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How far out will you kill an elk by yourself?

Stokesrjsr said:
I'll be 70 years old next month and I hunt a wilderness area in Arizona mostly archery and mostly bulls. I've hunted this area for 44 years now and in that time I've killed one bull with a rifle, 17 bulls with a bow, compound, recurve, and longbow, and 4 cows with bow. Some have been close to a road, most were not. Many were around 4 miles, and many were when I was by myself.

Over time I just learned to use a light weight tarp and good game bags to quarter and then bone out the meat. I usually take o e load that I can comfortably pack, let's say 65 lbs and hang the rest in trees. It may take me 3 or 4 trips and some times more than a day but I can still get it done.

My method of hunting cows, which is mostly what I do now due to tag availability and my waining years remaining to draw tags, usually results in me killing big mature cows. And I do think about how to get them closer to roads, but in the end, I do whatever it takes.
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I learned as you're statements outline after years of hunting far from roads that "Keep it simple, Keep it light" makes your hunt, the kill and a long pack out manageable. Getting old forces US to think outside the box. Fortunately today I have 3 younger Boys (They are in their 40s) who enjoy my company. and do most of the heavy work. I am thankful!
 
GonzoK34 said:
I learned as you're statements outline after years of hunting far from roads that "Keep it simple, Keep it light" makes your hunt, the kill and a long pack out manageable. Getting old forces US to think outside the box. Fortunately today I have 3 younger Boys (They are in their 40s) who enjoy my company. and do most of the heavy work. I am thankful!
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You are blessed
 
Over here in the UK we have an alien species or two, muntjac deer a small deer - a big buck is 40 pounds, dressed out about 30.
Since I was 75 these are my big game and about all I could manage to drag out.
The other alien is the chinese water deer, similar in size but I've never seen one of those.
FWIW the little muntjacs are the tastiest venison, imho, and it and the CWD are the only ones in england we can legally shoot with a 223, I gotta say even that's OTT for them. I preferred my 30/30 loaded with cast boolits to the minimum muzzle energy (1000 ft.lbs) as ranges tend to be short.
They count as varmints, no closed season and no limits when culling but they cost a pretty penny for a trophy buck on estates that sell stalking.
As I get older the blood lust has virtually vanished and I'm quite happy to bum some venison from my more mobile mates rather than get out in the field so my response to the OP is as far as it is to my cell phone.........
 
340 in Va said:
For the last 20 year it was shoot them where you saw them and then worry about getting it out. Now at 68 things have changed. The question is why hunt somewhere your not going to shoot?
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I don't think the entire area is a no shoot zone, more likely its that spot. Generally where I hunt there is plenty of places that are good, fine, ok, meh, not great, ummmmm, oh thats not going to happen. That could all be in a 5 mile hike.

Back to the original post:
Solo hunting is a different gig and until you've pulled a huge bull out of some he!! hole it's hard to appreciate the suffering. Realistically a huge bull is 300 lbs of meat off the bone plus cape and antlers. Cow and small bull will be around 200. Cape and antlers could easily be another 75. If you are not going to pull the cape on a monster bull that's you're call but it's hard to pass that up. I sold last years cape to help cover the other taxidermy costs. I've left many capes on the mountain. Anyway, back to the weight........ here's the rub, in order to pull 300 lbs of meat out and then the rack and cape..... what are you capable of. This where we have to be brutally honest with ourselves and cut through all the ego bs and chest beating. There really isn't that many people capable of packing out an elk in 1 day 4 miles back solo. Do the math...... day 3 your'e already bit ragged out.... shoot the bull at first light, gutless/gut, skin, cut, tag, bag, 4 hours, first load out, noon. 8 miles. Second load, 16 miles. Third load, 24 miles. To pull a monster off the hill with 375lbs of elk in 3 hauls is 125lbs each haul and 12 hours of hiking at 2 mph average. Realistically its a 2 day pack out and 4 trips at 16 miles each day at 90 lbs per pack. I think a small bull and cow is doable in 1 return trip with a pack out at 100 lbs on the first out and return...... if you are capable in that particular terrain.
 
BrentM said:
I don't think the entire area is a no shoot zone, more likely its that spot. Generally where I hunt there is plenty of places that are good, fine, ok, meh, not great, ummmmm, oh thats not going to happen. That could all be in a 5 mile hike.

Back to the original post:
Solo hunting is a different gig and until you've pulled a huge bull out of some he!! hole it's hard to appreciate the suffering. Realistically a huge bull is 300 lbs of meat off the bone plus cape and antlers. Cow and small bull will be around 200. Cape and antlers could easily be another 75. If you are not going to pull the cape on a monster bull that's you're call but it's hard to pass that up. I sold last years cape to help cover the other taxidermy costs. I've left many capes on the mountain. Anyway, back to the weight........ here's the rub, in order to pull 300 lbs of meat out and then the rack and cape..... what are you capable of. This where we have to be brutally honest with ourselves and cut through all the ego bs and chest beating. There really isn't that many people capable of packing out an elk in 1 day 4 miles back solo. Do the math...... day 3 your'e already bit ragged out.... shoot the bull at first light, gutless/gut, skin, cut, tag, bag, 4 hours, first load out, noon. 8 miles. Second load, 16 miles. Third load, 24 miles. To pull a monster off the hill with 375lbs of elk in 3 hauls is 125lbs each haul and 12 hours of hiking at 2 mph average. Realistically its a 2 day pack out and 4 trips at 16 miles each day at 90 lbs per pack. I think a small bull and cow is doable in 1 return trip with a pack out at 100 lbs on the first out and return...... if you are capable in that particular terrain.
Click to expand...
That's why I hunt rag horns where I can drive my four-wheeler within half a mile. Probably never kill a big bull there, but there's plenty of meat for the freezer, and I'm definitely a meat guy, and that's why I can't hike in five miles and get an elk out lol.
 
I have 400yds of rope in my truck bed...😉 So willing to go at least that far. Hiked in 5 miles once and found elk, during December archery, there was even a legal bull in the bunch, and it was 330pm. To far away to shoot and then they spoke out of there. I was questioning if I even wanted to shoot one. Enough roads around here that usually not too far away from anything I shoot.
 
I took my first 6x6 bull 22 years ago when I was 48 years old. It fell between two dead falls and I turned that bull over and had the head pointed uphill, field dressed and propped open for cooling fairly quickly. Now, I need help just to turn the **** thing over to field dress, much less get the head pointed uphill!!! For me, 60 was the start of setting realistic goals. I might add that until I hit 60, I had only taken two bucks that were 4x4 or larger, but since 60, I've taken 8 more and have hunted much closer to the vehicles. It seemed as I slowed down and paid more attention to the terrain and did more glassing that I became much more successful in the field.
 

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