The thing I like best about packing animals out is that I don't worry too much about where I kill them. I packed a few animals out before I met Greenhorn, but after hunting with him a time or two I learned to do it a lot more and have always appreciated him answering all my questions about it.
While this doesn't involve antlers, it was one of the more challenging pack out's I've experienced. My partner had killed a bear an hour or two before dark. Naturally the bear ran down into a brushy thorn infested hell-hole to die. We had back packs and after skinning it we put meat in one pack and the plan was to put the bear in the other. However, in the dark, coupled with tight quarters, we just couldn't make the hide stay in the pack. It was too big and too slippery. I describe it as trying to strap jello onto a back pack. Around 1am I finally told my partner that I was sick of messing around with the bear and that was just going to throw it's hide over my shoulders and pack it out that way. So he grabbed my pack and we headed out. In preparation for the pack out I had stashed a pair of chest waders next to a creek we had to cross that was about a 1/4 from the truck. By the time I reached the creek I was pretty much spent. It took my last ounce of energy to put on the waders and cross the creek. I told my friend I was going to just wear the waders the rest of the way out as I was too whipped to mess with changing back out of them. My pard beat me back to the truck and took this photo right as I reached his pick up, just as I was getting ready to drop the bear on the ground. For those that haven't hauled out a bear hide from a decent sized bear it's a whole lot like work. For those of you that have, you know how I felt at this point. It was way too late in the am of the morning by the time we got the bear in the back of his truck, and we both had to be to work later that morning. I swear I'm getting too old for this stuff, but I'm still too young to know better.
Happiness for me that night was seeing his bear in the back of his truck.
this is my favorite my 14yr old son and his first elk , 2 front shoulders and some loose meat, took pic when we got out of a long canyon climb, he was proud he made it, over the years we have had a lot of animals on our back, wife included,,,,,
she always says, why do you shoot these animals in these places,,,, later it makes good stories and reliving the strain of the day,,,,,,
spike bull in Colorado. . .3 of us packing it out and I wasn't about to hike clear back in again! (a few years back) lol when I was young and dumb. . . .
Four of us pulled this bull and two others out of the NM back country over the course of 5 days!
The "Extraction Team" with another NM bull.
Two trips with me an my buddy got this bull off the mountain. Approx. 2 miles to the truck.
This picture marked the beginning of an epic journey that will stick with me forever. This was the turning point for me to never hunt without a GPS again....damn fog! 4 miles to an ATV and 5 miles to the truck.
Check out this pack! Good thing the pack frame was back at camp! 4 Miles to an ATV and 5 miles to the truck.