Hiring an outfitter to pack elk out?

[brunse]

So how many roksliders hire an outfitter to pack an elk out?

Thanks.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

I carry my elk on my back. Have done the equine thing in the Lower-48, but only for mountain lions.

 

[11boo]

If you run into the cowboys keeping an eye on the cattle up there, be very nice to them.

 

[Geewhiz]

Chop it up and carry it out on your back. Its part of the experience.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I've done it both ways. $250-300 has been the going rate charged by outfitters for elk retrieval in the area I typically hunt.

 

[streetdoctor]

It would be the same price to just rent horses...

 

[BadTostada]

Chop it up and carry it out on your back. Its part of the experience.

 

[Rocky723]

Get in shape and make the pack out on your back or like someone else said be extra nice to the cowboys watching the cattle in your area if there is any and they might just maybe will be willing to help you out.

 

[DrHogfan]

We are in the same position. We could do the hike, and have done it, but after driving 16+ hours straight after work to get to the trailhead and do a brutal hike in, we are thinking about changing it up this year and hiring an outfitter to pack us in just to drop us off at elevation; no drop camp, so we can at least start hunting with fresh legs and not waste 7-8 hours hiking in. With only 8 days to hunt, every hour counts, we'd rather be efficient. With that said, the prices are varied, some will pack you in for $250 (guide and horse) + $250/horse and then will retrieve game if needed for additional cost, while others charge and up front for the pack in/out and game retrieval that is in the $1200/person range. From what we could find out, nobody in that area is doing meat pack outs only, just if you hired them for some sort of pack in service.

 

[Gerbdog]

I cant say ive ever paid anyone anything for hunting to date... but someday i think i'd like to go on a guided hunt when i can justify the price... likely when im older and the body has been punished enough from years of hunting big game on my back.

If you quarter it up its manageable. Hang it in a cool spot and you can take a couple days to get it done. The first lift off the ground your going to wonder what you got yourself into and if its possible... but keep moving and for me... i dont sit down when i rest i just lean on a tree.... too much on the knees for me to squat a hind quarter up and down too many times on the pack out.

 

[muddydogs]

First you would have to find an outfitter that would be willing to stop what he is doing to come pack out an elk for you. Any outfitter worth a darn will be booked with paying clients and busy taking care of them with little time left to pack out an elk for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[Dirtbag]

What's your energy and time worth? With only packing it out on your back as an option, will that limit you as to where you are willing to hunt? If you expect it to take a couple days to pack it out on your back I'd consider getting a pack out service. Why burn up your body and two paid days of vacation just packing meat?

 

[S-3 ranch]

Rent some pack llamas or goats

 

[stanginthe11s]

i have looked into getting an elk packed out in the area I hunt and quickly realized it was a waste of time and money. I was told by multiple outfits that I would have to have it quartered and brought to the nearest trail to be picked up. so basically I do all the work plus pay you to stand there and watch? I don't hunt trails so if I already have to pack it to a trail I may as well just put it in my cooler myself. be sure to talk to the outfit you're looking at first so you don't get stuck in that type of situation.

 

[PaBone]

I entertained hiring an outfitter last year since I'm in my 60's now. I got the name of a local horse trainer that worked at a stable. I talked to him on the phone and he offered to pack an elk out for free, said it was illegal to take money and said he would not even except a tip. Just does it for friends just to get his horses some work. We ended up just packing my son's bull out last year on our backs like a jackwagon and it usually only takes a few days to get over the pain. But what a generous offer from a local Montanian to a person he doesn't even know.

 

[rayporter]

read post 11.

 

[Titan_Bow]

Make friends with guys that own good backpacks and are in great shape…
Listen, I get it, packing a bull out, especially solo, sucks ass. I don’t care how internet tough you claim to be, it hurts, it sucks, it damn near makes you cry. I get that it’s part of the journey, but I feel you have an obligation to the animal and to this wonderful resource we get the pleasure to participate in, to get all that meat out of there. If that means hiring a packer, bribing friends, or calling mountain rescue (just kidding ) you owe it to have a plan on the FRONT END to get that animal out.
I think what internet tough guys fail to tell you (not claiming anyone on this thread is a internet tough guy btw) and what many new elk hunters fail to realize, is how many miles you are in for once the animal is down.
Imagine you are about 4 miles from the truck. Your first trip back is likely camp and a smallish load of meat -4 miles. Back to the kill site and back with a heavy load , now you are at 12 miles. Back at it with a second heavy load, now you are at 20 miles. A third load is 28 miles, fourth and hopefully final load, 36 miles. Depending on how hot it is and whether or not you have a good cool place to hang the meat, this can be done as quickly as a day or so, or spread out over a few days. However, most people are not thinking in the context of 36 or more miles, they are thinking 4 miles from the truck.
This is why I like to shoot elk close to the truck, or in the snow and use a sled


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[Ucsdryder]

Next someone will be saying, hiking around the woods is hard work. Imagine if there was a way to get your meat already killed and packaged.

 

[brunse]

Thanks for the… advice.

 

[Ross]

A decade ago in Montana found another hunter with stock best $100 bucks I ever spent