How much weight in your Elk Pack?

[Mossyoak]

I have been training with my pack for awhile now. How much weight do train with?

[Jonathan_S]

You mean training for a pack out?  As much as you can handle on uneven ground without risking ankles, knees, hips, falls etc.

Pack in should be under 50# and preferably under or near 40#

Pack out anywhere from 100-200# 

[rtspring]

My buddies are so nice, I dont wear a pack in or out.. 

I just shoot

[kentrek]

Short, low impact, around the house stuff with 90#s

Short hikes 30ish tops...long hikes no extra weight needed

Stretch lots and avoid injury at all costs

[kentrek]

My buddies are so nice, I dont wear a pack in or out.. 

I just shoot

 

[Jonathan_S]

  I should have said this...do not do a lot of heavy training with packs.  Your knees will hate you later in life if you do.  Your quads, hamstrings and adductors will get plenty strong from regular hiking.

[coldsteel3d]

Well right now it's looking like my elk pack will be hovering right around 0.00lbs with this Wenaha West permit in my pocket.    It looks like I am gonna need to come up with a back up plan in the next two weeks if I want any weight in my pack this year. 

[Stein]

Between 40 and 45 with water and food for the longer stuff.

[Eli346]

35-40 training and hopefully at least 120 or so going out!

[fisheral87]

35-40 no matter the distance, I'll do lunges if I need to up the ante.

Al

[coachcw]

depends on how many of RT's arrows i gotta pack and if Karls there to cary his snickers but 25-35 daily typically .

[WapitiTalk1]

Right now? Around 65 lbs with the salty pellets. Heading in to one of my WA areas for a 3 day scout, can drop, and pellet drop. Long trip uphill, gonna be feeling it tomorrow 😁

[JamesK.]

Well right now it's looking like my elk pack will be hovering right around 0.00lbs with this Wenaha West permit in my pocket.    It looks like I am gonna need to come up with a back up plan in the next two weeks if I want any weight in my pack this year. 

I've got a Wenaha east tag in my pocket and am working on Plan B myself.


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[BULLBLASTER]

My buddies are so nice, I dont wear a pack in or out.. 

I just shoot

...and shoot... And shoot. Till all 437 arrows are gone!   

[Pete112288]

The banter cracks me up when folks on here that know each other from off the site give each other a hard time. Makes me feel at home

[BULLBLASTER]

The banter cracks me up when folks on here that know each other from off the site give each other a hard time. Makes me feel at home

Oh I've never met rt... But have some mutual friends. I do like to harass the guys I know can take it on here. 
I do hope to meet rt sometime tho. He brings some excitement to this place!

[Dhoey07]

Depends on what I have bags of available. The salt I buy is in 40# bags and the cob I buy is in 55# bags. Sometimes I dump it all, sometimes half.

[ELKBURGER]

The banter cracks me up when folks on here that know each other from off the site give each other a hard time. Makes me feel at home

Oh I've never met rt... But have some mutual friends. I do like to harass the guys I know can take it on here. 
I do hope to meet rt sometime tho. He brings some excitement to this place!

Yeah Chris, you know how to give guys a hard time....remember the rash of chit you gave me last year about my pack...... Its a good thing I can take it

[BULLBLASTER]

The banter cracks me up when folks on here that know each other from off the site give each other a hard time. Makes me feel at home

Oh I've never met rt... But have some mutual friends. I do like to harass the guys I know can take it on here. 
I do hope to meet rt sometime tho. He brings some excitement to this place!

Yeah Chris, you know how to give guys a hard time....remember the rash of chit you gave me last year about my pack...... Its a good thing I can take it

your elk pack has what? About 78 # before you add lunch?   
I look at it as someone must like you to give you some chit. You can tell when it's friendly usually.

[jackelope]

I have been training with my pack for awhile now. How much weight do train with?

Arre you talking about weight while daypack hunting or backpack into backcountry weight?

I train with a 30# bag of rocks or a 50# bag of salt in my pack. Walking, hiking, on the eliptical or doing step-ups.

[Jonathan_S]

This thread reminds me of when I was nine years old, getting ready for my first deer hunt.  I asked my father how many bullets he usually needs to bring. 

He told me, "usually zero"

[mburrows]

Ill put a 50# bag of salt in my pack while mowing the lawn. For fitness hikes I put 30# in my pack.

[Jonathan_S]

Ill put a 50# bag of salt in my pack while mowing the lawn. For fitness hikes I put 30# in my pack.

Nice!  I bet your neighbors were wondering WTF

To break in my pack, I put 150# of lentils in my pack frame and hiked around the hills on my property.  My wife thought I was planting them and hollered at me to quit wasting feed

[nastybynature]

SO I have been loading up a 50# bag of mineral salts and hiking into where my cams are when I grab the pic/videos off them once every week or two. Usually leave half the bag there on the ground so do I pack out a little less. I also will often throw my 20lbs 1 year old girl into the top of my Mystery Ranch g-5000 when I take the salt in. It is kind of cool how she fits in there and boy she loves hiking with dad.

Couple weeks ago while out of town visiting family, I had her plus about 20lbs more in some food and drink for a total of just under 50# counting the weight of the pack itself. We hiked about a mile up a little creek called Quosatana Creek about 14 miles up the Rogue River to a little swimming hole with a rope swing to let the bigger kids swim for awhile. I am happy with the pack weight distribution so far and the only thing muscle wise that was sore was my quads and glutes. Now my feet in the flip flops with the ball bearing gravel/sand were not happy but that was skin abrasions and will not be an issue in my hunting boots.

I am hoping if I ever pack out any big game that I will be on an adrenaline high and deal with the extra/added weight. 

[nastybynature]

This thread reminds me of when I was nine years old, getting ready for my first deer hunt.  I asked my father how many bullets he usually needs to bring. 

He told me, "usually zero"

Love this!! 

[wooltie]

I think walking/hiking for a good two hours with around 100 lbs on your back is good training.  Not something to do every week per se, but every other week.  Rest of the time train 30-50 lbs.

Seems like over 70-80 lbs is a whole other experience, least for me.  And while I can go hours with 30-50 lb in my pack, doubling the weight requires a different pace.

Like training for half or full marathon--eventually you have to run for at least two hours, then three hours just to prepare your body for being in motion for that long (even at a slow, leisurely pace).  Point is to keep the body going.

My day pack weighs around 15-17 lbs I think.

[MountainWalk]

My new pack set up, with all I need weighs maybe five-six pounds, with water.  Bikini frame,medium pod,gen 2hanging meat bag. Lord Bless the folks at Kifaru.

[MountainWalk]

As for training,  I work hard all day physically,  so I'll be damned if I'm gonna walk around with salt and carp. My land backs up to state land, so I take a hike with rifle everyday.

[buglebrush]

My new pack set up, with all I need weighs maybe five-six pounds, with water.  Bikini frame,medium pod,gen 2hanging meat bag. Lord Bless the folks at Kifaru.

How much water do you take?  I usually carry at least 4 pounds in water alone.  Probably carrying more weight than you give yourself credit for   

[MountainWalk]

16oz water bottle. Don't drink tons during the day. Tank up in the a.m at dark, and when I get to camp. Don't drink much. Where I hunt, I ain't never far from a crick.  Water. Visine dropper of bleach kills the bad stuff.

    So, no sir, I'm not. I just ain't gonna carry much of the stuff I'm constantly hopping over, wading through, know what I mean?
 I carry pb-j bagel, paperback, two bics, compass,map, ten foot of baling twine, one headlamp, one knife, diamond hone. Pretty light.

[Fullabull]

I bought a 40# weight vest to hike with. I started with 20# on a trail that goes up 1600 feet in 1.8 miles. I try and walk up at a fast pace and jog down. I did it a few times (it kicked my but). Then work got real busy and haven't had a chance to get back out. I'm probably in the worst shape I've been in for a few years. I have the weeks left, going to try the tail again at last the times a week and hope it helps.

[nastybynature]

<snip> a trail that goes up 1600 feet in 1.8 miles. <snip>

That is a respectable elevation gain/grade without a doubt.

[ctwiggs1]

I bought a 40# weight vest to hike with. I started with 20# on a trail that goes up 1600 feet in 1.8 miles. I try and walk up at a fast pace and jog down. I did it a few times (it kicked my but). Then work got real busy and haven't had a chance to get back out. I'm probably in the worst shape I've been in for a few years. I have the weeks left, going to try the tail again at last the times a week and hope it helps.

I'd hold off on jogging with that much weight, just my two cents.

I used to do that for military training and my knees and ankles are starting to have some issues... at age 29.

Not saying to stop training, just saying that if I could do it again, I'd jog with 10lbs max and ruck with 70-100lbs regularly (with good shoes or boots)

Curtis

[Mossyoak]

Thanks for all of the input..I am going to mix it up a little but pack 35 to 40 pounds regularly. I appeciate all the info.