Fair Share of Elk?

[Charlie Brown]

We have always split everything equally between the group. Gas, groceries, packing duties, meat. Start out throwing money in the pot to pay for all but personal items and all meat at end of trip divided equal

 

[mnduckhunter7]

We split it evenly with anyone that is on the hunt. Maybe an extra pack of backstraps for the guys that help process it when we get home.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Old rule of thumb for backpacked elk. You take home what you packed out. When I'm running stock - we usually have a reasonable agreement before hand.

 

[ID_Matt]

We generally share a backstrap steak or 2 to whoever helps pack out. I like to think I have a pretty good group of friends. We are always ready to drop everything to help with a pack. I have left at a moments notice to drive 2 hours and help pack and have friends that gladly do it for me.

 

[Indian Summer]

We generally share a backstrap steak or 2 to whoever helps pack out. I like to think I have a pretty good group of friends. We are always ready to drop everything to help with a pack. I have left at a moments notice to drive 2 hours and help pack and have friends that gladly do it for me.

That’s the way it should be. We had an unspoken agreement. That agreement was no questions asked… just pack.

One time my brother texted. Not one but two elk down. He fell and dislocated his shoulder at some point so couldn’t pack anything. He has to be at work in the morning. His hippie buddy who just killed his first elk dressed in ski clothes has no pack and is useless. Lol

Me who is in the middle of a week of outfitting and doesn’t have 2 minutes to spare: “I’ll get some mules up there in the morning and get them out dumbass”

Probably a few years later… after I killed one way the hell in and didn’t get to cell service until after midnight:

Me “Bull down”
Him “Where is it?”
Me “You don’t want to know”
Him “Jesus dude the wife is gonna kill me”
Me “I gotta pick clients up at the airport tomorrow I have to get it out tonight”
Him…… silence
Me “I’m parked at the wide spot down by XXX”
Him “See you in 30. You’re packing two out for me for this you fkn idiot”

And he gets no elk for that.

I guess it’s different for residents and non residents. In Pa if you ask someone to help you drag a deer up a hill back to the truck they do it and then you flop the deer in the truck and shut the tailgate and that’s it. They’ll get their deer. It’s the same for elk when you live where you hunt. But when 4 non residents plan a trip that costs big bucks and they only have a week or two and not everyone is going to punch their tag I guess that’s different. I don’t live where I hunt elk anymore but I’ve just always done it the same way.

 

[ridgefire]

I would happily miss a day or two of hunting to help pack one of my hunting partners elk out and not expect a drop of meat. They do the same in return. Works out great for us. I do have a deal with my brother though. He takes half my elk if I shoot one and I take half his elk if he shoots one.

 

[Gapmaster]

We split everything. Always have. I wouldn’t want it any other way and several times it was my elk split 2,3 and even 4 ways once. Never thought twice about it.

 

[Fullfan]

We do everything as a group, everyone is involved in everything. Driving out, setting up camp, cooking, hunting, packing elk out, and butchering. And all the meat is devided equally. If someone does not like they way we do things, they don’t go w us.

 

[hunterjmj]

We always split food and gas. Animals are always divided equally. Usually we kill enough deer and elk that we all do our own thing. I've had a few old guys in camp and always tell them to just hunt and us younger guys will pack them out. We usually kill an antelope and a few antlerless deer outside our big week long hunt so it's no big deal.

 

[roosiebull]

View attachment 447847

I’m almost as bad, I don’t package backstrap separately unless I’m giving some away… I steak as much of an elk as I can and grind the rest, but all of the steaks are mixed up… I generally gift tenderloins and some of the backstrap to others.

I generally can’t tell that much difference, and I always wanted to hoard the backstrap when I separated them, every year when running low on elk meat, backstrap were always the last ones we ate, so I just started mixing them in… it seems more inclusive too, and in 2022, it makes me feel more progressive, and that makes me feel good about myself.

Now when I’m driving around, I feel like the horn honking and flipping off has to do with my driving style rather than them knowing I segregate my elk meat in the freezer

#allelksteaksmatter

 

[FlareBlitz91]

Some of you are stingey, I come from the Wisconsin deer camp model where all the deer are shared, it’s success as a group.

That being said i butcher my own and put more care into it than most, so i prefer to shoot my own deer and share steaks with friends.

Hell i give meat to my non hunting friends My wife and i need about 1.5 whitetails to not buy beef for the year, which isn’t a hard thing to accomplish.

 

[Indian Summer]

Deer are different. Who has friends that can’t kill as many deer as they want? I do give elk and deer to non hunters.

 

[wind gypsy]

Never packed out elk with people where this had to be a concern.

 

[Banded_spooney]

There seems to be a clear distinction in opinions between the guys that live in elk states and the guys dropping thousands to take group trips and sharing costs.

Ive never really thought about sharing deer but I have shared elk with others and once my uncle killed a cow and we each killed a bull we split the three elk between the two of us.

Once I killed a doe antelope and we each killed a buck. We split the three two ways. Once we killed 5 antelope between 3 of us and we just split it all up.

Twice I was offered to split elk when I was unsuccessful. Both times I politely declined. My freezer is usually pretty full.

Honestly it’s not about the sharing of work for me. It’s if two friends spend big dollars and work together for the same goal it just feels right you share in the bounty.

 

[tracker12]

I hunt with a guy whose wife does not eat wild meat and he can take it or leave it. I tell him take what he wants and head home.

Another big group I hunt with its pretty much you want meat find something and kill it. Otherwise we are telling you how good the meat was.

 

[Ehunter]

We always gave the shooter half and the packers split half. Unless the shooter is so grateful that he might split it all between the packers. We have never had a problem we always discuss it before the hunt.

 

[FlareBlitz91]

We always gave the shooter half and the packers split half. Unless the shooter is so grateful that he might split it all between the packers. We have never had a problem we always discuss it before the hunt.

That seems super fair