How do ya get em' out?

sgs · 11-03-2002, 08:21 AM

Just wondering how you all get your elk out of the woods if you are not close to a road. Do you quarter it or try to winch it out? We have always quartered them and packed them out. We have a couple of cow tags this year. I can't wait! If you do winch it out, what kind of winch system do you use? I would like to find a cheap winch of some sort. I have an old electric winch that was on an old Easy Loader trailer. I was thinking of taking a look at it to see if it still works. Any advice would be appreciated.
Scott

KingFisher85 · 11-03-2002, 09:09 AM

Most the time we quarter them out. But if we are luckey we use a saw winch. Not to sure thats what it is called.

SeanD · 11-03-2002, 12:55 PM

We used to always quarter and pack them out. I guess it depends on where you hunt, if you have horses/mules, and what your feelings are on using a winch. After packing my last elk up a hill so steep we had to used a handline to keep balance and help pull ourselves up the hill, my dad told me not to ever kill an elk in that canyon again. We got a 2 stroke gas powered winch with i dont know how many yards of rope the next year. And my uncle shot a cow in that same canyon. Took about 45 minutes with the winch and she was in the pickup, whole.

It may not work for all situations, but when it does, boy is it nice.

sgs · 11-03-2002, 04:22 PM

I think you are probably right, Crabbait, my electric winch will not cut it. I better have someone videotape me if I try your method though. I would end up on t.v.. I would sure like to watch someone else do it though. One of these years, I guess, I will have to invest in a quality winch. I used to love packing the animals out back in high school. I would pack out my portion and then go back and help with the rest. Maybe I should get back in shape? Better keep looking for a winch.

11-03-2002, 04:31 PM

The last time I had to get an elk out of the woods I backed my truck up to a cut bank and rolled it whole into the back of my truck.

Usualy it's cut them up into 4 pieces and tie them to a pack frame then walk out.

nerta · 11-03-2002, 05:28 PM

:smile: I guess it depends on how far you hunt from the truck. It has been the practice for our family to quarter the elk and pack them out either with horse's when available or on foot. One suggestion is do not quarter elk like you do a bovine. Seperate the hind quarters at the hip, the front shoulders at the pivot. Bone the rest of the elk and bag it. We have packed quite a few like this. Where we hunt you can't use any motor device what so ever. Don't waste your money on the sleighs that are sold in Cabales called dersleigh they might work for a short flat trip but won't hold up for a two and a half mile drag! I thought that it would be the best thing going and purchased one this year. When we got it to the road it was in about five pieces. I'm sending it back to the store.. :smile:

mudsucker · 11-03-2002, 05:28 PM

Well since i allways seem to shoot deer and elk in the deepest and darkest canyons on the coast i almost always skin out and cut up and pack out both my deer and elk. I am getting pretty good at it now and it's no big deal even with and elk.

11-03-2002, 05:43 PM

nerta,
Didn't your mother tell you that the best place to shoot an elk was in the back of MY truck? :grin:

[ 11-03-2002, 06:43 PM: Message edited by: Keta ]

crabbait · 11-03-2002, 11:04 PM

I have never done this and do not recommend it to the uninitiated, but some of my friends "high-line" them out.

What you need is a bunch of cable on a big spool with a motor to retrieve your line when you are done. You also need a couple of snatch blocks.

The elk has to be in a spot lower than your vehicle and you must be able to connect the end of your cable to something beyond the elk that is substantially higher than your vehicle.

So lets say your elk is in the bottom of the canyon and you have your vehicle (or vehicles, works better) on a road on the sidehill of the canyon. You run your cable in a straight line past your elk to a tree on the other side of the canyon that is higher on the hill than your vehicle(s). You then drop slack in the cable until it lowers to the elk. You attach a snatch block to the elk with the block (wheel) over the cable. Then you attach another snatch block to the cable and to a tree on the high side of the road that your vehicle is on (higher than the road by at least ten feet.

Still with me? Here comes the interesting part. You attach the end of the cable to your vehicle and start backing down the road. The elk will rise on the cable and will be the low spot on the cable until you get the elk high enough that the road you are on is lower than the elk. Gravity then takes over and the elk will start to migrate in your direction (at ever increasing speed). You can control the speed by lowering the cable, just don't slam your elk into anything by dropping it too fast.

The tricky part is in slowing the elk enough that it does not arrive at your road as a tan blur! Take a couple of runs at it and keep the speed down. When the elk clears the edge of the road it will be hanging with the head (or the tail) a few feet off the ground. Back a pickup or trailer under the elk and lower. Now disconnect all the cable and respool.

Folks swear this is way easier than quartering up an elk in the canyon and packing it out. Seems to me that it can also be pretty dicey on the safety side and does require an intial outlay for the cable and spool. I have seen spools mounted in pickup beds and trailers.

Your boat winch will not cut it.

[ 11-03-2002, 12:05 PM: Message edited by: crabbait ]

Capin' Dan · 11-04-2002, 12:11 AM

Some of these steep canyons over on the coast it is better to just strap a frying pan to your backside and go on down and come out a month later after it is all gone.

Truthfully I've never had to worry about it.

mudsucker · 11-04-2002, 05:47 AM

Capin' Dan You have that about right, :grin: :grin:

Eric W. · 11-04-2002, 06:02 AM

I usually use my winch. Sure she complains, but she works great. I have thought about upgrading to a electric wench. But my current one works fine. [img]graemlins/icon_argue.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/icon_argue.gif[/img]

[ 11-04-2002, 07:03 AM: Message edited by: Eric W. ]

11-04-2002, 06:10 AM

Eric,
My "Kick Start Wench" just slaps the smile off of my face and quits working :shocked:

tailchaser · 11-04-2002, 06:15 AM

It is all dependent on the situation. I have a capstan winch that will pull an elk vertically out of a canyon if I need it to. But sometimes it's a long way from the truck it's just as easy to quarter it and get to packing.

tc

Gus Orviston · 11-04-2002, 08:57 AM

In coast, I seems we have always quartered, them, but hunting in the Blues' we have used CapStan winches on a chainsaw power head. But here is the trick, mount the chainsaw around the rack, and tie the snout like a horse bridle. Then run the loose end up the hill. This way the winch operator can see when things aren't going well and if you are brave you can ride the animal out as well....works well in the blues where you have little debris on the ground. Once you are at your anchor point, you just do it again. It doesn't take long too bring an animal all the way up a canyon but you need to keep the critter from hanging up on stuff.

[ 11-04-2002, 09:57 AM: Message edited by: Gus Orviston ]

fishin · 11-05-2002, 07:45 PM

Have always quartered and packed them out. Last year we tried taking the front shoulder off the front quarters and boned out the rest of the front quarter. Surprised that It only took a couple of minutes and my buddy said it made for a much more comfortable pack. I didn't get to find out because he wouldn't trade me with the hind quarter I was carrying :depressed: .

The best I've seen and just made me shake my head is we went for a drive and came to a meadow along side the road with a flatbed pick up sitting in the middle of it. As we stopped to stretch our legs a helicopter came flying up over the trees with a elk dangling underneath. He dumped it in the flatbed and shortly came back with another. Didn't know know if I was jealous because I was sore from packing or because I don't have the resources. But watching that didn't set to well with me. I've gone several times without a tag for the joy of the trip and to help others pack. Maybe I'm too simple minded. :whazzup:

Jellyhead · 11-05-2002, 10:21 PM

I've always had to do the quarter and pack thing, which ain't that bad, if you have good strong buddies, and repay the favor to them.

But, this year I picked up a capstan chainsaw winch.....What a tool! So far, I've only used it for retriving my drift boat and duck skiff, but man, it is slick.....If my Girlfriend gets and elk this weekend, it will be a winch show.

Up to the road, and onto the cart and out we go........If she can make the shot :grin: She did it last year, but we got lucky enough to back the truck right up to it.

Aaron

Mr. Fisherman · 11-06-2002, 10:52 AM

Lately it hasn't been a problem.
If ya hunt in the right department in Safeway all ya got to do is get the cart close and wheel it to the check out.
Oh, doseen't Slow Elk count :whazzup:

:grin: :tongue:

roadsend · 11-06-2002, 03:24 PM

For long pulls; a roll of crab line and several snatch blocks; a cable grabber so you don't have to knot your line; a pair of two-way radios.
For short pulls: a truck wench.
To load in the pick-up: a plywood based ramp and a come-a-long.