Recommendations for elk pack out near Gunnison CO

[Hayguide]

Not to beat a horse, but as a hunter who paid for a drop camp-lets say 1800x4 $7200.00 to have a little room to hunt with his family and friends and this happened: I hear a rifle shot 1/2 mile away expecting one of my sons to have an elk down and I came upon another hunter with a downed elk. The first thing I would do is congratulate him, maybe see if he needs some help. If the conversation came up and I found out he was camping 1/2 mile away from my camp or even a mile and my outfitter new he was there and never told us plus the outfitter made pre arranged agreements with this group to pack out an animal for him from the same horse trail he packed me into with out paying pack in service fees for the equipment or another drop, into the same general area we are hunting - I would be upset to say the least. And yes-that outfitter would never see a dime from me again. A good outfitter would not do that. The same outfitter chancing on to a guy in need of help, a complete different situation. I would not blame him a bit for HELPING. This is my point I'm making. There are some outfitters who charge by the horse to pack in a hunter and his gear and pack out an animal from that spot. That would be a good approach for someone looking at this service without a huge $7200 cost of a fully equipped drop camp.. I have all the gear and have thought of this myself. It also gives the outfitters a chance to scatter the pressure in a positive way for all of his camps because he can pick the spot.. Outfitters cant keep the pressure away, but they can certaintly do everything in there control to keep there camps secluded. I hope TN hunters finds a solution for his upcoming hunt and wish him luck!

 

[njdoxie]

I would not be happy with my drop camp outfitter and would find a new one if he started packing meat out for DIY hunters venturing miles in farther than they could pack. I have no problem running into other hunters who don't do drops that have a way of packing out meat. Actually met one guy who was a local last year on the same hillside as me 1/2 mile away, he asked me where I was hunting and told me where he was. he shot a cow and I helped him with it. I shot a big bull the next day, didn't need any help because the wranglers came. I plan on walking to his camp next fall and visiting him again and sharing a beer or two-cool guy. 68 and still taking his horse and pack animals up the mountain by him self!

So outfitters should not be helpful, they should spurn DIY hunters? Paying customers come first, but other than that....they are outfitters and should make a buck while the sun shines. So your only supposed to use licensed outfitters and now those outfitters are telling you to pound sand? That'll push more hunters to use locals for packout.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

I understand where you are coming from hayguide, but like I told the OP as a guide when I get a call from someone about a possible packout in an area it gives me an idea of where they are so I can adjust my paying hunters if needed.
But I will not turn down a packout for hunters in my permit area, when this happens it purseudes illegal packers or Outfitters to move in. Then becomes even more of a headache for my business as well as my clients.
I do pack in gear for hunters but I pack them into areas I don't have clients booked. It would be bad for an outfitter to pack in DIY guys to the same drainage as his drop camp clients, but in all honesty both paid, one paid to have a camp provided one paid to bring their own camp in the end as njdoxie said I gotta make hay when the rain shines.

And the more guys that call me before the season to tell me they are planning to hunt here or there gives me a huge idea on where I can put clients to both keep them away from other hunters and use the other hunters pressure to their advantage. But I am also giving these other guys help by not dropping 4 guys on top of them as well.

I have packed guys in to my camp only to find out a day later that some other hunters came in on horses and packed in their own camp in 300 yards past my camp. That was a fun situation as my hunters wanted to move but we're seeing elk and we're torn, they ended up staying and using the other hunters to their advantage.

 

[MesaHorseCo.]

Hey OP pm me. Ill come pack one out for you for free just to piss off the drop camp guys.

 

[Nomad]

Hey OP pm me. Ill come pack one out for you for free just to piss off the drop camp guys.

Pack Angry!!!! I like it.

 

[Hayguide]

My wife and I did a drop with Lost Solar Outfitters unit 24 in 2012, two guys with lama's came followed the same trail in 9 miles, and camped two hundred yards from us, I went over and talked to him and we came to an agreement on areas to hunt without bumping into each other-he killed a cow, I killed a big 6-6 bull, wife never saw an animal. I spoke with him everyday and we exchanged hunting tales. She was going to stay level with the camp and couldn't climb like I can. The camp close by and the Lamas messed her hunt up since that was the area she was going to hunt. Im not jerk and treated them with respect for taking on that challenge. The outfitter was pissy with them because his horses were spooking on the scent, but we treated them nice and my wife brought food to them!. The problem with the lamas was the scent spooked the elk because it was a foreign animal, the elk stayed clear of our camps at night and didn't feed in the close by parks, and my wife ended up not even seeing an elk in her one and only elk hunt. She has a bad back and will never hunt again. I would not be pissed if some one packed an elk out, as long as I knew what was going on. A little about me before you judge: I happen to be a full time Professional fishing and hunting Guide. I fish, trap and hunt full time as a living-one of the few left who say they can do that. I can find my way around the woods and basically I'm not your average hunter going out west and hunting 7 days in the year. I take out 100 fisherman a year in Northern Wisconsin and 20- 25 bear hunters a year in the fall. I have guided since 1977, I'm not some whiner on this page, I can fish and hunt with a bow, rifle, around most men and that's the reason I kill a bull every time I go out west on a DIY or drop camp. Drop camps give me the edge and I like them rather than trail head hunts as long as I can afford them. I also know good and bad guide practices and stand by my post. My customers are #1 and I would never short change them by doing something that I know they would not like and could possible effect there success, . That is what I'm relaying here, I'm not a whiney rich guy on an elk hunt trying to hog the mountain. I know what to expect from an outfitter, If I don't get it I move on. My drop camp guy I use in SW Colorado is on the same page and his wranglers are the best I have ever seen. True cowboys who make a living in the off season ranching. They would never leave a hunter whether it was there's or not on a hill in a bad situation, but they wouldn't make side deals for some pocket change ahead of time either.

 

[TNHunter]

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't know the issues that this post would have created, but I've learned a lot. That is why we ask before we plan our trip as we respect all when elk hunting. We set up a base camp on a mesa top and mostly hunt from there. We have a couple that spike camp. This year we've got one who busted his shoulder, another one developed serious knee problems and another now has heart conditions (it's sucks getting old). So just seeking options in case we got in a tough spot and couldn't get an elk out. We always tough it out and pack it out ourselves. We probably won't need a pack it out but just seeing what options may be there. Thanks to all for your advice.