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.

[HHPro]

I personally have a custom made game cart that I hauled my 5 point bull I shot a few years ago and it was pretty easy with 2 people.If there is a road near that is the way to go your whole elk in one fairly quick trip.

[Craig]

try and make some arrangements before your hunt with a  meat packer with horses. Have a  Cell/satelite phone and a GPS. It cost a little $$$ but It was a hell of a lot easier then packing him out.

[Goldeneye]

We've personally brought out bulls with this cart.  The motorcycle tire allows for you to use it on game trails, sturdy enough to roll over logs with a bull attached and has motorcycle brakes on it so you can stop on even the steepest of hills.  It's rated at 1,000 pound haul capability.  We've not had near that much on it.  Just the animal, guns, and and packs.  They cost a bit, but it does save a lot of extra packing.  Two guys can handle it unless your going up some real steep stuff, then you need help.

http://gametote.com/index.html

[sako223]

Yeah they have single and double wheeled game carts Cabelas and others sell them. Hanging weight for a spike or cow meat would start at about 250 lbs. You can bone it out to reduce weight.  We have used the plastic drag a few times from Cabelas too. I always take a cheap plastic tarp to put the elk on when dressing and use game bags. Keeping the meat clean and cooling it are very important for meat going on my table.

[NWBREW]

The first elk I killed was a long hike in and out. No game cart....just a sturdy pack frame and pack with game bags. Boned out the meat and packed into a game bag ...into the backpack and on the frame. 3 trips in and out and it was done. Hard work....Yes but very tasty and satisfying. I'd do the same thing any day.

[Axle]

Use this method to bone it out.
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,37569.0.html

Then pack the meat out in a very good back pack unless you have a horse or some really big friends.

I have taken many elk, moose, caribou, bear, and deer out with just a backpack. When it is just meat and no bone, it is much easier. Smallest full-grown cow elk was 156 lbs of boned-out meat. My biggest cow elk was much much larger but close to the road (Pe Ell, WA).

[boonerboy]

There are many ways to get an elk out of the woods. I've packed out with horses, atv's, game carts or just a single back pack. In any case the most important thing to take with you to get an elk out are friends! It's a ton of work, especialy if you are a long ways in. Also, learning the correct way to bone out or quarter an animal is very helpful. I have seen a lot of guys wrestle with an animal, who didn't know what they were doing and be worn out before even starting the pack.

[Atroxus]

I am hoping to have a hunting parter if/when the time comes. But as they say hope for the best but plan for the worst. There is a friend of my mother's that offerred to hunt with me to show me the ropes, but he is a bow hunter and I am not. I have also posted on a few forums looking for a hunting partner/mentor but so far had no luck, so I am not holding my breath on having anyone with me when I hunt. I am also on an extremely tight budget so horses or expensive gadgets are not an option. If I can find an area that allows it my goal is cows rather than bulls, I am more interested in filling my freezer than getting a trophy that I could not afford to have mounted by a taxidermist anyways.   Likely I would give the hide away to someone that could process it themselves.

Someone on another forum mentioned that in some states it is illegal to bone out an elk where it is killed, and that I might be required to haul out the entire carcass. Anyone know if that is true of Washington?

[bobcat]

Your best bet is to buy a good external frame backpack and some good meat bags. If you bone out an elk, you can pack it out by yourself pretty easily, unless it's all uphill for miles and miles. When elk hunting, the best advice I can give is to always hunt above a road. To be legal in this state you just need to leave evidence of sex attached to the meat, so with a cow you'd leave the udder. With a bull you just need the head. As far as the hide goes, most people don't bother packing it out, as they are very heavy and it's a lot more work skinning it out if you're trying to save the hide.

[couesbitten]

I'm pretty sure that anything with wheels is illegal in a wilderness. We always pack ours out on our backs. I second what bobcat said, buy yourself a good pack frame, and you'd be suprised how much you can carry.

[carpsniperg2]

i think couesbitten is write on thw wilderness part no wheels because of damage from what i know we just use our packframes and when we can i have a elk cart that we have used one time because of were the elk was. boy was that great turned 3 round trips on our back into one trip with my cart but most don't get killed in a place you can take the cart.

[ridgefire]

is it proof of sex to just have the head of a bull i was under the impression you had to have it attached to the meat

[Magnum_Willys]

I've quartered and packed em out by myself but its a big job - a mile in means at least 8 miles on the packout if you are alone.  Bone-em and it will save a trip.  You have to be pretty hard-core to shoot one much more than a mile or mile-an-a-half  in by yourself.  

[bobcat]

is it proof of sex to just have the head of a bull i was under the impression you had to have it attached to the meat

You're probably right, depending on how you want to interpret the law. Here it is:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=232-12-267

[Sawbuck]

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.

I may be way off base here, but have you considered going after a deer in the backcountry before taking an elk? Packing out a deer by yourself can give you some valuable experience at what it takes to pack, and give you an idea of what your limits are for an elk. If you pack out eighty pounds of deer meat five miles from the truck it will give you a reference of how far from the truck you should be hunting elk, before you end up with one on the ground eight miles back that you are responsible for packing out. For elk hunting a good pack frame is a necessity, and a good friend is priceless. When I pack an elk out the best packframe I've used is a sawbuck, and my best friend is my Tennessee walker  .

[D-Rock425]

a good pack frame works great.  I keep game bags in my day pack when I get an animal down I gut, skin and quarter the animal then try to hang pieces from a tree limb if possible to cool the meat down.  Then take everything you can out on you first trip.  This way when you go back with your pack frame and hopefully some Friends all the work is done.  The meat is cooling off and all you have left to do is pack it out.

[Axle]

Someone on another forum mentioned that in some states it is illegal to bone out an elk where it is killed, and that I might be required to haul out the entire carcass. Anyone know if that is true of Washington?

If I remember correctly, it is now unlawful to bring in bones on the animal from another state. Washington is trying to prevent diseases from entering this state.

I also would hope other states would not make it illegal to bone-out an ungulate. It is a fantastic method and works great for those of us who don't want to (or can't) lift larger pieces with bone in. This would discriminate against the disabled hunters who have limits on them.

I was told by a friend from another state that they were required to bring the deer in whole to the check stations. I asked him "what about a guy who can't lift the deer?". He looked into it and found out that it was a general misunderstanding. It was legal to bone-out the deer in his state but nobody practiced it.

[DoubleJ]

So is this legal in Washington for deer and elk?  I asked in the boning thread but haven't gotten a response.

[6x6in6]

So is this legal in Washington for deer and elk?  I asked in the boning thread but haven't gotten a response.

2 (a) should answer your question.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=232-12-267

[bonkellekter]

Most important is a good pack frame but that is followed very closely with REALLY GOOD friends with good pack frames 

There are alot of things to take into account when planning a hunt like this. How fit are you, how many guys are you hunting with (Packboards available), what the temp will be when your hunting (gotta get the meat out before it spoils). These things and several others will determine how deep you can hunt. If you look at these factors and don't think that you will be allowed to hunt as deep into a wilderness area as you would like I would suggest contacting outfitters from the area to arrange for them to pack for you. As always get as physically fit as possible and make your hunting buddies do the same this will increase your hunting boundaries more than any other factor.

[Atroxus]

I may be way off base here, but have you considered going after a deer in the backcountry before taking an elk? Packing out a deer by yourself can give you some valuable experience at what it takes to pack, and give you an idea of what your limits are for an elk. If you pack out eighty pounds of deer meat five miles from the truck it will give you a reference of how far from the truck you should be hunting elk, before you end up with one on the ground eight miles back that you are responsible for packing out. For elk hunting a good pack frame is a necessity, and a good friend is priceless. When I pack an elk out the best packframe I've used is a sawbuck, and my best friend is my Tennessee walker  .

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 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.

[Shootmoore]

Lot of good advise in this thread.  I have hunted elk and deer for a lot of years now.  Here is one thing I have found, elk is not an animal you want to try and get out by yourself.  I have been involved in taking a lot of elk out of the woods.  They are a big heavy animal and by yourself (if your a long way back in), unless the weather is cold you would be hard pressed to get all the meat out without spoilage.

Depending on where the elk goes down I have seen it take 2 or 3 guys to get a bull moved around for gutting or boning out.  One time I made the mistake of packing out a hind quarter unboned 12 miles.  I could not hardly walk the next day and that was only 1/4 of the animal.  I think I was around 25 at the time weighed around 220 and could run the 1.5 mile in about 10 minutes.  Today I imagine I would not even make it out.  I am pretty sure that if I had been by myself that even though I was in really good shape I would not have been able to get all that elk out without spoilage.

While I enjoy hunting alone, I know that elk hunting is not one that I can responsibly do alone.

Shootmoore

[mazama]

Iam facing the same situation,hunting alone close to 60yrs old,deer season i have all season i estimate it would take 3-4 days to get a deer out because of the terrain.For elk season i only hunted 1 day because i knew i could not make it back to work. After i got back boss told me to call in sick if i had to.One thing i would not do is hunt down in a hole where i had to hike up hill with a animal.Where i deer hunt i went in with a chain saw and spent several days making trail,i do no like crawling over logs with a pack.

[bonkellekter]

Lot of good advise in this thread.  I have hunted elk and deer for a lot of years now.  Here is one thing I have found, elk is not an animal you want to try and get out by yourself.  I have been involved in taking a lot of elk out of the woods.  They are a big heavy animal and by yourself (if your a long way back in), unless the weather is cold you would be hard pressed to get all the meat out without spoilage.

Depending on where the elk goes down I have seen it take 2 or 3 guys to get a bull moved around for gutting or boning out.  One time I made the mistake of packing out a hind quarter unboned 12 miles.  I could not hardly walk the next day and that was only 1/4 of the animal.  I think I was around 25 at the time weighed around 220 and could run the 1.5 mile in about 10 minutes.  Today I imagine I would not even make it out.  I am pretty sure that if I had been by myself that even though I was in really good shape I would not have been able to get all that elk out without spoilage.

While I enjoy hunting alone, I know that elk hunting is not one that I can responsibly do alone.

Shootmoore

 

When hunting elk we almost always hunt in groups of 2-3 and often times will call in for more help when we get one down depending on how deep we are and how warm it is. We usually don't go much further than 7 miles in but with 3 & 4 guys have packed elk out close to 10 miles a few times. After a pack like that (assuming you got it out in one trip) you are pretty bushed - But I wouldn't have it any other way - atleast until I can get pack mule or two  

[AKBowman]

I am hoping to have a hunting parter if/when the time comes. But as they say hope for the best but plan for the worst. There is a friend of my mother's that offerred to hunt with me to show me the ropes, but he is a bow hunter and I am not. I have also posted on a few forums looking for a hunting partner/mentor but so far had no luck, so I am not holding my breath on having anyone with me when I hunt. I am also on an extremely tight budget so horses or expensive gadgets are not an option. If I can find an area that allows it my goal is cows rather than bulls, I am more interested in filling my freezer than getting a trophy that I could not afford to have mounted by a taxidermist anyways.   Likely I would give the hide away to someone that could process it themselves.

Someone on another forum mentioned that in some states it is illegal to bone out an elk where it is killed, and that I might be required to haul out the entire carcass. Anyone know if that is true of Washington?

No not true at all in WA or anywhere else I believe. F&G anywhere can tell cuts of meat and what you have so in general hunt areas you can and should bone your meat out in the field. It keeps the meat better longer and cools it off faster. Some permit hunts have special restrictions such as some hunts in AK require you sawing off the bottom jaw and bringing it out with you to turn into F&G.

In WA you have to keep proof of sex on Cows NATURALLY ATTACHED TO MEAT. Bulls the antlers suffuce for proof of sex.

[elk311]

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.

That would be "poaching" my friend ! Welcome to elk hunting, if it was easy it just wouldn't be so dang much fun and more people from "Seattle" would want to participate. It's OUR responsibility as "hunters" to ensure that we have the ways and means to properly harvest an animal. If someone has to stay in the field and eat it, well then that's what needs to happen. If you don't have a definate way to get your game out of the woods, stay home.

Don't get me wrong I'm glad that you are asking questions first. My comments above stem from great frustration at those who do not ask questions, seek knowledge or just don't care.
(photographer unknown)

[ouchfoss]

A few years back we started using a chainsaw winch to pull an elk out whole so long it wasnt too far offroad. It made it nice to load an elk into the back of a truck whole so you could drive it to whereever to skin it, hang it or process it in a much better place. It kinda ruins the hide though if you have to drag it too far (1/4 mile) so it might not be the best idea if you shot a nice bull and want to save the cape. Its sure nice to process the meat though went its not covered in salmon berry bushes or dirt or pine needles.
As far as the field dressed weight its probably different depending on where you are hunting. I've heard that rocky mountain elk weigh less than roosevelt. My cousin got a 6x6 roosevelt in 08 that died really close to a road so we pulled it into the back of a truck whole and brought it to my dads shake mill and weighed it on his industrial scale. It wieghed a little over 800 gutted!!! So having people to help pack out an elk is almost a necessity.