Packing Moose

[Calvin]

Curious what's the furthest anyone has packed a quartered bull moose? Any tips/tricks to making it not suck so bad? (we won't be able to bone in the area we want to hunt) How much distance in a day can 2 guys in good shape shuttle a big bull moose? Thanks!

 

[Big Fin]

About a quarter of a mile. Here is the best trick I found.

Bring with you a 24 year-old cousin who is about 6' 3" weighing about 210, and is built like a piece of piano wire. Bet him $200 that he cannot carry the four quarters across the bog, to the canoe. And if he hesitates, throw in some free beer. Trim the quarters up as best you can, so as not to kill him on the first load. Tie the quarter very tightly on a pack and offer to clear the alders in advance of his trek.

Four hours later, the quarters of your moose will be at the canoe. You will be $200 lighter in the wallet, but it will increase the pleasure of your trip by immense levels, by only having carried the backstraps, trim, and other more manageable pieces.

Other than that, I know of no short cuts. At least not with any of the three we shot.

 

[Calvin]

Haha! I wish I had somebody to do some packing for me. It'll be me and a buddy, and we are looking to get into some hills to a burn area to chase around some big bulls. Other than flying in a dissembled 4 wheeler in a beaver, we are looking at a pretty good hump out, but given the particular area what what it has a history of producing, it could pay off big.

Sleds? Anybody drag out quarters on sleds?

 

[Oak]

I'm curious if there's anything in the regulation restricting you from breaking down the quarters further, without removing the bone? Can you separate the shanks from the main quarters at the joints and pack them out separately?

 

[thecrittergitter]

I'm not positive on your question oak, Bambi should be able to tell us. However, my thought is that a full moose quarter is really unpackable?? There is no question that instead of moose quarters, i would be packing moose pieces Maybe in eighths

 

[HowaHunter]

I have packed a quarter of a very large cow about twenty yards before the weight got to me on a very tiny downhill slope...needless to say I couldn't very well get the meat back onto my back and start walking again...Had to cut it up further to get it out. Eighths is about the right number. Good Luck!

 

[2rocky]

I'm thinking that the bone in would allow you to do Shoulder, Rib, Ham, and Bone the loins? Or does the spine have to come as well?

Unit 13 Meat Salvage...P 22

Front Quarter, Hind Quarter and ribs must remain naturally attached...

 

[Calvin]

I'm curious if there's anything in the regulation restricting you from breaking down the quarters further, without removing the bone? Can you separate the shanks from the main quarters at the joints and pack them out separately?

That's a good question. I'll give F&G a call in the morning. It sure would make the load a bit more manageable, and reduce the risk of injury.

 

[Calvin]

I'm thinking that the bone in would allow you to do Shoulder, Rib, Ham, and Bone the loins? Or does the spine have to come as well?

According to the regs, the meat needs to stay on bone for the quarters and ribs. I think they plan on most people killing their animal next to rivers or near a landing site. The reasoning with that rule is that clean meat spoils less quickly than dirty meat, and meat stays cleaner when on the bone. Not all units in AK have that rule, btw.

 

[Muley Crazy]

Mine was about 5 yards, 4 yards to far ! (to the raft then about 1.5 miles to the truck on a 60 mile float hunt)

 

[Bambistew]

You can cut the quarters if you leave the bone in them. Cut the rears in half and add trim to make a full load if you have to. I think I would just strap one on and pack it out first. Everything else will be easy from there on out. A hind will probably weigh 120lbs or so bone in. If the terrain sucks, cut them up. The stupidest rule of all is having to pack out the ribs, there's more bone than meat... way more. I would imagine you could still get one out in 7-8 trips pretty easy.

The bull from this year was about 2.5miles from the strip. Took us almost 2 days to get it 2.5 miles to the strip. Tanya killed it at sundown, we bagged bone in quarters that night then came back the following day de-boned/bagged and packed it 1.5 miles to camp. The following day I packed it the rest of the way to the strip and flew out around 3pm.

The previous year we killed two bulls at once about a mile from camp. We shot them in the AM the first day and had the last load of meat/antlers to the strip in the PM the following day. 6 trips each. So if one guy can pack out a moose in a day and a half a mile, 2 guys should be able to pack out a moose in a day depending on when you kill it.

I'd rather pack a moose a mile than a whole sheep 7 miles. The lbs/mile is similar though.

 

[mdunc8]

My suggestion is to spend four days covering as much of the mountain as possible and then shoot one 1/2 mile from camp less than a 100 yards from the road, so you can back your truck up to it, take the tailgate off and use it as a ramp, then wench the moose (fully intact minus the guts of course) into the truck, drive it to a ranch down the road, strap it up to a tractor and have it hanging in less than an hour. I don't know why you guys put yourself through all that unnecessary work.

 

[lilbiggun]

The furthest I did was 4 miles on fort rich. It was winter but not much snow but the sled made it tolerable. Wife pulled and I pushed (one of those 5ft cheap tobaggons).

Kind of a PAI but you could rig up a travois of sorts and hook it to your waist belt on your pack. It would be slow but it would alleviate the weight off of your shoulders.

 

[Calvin]

Thanks guys. If I can cut the hind quarters in half, I am good to go. Packing out a whole hind quarter for 3+ miles wasn't sounding too appealing to me!