Emergency Stretcher for Elk Meat?

[SuspiciousFish]

I am going bow hunting for the first time this fall with a hunting partner. We are trying to figure out a good plan to get the elk meat back to the Side by Side if we are successful. We both have day packs with limited space. Back in boy scouts we ran drills where we lashed branches together to make stretchers to hike 'injured' scouts out of the woods. I was wondering if this same principal could be applied to elk meat?

Here is an example of something you could rig up then lash the meat bags to it and hike it out with a partner:

 

[Legend]

Pick up a couple of 50lb kettle bells and see how far you can walk. I bet you don't make it very far defore your grip strength gives out.

Get a couple cheap frame packs and get it done. I have packed elk on $10 yard sale frame packs.

 

[5MilesBack]

If you want to try and get that through this stuff, go for it. I'd get some hauling packs for your backs.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

If you want to try and get that through this stuff, go for it. I'd get some hauling packs for your backs.
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You make a valid point.

 

[5MilesBack]

I have a buddy that uses kid's lightweight plastic snow sleds that they sometimes sell at Walmart. But that's once he gets the meat to a spot where he has the terrain to pull those.

 

[mfllood3800]

Me and a guy drug a spike elk thru that type of downfall- never again. I had a Kifaru too, but he stumbled upon me as I was recovering the dead elk and asked, you want me to help you drag that?. He had no pack on and was wearing tennis shoes. I am guessing he did this often.....not me, I was spent. Just us 2 dragging that small spike about 1/2 mile thru the nasty killed my hands grip strength. The only way is to qtr it and go. Now if I owned a helicopter....................

 

[WCB]

We came across a couple guys going in to help their dad get a whitetail out of a drainage in WY...They had like a 10ft pole said they were just going to carry it out (mind you Wyoming WTs in this area are like 140lbs for a mature buck). They came walking across this meadow 30minutes later. Looked like the most miserable thing I have ever seen (and I used to do flooring carrying 12-15ft carpet rolls into jobs or folding them in half and carrying them up multiple floors on my back) and they still had like 1.5miles to go to the truck.

Your arms, hands will be shot in no time...plus having to go all the way back to the truck to get it. Do as others have said....get some cheap frame packs and IMO just strap you day pack to it so you can just cut it up and start getting it back to the truck.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Thanks for the input everyone. It was an idea that crossed my head but universally it looks like a bad idea. I have a KUIU pack that has a lot of strap options and I can load up the meat on that.

 

[11boo]

We did the meat pole thing, and it worked well, only because there was a good trail all the way, and it was a short walk.

 

[Parker15]

I like it!

 

[Larry Bartlett]

ha! no sir. I LOVE it. You should definitely try that out and report back here....

 

[Larry Bartlett]

how bout a hover board with a magic carpet. Man could do things with that set up.

 

[Clarktar]

@SuspiciousFish we have similar styles it seems. I too have learned almost all my lessons in life the hard way.

You can find some very inexpensive old mountaineering backpacks that would serve you better than the DIY stretcher. Garage sales, craigslist, second hand stores.

Just my .02 from a fellow hard learner.

 

[wytx]

Just buy a cheap frame and get better harness for it than the stock one. Kelty, Stansport, Alps, Allen, etc all for about $100 or less. Upgrade the shoulder harness and hip belt maybe.
Garage sales, etc as mentioned are great spots to buy too.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

Me and a guy drug a spike elk thru that type of downfall- never again. I had a Kifaru too, but he stumbled upon me as I was recovering the dead elk and asked, you want me to help you drag that?. He had no pack on and was wearing tennis shoes. I am guessing he did this often.....not me, I was spent. Just us 2 dragging that small spike about 1/2 mile thru the nasty killed my hands grip strength. The only way is to qtr it and go. Now if I owned a helicopter....................

was the other guy Brock Lesnar ?

 

[Randle]

I learned the hard way too. I shot a buck 3 mikes in. Not to bad. That was back when we drug them out almost all downhill, til it wasnt.....
Anyway all we had were small day packs, hey lets gut it and do the "pilgrim carry" on a meatpole between us . Cool idea thats how they carried deer when men were men...
Well after about 200 yards of 3 inches of snow covered North Idaho mts and multiple speed sticks we ended up cutiing in in 1/2 and over the shoulders it went . Now it is gutless and a pop up frame.
Daypack should even be able to haul first load out in my opinion.

 

[Jstumbaugh]

I learned the hard way too. I shot a buck 3 mikes in. Not to bad. That was back when we drug them out almost all downhill, til it wasnt.....
Anyway all we had were small day packs, hey lets gut it and do the "pilgrim carry" on a meatpole between us . Cool idea thats how they carried deer when men were men...
Well after about 200 yards of 3 inches of snow covered North Idaho mts and multiple speed sticks we ended up cutiing in in 1/2 and over the shoulders it went . Now it is gutless and a pop up frame.
Daypack should even be able to haul first load out in my opinion.

We took a deer up a hillside one time in our Catstill "Mountains". That pole had just enough bounce to it that you had to time your steps with the other guy to keep the bounce cadence in sync. Never again.

 

[Clarktar]

We took a deer up a hillside one time in our Catstill "Mountains". That pole had just enough bounce to it that you had to time your steps with the other guy to keep the bounce cadence in sync. Never again.

Oh man. Memory lane here. I recall trying the pole method between two guys. The bounce is unreal!!!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Randle]

Haha we didnt get far enough to experience any bounce it was 2 steps, speed stick, slide the wrong way, fall, get up and try a couple more steps. Ok this is no good.
With these 2 person methods you at the mercy of gravity and the other persons balance or lack there of..

 

[ToolMann]

I don't drag anything. If we shoot something it is getting cut up and packed.