Backpack for Moose?

[actionshooter]

I hope this is OK in the general section. I am in the planning stages of a 2013 moose/caribou float trip on one of the tributaries to the Yukon. I have a MR Grizzly I have been using as my main backpack for the last 3-4 years and was wondering if you guys thought it was OK to haul moose quarters or if I should look at an external frame?
Never hunted moose before and was wondering if a moose hind quarter would even fit inside (diameter)?
Opinions??
Thanks! Steve

 

[RosinBag]

I would think it would fit, but it will be tight. It wouldn't hurt to have a Barney's Frame at your float camp. I would think you would be more comfortable with the Barney's with those heavy loads.

 

[Matt Cashell]

An Alaskan Yukon moose quarter won't fit "in" anything. I was stunned. My moose has well over 600 pounds of hanging meat. The backstraps were over 6 feet long. Subtract a bit more than 100 pounds of bone and use the rule of thirds, and you have a live weight of over 1500 pounds. That's a few hundred pounds over a big horse.

Get an external frame, because you are going to want to leave the bone in to keep the meat better, especially if you shoot one early in the float. Shoot them close to the river.

We weren't on a float, so we used a Rhino pack, and it worked great.