What was your heaviest load???

[ScottR]

Unexpected Heavy packouts happen for a variety of reasons. For instance, Brandon and I were planning multiple trips in 2014 when warmer than expected weather dictated that we should get the meat out as fast as possible. The bull died in an open field directly in the sun.

So....that put us in a position of getting meat out fast. One of the heaviest packouts I have ever been a part of. We had horses lined up for the same hunt the next year.

What was yours?

 

[2nasty4u]

I packed out 2 antelope 6.5 miles last year, and neither one was mine

 

[Ikeepitcold]

2006 Nv 350" Elk. I had the head and cape in my pack along with water and some extra cold weather cloths. He was killed at 10k we had to descend 4K to get to the truck. I had to stop many times on the way down. When we finally got back to the truck at 3am and I took the pack off it felt like I was floating. Not sure how much my pack weighted but it was heavy!

 

[JimP]

I don't think that any of us really want to know what our packs weighed when we were packing out meat, it might keep us from doing it ever again.

I do know that one year we were in a hurry and overloaded all the packs to get a bull out of a drainage. Then there was the year that I used a block and tackle to get my pack high enough so that I could get it onto my shoulders. I then lowered it down and disengaged the hook and took off up the hill. I know for a fact that pack was overloaded.

 

[ScottR]

I don't think that any of us really want to know what our packs weighed when we were packing out meat, it might keep us from doing it ever again.

I do know that one year we were in a hurry and overloaded all the packs to get a bull out of a drainage. Then there was the year that I used a block and tackle to get my pack high enough so that I could get it onto my shoulders. I then lowered it down and disengaged the hook and took off up the hill. I know for a fact that pack was overloaded.

That sounds beyond painful...

 

[ScottR]

 

[Timberstalker]

The only one I weighed was 128# it was a hind quarter, head/horns of a bull tha netted 300# of meat. I may have packed heavier loads but not sure. I did pack two hind quarters of a bull on one hunt a 1/2 mile or so, I?m sure it was more than the one I weighed. I like loads under 80# nothing like the feeling of unloading at the tailgate and grabbing a cold one!

 

[ore hunter]

#110 lb elk hind qtr at 11000 feet in Colorado,1.3 miles out, but 800 vert ft up hill!!! don't want to do that one again if I can help it.no air to breath up there!!!

 

[Ikeepitcold]

2006 Nv 350" Elk. I had the head and cape in my pack along with water and some extra cold weather cloths. He was killed at 10k we had to descend 4K to get to the truck. I had to stop many times on the way down. When we finally got back to the truck at 3am and I took the pack off it felt like I was floating. Not sure how much my pack weighted but it was heavy!

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[Hilltop]

My heaviest pack for me was a bone in hind quarter, both back straps, and a shoulder off of a cow elk. I had no clue how to de-bone in the field- young and dumb. No clue what it weighed. The heaviest I have seen was while guiding in New Mexico. One of my hunters, a short and stocky Native American, shot a big 5x5. He was the macho type and really wanted to "help". We didn't have an extra pack for him so he grabbed both hind quarters still attached at the pelvis and carried them out about a mile. They were draped over his neck- no pack. No clue what it weighed but i can say it was really heavy. We tried to talk him out of it but he wasn't having any of our recommendations.

 

[ScottR]

My heaviest pack for me was a bone in hind quarter, both back straps, and a shoulder off of a cow elk. I had no clue how to de-bone in the field- young and dumb. No clue what it weighed. The heaviest I have seen was while guiding in New Mexico. One of my hunters, a short and stocky Native American, shot a big 5x5. He was the macho type and really wanted to "help". We didn't have an extra pack for him so he grabbed both hind quarters still attached at the pelvis and carried them out about a mile. They were draped over his neck- no pack. No clue what it weighed but i can say it was really heavy. We tried to talk him out of it but he wasn't having any of our recommendations.

That load is insane! I have never done anything remotely that heavy, single quarters bone in for elk are heavy enough...

 

[Gr8bawana]

Heaviest load was when my brother and I packed out my Ruby's buck whole a couple of miles, thankfully it was mostly downhill. We took turns carrying the buck. When I dropped it off at the processor he weighed in at 126 lbs. minus the head and lower legs. We were much younger and dumber but apparently stronger too. We didn't even have a pack-frame back then. Thankfully we are a little smarter now.
Since we carried all our deer out like that we did manage to have a few ticks crawl onto us, yuck.

 

[zpooch]

This year, because I'm an idiot. Carried 4 quarters of my buck, backstraps, tenderloins, head and all of my camping gear out about 5 miles in one trip. Snow at the top of the mountain, lots of deadfall and had to cross the river twice. It took me about 5hrs longer than anticipated. I think the pack was around 130lbs. I was sore for about 4 days. I didn't want to leave my camp up on the mountain because it was snowing and didn't want to have trudge back up there in that shit to get it.

 

[Daubs]

Caribou hunt in Alaska. Got two on the ground...walked back to camp, got the meat-carrying frame packs, then made two trips back to pack out quarters. I think it was a 2 mile walk one way.

Four hunters total in our group, so that helped. Walking across the Alaskan muskeg pretty much sucks. No idea what those packs weighed. Don't think I want to know. Slept well that night...as well as you can sleep in brown bear country.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

This year, because I'm an idiot. Carried 4 quarters of my buck, backstraps, tenderloins, head and all of my camping gear out about 5 miles in one trip. Snow at the top of the mountain, lots of deadfall and had to cross the river twice. It took me about 5hrs longer than anticipated. I think the pack was around 130lbs. I was sore for about 4 days. I didn't want to leave my camp up on the mountain because it was snowing and didn't want to have trudge back up there in that shit to get it.

Ouch. I bet that hurt later.

 

[jjenness]

Last year cow elk. Hind quarter, front quarter, backstraps, tenderloins, neck meat and bow on pack. Other hind quarter and front quarter each in their own tag bomb bag and draped one over each shoulder. Walked out almost 2 miles, was black and blue on my shoulders and hips when it was all done. If I were to do it again I would for sure bone it out next time.

 

[zpooch]

You carried an entire elk?! Hercules?

 

[jjenness]

Ya it was brutal.

 

[Hilltop]

Have had similar marks in my younger days lol. That was one heck of a load man.

 

[6mm Remington]

I was with a buddy who drew a Bighorn Sheep tag in the Upper Rock Creek area of Montana. As folks who know this area hiking up from the creek up on the ridges can be brutal. He killed his ram which had 40" horns and 15 1/2" bases about 3 miles up off the road. I took both front shoulders, backstraps, and one hind quarter. He had the head and cape and the other rear quarter. Not sure what the pack weighed but it was a over 100 pounds for sure.

I made it all the way down to the creek without any mis-steps or accidents. Took the pack off at the first spring we came to once we were down off of the nasty stuff. Got a nice big drink and got into the pack once again. I got up with it on and took two steps and stepped into a unseen hole in the ground and down I went. I ended up on my back flat on the ground like a turtle that could not get up! My buddy was laughing his ass off as I had just came down some nasty steep rocky stuff for a long ways and now I fall! I was so pissed I never took the pack off. I just rolled over onto my belly and got up onto my hands and knees and then forced myself up onto my feet. I was not about to take that damn thing off again. That was probably my heaviest load, or if not my most memorable.