Your longest pack out by foot?

Joined
Sep 20, 2018
Messages
7,571
Location
In someone's favorite spot
Longest one-way was a whitetail I killed 2.4 miles (according to OnX) from the truck a few years ago. Took him in one trip and my pack scaled at 74 lbs. when I got home. For me, that was a pretty tough pack out. I'm just not designed to carry 74 lb. packs. LOL

Last year I packed out a mule deer from 2 miles in, so 2 in, 2 out with 1/2 the deer, 2 in, and 2 out with the other half and head/antlers.

The one I killed this year was on my way back to the truck and he even ran toward the truck after I shot him, so you could say the good Lord was looking out for me! :D Earlier in that day, I was sizing one up on a ridge two canyons from the road about 2 miles in. He wasn't big enough for all that work! ha, ha.

I really admire you guys who can pack so much weight so far. Maybe in my younger days, but not anymore. One back surgery scared me straight. I'm more careful now.
 
Joined
Jan 21, 2013
Messages
65
Location
Utah
My brother killed a nice 6x6 bull elk in Wyoming a few years ago that was 4 miles from the trailhead with just the 2 of us. We both packed it all out in 2 out and back trips, so 16 miles total just on the packing trips. That one was pretty brutal!!!
 

HUNTNUT

FNG
Joined
Jan 8, 2018
Messages
57
Was caribou hunting in Quebec in 1996. It was a 5 day hunt and it was 1 guide for 4 hunters. My guide was assigned 3 older hunters from Tennessee and I was 36 at the time. Everybody had 2 tags and was encouraged to shoot a bull early and look for a big one for the 2nd tag if that is what you were interested in. I shot a decent bull late on day 1 on the other side of a river. The next day the guide , myself and one of the older hunters went to retrieve my bull. Everybody had their guns. The closest we could get the boat was 3.5 mile. Along the way we got into a bunch of big bulls and the older hunter shot 2 and I shot my second 3 miles from the boat. That makes 4 bulls down at least 3 miles from the boat. It was really cold so spoilage was not going to be a problem. Then to my surprise as we are taking pictures and beginning to get our animals gutted, the guide shoots another for himself because he had tags also. So 5 bulls down. As we were getting ready to begin packing meat the older gentleman said he had a heart condition and could not carry more than 25lbs. The guide carried 1/2 of one bull and I carried my rack/cape and a 1 quarter. The old man carried his gun. Because the guide had the 2 other hunters to take care of also, the packing of the remains meat was left up to me the next 3 days until the guide could help. The weather was great and in between pack outs I would fish and eat whatever they packed for my lunch. Not sure how many trips I made but probably 10 round trips of 6-7 miles.
 
OP
go_deep

go_deep

WKR
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
2,038
Was caribou hunting in Quebec in 1996. It was a 5 day hunt and it was 1 guide for 4 hunters. My guide was assigned 3 older hunters from Tennessee and I was 36 at the time. Everybody had 2 tags and was encouraged to shoot a bull early and look for a big one for the 2nd tag if that is what you were interested in. I shot a decent bull late on day 1 on the other side of a river. The next day the guide , myself and one of the older hunters went to retrieve my bull. Everybody had their guns. The closest we could get the boat was 3.5 mile. Along the way we got into a bunch of big bulls and the older hunter shot 2 and I shot my second 3 miles from the boat. That makes 4 bulls down at least 3 miles from the boat. It was really cold so spoilage was not going to be a problem. Then to my surprise as we are taking pictures and beginning to get our animals gutted, the guide shoots another for himself because he had tags also. So 5 bulls down. As we were getting ready to begin packing meat the older gentleman said he had a heart condition and could not carry more than 25lbs. The guide carried 1/2 of one bull and I carried my rack/cape and a 1 quarter. The old man carried his gun. Because the guide had the 2 other hunters to take care of also, the packing of the remains meat was left up to me the next 3 days until the guide could help. The weather was great and in between pack outs I would fish and eat whatever they packed for my lunch. Not sure how many trips I made but probably 10 round trips of 6-7 miles.

That's awesome!

These hard long pack outs suck at the time, but they make memories for a lifetime!
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Messages
6,359
Location
Lenexa, KS
Bull elk 5 miles deep in grizz bear country. 3 dudes x 2 trips. I guess that comes out to 15 miles each man, but only 10 with meat. Both my pack and my boots failed. Hip belt ripped off my back, and sole came off my boot. So carried the load on the shoulders and applied duct tape to the boot.

I nearly entered the spirit world on the way out, because we were already exhausted from the trying to kill the elk. Killed him in the afternoon, it was hot. We were out of water when we killed him. Processed him in a constant state of fear. A couple sheep guides came around the bend and told us they saw a bear headed right for us. "He was haulin ass down the mountain headed straight for you guys!" We got to a creek crossing the trail just as light was fading. Filtered and drank as much as we could. Then stumbled down the dusty trail in the dark, yelling out and whistling every so often to keep the boogie men away.

One of the most memorable times of my life.
 

Kenai_dtracker

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 21, 2019
Messages
157
Location
Falmouth, MA
192lb dressed whitetail in Maine, 1 mile drag on bare ground. 1 mile doesn't seem like much but man, it sucked at night, but luckily I had a full moon. The thing had massive shoulders to, so that wasn't easy. When I got to the tag in station late, I used the porti potty, and didn't realize how bad my hands were torn up until I used the purell. Holy crap, that stung!!!
 

yoopshoot

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Messages
161
Location
UP of Michigan
Bull elk this year. Solo ,shot almost 6 miles from truck. 3 heavy trips- including camp.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

seww

WKR
Joined
Aug 10, 2020
Messages
488
We've packed out a moose after skinning it and had it hung for a few days, not too far though about 2 miles one way. An adult moose divided between like 7 of us or so it only took one trip. But no backpacks like Exo, Kifaru or SG, just regular hiking backpacks.
 

ewade07

WKR
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Messages
1,632
Location
MONTANA
We've packed out a number of elk from 5-7 miles. Max daily mileage and elevation was just over 15 miles and 4000'+ gain, 10miles of that and 2500-2800' was with ~80lbs. I was tired. Very, very tired.
Ready to do it again?
 

Marble

WKR
Joined
May 29, 2019
Messages
3,602
6 miles. Done it a few times.

For elk, we walked horses out close to 10 miles.

Also done around 10 miles shuttling meat making trips to the truck. It was these days that I realized the value of a good pack and boots. I love my Danners, they are warm and comfortable, but my lowas and cripi boots provide better support and prevent my feet from getting bruised.

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5MilesBack

"DADDY"
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
16,203
Location
Colorado Springs
Back in my early days......6 miles one way........for a cow. SMH It was a rifle hunt in October. It was 4:30pm and had just decided I had better start working my way back to the truck after hiking all day. A group of about 12 cows appeared before me at about 75 yards, and I shot one. I split her open, gutted her, propped her open, and headed back to the truck.

Next morning my two buddies and I started in early. There was no snow on the ground at the truck, but a foot of snow where I had shot the cow. Snow, mud, deadfall, steeps, and no GPS back then. After getting to the cow, one buddy swore that he was going to find a different way down because of all the deadfall we had to go through. So he broke off and went out on his own. My other buddy and I got to the truck after dark, with no sign of the other guy. We waited and waited, and finally around 9pm he shows up looking like "The Mud Creature out of the Swamp". He explains his adventure of walking into a mud hole kind of like quicksand that swallowed him up. He was covered head to toe in mud, and quite frankly could have still been up there today, if he hadn't been able to get himself out.
 

Charlie Brown

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 10, 2020
Messages
111
I'm too old and to much of a wimp to hunt with most of you. About the best I did was 4of us took a bull elk out in 1 trip about 4 miles. Upper 70's temp.
 

FLATHEAD

WKR
Joined
Jun 27, 2021
Messages
2,297
Gemsbok on the White Sands.
3.2 miles from the truck.
2 trips.
Was plenty for me.
I never like Golden Corral so much.
 

Oregon

WKR
Joined
May 15, 2018
Messages
828
Location
Oregon coast
Didn't know any better back then, that is the way it was done.
Still that way in a lot of whitetail country. Not too long ago I was hunting public forest wma in Iowa. Killed a buck 1100 yards from the main parking area. Quartered and made 2 trips. Getting back to truck midday with last load, 3 guys back in parking lot eating lunch.
Blew their mind it came out in pieces and not drug out. Screw that!!!
Longest pack was a bull 2.1 miles from the road. It was downhill and day one three of us got good portion. I went back next morning for the rest. We probably could have got it all out in one trip except for wearing crappy daypacks.
The most brutal was a Sitka blacktail I shot. About 30 minutes after boat dropped us off. Me and buddy were going to get picked up by boat in 7 hours on other side of a peninsula. So, we boned it out and continued hunting all day with 65#s of meat and sawed off horns on my back. That sucked donkey balls!
 
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