Pack size for 3-4 days

[slim9300]

Just curious what size bag you run for a 10 day trip?

I own many setups but my two primary bags are the Muskeg 7k with gutted guide lid, or my AMR with the same lid. I actually use these bags on every hunting trip I do. I have packed more animals than you would believe over the last 8 years with my Kifaru and large cubic inch bags. Every singe elk has been either bone in halves on the short packs, or boned out halves on the longer ones. The deer are just deer and easy to pack.

Below are the bone in quarters, backstraps, tenders, and neck meat from a 750+ pound live weight true Roosevelt bull from 2019. There is very little gear in these packs and both were over 150#. The pack out was only about 1/2 a mile but about 750’ gain in elevation.

Here is half of a boned out Rocky and very limited gear from 2018 in a roughly 7000k bag before we packed him back to our camp.

I don’t have many like this because we normally don’t take pictures until the hunt is successful, but here is 10 days worth of gear/food and no meat as we headed in to hunt.

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[Poser]

When using a load shelf along with a full bag, the center of gravity of the load you carry is being pushed further from your own (away from your back) and has a tendency to pull you backwards as a result. A large bag makes it easy to distribute the weight with the help of your gear, and keep it where it needs to be; which is as close as possible to your back and toward the middle with regard to height.

Here is thread on the topic. I am not the only one.

Packing out de boned meat video and tech tip thread!

I just posted this on another thread, but I figured it was the time of year to talk about this anyway! First off, there's IS a right and wrong way to pack out meat, BUT, there's also several right ways and several wrong ways (hope that makes sense). Anyway, it doesn't matter if you're packing...

www.rokslide.com

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I get that, however, it’s easy and reasonable enough to workaround, I think.

-If you are doing multiple trips, you can ditch the bag altogether, or you can ditch the contents of the bag or some of the contents, taking some of your gear with each meat packing trip.

-Also, if you pack light enough, your gear is of no significant weight to matter much when displaced by a load of meat. When I’ve packed meat in the shelf + a full camp in the bag, the weapon is usually the burden to deal with.

Point is, you have a number of options to work with here and I think that a meat shelf allows one to pack the meat in a very optimized manner and get it very tight to the frame.

 

[TSimons9]

Like most people said it is very personal and dependent on the type of gear you have. I’ve done 3 days in a 5,000 ci bag and had some space left over. My buddy had a 3,000 ci bag and had dingleberries hanging off that thing like crazy.

 

[eaglemountainman]

I guess I'm one of those exceptions. Never saw the need for a real big pack, especially if i have a meat shelf.

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If you can carry your whole camp in, in your bag without using the overload shelf, you can carry it out the same way while the shelf is loaded with as much meat as it/you can handle. Also, it will be minus the 6-8# of food you hauled in.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Slim9300, I can see from your photos that you're a big, strappin' young man. Believe me when I tell you, your opinions and attitudes on this will change in about 20-25 years. I don't care what kind of shape you try to stay in as you get older, sooner or later (I hope later) the year will come, when you reason with yourself that 4 or 5 loads might be more prudent than 2. And 2-3 miles in rather than 5-6. Sure, you'll be able to use your larger packs, but you would have the option to go smaller. I don't know about others here, but at 63, that's where I am now.

 

[trophyhill]

As Slim eluded to earlier, the only thing that changes from a packing list standpoint from say a 3 day trip, to a 5, 7, or 10 day hunt, is the amount of food, and in some cases, water that you pack in. If you are set up for 3 days and suddenly you are into elk on the 3rd day, I sure wouldn't want to waste an entire day hiking back to the truck and back to resupply, and hope the elk are still there when you get back. Not to mention after doing a 3 nighter, you'll be hooked on Backcountry hunting and will have to buy a bigger pack for longer stays anyway. May as well buy bigger to start with and save yourself 4 or $500

 

[slim9300]

Slim9300, I can see from your photos that you're a big, strappin' young man. Believe me when I tell you, your opinions and attitudes on this will change in about 20-25 years. I don't care what kind of shape you try to stay in as you get older, sooner or later (I hope later) the year will come, when you reason with yourself that 4 or 5 loads might be more prudent than 2. And 2-3 miles in rather than 5-6. Sure, you'll be able to use your larger packs, but you would have the option to go smaller. I don't know about others here, but at 63, that's where I am now.

Makes sense! Honestly, I am lucky financially. When the day comes that you describe, I’ll utilize pack stock that’s either my own, rented or ‘outfitted.’ I have already leveraged this option in the last few years. I drew a 16b Gila tag in 2018 and wanted to hunt a spot 16 miles in. We hired a horse outfitter to drop our gear and water, then come in and pick us up. It was well worth the money. There is no need to be a bad ass unless that’s the only option. Good luck this season!


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