I will be hunting south of Cody WY this December on a late cow Elk hunt and I was wondering if anyone can give me an average weight of one hind quarter. I am hunting with a friend and he is not taking packing the elk out very serious. My friend says he will tough it out when the time comes but I am going to be as prepared as I can incase we get an ELK. Tonight I was packing around 82lbs and my legs felt good my back felt good just my shoulders are a little sore but this is the first time I have put the pack on so I was expecting something to be sore. I am just trying to get my friend to understand we are a team and if he does not train hard it is going to affect me not just him. I told him he should be prepared for his pack to be up to 100lbs does this sound close? I am going to keep my pack weight the same for now and when I get used to it and the time gets closer I will up the weight.

It's been my experience that the farther you are from a road, the heavier the quarter becomes. A 100 pounds might be about right for a medium cow elk quarter. Sounds like you need a new hunting buddy.

Average is close to 70-75 pounds.A big quarter will be close to 120-130 pounds.
It also depends on where you hunt and what time of year that you kill them.



This has been my experiance...

You can bring a bull quarter to the 100 pound mark by boning it out (five minute job for a rear quarter) and place the meat in pillow cases for the pack out. Keep in mind that the quarters are the easy part. An ethical hunter will get ALL the meat out and the inner loins, backstraps, and neck meat will add to 100 lbs. too. Boned front quarters, skinned head and rib meat a couple hundred more (at least) and you need to have a sit-down with your buddy if your going to hunt bulls uin the backcountry. I own two horses and, invariably, I dump my bulls where they are of little use. I packed a bull out 18 miles rount trip (three miles of trail) and it took me 5 HARD trips. All I'm saying is you've got the right idea by prepping pre season, not only are your odds of killing a bull much higher if you're toughened up but getting it out and having the energy to stand and butcher after will be much easier also.

I see you're talking cows--they can vary greatly in size, there are some very big cows and they tend to keep their weight into winter better than many bulls (I have seen inches of fat on them in Dec.) The above applies. You might also consider a sled. I have a roll-up heavy plastic "sled" sold as a game sled through Cabelas that is AWSOME when there is snow on the ground. You can get 200 pounds of meat on it and one guy can get it out with much less effort. Really great tool (and eats WAY less hay than my other meat packing devices!). For a Dec. hunt I'd really consider looking into one, they weigh like 5 pounds and roll up tiny. Good luck!

If there is snow on the ground, consider renting a snowmobile. Packing out Elk is never easy in good weather, and it will be a killer if you have to fight snow banks.

The cow I just packed we had to cut into 7 pieces to get everything into "manageable" loads. The bigger sections (rear quarters) were probably around 60-70 lbs as we did it. Luckily it was at night so the temp was very mild.
Good luck when you go!

IV

I can handle packing 100 lb. loads, but snow conditions can make a pack out a real problem. Definitely use an elk sled. I shot a really big bull less than 2 miles from the trail awhile back that just about killed 4 of us getting it out, and it was mostly downhill. The snow conditions were waist deep or higher with a crust on top that wouldn't hold your weight.

Though I have packed out several elk (all completely boned), I weighed only one. It was an average cow that produced 182# of meat with nothing left behind but organs, bones and hide.

Were I you, I would strongly consider making an extra trip to keep those loads down well below 100#, especially if there will be more than one load per person involved.

Also, figure that your last day in the mountains will NOT be spent hunting but rather packing meat, or heading home early. If you shoot something on the last day, you better be close to the truck.

Brent

A small plastic tarp works on the snow to. I have drug one quarter on a tarp and packed one on my pack frame before and it wasn't to bad. The small 5x7 tarps are cheap and easy to carry. A kids snow sled works well to. The plastic ones that sell for $12.

Now as for dry ground, and no horses, a good pack frame is hard to beat. The bulls we shot last fall, on the frame weighed right at 125# per hind quarter. The fronts were around 70#.
I see more and more guys getting the one wheel carts, and I have even seen a guy use a wheelbarrow.

The way the summer is being weird I can only imagine what December might bring. We have had rain the last four nights and it was 48 degrees this morning. My kid is in Yellowstone and he said it got into the 30's one night.

I have hunted the Dec hunt here in Idaho for years. I use a sled. I go to the local Kmart or target and get a sled called a "H2o" sled. They come it two lengths. One is about 5 foot long the other is about 4 foot. I like them both for different reasons. The short one is nice to get a large cow on. You can lay the quarters on the bottom of the sled and it is NOT top heavy at all. The short on is nice to use in heavy brush and timber, but it is top heavy. I have even pulled two cows out over 2 miles of dry ground with them. After the second cow the sleds were toast but we got them out. You can pull a 1/2 of a cow about as fast as you can walk it is that easy. Make sure you have a large diameter rope to pull with. The skinny ropes are a pain.
Cost on these are less than 10 dollars each. Not a bad price to get a elk out. Ron

The other guys are right. One thing to remember, 100 lbs on trail is only half the weight as 50 lbs crawling over blow-down. Packing over rough ground will put you at very serious risk of injury.

If it is a late hunt, go to Wally-world and buy a couple of sleds (put one inside the other for additional rigidity). I've pulled whole, gutted cow-elk down mountains with less effort than packing out one quarter. Even over dry ground, the sleds work remarkably well. HTH, Dutch.

Most of the bone-in hindquarters of the elk we've taken over the years have weighed 110-125 lbs.

AD

I would highly recommend you purchase a very reasonably priced video tape called "From Field To The Table". Make sure you get the Elk one.
Its put out by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and I got mine through Cabela's. REally a fantastic video on how to take care of an Elk once you shoot it.

Ok, you're going to pack an elk out in winter, in snow, 100 lb. loads each time. How far from the road, or snowmobile are you planning to be when you shot this cow? If you say a couple of miles over mountain terrain, forget the rifles you guys ought to be able to run the elk down and strangle it with any problem. Try a sled for snow, I use a Otter snowmobile sled, $150 and tough as nails. Dry ground, game cart, Cabela's has several under $200, buy one.

when i was younger and dumber my partner and i packed out hind quarters of a big bull that were 168 lbs each than the next year we split a spike bull dowm the middle and each put a half on are backs it was very hard but we made it back to the top awe the days of our youth

I've never packed out anything bigger than a whitetail, but during 6 1/2 years in Special Forces I humped my share of heavy loads over brutal terrain. In training, all of us young bucks talked about humping 120-lb rucks. The NCO's stood it for a while then gave us the chance to do it. That shut us up. We learned by getting hurt that a trooper in excellent shape can hump 60 lbs. until the cows come home, and he can hump 80 a long, long way. Once you go much past 80 the injury rate skyrockets, even among seasoned troops. And while pure physical conditioning is vital, you also have to understand how changing conditions affect load-carrying ability. Add snow, darkness or rough terrain - or a combination of them - and the odds of injury go way up unless you cut the load.

Then you have to consider your particular situation and ambitions. If you're much over 40, a typical rough-terrain injury could end your backcountry hunting forever. Even a mild problem could mean a year or more lost while you get back into fighting trim. (I broke a leg a few years ago. I was in great shape but the doc said I would not regain full function. After 2 years of hard work and not hunting the way I truly want to, I got it all back.) If you're under 40 you might be able to afford that. At 43, I can't.

The 80-lb load you're training with now should be about tops unless you're on a pretty good trail most of the time. You'll have to make that call in the field. And while a quarter might weigh 80 or 100 lbs, you have to allow for the weight of your clothing and other gear. That stuff doesn't walk out by itself.

My last advice is to find a new hunting partner. The guy you describe sounds like a backcountry death or injury looking for a place to happen. Make sure he updates his will before you leave, and that you have a way to call for a medevac.


Okie John

Okie John you bring up a good point and yes I am under 40 I am 28 but I do not want an injury that is for sure. I want a safe and fun hunt. As for my partner he is my best friend sometimes he just like to be an ass I think. I told him he better start getting ready he got pissed off but its the truth. I guess I am taking it more serious about training but I always have been that way. I do not want to run out of gas when I am playing hockey or hunting or any other sport. That is just the way I am. Thanks again for the advice.

My $.02...
I have had the good fortune of taking a 5X5 bull, guided by a man who visits this forum pretty regularly. The bull went down at ~0745 hrs, and we were less than 3/4 mile from the truck. Using pack horses (because of my buddy's recent knee surgery and me being a fat flatlander), we got the bull to the check station about half past five that afternoon.

If I remember right, the hinds weighed right at 130 apiece, but we left the hide on them to protect them.

Joel, I still owe you, my friend... I will remember that hunt from now on!

Counting my years guiding I've had the fun of being involved with about 50 elk "removals". I remember three elk that were fun.

The first one I count as two, both cows were shot out of the same big herd about 1/2 mile from the road. One had the manners to run like hell for the road and die, sliding down an embankment to the road.

The other dropped when hit. The snow was deep so brush was not a problem and we figured we'd hall her out whole since it was a reasonable downhill slope, we got about ten yards. Snow started to push up in front and it was obvious that this was not the way to go. I went back to the car and got a kid's snow sled and put her front end on it, worked like a dream. Now for the warning: If the snow is deep enough to slide out over the bush you will probably sink in to the ground depth on every step carrying a heavy pack. Even a 1/2 mile cpould be a death march.

The other one was a nice 5 point that died on a steep hillside just above the road, less than I mile if I remember right. We just let gravity do the work. Still he got hung up a few times and we had to pull him down hill. That's right, I got in front and pulled, fortunately the snow was deep enough I didn't get hurt when he went right over the top of me.

On the other hand I've worked for 2 days to get a bull out of a hell hole 1/2 a mile from the snowmobile and spent half a day, with help, getting a elk a few hundred yards to a horse!

Since then I've not filled my elk tag a few times because the little voice that I never listened to when I was younger now commands a lot of respect. "Exactly how are you planning to get this elk out of here?" Safety back on.

See if there are any outfitters in the area you plan to hunt that offer "pack out" services. $100 is cheap insurance against injuring yourself and even $500 can be a very reasonable if you've shot your elk in an "unreasonable" place.

Since you are a "flat-lander" the 8000 ft elevation is going to kill you even if you are not over 40. Ease into it, even a few days at elevation before you start hunting will help. And don't try to cover the whole mountain the first day or you'll spend the next 2 days wondering why the hell you are doing this!

Last fall 3 of us packed a cow about 1 mile, the next day we packed another cow 1 1/2 mile. We packed a bull that afternoon 4 miles in the knee deep snow. Got back to camp at 11pm. The bull was definatly not fun. The cows actually wern't too bad.

quote:

See if there are any outfitters in the area you plan to hunt that offer "pack out" services. $100 is cheap insurance against injuring yourself and even $500 can be a very reasonable if you've shot your elk in an "unreasonable" place

DAMNED GOOD ADVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


KUDU56, how about sending some of that nice cool rain and 30s temperatures over this way. We really need it! Please don't hawg it all!!

L.W.

Leanwolf-I was at the range tonight (Bozeman) and it was cold and wet enough it almost felt like snow tonight. I wouldn't be too suprised to see some white one of these nights. Up on the peaks that is.

MD

Snowed an inch on the Limestone Peak fire up here today.

Here's the sled I have--works well and its easy to pack, those kiddie sleds are a PITA, the rope holes rip out, etc.

sled

I will say it again. If you have snow there is NO need in finding someone to pack it out. All you need is a sled like this.
We have used the round ones for bull front quarters. You take off the neck and it fits nice.
If you get a cow you can put a half on. If you get a BIG bull you might only want to do a quarter.
These are great sleds and cheap. Ron

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00007KQP...861-0957445?v=glance

Huntermontana: I've come to the same conclusion you have. I've passed on a lot of big bulls because I just could not figure out how I would get them out. I used to live in Wyoming, and I worked hard at altitude every day. Now it takes me about 3 or 4 days to get acclimated, but at my age 53 backpacking out an elk can only be accomplished in pristine weather with a minimum of two people.

I've actually had 3 easy elk. One of them I shot on a hillside, and me and a buddy drug it downhill about 400 yards to the truck. One I shot in the shoulder, and he stumbled downhill until all we had to do was load him in the truck. The third was a huge bull that ran downhill after being heart shot; he fell in some deep snow and sagebrush, but I was able to drive an atv right to him to pull him down the mountain.

The worst one was when I was in my 20's and my buddy in his 40's. We packed a large bull out of a canyon only a mile or so from the road.