How far would you hike for a crack at this buck

3796 Views 32 Replies 21 Participants Last post by ridgetop, Jul 19, 2015

Truelife

Discussion Starter · Jul 17, 2015

Curious to see what everyone's thoughts are. He's down in a canyon that you can't go out the bottom of, so if you get lucky it's all back up hill with your prize.

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2full

· #2 · Jul 17, 2015

I shot a 27" 4 point, big body buck in a hole like that one year(2010).
Was all by myself........
I had always wondered what I would do if I ever got one there.
My little pack saw broke as I tried to cut him up. Got the head off was all.
The body was a miserable drag all the way up........
It was 2 years before my back was right again. :sad:

Critter

· #3 · Jul 17, 2015

In my younger days I would shoot first and worry about the pack out later.........What am I saying??????? I still do that and I am in my 60's now.

I have always gotten all the meat off the mountain sooner or later. There were a few times that I wondered if I was going to be able to do it but I got it done.

Truelife

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 17, 2015

Sounds familiar. I hunted down in the same area several years ago for elk. My buddy shot one that year way down in the bottom. It nearly killed us trying to get that thing out and we've hunted uphill every year since then.

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elkfromabove

· #5 · Jul 17, 2015

I actually voted before I read the OP and I'd like to change my vote (500 yds) to he!! no! Level ground, yes, but an uphill drag would probably be a one way trip to the hunter's promised land or wherever people go who intentionally kill animals.

Truelife

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 17, 2015

Sounds like I should start another poll about dragging vs. boning and packing.

Another thing I have never ever done since the dead elk at the bottom story is to drag a deer.

I have packed out several 160'ish bucks on my own, and a few packs that held 1/2 of a spike elk.

Dragging suuuuuucks!

Reactions: 3

alpinebowman

· #7 · Jul 17, 2015

These all seem like pretty short distances to me. I have packed out smaller bucks 3+ miles. No one every said I was very smart but dumb brawn fills my archery tags.

I agree dragging is the worst. 200 yards on flat ground is about my max drag distance. I debone/quarter after that.

Reactions: 1

polarbear

· #8 · Jul 17, 2015

I'll go just about anywhere for a deer, especially if you have one more person to split the weight. With elk, you have to choose your battles.

Reactions: 1

DallanC

· #9 · Jul 17, 2015

Are we talking hiking UP XYZ yards or DOWN XYZ yards? Last years buck I went up a very steep mt to kill one, 1 good kick sent it nearly halfway down to the road, next kick took it down to 10 yards from the road where I dressed it. I really don't care to haul things UP out of hellholes anymore, no matter how big the antlers are.

-DallanC

Reactions: 1

Lonetree

· #10 · Jul 17, 2015

Anything around a mile can be a one trip, one person, pack out, though it may be very slow going depending on terrain. Really steep and deep, or over one mile you start splitting up trips. Last time I dragged anything was two years ago, it was an antelope, and I regretted it. It was about 1/2 of a mile, and it was a small doe, so it was easy. I dragged her to the road and then field dressed. I should have just cut here up on the spot.

You can spot a deer like that with 10x32s at two miles. I would take that deer with a two mile pack in most terrain. I passed on two like that last year that would have been two mile pack outs. I took a nice three point with a one mile pack out, because of health and time constraints.

hunting777

· #11 · Jul 17, 2015

Truelife said:
Sounds like I should start another poll about dragging vs. boning and packing.

Another thing I have never ever done since the dead elk at the bottom story is to drag a deer.

I have packed out several 160'ish bucks on my own, and a few packs that held 1/2 of a spike elk.

Dragging suuuuuucks!

Dragging does suck, but for some reason I always do. I always tell myself, the next animal I shoot that I am going to debone it and pack it out. Then I think , what the heck the truck is only a little ways ahead. by the time I am into the drag a couple hundred yards, I regret my decision. So hopefully we'll see what happens this year.

Lonetree

· #12 · Jul 17, 2015

DallanC said:
Are we talking hiking UP XYZ yards or DOWN XYZ yards? Last years buck I went up a very steep mt to kill one, 1 good kick sent it nearly halfway down to the road, next kick took it down to 10 yards from the road where I dressed it. I really don't care to haul things UP out of hellholes anymore, no matter how big the antlers are.

-DallanC

I have a bad ACL, so up hills are preferred to down hills in my case.

Packout

· #13 · Jul 17, 2015

I'm somewhere in between the "500 yards" and the "however far it takes". 2500 verticle feet would have me guessing if it is worth it. I've packed animals out of holes and I hope to do it again, but sometimes a guy has to know his limitations.

It amazes me how little of the deer some guys bring out of the deep holes/long packs. A couple years ago I shot a 7 year old buck that I had to pack out of a hole about 3/4 mile up hill and then it was 2.1 miles to the truck. My pack with the boned out meat, cape, skull, spotter, ML and a little minor gear weighed 133 lbs. I'll make two trips the next time.

Lone- I hear you on the ACL. I packed out 5 deer and a moose last year with no ACL. Uphill was manageable, but downhill was brutal. Now I have a new ACL, ALL, and meniscus repair so I can't pack anything this Fall. Not sure which is worse......

Critter

· #14 · Jul 17, 2015

Packout said:
It amazes me how little of the deer some guys bring out of the deep holes/long packs. A couple years ago I shot a 7 year old buck that I had to pack out of a hole about 3/4 mile up hill and then it was 2.1 miles to the truck. My pack with the boned out meat, cape, skull, spotter, ML and a little minor gear weighed 133 lbs. I'll make two trips the next time.

.

This has been a gripe of mine ever since the gutless method of boning out a animal has become popular. Even last year I found 2 deer with only the hinds, back straps and head that were brought out with the front shoulders and ribs left behind. They didn't even bother to get the tenderloins out either. They were close enough together that I surmised that they were shot by the same group of hunters.

My last long pack was over 3/4 of a mile uphill and all of the deer came out with me. It took me 2 trips to get all the meat out and I then went back in for the head and cape.

Truelife

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jul 17, 2015

Packout said:
It amazes me how little of the deer some guys bring out of the deep holes/long packs.

I hear ya on this one too. And often times these are the guys who will tell you they shot that small buck because they were "meat hunting"

There have been times when I sure wanted to leave some of that behind, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

On the other hand I saw a guy from another state shoot a small buck one time. He cleaned everything out up to the diaphragm and I guess he thought that was it. Then he drug it straight up a hill while smoking several cigarettes as he went.

He was about to die when he finally got to the top. I got a good laugh when I saw what he had left inside.

Lonetree

· #16 · Jul 17, 2015

Packout said:
I'm somewhere in between the "500 yards" and the "however far it takes". 2500 verticle feet would have me guessing if it is worth it. I've packed animals out of holes and I hope to do it again, but sometimes a guy has to know his limitations.

It amazes me how little of the deer some guys bring out of the deep holes/long packs. A couple years ago I shot a 7 year old buck that I had to pack out of a hole about 3/4 mile up hill and then it was 2.1 miles to the truck. My pack with the boned out meat, cape, skull, spotter, ML and a little minor gear weighed 133 lbs. I'll make two trips the next time.

Lone- I hear you on the ACL. I packed out 5 deer and a moose last year with no ACL. Uphill was manageable, but downhill was brutal. Now I have a new ACL, ALL, and meniscus repair so I can't pack anything this Fall. Not sure which is worse......

Ouch!!! on your ACL, on several counts.

Last year I dumped my gear from my pack after the shot(came back for it later, and debated on leaving my rifle behind as well). My three pound empty pack was 100# once it was loaded, and then I was still packing the rifle(its small and light fortunately).

People not packing out meat/gutless method: There is definitely some issues here. And on the other side I have seen animals field dressed, drug through the dirt, and hung in the sun, or thrown in a hot truck, only to have just as much wasted as guys not using the gutless method correctly. Improper care of game is something that has gone on for a very long time.

2full

· #17 · Jul 17, 2015

I wanted to 1/4 mine to get it out till the saw broke.
I drug the whole body up because I would not feel right if I don't get all the meat out.
Was beggining to wonder about that about 2/3 of the way up.
What was real miserable was I got the head off before the saw broke..........So my handles (antlers) were gone. Had to drag by the hooves. It Sucked !!

Lonetree

· #18 · Jul 17, 2015

I don't carry a saw anymore, just spare knife blades. You can dismember and bone out without a saw. I'm a hack, but getting better at this.

Reactions: 2

Kwalk3

· #19 · Jul 18, 2015

Lonetree said:
I don't carry a saw anymore, just spare knife blades. You can dismember and bone out without a saw. I'm a hack, but getting better at this.

Boning it out is the way to go. Takes some time the first few tries, but definitely no need for a saw, or to pack out extra weight in bones.

Reactions: 1

Springville Shooter

· #20 · Jul 18, 2015

I would kill him anywhere within one days hike. That would be 6-7 flat miles or 2-5 steep miles. I use the bone out method. I've weighed the recovered meat twice and it was between 90-100 lbs both times. I take everything but bloodshot meat and ribs. All the neck, shoulders, straps, tenders, and hams.------SS

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