Elk hunt planning - Idaho, Montana, or Colorado?

[AZ Vince]

Just to add on to this:

Friend of mine just packed out an elk in five trips over three miles of backcountry this past Fall.

He's young, fit, and makes me look like a wimpy old little thing. He said it almost broke him. The reason I mention it is getting the meat out is the hardest thing. After you shoot your elk is when the work begins. He killed his elk three miles from the road.

 

[buckchaser]

I appreciate the concern regarding fitness, but that is the least of my worries. I spent my 20s training with Olympic level athletes and while at 35 I don't have that level of fitness/strength anymore, I can handle myself in demanding conditions. I know packing out an elk will be brutally tough, but I am confident in my ability to do so based on previous load carrying experience in very demanding terrain.

The meat concerns are very valid. I know it is heavily dependent on terrain, but what do people think is a safe "maximum distance from the truck" in terms of being able to get meat out without spoiling in typical late September weather?

 

[2rocky]

The meat concerns are very valid. I know it is heavily dependent on terrain, but what do people think is a safe "maximum distance from the truck" in terms of being able to get meat out without spoiling in typical late September weather?

In Steep country 3 miles could be too far, and in the right situation 6 miles is doable...No hard and fast rule.

Goal is to get the internal temperature of the meat below 40 degrees within 24 hours. That can be tough if the low temp of an early fall hunt is in the 60's.

The FAO guidelines for commercial animals says:

The rate of cooling at the deepest point will vary according to many factors including the efficiency of the cooler, the load, carcass size and fatness. As a general guide a deep muscle temperature of 6–7° C should be achieved in 28 to 36 hours for beef, 12 to 16 hours for pigs and 24 to 30 hours for sheep carcasses. Failure to bring down the internal temperature quickly will result in rapid multiplication of bacteria deep in the meat resulting in off-odours and bone-taint.

So with that in mind, you have to take a look at how long it will take to make 2-4 trips with meat on your back to somewhere it can get the core temperature down below 40deg F. Whether that is a shady dense streambed, or a windy shaded ridge in a late season setting.

 

[Rizzy]

It will also depend on what the temperatures are, particularly the lows. Assuming your in the higher elevations, if it's getting into the low 30's at night and mid 50's during the day, I don't worry too much. The daily high usually only happens for a couple of hours in the afternoon sun, whereas the low end of the temperature gradient makes up a lot more of the 24 hour period. It could easily be 5-10 degrees cooler in the shade on a north slope during that afternoon high. I did a 3 day pack out in 2011 in these conditions with no issues. Check the conditions before you go, so you know what you have to work with. If the low is only in the mid 40's then you need to be closer to the ice chest.

 

[Jcberg]

Buckchaser,

I have hunted otc public land elk in Montana for the last 3 years so I am far from an expert but have killed 4 elk between me and my buddy. I'm from ND so I'm practically Canadian! I have learned a bunch due in part from the members of Rokslide as well as Elknuts forum. Pm me anytime for my phone number/email and I will "spill my guts" to you haha. I have found many people to be tight lipped when helping newbies but I will give you every bit of help I can as a way of "paying it forward". Great people on this site so learning from them was a great help to me. I consider myself to be a 2 on a scale of 1-10 but I'm always trying to learn and become better!

 

[martin_shooter]

I wouldn't hesitate to hunt Idaho's Middle Fork tag (GMU 20A, 26, and 27) for elk. As long as your ready to work your but off it can be awesome. PM me and I'll give you some areas you can look at maps and decide for yourself.

 

[dble07]

If you aren't planning on hunting til 2016 then you also have the option of just buying a point in wyoming this year then you should have a good probability of drawing a wyoming general tag next year. Although you can't hunt a wilderness area in Wyoming without a guide there are a lot of areas to get into the backcountry and find elk.