how much weight will you carry?

[eLightfoot]

In my short experience backpack hunting, every time an animal was taken I was with another person. A buddy is a great thing to have in such situations. Meat can be divided and packs are reasonable weight, 80-90lbs for a deer.

My hunting partner went out over the weekend by himself and killed a monster blacktail deer. He was 4 miles down in a canyon and had to do it all himself. sounds simple enough, guys pack out elk...... At the most a blacktail weighs 180-200lbs on the hoof. Any way he called me on his way home and told me it took him 8 hours to pack out and his pack was retarded heavy. keep in mind this guy is about 5'-7" 160 lbs.

When he got home and called me he told me he weighed his pack in at 145lbs! This guy is a mobile butcher, he has killed thousands of farm animals and butchered them out. He has probably gutted, skinned, and boned out more animals than anyone on here. He does not waste a bit of good meat.

My question is...... How do you solo hunters pack out HUGE animals from deep out there? I know multiple trips is the way but that is a lot of trips for an elk. Espesially if you are more than a couple miles in and have to go up hill, or even down hill is tough on the knees with that weight. How many solo trips to get a fully deboned elk out? How much weight can you carry?

 

[Ross]

After archery season I am coming exactly like your friend, 160 and 5'7".........with 9 knee surgeries, and two rebuilds all on one knee and entering this season at 50 yrs young, I know my limits. I will not pack more than 80 pds at a time.......my motto is slow and steady and take the needed trips to get one out without injury....when you are doing this by yourself it is a ton of work......my bull this year took me 9 hrs to get it back to the rig by myself with 5 trips......I was spent and basically spent 24 hrs sleeping afterwards...and my knee was not pretty but I got it done injury free and a smile 2 days later when I woke up...each person has to know their limits and be prepared and help ready at a calls notice..........for my 2nd tag depending on location I have several peeps to call should I need help, otherwise it will be another 9 hr day or more

 

[KMT]

If packing out an elk uphill, I do it in two miserable trips or three not quite as miserable trips. It seems that most of my elk have weighed about 220-260 lbs boned out. No matter where I go, I bring enough gear to spend a couple of days on the mountain in case something bad happens. So my pack, without any elk meat, probably weighs around 20 lbs.

If I'm packing something out down a steep downhill, I carry much less weight. Three trips minimum. It's a lot easier to trip or lose your footing going downhill.

 

[bobhunts]

I have not done it solo but with one other and maybe a phone call to another if needed. Usually with three we can do it all in one trip bone in but I am done with that after two moose this year. Even alone I believe three trips would do it including what you packed in if you are in decent shape and the distance not being over two miles or less if uphill. The deal breaker is what pack you wear on your back. I did a bone in hind and front with my day pack on top two miles in on a Kelty Cache hauler last year and even wondered to myself if I would get it done but I did. This year with a bone in ( Alaska regs where we were} a 100 lb plus moose hind bone in was a'lot more comfy using my Kifaru and load hauler. I am done shopping for packs and happy that it worked out so well on my trip to Alaska. The pack will make a difference! I am not doing free advertising just telling you they fit! Get a pack that fits and life becomes a'lot better. Bob.

 

[luke moffat]

Terrain, distance, timeframe to be out all play a role in this. Someplaces I can ground and slog along with 120-130 pounds and some places require I trip the animal out of that hell hole. Just depends. Granted at 155 pounds I tap out at around 120-130 if the terrain is decent. If on a trail I'm sure it'd be a bit more, but we are rarely blessed with such things generally.


I know there are guys that do 140-160 pound pack outs and I gotta say for me its exponential weight after about 90 pounds every pound is worth a ALOT more. Those guys that can do 150+ are insane. However also I try to look at the long term as I do quite a few pack outs a year and would like to continue to do it for as many years as possible so if I can keep it under 120 I think my body will end up hating me A LOT less in the long run.....time will till I guess. But thats always the reason I don't train with 80+ pounds on my back all summer either. Long distance backpacking trips with 40-60 pounds is what I do to train.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I can handle up to a 100lbs before I find myself miserable, I have a horse packer's # programmed into my cell.

 

[Manosteel]

Depends on a number of factors, such as hot weather or cool, terrain and distance and of course time. I have no problems packing out 120ish for a long time but can pack more if I have to ( to be honest i am very pig headed and i just keep taking one step after another until i get to where I'm going or I have to stop for food or the bath room) I try and do 2 trips with elk and 3 with a moose if alone. I can usually call a friend to help thankfully. I debone everything so I am only packing meat other than the head/skull cap.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Never done more than around 115-120 and that gets pretty tough on the knees for me! I'm sure I'll do more someday but like Luke said you gotta think of the long term ....... I would hate to blow a knee out pushing it too hard and have it affect me forever.

 

[gobbler1662]

Im old at 58 so i try to keep my pack weight with meat at around 80. It dosent feel that bad, but like Luke said, I also plan to be hiking the backcountry for many more years. Like luke i weigh around 150 and thats before season soping wet, so with age and weight considerations i really try to let the young kids carry the massive loads and just plug away with 80 or so.

 

[eLightfoot]

Yea about 120 was what I thought was max for most people. I've never had to carry that much but its only a matter of time. I've carried about 85-90lbs and it felt heavy at first but after I go into mechanical robot legs mode it gets easier. I'm also well over six foot and weigh 225lbs. I gotta say, my buddy is pretty tough lol, and he carried it all in a badlands 4500.

I hope kifaru is worth all the praise it gets, because I will more than likely be ordering one this winter. After I add all the accesories I want, it aint gona be cheap

 

[Biggs300]

Terrain and distance determine the limits my abilities. At 62, my weight limit is about 70lbs. Hiking and climbing at even moderate altitude in CO (or elsewhere), 60lbs is close to my limit. I stay in fairly good shape but still, I prefer to make more pack-out trips with a lighter-weight pack. My two favorite packs are my Kifaru G2 Longhunter standard and my Eberlestock J34. These two packs pretty much cover my hunting/backpacking needs.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Lots of factors play into it for me, but I prefer to keep my pack under 80lbs.

 

[larryschwartz]

Like with all things, I suggest that instead of asking what the norm is that you try it out to see what YOUR body will handle. Put 75 pounds in your pack with your normal gear and some five-gallon water jugs or 2L soda bottles and see how well your body and knees handle it going up and down hills, etc. If it is too much weight you can just dump the water. If you can handle 75 pounds OK, then try it with 100 pounds.

 

[ckleeves]

In my short experience backpack hunting, every time an animal was taken I was with another person. A buddy is a great thing to have in such situations. Meat can be divided and packs are reasonable weight, 80-90lbs for a deer.

My hunting partner went out over the weekend by himself and killed a monster blacktail deer. He was 4 miles down in a canyon and had to do it all himself. sounds simple enough, guys pack out elk...... At the most a blacktail weighs 180-200lbs on the hoof. Any way he called me on his way home and told me it took him 8 hours to pack out and his pack was retarded heavy. keep in mind this guy is about 5'-7" 160 lbs.

When he got home and called me he told me he weighed his pack in at 145lbs! This guy is a mobile butcher, he has killed thousands of farm animals and butchered them out. He has probably gutted, skinned, and boned out more animals than anyone on here. He does not waste a bit of good meat.

My question is...... How do you solo hunters pack out HUGE animals from deep out there? I know multiple trips is the way but that is a lot of trips for an elk. Espesially if you are more than a couple miles in and have to go up hill, or even down hill is tough on the knees with that weight. How many solo trips to get a fully deboned elk out? How much weight can you carry?

How much did his pack weigh before he killed the buck?

 

[cwh]

The 120-130 mark is about as far as I like to go... of course, it depends greatly on terrain. Loose rock/scree I'd rather be under 120, on trails we've done 140+.

Swamps, ice, and snow make heavy packs even more difficult. One of the worst packs I've done was about 130lbs in a MR Crewcab down an icy mountain.

 

[eLightfoot]

How much did his pack weigh before he killed the buck?

Im gona guess about 50lbs, like I said this guy can de-bone an animal and waste no meat. Plus the buck was HUGE! look in the Blacktail section for a pic

 

[RedStag]

Last Wednesday I shot a 4 point mule deer at last light, solo, backpacked in. Heavy coyote pressure I the area, I fact I shot a coyote not 30 min before I harvested the buck. I opted to do it all in one load, It was dark, I was alone and I dropped my phone somewhere during th stalk. I would wager I was at 110 lbs max on my way out, I pack very light (think sheep hunting) and deboned all the meat before hand.
This is as much as I would do solo, if I had a partner I would be more likely to pack more, if you are injured during the pack out at least you have help. Only my hunting partner knew my location but I wasn't about to let ol' wiley get any meat.

 

[InDeep]

I personally like to top out at 100. But like most said above it depends on the pack and terrain. I have packed 100 that was terrible steep down hill and paid for it dearly .