Taking an elk out solo

[cohunter14]

I\'m curious to know what those of you do who pack elk out solo. Take us through what you do when you shoot your elk, how you break down the elk, what you do with the meat you can\'t take out on your first trip, and what order you pack things out.

 

[Swede]

Most of the time I am alone when I kill an elk. That was the way it was this year. Hunting alone presents some challenges, but I am used to it. Field butchering is just a job that takes longer when I am alone. Also I can\'t hunt as far away from my truck as I could if I had support. Manipulating the elk and working around certain spots is a pain. I need to get up and readjust my parachute cord that I ties a leg to, fairly frequently. I am pushing or pulling on the elk to move it just a little. The getting up and moving, plus the strain gets to be very tiring.
Killing an elk in the evening and butchering at night also has its issues. This year I got to my elk at 6:00 PM, so I was still gutting, skinning and quartering with my headlamp on and a flashlight in my mouth. I often held a leg with one hand, while I skinned with the other. It just takes longer.
I got tired butchering and was pooped out by the time I started packing. Maybe I should have done the gutless thing, but I have always preferred to gut and quarter.
This year the yellow jackets were terrible, so I was glad that I did not have to contend with them after dark. That is a bonus for shooting your elk in the evening.
As for the quarters left behind, I sack them all and leave it propped up on something close by until I get back. The quarters are not going anywhere. I do not have to worry about them being stolen or eaten while I am gone.

 

[WW]

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[WW]

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Here is another one. The same thing but maybe a little better view.

 

[elky McElkerson]

cool video.

i like Fred! a lot. i\'ve seen him do that on his show, but it is always an abbreviated version.

i go into the cavity to get the heart and liver. can get kinda messy exploring in there.

 

[cohunter14]

Good info guys. Swede, you don\'t hang your quarters at all at the kill site? By not doing that, have you ever had issues with critters showing up? Also, do any of you have a specific order on what you try to take out of the woods first? How many trips is it normally going to take you?

 

[cnelk]

My 2013 bull - solo

Shot it in the evening. By them time I had it quartered up, I was toast.
I hung the quarters in a tree along with my sweaty tshirt and came back the next morning

I took the hind quarters out first with loose meat - 2 trips.
Then both fronts - one trip
Then the head

 

[Swede]

Often I do not hang up the quarters. I don\'t thin Brad hunt the quarters up to protect them from the critters. Anyway I can\'t think of a critter that if it tried could not get to his meat the way it is hung. It looks like it is hung to keep air around it.
I have never had any problem with animals messing with my meat. I often, but not always leave a sweaty shirt at the meat site overnight.

It may sound awful, but I am glad to read that Brad was toast after butchering his elk. Maybe I am normal and not just getting old. It sure makes a difference when you have someone there to help.

 

[elky McElkerson]

Butchering a bull is a lot of work.

I imagine four loads if solo. Probably the single best argument against solo hunting for me.


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