Packers Near Santa Fe, New Mexico?

[Cerebral Stalker]

Did some searching online for packers near Santa Fe, New Mexico and could only find drop camp like services.

Anybody know of any packers near Santa Fe, New Mexico?

Looking for a packer that could be notified and willing to pack an elk out if I get one down.

I get the impression most outfitters don't want to bother with side-jobs like this.

Any referrals, advice, or alternatives, would be greatly appreciated. I'm all ears.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cerebral Stalker]

I'll give this one more try with a bump here.

 

[hank4elk]

I knew one good one, he retired.
I find it hard to believe in this day of everyone is the best outfitter/guide/hunter/sales... there is not a website.
Probably traded the livestock for drones.

 

[henge5333]

Is this a thing? Do they bring animals or is this just they come out and pack it out?

 

[mrcowboy]

Is this a thing? Do they bring animals or is this just they come out and pack it out?

I know a guy on west-side of the pecos who was looking to operate a pack service. You looking for unit45? Not certain if he has in paper work in order for business in the SFNF or Carson NF.

 

[406dn]

I can see why these services are so scarce. I have three horses, they cost me money every day.

If I am waiting for a phone call from a hunter to come pack his elk, what to charge? It takes a horse trailer, tack, a good pick up and fuel to get there and home. Then there is my time to get the elk out. I do not think many hunters would be willing to pay a true fair price.

Last year I packed out a guy's elk for free. It just worked out that way. His partner had wrenched his knee and I was in a position to help. If I was fifty miles away and he had called and it was a business, I'd need several hundred dollars to tempt me.

 

[labguy]

I have a couple of stories about elk packing.

Way back in 1996 a friend and I backpacked into a Montana wilderness area. I had a Big Game combo license, and several days into the trip I managed to shoot a small muley buck with my bow, and the next day we packed him out to the truck and then drove to town to hang him in a local locker where I had arranged things in advance. On our drive we noticed a ranch with horses and trailers and people moving about so we stopped to ask whether they might be interested in packing out an elk if we were lucky enough to get one. The guy was friendly and said maybe, depending on circumstances at the time because he was an outfitter and had other trips planned. We said thanks, fair enough.

Well, several days later I managed to kill a nice bull and we hiked out, and went to visit the outfitter again. He said he was getting ready for a big trip but could squeeze in a pack out for us first thing in the morning. We arrived the next morning bright and early and he was already about finished loading horses and equipment. He had a riding horse for each of us and for himself, and then one pack horse and one mule. We drove to the trailhead, got the horses ready, and took off down the trail. It was about a 5 mile uphill trip to the elk, and the horses made it quick.

This was long before gutless and boneless and all that got so popular. This was my second elk that I'd taken, so was no expert on cutting one up. I had cut off the four legs and had them bagged up and hanging, but the torso was still intact. This guy looked at the situation, kinda smiled, and pulled out an axe and split the torso right down the middle in no time. It was impressive. He then politely explained to me the best way to cut up an elk for horse packing, should it happen again in the future. He then pulled out lunch for all of us.

With his guidance, we helped him load the horse and mule. We then rode down the valley in a line, and the whole way I could watch the beautiful sight of horses with panniers full of meat swaying along the trail, with a big 6X6 rack riding on top. I was 29 years old at the time, and that image is burned into my mind forever.

When we got back to the ranch, I grabbed my wallet to pay him. He had told me it would be $200 before we left. I started counting out twenties, and when I got to $140 he said, "That's plenty, I really enjoyed spending time with you guys today." I tried to give him the rest, but he wouldn't take it. We thanked him profusely, and went on our way. I learned later on he was a major figure in the outfitting world (which wasn't my world, so I had no idea), and even had a TV show on ESPN back in the day. What I know for sure is he was a hell of a good guy.

Second story. 2001 was the year. I killed a nice 5x5 bull in a Colorado wilderness area with my bow during early September. Yep, during 9/11 I was bowhunting and had no idea it was going on. In any case, my friend and I hiked down to the truck with some of our camping equipment with plans to start packing the elk out on our backs. I kind of knew the drill because I'd killed a bull in this same basin the year before (and we packed him out on our backs). But when we got to the truck, another group was camped there. They were muzzleloader hunters and still had several days before their season started. We told them our good fortune and one of the guys immediately volunteered to pack out our elk with his horse. Yes, one horse. One big, giant horse. The pack horse we'd used in Montana was a stout thing, short and stocky. I thought that made sense for a pack animal. But this was a giant tall, long legged horse. This guy loaded the entire elk (including the rack) on this one horse, and walked with him down the mountain. The guy was so proud to watch his horse do this epic feat. I took a great picture of the guy with his horse, and had an 8x10 print made and mailed it to him (this was before digital cameras and the internet was popular). He was thrilled with it. We offered to pay him of course, but he wouldn't take a dime. That group was from Missouri.

These days, lining up a horse packer in advance seems almost impossible. Makes me feel very fortunate to have experienced the beauty of pack horses doing their thing. I'm also well aware of how much work they saved me.

 

[tormenter]

Labguy, Enjoy those memories. In today's world it would be tough to replicate those events. We used to help a few of the hunters in our area if we had room on our pack horses and the outfitter got a hold of this and we were accused of being an outfitter. One the guys left a case a beer on my truck and thank you note. That action indirectly made us an outfitter. Go figure. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[mstep23]

Labguy, Enjoy those memories. In today's world it would be tough to replicate those events. We used to help a few of the hunters in our area if we had room on our pack horses and the outfitter got a hold of this and we were accused of being an outfitter. One the guys left a case a beer on my truck and thank you note. That action indirectly made us an outfitter. Go figure. No good deed goes unpunished.

That's so true. It's hard to find decent people out there nowadays.