How far would you pack out an elk

[Tom22]

It depend on how he run after the shot

[68OLDS]

6 hours ago, trphyhntr said:

as far as you have to. what are you gonna do, leave it behind if you dont like where its at 

My thoughts exactly, the Answer is you don’t really have a choice In the matter.  You pack it out as far as it takes.

[Sneaker]

Yeah, but you can decide ahead of time if you are going to hunt 4 miles in or if you better stick to the roaded areas. Units vary widely in how many roads there are and how far you can get away from them. 

[trphyhntr]

10 minutes ago, Sneaker said:

Yeah, but you can decide ahead of time if you are going to hunt 4 miles in or if you better stick to the roaded areas. Units vary widely in how many roads there are and how far you can get away from them. 

in my experience, early season elk hunting you dont have much say in where youre gonna kill it. stalk might start on the road and then might be deep in by the time you get on him and shoot him. 

[wish2hunt]

3 hours ago, Tom22 said:

It depend on how he run after the shot

Yes, the further he runs the further you carry it.

[1uofacat]

My longest pack out was in the Valle Vidal of New Mexico back in '92, their version of a Sept rifle tag (but once in a lifetime hunt).  Pack out was about 5 miles one way & I had help (2 others), so only lost a little bit.  I was both younger & dumber then too!  Best thing is it was relatively flat.

 

That said, get help if possible... these are NOT coues!  

[dustin25]

I’d be willing to pack it all back to the truck, but I don’t think I’d wanna carry it much further then that

[HuntHarder]

Weather is the #1 factor for me, 2nd is how much help I have with me on the hunt.  By myself with cold temps, 2 milesish is about where I would like to top out.  A guy to help, maybe extend to 3 miles.  Warm weather, under 2 miles with help.  By yourself and warm, less than a mile unless you want to lose a bunch of meat.  Like Greyghost, I have been part of a bunch of elk packouts and rarely are they over a mile here in Az.  

[sjvcon]

Depends on weather and terrain.  But once you squeeze the trigger you owe it to that animal to get it out...so choose wisely.

[idgaf]

I let the young guys with something to prove do it. Two quarters, the cape, and the antlers. 

 

[SwarovskiCoues]

whatever it takes

[Couesdeer]

Like a majority , I'll pack a bull out as far as it takes.  Fortunately, I have never had to do this alone.  Having a helper makes all the difference in the world when you have a elk down in the bottom of a canyon a mile or more from the closest place to park.

A good friend of mine likes to say, "I have all year to recover!"  As difficult as it is to draw bull elk tags, being willing to pack them out nasty steep country doesn't hurt your odds of success.      

[yourcrazy]

As far as I had too.

[wannakillabigbull]

Farthest I've ever done was 4.5ish miles, in Colorado.  Like others said, it's not always how far it is that is the biggest factor.  I'd pack one as far as I need to like most of the rest.  I've always been a believer of doing multiple trips instead of trying to pack over 100 lbs at once; it's easier on the knees.

 

As far as what to do/what not to do, buy a good pack.  Below is a picture from that 4.5 mile day, of my dad.  It was a 2,000 ft climb down then back up the other side.  As poorly as we had that bull packed on his back he was pretty beaten down by the time we got back to the truck.  I can imagine he would have felt better with a good pack.

 

[AzRaised08]

Did a 1.5 mile pack out 2 years ago in snow ranging from ankle to knee deep. It was tough haha. There were 3 of us with packs and it took 2 trips to get it all out. Granted we pretty much only left the spine...we took out almost every bit of meat we could. Overall it was still doable and for a nice elk, it was well worth it