Packing out game, what do you use?

the keepa said:
Ryan robert, really like your moose sled...looks like it would work better than a fiberglass trappers sleigh ...especially when there is no snow on the ground.
Is the curled up front a separate piece tacked on?
Looks, to me, like the rolled out plastic is bigger than a split up barrel.
I need to make one .
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Ya the piece on front is added on, another piece of barrel, Here in NB your not supposed to quarter your animal to get it out of the woods, it retarded i know!!!
But it works good for large deer or moose, ive seen us pull a full moose on one of these sleds and 2 or 3 guys with a good length of rope.
 
ryan robert said:
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I can see why you need that thing with that 2 wheel drive in the background:50cal:
 
eamon said:
why would you shoot something where you can't get a truck to?
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Probably because not all of us are ROAD HUNTERS!

To answer your question though....to pack out on our horses we use "meat bags". Essentially they are huge saddle bags. We roll ours up and they fit behind the seat of the saddle. These fit over either a standard saddle or a sawbuck, or pack saddle. It usually means that we ride in and walk out. With two horses, one takes the front quarters, back straps, etc. The other will take the hinds. If we use "heavy" horse such as half drafts, which we do, they can even pack out half the elk and we can still ride atop the quarters, for a while anyhow. The bags are made either of canvas or a heavily reinforced rubbery type material. Mine are made by Robin Burwash, the heavy rubbery ones. The key here is to debone as much of the animal in the field and not pack out unnecessary bone mass, hide and other stuff. If necessary, then an overnight stay is required and maybe a second trip. Here are a couple of pics of the horses ready to pack out a bull. Believe it or not, there's a full bull elk on both them thar' hosses. :)

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Workin Man said:
For those who hunt without an ATV or horse and where a truck can't go, what sort of pack do you use? Internal or external frame? Any specific brands you would recommend or advise avoiding? I'm looking for something specifically for hauling quartered game, not so much for hauling gear, though if its good for that also, so much the better.
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Get a better truck...
 
Sometimes you could just cross that bridge when you come to it. If down South here, probably the land owner would give you a hand with it with a quad or tractor if need be. Or if up in the North, every second house has a quad or at least someone who hunts moose etc. There should be someone willing to help out if there is something in it for them, ie. a case of coolies or a share in the game. But anyways, if you dump something that big, you could probably afford to part with a quarter or something. Assuming there arent too many of you guys in your group. If your group is big enough, then surely someone has a quad.
 
Don't ever let go of the attitude of going hard and long my friend. That is what separates pussies from hard core hunters. I like your question, it tells me that your willing to go the distance. Before the evolution of "going anywhere" vehicles, we didn't care. We would, and still do deal with it as it comes....that's is what true hunting is all about. At the end of the day, or two days or maybe three, that's what brings us closer together. Telling the stories of how we got that bull outta there are fond memories that we speak of and will take to our graves. The pulling the trigger was the easy part.....after that, the work begins, but the friendships and memories are deep, real deep. HUNT HARD OR GO HOME.
 
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Chaim saw winch

Suprised no one mentioned on of these. Best thing since sliced bread. Mount it to a pack frame to carry it to the moose run out the cable hook it up and let her rip. It will pull a 800lbs moose faster than you can run. Great for getting them in the hanging tree as well.
 
The easiest is shooting it somewhere you can get a truck in, of course.:evil:

I use a Bull Pac. Packed out (thank god it was downhill) a deboned moose (150 lb packs) this year, as well as a couple of deer. For packing out heav loads, the Bull Pac is hard to beat, but they are not cheap.:)
 
gitrdun said:
Don't ever let go of the attitude of going hard and long my friend. That is what separates some of us from pussies and hard core hunters. I like your question, it tells me that your willing to go the distance. Before the evolution of "going anywhere" vehicles, we didn't care. We would, and still do deal with it as it comes....that's is what true hunting is all about.
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My thoughts exactly. Getting into the real remote spots is a big part of the fun of hunting. If I have to hike in a few Km's from where I left the truck to get away from all the other hunters, no problem. If it takes some extra effort to get the animal out, so be it.

I really thought this would be a debate about internal vs external frame packs. I was a bit surprised at some of the ideas thrown out there, like Ryan Roberts homemade sled. That looks like a great idea for his purposes, but I don't need to bring out a moose intact. Thanks for all the ideas, I think though I will be getting an external frame pack of some sort.

Gatehouse, I did a search for the Bull Pac, when you said it wasn't cheap I was almost afraid to find out the price, not that bad considering what you are getting. It looks incredibly sturdy and I was very surprised at its weight. I have also been looking at pack frames from Cabela's and other sources, they all have adjustable attachment points for the shoulder straps to customize the fit. The Bull Pac sight didn't mention this, do they have similar adjustments built in?
 
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Older Jansport external frame with the pack parts removed. It's been a good reliable piece of gear over the years.

That's half a mule deer on it, and it came off the mountain in the background. No quad access up there!

RC
 
An external frame is most definitely the way to go. I had the luxury of packing three bighorn sheep and an elk this fall so I had a bit of experience this year. I've been involved in packing several moose and other assorted big critters over the years and it's simply a matter of enough trips with enough manageable pieces. Packing 100 pounds isn't that difficult and loads of 120-140 are manageable for short distances. I use a Mad Dog pack and like it for the most part. It can definitely handle the big loads.

I killed an elk this year that we had to backpack about an hour down to a meadow where we could get a game cart to. It only took two of us two trips (we totally deboned it). From there we loaded all the meat on a game cart and pulled that 5 kilometres back to the truck.

I love all this talk of guys not hunting away from the truck...it leaves so much more country for me...lol

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