diamond hitch
Well-known member
Over the years I have acquired specialized tools to assist in elk hunting or rather retrieval. The standard was horses and pack gear. To assist in that was a shopping trip through the second hand stores for climbing spurs to make preparing the elk for transport easier. To make them easier to hang I found and modified single trees to fit elk. Most recently I designed portable appliances to fit on green poles to turn them into single trees. This diminished the bulk carried on the ponies. This is kind of an out reach of helicopter work where you are always aware of bulk, weight and fuel in your activities.
High quality block and tackles replaced cheap make do units especially after one blew up and dropped a bull on my partner. He and I didn't have to think too hard on the purchase.
Over the years I have hunted in nasty cliffy places. Horses don't do cliffs very well and packing meat up a cliff is not only miserable but dangerous. After the first adventure I secured a Lewis chainsaw winch with a number of snatch blocks and short chains for attachment. It required a chainsaw but all that fit into the off season wood retrieval program. I don't use them all of the time but handy to have when you need them.
I purchased a saddle that can be used for packing with extra rings for attaching meat or camp gear. I had custom panniers built with leather ends and three straps to make packing of items easier and durable under tough conditions.
Over the years, as the need arose I have built various items to facilitate needs as encountered or to imitate things other packers made that I found useful. Only a few things in this business are commercially available and your creativity is a valued gift.
My last item was a joint effort between my pardner and I. With the trees falling everywhere we go, he picked up a Stihl 170 as a trail saw. It is light weight and a cutting dream. It is still a bit bulky and too light to balance the big saw in a pack. My partner had ended up with a Forest Service pack frame for fire hose years ago. He built a couple of metal shelves to support the saw, oil and gas. I built the suspension system and belts so the entire unit (~ 10 - 12 lbs) hangs off the saddle horn and is easily retrieved.
I'm sure many of you have built similar items to facilitate your hunting habits. How about sharing.
High quality block and tackles replaced cheap make do units especially after one blew up and dropped a bull on my partner. He and I didn't have to think too hard on the purchase.
Over the years I have hunted in nasty cliffy places. Horses don't do cliffs very well and packing meat up a cliff is not only miserable but dangerous. After the first adventure I secured a Lewis chainsaw winch with a number of snatch blocks and short chains for attachment. It required a chainsaw but all that fit into the off season wood retrieval program. I don't use them all of the time but handy to have when you need them.
I purchased a saddle that can be used for packing with extra rings for attaching meat or camp gear. I had custom panniers built with leather ends and three straps to make packing of items easier and durable under tough conditions.
Over the years, as the need arose I have built various items to facilitate needs as encountered or to imitate things other packers made that I found useful. Only a few things in this business are commercially available and your creativity is a valued gift.
My last item was a joint effort between my pardner and I. With the trees falling everywhere we go, he picked up a Stihl 170 as a trail saw. It is light weight and a cutting dream. It is still a bit bulky and too light to balance the big saw in a pack. My partner had ended up with a Forest Service pack frame for fire hose years ago. He built a couple of metal shelves to support the saw, oil and gas. I built the suspension system and belts so the entire unit (~ 10 - 12 lbs) hangs off the saddle horn and is easily retrieved.
I'm sure many of you have built similar items to facilitate your hunting habits. How about sharing.
