Newb Question: Meat Care on Solo Hunt

[yycyak]

Hi guys, I have a dumb question.

TLDR: What's your "standard operating procedure" for both dealing with meat at the kill-site, as well as packing the meat back to your truck, when you are hunting solo?

I've got a solo elk hunt coming up in the next couple weeks. I've prepped, scouted, read everything I can get my hands on, talked to experienced guys who know the area, and now it's go-time. From the sounds of things, the area I'm hiking into should hopefully hold some elk, and if the gods are good and with a bit of extra luck, maybe I can down something.

In terms of dealing with the field processing, I've read up/watched Youtube a bunch on the gutless method, so I'm planning on doing that. However I realised that I don't specifically know what the "standard operating procedures" are for dealing with the meat once you have it in game bags at the kill site.

At the moment, I'm planning on doing the following:

(1) Process elk using gutless method, and put all the quarters/meat into game bags;

(2) A ways away (50m?) from the kill-site/carcass, build a simple temporary meat pole;

(3) Move/hang meat on temporary meat pole;

(4) Load a quarter into my pack, and hike it back to a meat pole close-ish to my spike camp;

(5) Hike back to kill site, grab another quarter, bring back to camp. Repeat x4;

(6) Hike quarters from camp back to truck;

Is this the right way to do things? Or would you skip bringing the meat to camp first, and just run relays back and forth between the kill-site and the truck?

My thought was the faster I can get things away from the kill-site/carcass (and by spending the least amount of time there) it'll be safer in terms of avoiding running into bears. (The unit I'm in has a fair number of grizz and black bears.)

Other details that may/may not matter:

- Hike from truck to spike camp is about 5km;
- Distance from spike camp to where I will be hunting is about 2km (uphill hike every morning);
- Spike camp is in a flat river valley with good visibility and good water;

If anyone has any critiques, or can offer a better/safer way to do things, I would certainly appreciate it.

 

[Decupparo]

My advice would be to ferry the quarters to a tree that is a reasonable distance to your spike camp but NOT in your spike camp. Bears may not be able to get your meat while it’s hung high in the tree(10 ft up, 10ft out) but that doesn’t mean they won’t come looking because of the scent and the last thing you want to wake up to in camp is a Griz, especially on a solo hunt.

I would suggest hanging it in a tree that you can glass before you make your approach so you’re not walking in blind. Ideally the bears will focus on the carcass first so I’d say you have the right idea to move the quarters out of there as soon as you can. It’s honestly easier to get the quarters high in a big tree then to try to lash a meat pole high enough up between two trees but that’s just my experience. I will be going solo for the most for the first time this season as well, so keep me updated. I have killed a few and helped pack quite a few more animals out in Montana, this is our SOP. Good luck! And take it slow on the pack out!

 

[RosinBag]

I wouldn’t make four trips to start unless that is all you physically can manage. It sounds like it is downhill to your spike camp area, so I would try and do two trips with half each time, if it is off the bone. If it isn’t off the bone, I would take it off the bone. An average boned out elk may yield to 180-220 pounds of meat, that is 90-110 pound loads 2km downhill I think is very manageable. Three trips max unless you have a physical limitation due to an injury or you like packing meat on your back in grizzly country.

Once it is all back to an area near your spike camp, I would then take it to your truck in two or three trips. I personally hate making trips so I would punish myself for two trips and rest and recover later.

 

[Morrid7]

I echo their guidance.
1) Bring paracord to hang the meat bags in trees away from the carcass. I bring a tarp as well to lay the quarters as I’m working, but the prize parts go straight into a bag.

2) De-bone hind quarters (on the tarp). I don’t de-bone shoulders but that’s just me.

3) Keeping your head on a swivel , pack the meat to spike camp in 2 trips. Back straps, tenders, other cuts, 1 hind quarter, and 1 shoulder for the first trip. Second trip for the other two quarters.

4) Repeat process to truck, and put it all on ice.

5) Basque in the glory of an accomplishment that less than 20% of elk bow hunters will experience this September!

Good luck



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[yycyak]

Hey guys, thanks for the advice. There's no reason I can't haul a heavy pack, so I'll try to get the meat down to an observable shady spot close-ish to camp in two trips.

Honestly I think the hardest part of this trip is going to be the mental aspect of being out there "solo." I'm no stranger to being on the mountain, but I still get anxious when I'm in the tent at 2am and hear a strange noise. I almost sleep better if I'm sleeping under the stars than in the tent.

Sent from my BBB100-1 using Tapatalk

 

[CX5Ranch]

Nothing wrong with soaking that meat in that creek either. Some guys wont do that but it's a God given refrigerator.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[TravisIN]

Nothing wrong with soaking that meat in that creek either. Some guys wont do that but it's a God given refrigerator.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I’m going solo also and I plan on taking full advantage of a creek. A lot of people with way more experience than me (which doesn’t take much) say go for it on the creek. To me the creek seems like a HUGE help to a solo guy since you won’t have to be in such a rush to get meat on ice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Do yourself a favor and take an extra 20 minutes to bone out the quarters. Don't put the meat directly in the creek. Put it in game bags and hang in the shade. If there is a creek nearby and it's really hot, and you have some water tight plastic, ok put it in the creek. Usually in the shade and maybe an overnight in the high country will keep it cool enough.

 

[GregB]

You can also lay branches over a shady spot on the creek set your game bag on those and the cool air from the water will keep the meat cool.

 

[huntsman22]

5) Basque in the glory

Do you have to be a Basque, to bask?

 

[5MilesBack]

Whether solo or with someone my process doesn't change. Get it into bags and hang them.....where is up to you. I stay close to the kill site and make sure it's good shade. Then I start hauling until it's done.

 

[BuckSmasher]

Hi guys, I have a dumb question.

TLDR: What's your "standard operating procedure" for both dealing with meat at the kill-site, as well as packing the meat back to your truck, when you are hunting solo?

I've got a solo elk hunt coming up in the next couple weeks. I've prepped, scouted, read everything I can get my hands on, talked to experienced guys who know the area, and now it's go-time. From the sounds of things, the area I'm hiking into should hopefully hold some elk, and if the gods are good and with a bit of extra luck, maybe I can down something.

In terms of dealing with the field processing, I've read up/watched Youtube a bunch on the gutless method, so I'm planning on doing that. However I realised that I don't specifically know what the "standard operating procedures" are for dealing with the meat once you have it in game bags at the kill site.

At the moment, I'm planning on doing the following:

(1) Process elk using gutless method, and put all the quarters/meat into game bags;

(2) A ways away (50m?) from the kill-site/carcass, build a simple temporary meat pole;

(3) Move/hang meat on temporary meat pole;

(4) Load a quarter into my pack, and hike it back to a meat pole close-ish to my spike camp;

(5) Hike back to kill site, grab another quarter, bring back to camp. Repeat x4;

(6) Hike quarters from camp back to truck;

Is this the right way to do things? Or would you skip bringing the meat to camp first, and just run relays back and forth between the kill-site and the truck?

My thought was the faster I can get things away from the kill-site/carcass (and by spending the least amount of time there) it'll be safer in terms of avoiding running into bears. (The unit I'm in has a fair number of grizz and black bears.)

Other details that may/may not matter:

- Hike from truck to spike camp is about 5km;
- Distance from spike camp to where I will be hunting is about 2km (uphill hike every morning);
- Spike camp is in a flat river valley with good visibility and good water;

If anyone has any critiques, or can offer a better/safer way to do things, I would certainly appreciate it.

Your plan sounds reasonable. Grizzlies are dangerous beasts. We hunted from 2013-2017 in the same unit in MT and loved it. Saw quite a few Grizzlies, including some pretty close, never had any aggression shown. HOWEVER, they are crazy dangerous. The ones we saw had very little fear of humans. Take bear spray AND a firearm. Never remove the gun from your hip until you crawl into your bag for the night, then know how to get to it in the dark. You already have this trip planned out sounds like but in the future it would be prudent to not hunt Grizzly country solo. JMO. Elk hunting the way we do it requires lots of walking at night, being quite, and making cow elk sounds. Yes, we have had two grizzlies come in to calling.

Edit: Didn't mean to make this post about bears, lol.

 

[Morrid7]

Do you have to be a Basque, to bask?

That’s what happens when predictive typing takes over while you’re trying to look like you’re listening to your wife and finish your post! She didn’t buy the look I was giving and now I appear to have a sophisticated spelling problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk