LowCountryBuckeye
Member
Also an ethics question, would you resonably be able to get an elk out before it spoils.
Let’s say you shoot one 8 miles in, you bone it out 220lbs, the rack 20lbs, your camp + rifle+ gear 25lbs.
That’s 265lbs. I’ve done 100lbs for 2.5 miles one way and it was brutal, my hiking speed went from 3mph to .5 mph and there was no way I could have gone back for another load. Let’s say you can do 90lbs you would have to do 3 trips, so 40 miles, 24 miles with that weight would take you at least 24 hours the remaining 16 would take maybe 5, so say 30 hours of hiking. If you just kill yourself and are in significantly better shape than anyone I’ve hunted with you might be able to do a pack out that far in 3 days. With two people on one elk you can do it in 2 trips move faster but it still 24 miles with 70lb packs. If you and your buddy are just animals you could do it in one 20+ hour day... maybe
Can you keep the meat from spoiling in September for that amount of time and are you ready for that kind of punishment. It might be doable but you definitely to think it through, also look at how far in you would be, 8 might not even get you in legally depending on the area you select.
I wouldn’t even think about it without horses.
Getting as much meat as possible out of there is definitely a concern and the primary reason we started discussing pack animals last week. Two of us are 100 percent committed to hunting elk next fall. We have two kore guys that say they are going, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they back out. Two guys hauling meat sounds much worse than 4.
Do you have suggestions about finding/scheduling a reliable packer? Is it as easy as a google search and a phone call? Are they all pretty much the same, or is it easy for an out of state first time hunter to get fleeced by someone with less than ideal ethics?