it all out. I am a huge fan of archery hunting, I hunt in early September that's why it is so hot for us. Not that I think you should totally abandon the 30-06; but you can find a good used bow and every thing you need to get set up for 500 or less. If you have some one who will let you go with them during archery season that would be the way to go. If you really want to learn to "hunt" an animal then archery is the way to go. You will learn lots about the animals and their habitat.

Another option I just thought of is find where the outfitters are and see if you can hunt near one and contract to have them help you pack your elk out. It may even be worth your time to go with an outfitter your first time or two.

[bamaranger]

an '06 is a great investment. All American ctg. Look up the Cowboy Poem, about ........."$700 dollars and a 30'06."

My dream is to (bow) hunt elk, but I probably never will get the chance. To old and soft now, and guided hunts are so expensive. If you've got the moxie and the means , start taking the steps to do it. The time will come when you might not be able.............

You bought that rifle somewhere....there's bound to be other hunters coming and going at that place. You've got all summer to meet somebody to mentor you. Not all hunters are old coots and hermits. Start with deer as your large game. Learn the field dressing steps ( I would not want to do this w/o some type of clue) and tricks to skinning and quartering, and making meat. A useful skill and fading art. MANY guys around here have no idea, and drop their deer at a processor. Guys make a living at cutting up deer in the fall/winter!!!

Good luck on your elk hunt dreams.

[cornbush]

Start with a good pack frame, I have the Cabelas Alaskan Guide II. If you dont want to tan the hide leave it where you drop the critter if it's legal. Elk are alot of work once they hit the ground, but not impossible for one person. As Frankenmauser said, take alot of orange marking tape or a poncho so you dont get shot on your way out.

[beanpoo]

heres a list of the minimum you need to get an elk out of where you described -
1. cell phone to call for help to pack it out.

2.someone strong and willing to help, when you call them.

3. a packframe.

4. a kids trailer , the kind that hooks to your mountainbike.

5. cool weather, elk are fast to spoil in warm weather, especialy if left in the sun for any length of time.

note: before you decide to knock one over,way back there,
it is the toughest animal that my brother and I have ever packed
out. sometimes it is even hard to roll them over to gut them out.

[knoxville]

well don't let everyone discourage you. My dad bought me a bow when i was fifteen i shot all year and was ready to try my luck at bowhunting, when i had time off from school my dad worked so he couldn't ever take me finally one day he threw the keys to his 88 suburban and said i trust you and i said i'll be back tomorrow and off i went my bag and my bow i drove as far up the hill i had recalled seeing elk in the past and slept there in the suburban was awaken by cows (moo cows) rubbing against it at early morning so i got dressed and off i went and long story short i shot i missed i called he stopped i shot again dead elk. So i knew what had to be done but was really just overwhelmed after gutting the 6x6 and so i headed back to the top looking for service found some and two hours later my dad had made it to help it took the two of us nine hours to pack that old heavy bull out and if i can save you some trouble now i would recommend against a bike and cart and invest in a good pack frame, orange tape to mark your trail and a few sharp knives and one good buddy on call and the rest you can learn as you go like i did good hunting andgood luck

[cornbush]

If you use a pack frame, put some weight in it and walk around with it.
You'll look like an idiot (I did), but it will help when the time comes to get the meat out.
Elk are not impossible by yourself, but they are alot of work and you should be prepared for it.
One rule of thumb I learned from my grandpa "dont shoot it where you dont want to pack it out of".

[jdscholer]

In my experience, motivated beginners often have amazingly good luck when it comes to finding and killing their first animal. There are some good reasons for this; some are a mystery.

That being said, it's good to have some experience in handling a carcass beforehand; from gutting and skinning, to quartering, boning, or whatever the situation might require. If you could be a part of killing and butchering any animal with someone who is experienced you would be miles ahead of where you are now, and will have much more confidence when it comes to enjoying your beginners luck. jd

[damien1988]

just thought i would add my 2cents do u have a local butcher ??? if soo go to him and aks him to show u explane what you are doing why oyu want to learn and see his response thats what i did and the butcher was more then happy to show me and he didnt mind the free labour and the good thing about once u have lernt from him u can then get casual work with him

and if u have a slaughter house and ask if u can get showen how to gut and cape a beast i am lucky in the fact my mate works at a slaughter house so he showed me how to do it all it was quite interesting aslong as ur not squrmish

cheers damo

[Madpipe]

when I shot my first bull elk I was by myself and it was one hell of a problem before some other hunters came by and gave me a hand hauling it out and into their truck, there is no one I know that can do it by their self. Good luck

[jdscholer]

Many years ago, when I was younger and dumber, I went with a friend who had a cow tag in a unit that was a late season (fer sure) hunt.

We got to our spot before light, settled in a short distance from the pick-up, and waited for the action to start; and it did. Shots began to ring out at first light, and soon a huge herd of elk began filtering up through the clear-cut valley that we were watching. The elk weren't going to come as close as we might have wished, but a small group of them stopped at what we later paced at 300+ yards. John made a beautiful shot, and a nice cow slumped down where she stood stone dead. We walked out to her and she was neck shot about three vertebrae from the head. I told John that it was pretty risky trying a neck shot from that far, and he said he had done nothing of the sort.

We went back to the truck, chained up all four tires and managed to drive down through the clear-cut (in about a foot of snow), all the way to our elk. We gutted her out, and with a chain hoist and a sheet of plywood, managed to winch the unskinned intact carcass into the back of the truck, and were pretty proud of ourselves. We had a little tougher time driving back up to the road, but we finally made it.

We had heard some shots a little further up the valley from us and John thought he might know who it was and they could probably use our help. We drove up that way and sure enough we found the guys sitting on the tailgate having a cup of coffee. The younger of the two was pushing eighty, and they looked happy as a couple of kids. John mentioned the shots we had heard and asked if they had killed anything.

"Right over there." they pointed, and we could see the blood and meat at the end of a short trail in the snow. We all walked out to it, and here is where it gets good.

They had shot the cow less than fifty yards from their truck -dead. The hide had been beautifully skinned and spread out in the snow, and on top of it was the meat which had been cut into pieces that even these two old coots could handle. They had done all of this in the time that we had spent loading up our elk, (unskinned) and when we asked if we could help them load up the meat, they said, "Nah, we're gonna let it cool a little longer." They told us we'd better get going and get the hide off of ours, and they were right.

God only knows how many elk these old guys had handled over the years, but it was easy to see that they were good at it, and they had gotten smarter as they got older.

I have killed, or been involved in killing several elk since that time, and have concluded that handling a whole carcass is just plain dumb. I'm still stout enough to carry a hind quarter on my pack, and when I can't I'll lop it at the knee and make two trips out of it. I can only hope that when I'm as old as those old boys I'll still be able to make it look as easy as they did. jd

[skydiver3346]

This is exactly why you hunt with a guide. They will help you do that. If not, then you MUST have a few friends to help. No way can you do this yourself without help of some kind.

[Atroxus]

A lot of people seem to be ignoring the parts of my posts where I have mentioned that I have been trying to find a hunting partner, and that I am on a limited budget. If I could afford a guide I would absolutely go that route. Thats not an option for me though, unless you guys know someone that would be willing to donate the time to take a newby out on his first big game hunt for free.

You bought that rifle somewhere....there's bound to be other hunters coming and going at that place. You've got all summer to meet somebody to mentor you. Not all hunters are old coots and hermits. Start with deer as your large game. Learn the field dressing steps ( I would not want to do this w/o some type of clue) and tricks to skinning and quartering, and making meat. A useful skill and fading art. MANY guys around here have no idea, and drop their deer at a processor. Guys make a living at cutting up deer in the fall/winter!!!

I have been trying for the last 4+ months at local gun shops and ranges to get conversations going with other people in the hopes of finding more shooting buddies, and/or a hunting partner. I have been able to get a handful of people to chat with me about target shooting, but no luck with finding hunters that were willing to talk with me at all.(unless you count the ones that told me I should have a friend/family member teach me how to hunt)

I plan on trying for deer first. Depending on how things go during deer season I may or may not try for an elk this year but am going to get the license just in case. I am also toying with getting bear/cougar license since it's only like $12 more than the deer+elk.(assuming the 2010 license fees are not much different than 2009) I only posted my question about elk because I figured whatever technique makes hauling an elk out easier should work for deer as well. Other than size the bone/muscle structure of the 2 are pretty similar right? I have watched a few videos on field dressing deer/elk and read even more walkthroughs of field dressing/deboning.

I am still looking for a hunting partner/mentor, and am crossing my fingers that I will have one by deer and/or elk season. I plan to use spring/summer/fall to get into shape hunting small game, and scouting potential deer/elk hunting grounds. Hopefully by deer season I will have an idea of what my limitations are in terms of how far I could haul a full pack frame, and I will hunt within those limits. I think I will take the advice about carrying a full pack though. I figure that while small game hunting it should help me to get in shape and to learn just how far I can travel with a 100Lb load. Someone in another thread/forum mentioned using dog food to bait coyotes, so I may use 50 then 100 lb bag of dog food to get used to packing. This way if I find myself unable to carry the load any farther I can just dump the dog food, and come back the next day to see if I can kill any coyotes near it.