Loading elk whole?

[bow4elk]

Maybe it's just me but I see dozens upon dozens of photos each year of elk loaded whole in pick up beds.  I've been at this elk hunting gig since age 10 and I've yet to find myself or anyone I've hunted with a situation where we have a dead elk in spitting distance of the bed of a truck, let alone the challenge of loading one up whole.  If it's all about luck, then man I'm WAAAAAAY overdue!

My experience is all about boning out my elk on the spot and making heavy hauls to the truck, where I've got two huge coolers chock full of ice waiting for me.  I then layer my elk meat on ice to cool it quickly.

I know that some guys carry 1000 yards of cable and yard them out of clear-cuts but that can't account for all of them.  Personally, I'd never drag an elk over hill and dale like that.  Elk meat is too precious.  Just my 

Somebody explain this pervasive yet confusing mystery.  If you've done this, I'd love to hear about it.

[270Shooter]

We helped a guy load his into his truck, yea he shot it about 50 yards from the road, but there was no point to de-bone the meat there. So he gutted it and drug it down to the road. We got out our 4wheeler loading rack and drug up into the truck.

[Crunchy]

I still wouldnt take it whole.  That would be just more mess to take care of at home, bones, cape, etc.

[Alan K]

We always use a chain saw wench to get 'em close to the road.  Hopefully they are on the uphill side so we can back the tailgate up to the bank and roll 'em in.

We always skin it and wash the meat before taking it in to the butcher and I've never seen any bruising of the meat because of the way we got it to the truck.

[Antlershed]

My dad's Margaret bull was shot across a canyon, and it ran over the hill and bedded down. We got on top of it again and my dad put a final shot into it. At that point, we realized when he went over the hill, he bedded down about 50 feet from a road. A few minutes with the map, and we figured out which road it was. I hiked back to the truck and found the road the elk died close to. We backed the truck up to the bank, tied a rope to the elk, and ran it around a tree so we could slowly lower the bull down the hill and right into the back of the truck. I'm pretty sure that one was all luck.

[WAPITIHUNTER]

Wel I have been fortunate enough to have killed a couple that we took home, actually 4 I think. Although the others more than made up for those.

Shot a big cow a few years ago up at the end of green mountain road. Winston. She ran half a mile down the hill and I finally drilled her through the heart at 20 yards, she died less than 100 yards from the road we parked on. There was snow on the ground so the three of us were able to drag her to the road and load her whole.

The first Elk I ever killed was a big 6x6 and the farmers grandson drove the tractor back a mile and we drug them out whole.

A cow I shot in the Puyallup four of us drug her about 100 yards to the powerlines road and loaded her whole.

Shot another really big cow down by Mossyrock Dam. That one it took four of us to drag her about 150 yards to the edge of the field where we loaded her whole.

[BrushChimp]

With as much road access as there is in the Willapa Hills, most folks use haywire and yard them up to the road. Doesn't hurt the meat any at all. Gut the elk, string the haywire down the hill, yard the elk up to the road, load the elk, take it to the gamble, and skin it. Easy enough. I've seen chain saw winches and tractors used multiple times as well.

[Todd_ID]

We've got a little over 2 miles of Spectra that will get an elk out of just about anywhere you can kill them.  A few blocks and pulleys, and you can make an elk fly, literally, off the ground with a controlled ascent or descent from the top of a far off mountain into the back of the truck.  I can tell you it beats the hell out of a packboard!  But, yeah, I still have the packboards at camp because I like getting back in a little too far sometimes.

[Goldeneye]

I have a big (8' long) trail cart that is a one wheeled one with a motorcycle tire & motorcycle brakes.  If I have 4 guys and not too steep of country between me and the nearest trail we can get one out whole once in a while.  Brought my bull out about a mile last year to the truck whole.  Hung it between two tress there, skinned it out and bagged it.  Then lowered it into the truck.  One of the cleanest animals I have ever processed.  Not much chance of getting dirt or hair on the meat if you can do it that way.  In the last 10 years (since I got the cart), we've pulled 4 bulls out whole.  The rest of the time we pack to where we can get the cart to and wheel it from there.  The cart's rated at 1000 lb load.  

[robodad]

I can't say forsure how many 4 wheelers I have seen towing elk throught the forest. 

[Slayock]

We always use a chain saw wench to get 'em close to the road.  Hopefully they are on the uphill side so we can back the tailgate up to the bank and roll 'em in.

We always skin it and wash the meat before taking it in to the butcher and I've never seen any bruising of the meat because of the way we got it to the truck.

Dead meat wont bruise.  Dragging them over rocks and trees just tenderizes the meat.

[Alan K]

Duh, didn't realize that lol!  I prefer tender meat over tough meat! 

[mossback91]

Me and my dad show some cows.....one pretty big.... bout 2 miles from truck not tooo far.....bunch of snow on grassy hill........we drug them out whole........wasnt too bad pretty easy.......prolly easiest elk packout I will ever have in my life....

[KillBilly]

I've know guys that get a couple of rolls of baling wire and winch an elk out some of the most god awful spots you've ever seen.

[bow-n-head]

  remark... hunt uphill to your elk so you only have to drag it downhill to the truck