Get off my back!

[WapitiTalk1]

For those of you that pack your elk out on your backs, how do you do it? Well, besides the obvious scenario where you place a huge chunk of dead weight in your packs and crawl up out of the hell hole the elk decided to dive into at the absolute last second before he expired. For the purpose of this ultra-scientific "how to do it" thread, we'll set the stage by saying you hunt with a partner, and, the expired elk is a 5X5 bull. OK, good shot, good tracking job, there he is, bull down! A few high fives later, it's time to really get to work. All that hiking/hunting the previous days was merely a warm up.

How do you break down your elk (method, bagging system, cooling method, etc.) and how do you pack it back out to the truck, quad (or camp) say 1 1/2 miles away (what goes out first, how heavy are the loads, how many trips).  Let's go; we're burning daylight!

[ipkus]

Gutless method always, if possible.  Yes, I've had them die where it wasn't possible.

Raghorn = Each hind quarter is a load, each front/half the misc. meat is a load (often will bone out the front as the bone/meat ratio is so bad).  Cut the skull plate and tie horns upside down on one of the packs.  4 loads total.

Bigger bull = 5 or even possibly 6 loads with cape/full skull (since one guy is going back again maybe both may) etc.  Depends on time constraints, if you are trying to get your partner back hunting, etc.

I've never weighed a pack.  Usually raghorn loads are all pretty reasonable, bigger bulls I'm sure the packs are over 100 lbs sometimes (taking 2 fronts and some misc. as a load, or a hind and some misc., or a load of misc. and the cape and the head/horns etc.)

If it's late and you are leaving it overnight; Gut, prop open with a stick, and at a minimum skin the neck and ground side legs open to cool.  I really hate doing this unless it is getting cold overnight.  Pee nearby and leave a sweaty base layer on it.  We've never had a predator mess with one yet, although a couple bears have been nearby when we returned.

[Sliverslinger]

1. Take pictures
2. Tag it
3. Entire process done with a Havalon. Gutless method- skin one side. Front and rear quarters go in bags first (usually bone in) then place bags in clean spot. Then backstraps, neck, flank. Bags are usually Cabelas anti-microbial and Alaskan game bags.
4. Repeat on other side.
5.Remove tenderloins
6.Heart removal.
7.Head removal.
8. Depending on distance and terrain. 3-4 trips for one guy or 2 trips for two guys. This year it was one trip for two guys.
   a. By myself it’s front and rear quarter, front and rear quarter, then head/BS/TL/neck/flank.
   b. With a partner it’s rear quarter each for trip one and everything else on trip two.
   c. This year I had front/rear/backstraps/tenderloins and partner had front/rear/neck meat/flank/heart/tongue. ‘‘Twas a cow way back in so no head to deal with.
9. Back at camp hang meat on meat strap. Instead of a pole we use a commercial heavy duty ratchet strap taut between two trees.
10. Remove game bags after dark. Then put on new clean game bags.
11. Eat heart or tenderloin that night.
12. Take ibuprofen
13. Drink an adult beverage.

[The Marquis]

1. Take pictures
2. Tag it
3. Entire process done with a Havalon. Gutless method- skin one side. Front and rear quarters go in bags first (usually bone in) then place bags in clean spot. Then backstraps, neck, flank. Bags are usually Cabelas anti-microbial and Alaskan game bags.
4. Repeat on other side.
5.Remove tenderloins
6.Heart removal.
7.Head removal.
8. Depending on distance and terrain. 3-4 trips for one guy or 2 trips for two guys. This year it was one trip for two guys.
   a. By myself it’s front and rear quarter, front and rear quarter, then head/BS/TL/neck/flank.
   b. With a partner it’s rear quarter each for trip one and everything else on trip two.
   c. This year I had front/rear/backstraps/tenderloins and partner had front/rear/neck meat/flank/heart/tongue. ‘‘Twas a cow way back in so no head to deal with.
9. Back at camp hang meat on meat strap. Instead of a pole we use a commercial heavy duty ratchet strap taut between two trees.
10. Remove game bags after dark. Then put on new clean game bags.
11. Eat heart or tenderloin that night.
12. Take ibuprofen
13. Drink an adult beverage.

This sounds about right... particularly #12.

[chiwawadan]

This is already a great thread. Tagged in to see more advice.

[Matth]

1. Photos.
2. set out all game bags(Caribou).
3. Place fresh blade on the trusty Havalon Piranta.
4. Go to work, always gutless method, always boned out completely.
5. Bag #1, 1 boned out hind quarter, 1 back strap, 1 tenderloin.
6. Half of bag #2, all shoulder, rib, and neck meat from same side.
7. Remove head, flop elk over.
8.10 minute recovery time.
9. Bag #3, repeat step #5.
10. Second half of bag #2, repeat step #6.
11. load bag #2 on pack, secure head to pack, pick up weapon.
12. suffer to vehicle.
13. Remove pack, place meat in cooler, grab freight pack, leave weapon in vehicle, return to animal.
14. Load and secure bag #1, or #3, which ever is the closest to where i land when i get back.
15. Continue suffering.
16. Unload second load of meet into cooler, and return to animal.
17. Repeat step #14
18. Repeat step # 15, and #16 minus the return trip.
19. Drink a hand full of beers, rinse and repeat in new state, (was only able to do this in one state last year.

[vandeman17]

pretty much the same as other guys but I am a bone in guy since I am archery and my two kills were early season. I believe that the bone keeps the shape and integrity of the quarters and help it cool better than tossing them into the bags as big chunks of meat. Now if I ever kill one late season, things might be different

[7mmfan]

I have never boned a quarter in the woods. I am anal retentive about keeping meat clean, and that process is just prone to exposing meat to contaminates, in my opinion and skill level anyway. I much prefer to grunt the couple pounds of leg bones out and do the boning/processing in camp in a more controlled environment. This years elk was a prime example, dying in a creek/alder thicket at the bottom of a near vertical gorge. The only working surface was a burned out log next to us. I also don't hunt when it's blazing hot so I don't feel the need to get the bone off the meat. In hot weather, I see the pro of getting the bone out and opening the meat up to cool faster.

My process:

1. Make sure he's dead. Yes that's happened to a friend.
2. Pictures and a few moments of reverence/appreciation for the animal.
3. Gutless method.
     - Each quarter gets it's own clean bag.
     - Tenderloins and backstraps in a bag
     - neck and all scrap in a bag.
     - Any organs going with in a bag.
4. I prefer to do more trips than overload myself for one. A semi-mature 5x5 might be a 2 tripper, might be a 3 tripper, depends on the terrain. I have an Exo 5500, it will carry more weight than I can. Dad still uses his Eberlestock Team elk pack. Can barely squeeze a quarter into it with all the other stuff he carries. We'll get him converted one of these days.
     - Hindquarter = 1 load/guy
     - Front quarter and misc. meat = load 2/guy
     - Anything left, if at all, = load 3/guy
5. If warm weather, meat goes into big coolers with Polarbear tubes to cool initially. All meat gets hung out in open air at night.
6. If power is available, I will cut and wrap the animal within a couple days and place in coolers with ice the remainder of the trip. I've had great success with wet aging my meat for 10 days or more this way, and it's easier to keep it all cool without worrying about ice water/outside temp, etc...

[Oh Mah]

All sound great and common to me. 

1 question,I've never done gutless before.How do you get the heart, liver, and tenderloin out with this method?

[Griiz]

Usually use gutless method. I’m not into carrying bones, so I debone. I carry pillowcases for the meat and also have a nimrod meat bag. I debone slow as I am picky about keeping meat clean. If I’m in a spot where possible, I put up a hanging pole and hang my skinned quarters to cool as I work before deboning. I always have a large heavy duty garbage bag to set quarters on if need be. Debone one side and then flip over. This year I shot my bull just before dark, a little over three miles from truck. Lucky for me my son was close by to help. I put both deboned hindquarters plus a few other small chunks in nimrod bag. That went on my pack with my muzzleloader and little gear. Put the deboned shoulders, back straps, neck etc. in three partially filled pillowcases. These went on my son’s pack. We took it out in one trip (medium sized body)as I had large cricks to cross and a rain storm was coming. Got windy and rainy as we started packing. It was miserable, but I loved it.

[Griiz]

All sound great and common to me. 

1 question,I've never done gutless before.How do you get the heart, liver, and tenderloin out with this method?

You can get tenderloins, but not the other parts your after. You can go in by the hips and cut loins out. It’s kind off a pain.

[smdave]

How do you comply with the Washington state regulation for proof of sex? Just a question I have always thought of when boning out an animal.

Dave

[DOUBLELUNG]

All sound great and common to me. 

1 question,I've never done gutless before.How do you get the heart, liver, and tenderloin out with this method?

You can get tenderloins, but not the other parts your after. You can go in by the hips and cut loins out. It’s kind off a pain.

I don't usually take them, but once the meat is all off, a slice behind the last rib exposes the liver, remove, slice through diaphragm on that side to access thoracic cavity, cut wind pipe at top of rib cage, grab lungs, find heart, grab top of heart and pull back through cut in diaphragm, cut off.  It's not technically gutless but you still don't deal with opening up the abdomen and thorax completely, and don't have to mess with the GI tract at all.

[Griiz]

How do you comply with the Washington state regulation for proof of sex? Just a question I have always thought of when boning out an animal.

Dave

I just hope I don’t run into that problem as I leave the sex organs at the kill, but if I worried about it, I would leave them attached to a small chunk of meat and pack them out. Hopefully they will accept and enjoy the pictures with us and not cause a hassle.

[DOUBLELUNG]

Those days are behind me, but I used to carry 5 game bags and a disposable painters tarp in my hunting pack (Badlands 2200).  At the kill site, tag, skin off top side, cut off lower legs at the joint, cut off front shoulder and bag on the tarp, cut hind off pelvis and bag on the tarp.  Retain evidence of sex on first quarter if required, either scrotum or udder.  Remove everything from my main pack compartment and put in a game bag, put empty game bag in main compartment.  Take inbuprofen.  Rib meat, neck meat, backstrap, tenderloin and any misc. trim goes into the game bag in the day pack.  Roll elk over and repeat, 2nd shoulder goes in the bag with the first, hind gets its own, rib meat, neck meat, backstrap, tenderloin and any misc. trim goes into the game bag in the day pack.  A mature bull will fill this up plumb full, about 80lbs of meat.  The main compartment is closed up, the game bag with the pack gear is lashed to the outside of the pack via the batwings, skull with antlers goes on top.  This is the first load and the one that sucks the most, mainly due to the narrow straps cutting in - wrapping my spare socks around them gave some additional cushion.  If I'm fortunate enough to have a buddy, he takes a hindquarter; if I'm really lucky, he's taken my weapon back to the vehicle and returned with our external frame packs in which case we both have a much easier first trip out, and then a second trip for the 2nd hind and both shoulders.  Usually I was alone, so one brutal first trip out with the daypack load, then three more easier ones with the frame pack.  If I have to break it up overnight, hang the quarters that are staying if possible, otherwise cover with conifer boughs or other brush and a sweaty shirt.  Ibuprofen before bed, ibuprofen in the morning, ibuprofen after the last load is out.

Did spikes and cows differently if I was solo, as I could get them in 2 trips if completely boned out and trimmed of fat.  Same breakdown except only backstraps and tenderloins in daypack, much more pleasant and manageable first trip out.  Distribute boned flank/neck/scrap into the three bags of quarters meat. Return with the frame pack for the 2nd trip, if its all downhill/level, all three bags go in one load.  If there's much uphill at all, remove the heaviest bag at the bottom of the steep, pack the lightest two bags to the top, return for the heavy bag, re-add to the pack, repeat as needed.