Mule Tape What width and how long?

[HoofsandWings]

Once you have reeled it in is there a spool to wind it onto or do you put it a rope bag??
Is 1/2" enough or should it be 5/8's? Do you retrieve via capston?
The spools on line are 3000 feet (1km).
Where do you attach the rope to the elk? Legs? Horns? Neck?
I presume someone has to walk with the elk to make sure it does not get stuck.

Thanks

[ICEMAN]

How much did you find Mule Tape costs per foot?

That stuff would be awesome to replace my heavy rope with...

[Jason]

the mule tape we have is around 1 1/4" and I will check when I'm out at the shop, my uncle got our spool from the Railroad and is around 6500' but we have never used more than half of that, you need to keep it on the spool, we have no fancy way of doing it except stick a shovel through the spool and start winding, it doesn't take that long.

[Todd_ID]

The section of mule tape we use is probably 5/8" x 1500', and the rest that we have is spectra line (I think 1/4"x6000' on one spool and 3000' on the other spool).  Drag an elk with the hair (i.e., by the neck); it slides way easier.  Cut the horns off before dragging (lesson learned).  2 guys are generally needed with the elk to move it when it gets stuck, and it will get stuck plenty of times.  Use 100' tied to the hind legs as a brake going downhill: take a turn around a stump and keep tension on it to prevent a runaway; this trailing line also works great with a block for guiding the elk around obstacles.  Radios between the driver and elk-steerers are critical to prevent breaking the line every 5 minutes.  A set of blocks and a 4-wheeler or pickup is how we pull it; just hooking on and backing up for a mile on the road doesn't really work great because it gets cut on rocks, buried in dirt, and cuts its way into trees at every corner.  We only take a bite as long as the straight stretch is that we have to work with then pull forward to take another bite.  Also, don't drag an elk that you want a shoulder mount of because there will be little to no hair on the shoulder when you get it out.  As for putting the stuff back on when you are done, we have built a spool with a crank handle for the long lines and hand roll the mule tape and shorter stuff.  It takes about 45 minutes to put a mile of stuff back on the spools with the cranks and about 20 minutes to put the 1500' of mule tape back on by hand with 2 guys.

[jackelope]

is it worth it?

just asking...
 

[hoytem]

quarter it, throw it on your back, pack it out. all you need is a good knife and maybe a pack frame.

[Todd_ID]

is it worth it?

just asking...
 

I shot a 6 pt bull with a huge body 1.2 miles from the closest road in a deep canyon that I had no business being in because of how hard it should be to get one out in the heat of early September a couple years ago.  It died at 8:00; it was loaded whole at 10:00 with no sweating or soreness, and I had it skinned and hanging in a cool draw 45 minutes later.  Yeah, it's worth it.  Most of the elk I've shot have been within reach of the pulling stuff we've got.

[HoofsandWings]

How much did you find Mule Tape costs per foot?

That stuff would be awesome to replace my heavy rope with...

3000 feet of 5/8's costs $250-$300. You do the math.
5/8 is rated at 1800 pounds.

[HoofsandWings]

quarter it, throw it on your back, pack it out. all you need is a good knife and maybe a pack frame.

When I was your age, that was what I would have done. I packed one out about 15 years ago. (8 hours per quarter)
All of that twisting and turning eventually cost me my colon. Usually when you load the frame and then get up you have to use stomach muscles. If your muscles were cut in half, sitting up becomes more of a problem.

[hoytem]

quarter it, throw it on your back, pack it out. all you need is a good knife and maybe a pack frame.

When I was your age, that was what I would have done. I packed one out about 15 years ago. (8 hours per quarter)
All of that twisting and turning eventually cost me my colon. Usually when you load the frame and then get up you have to use stomach muscles. If your muscles were cut in half, sitting up becomes more of a problem.

point taken... i'm sure in a few years i'll be looking for an alternative as well