How far out will you kill an elk by yourself?

[FEENIX]

At my age and alone? Not sure if I would shoot it even if I could drive up to it.

This!

Longest I've done was 4 miles. It sucked. A lot.

This year was 3 miles. It sucked. A lot.

They all seem to suck. Antelope are a lot easier to carry out.

My longest was 7 miles from our camp. We dropped 2 bulls. I put in 28 miles to haul my buddy's elk and had to return for mine the following day. I got bovine help from a friend to retrieve mine, but it still took us over 8 hours.

Antelope is one of my favorites to hunt.

 

[VTbluegrass]

Never hunted elk but I do public land hunt deer in swamps. Now opportunities are fairly easy to come by for does in this part of the world but I do go into hunts knowing ahead of time what I will and won't pack out. Usually the second a boat or waders are needed it becomes a buck only hunt.
When I lived in the VA mountains before a lot hinged how much back uphill I had to go. I will take almost anything down the mountain.

 

[ridgewalker]

As a young mid 30s guy I hauled out a spindley 5x5 from the Rawahs 5 miles measured by a string on a map.
Last cow I was 1 1/2 miles in by "the way the crow lies". No idea how far I actually walked. I was 69 yo. A young bud carried 1 load and I carried 4. Totally deboned. Not sure I could do it at 76. Might just take a fork and knife and stay until it's gone.
I took my granddaughter out this season, but lucky or not, we never found one. Only moose, bighorn sheep, deer, antelope, and a lovely red fox. Still a fun trip with the granddaughter.
I may start looking for a guide from now on though.

 

[tomsd]

I had a cow elk tag, this season, and ended up not pulling the trigger because getting to them was so hard when I did the math, I just did not think I could get her out. What do everyone think? What's your worst pack outs? I know I would have made it happen for a bull. The people I talked to had an attitude of "don't work that hard for a cow". I don't know, seasons over and I'm kind of kicking myself. The best thing would have been to be in much better shape, and found some easier elk.

Great post.

 

[Mark37082]

I'm impressed with the amount of effort and stamina it would take to haul out an elk deep in wilderness. My longest haul was on a funky horned whitetail many years ago. I was deep (about 4 miles) in and carrying way too much gear. Shot the buck about 300 yards away from me. He ran and slid down a deep ravine. It was a warm day. I believe it was the closest I have ever been to having a heat stroke. I got him out, but learned a valuable lesson. I will never pull the trigger on any big game animal without calculating the difficulty of the haul out again.

 

[Reelamin]

All depends on the weather, terrain, and type of walking surface. I would figure on at least 3-4 trips in addition to the kill trip for boned out meat. For me two trips a day 3 miles in with a lighter pack is better. I would try to keep it within a mile or 1.5 miles, and yes I would pack out a big bull farther than a cow.

 

[BrentM]

I had a cow elk tag, this season, and ended up not pulling the trigger because getting to them was so hard when I did the math, I just did not think I could get her out. What do everyone think? What's your worst pack outs? I know I would have made it happen for a bull. The people I talked to had an attitude of "don't work that hard for a cow". I don't know, seasons over and I'm kind of kicking myself. The best thing would have been to be in much better shape, and found some easier elk.

My longest pack out was 4 miles at 7000-9000 feet. It was rough on every level for me. Not super steep terrain overall, 1 section is pretty intense, the rest is just typical mountain stuff and no trail. Other packs have been 1-2 miles. I think at my age now and depending on the temps, I'd be done at 1-2 miles out solo.

 

[BillLarson]

First elk hunt I went on was 1970 just after honorable discharge from U.S.Navy,,with brother and buddy from the service....
My buddies brother in law was an outfitter..... around the first nites campfire he shook his finger at us... boys your gonna see elk tommorow..... be sure to look careful.... make sure we can get the elk back out of where it fell.....
That was good advice cause next day we looked down a few canyons with elk.....
Passed on a few shots.....
Moose advice tooo...... dont shoot m in the water.....

 

[lancetkenyon]

I have done some long pack outs. My last elk was about 1.5 miles. It sucked. But sure tasted good for a couple months. We have shot others further out, but been lucky enough to find old roads to get us usually within a mile or two.
I shot a pronghorn 6 miles from my truck. Luckily, my daughter circled around and drove in while on the phone with me to within .25 miles.
My longest mule deer pack out was about 4 miles. It sucked. No other roads in between. I did eventually find another old road about 1.5 miles the opposite way. That area has become a honey hole for us. Killed 5 big mature bucks within 1/4 mile of each other over the years.

 

[Slick8]

Depending on Temps and terrain I'd consider 2 miles solo. That's 3 to 4 trips.

It's been mentioned above but imo a solo pack out is depending on day time Temps, weather severity and elevation gain. On a solo hunt I'm going to be very cautious about shooting in canyon bottoms. Not just from a physical pack out standpoint but from a safety perspective with up and down canyon bottoms.

 

[LouEl]

We debone the elk where it drops and backpack it out. We don't even gut it out. Do one side then roll it over. You can ever get the tender loins out. Put the meat in gallon ziplock bags and backpack it to a creek to cool. When all the meat is in the creek start shutting it to the next creek or to your vehicle. Then return and cape out the head and cut off the horns. Hopefully this will help some hunters enjoy the best eating meat on our planet. Good luck hunting and let the air out your favorite game.

 

[tomsd]

My God - you guys are "animals".

Even over 65 years ago in my youth - we usually drove around - with me spotting from the back of our 57 Ford pickup - or when stalking - or even sitting at a "busy" place in the thick timber around Klamath Falls, Ore- we rarely had to haul a Mulie more than a few hundred yards.

IF it was really 'narly - our usual hunting partner - a Native American family friend (and a WWII Combat Marine Sniper) and patient of my dad - had some beautiful horses - and he/we could pack it out - but don't remember even having to do that.

But there were many more deer then - and Big ones too. We counted by weight (300 lbs was not unusual ss I recall) not points).

Anyhow - we didn't have to work as hard back then- and really didn't have many Elk close to town back in those days - but there are more Elk around the Basin now.

One guy a few years ago shot a HUGE Elk about 10 miles out of town - "hanging out all over the bed of his pickup" - and think the 7x7 graded out at 406?

It was hanging with others in the Big R - until sadly - that store closed down.

Also had Antelope in the basin - but I never really hunted them. One farmer used to spray them with his hose - they were so "tame".

Too Old Tom in San Diego.

 

[Graymun]

Last year I got a nice mule deer, at 4 miles . I know the memory of how hard that was, was a major factor in my decision.

 

[Allen Kitts]

If I have an access route to the animal that allows me to use a game cart or walk on fairly even ground I think I could do a mile or two with a quarter on my back. if its uneven terrain and entails climbing, no way would my knees hold up anymore. My grandson and I passed two bulls last year exactly because of this. He wanted to shoot one so bad and I felt terrible but I told him there was no way that he and I could have gotten one of them out of where they were. Sucks to get old.