Packout sequence and Trailhead Safety

Ill add on here instead of starting a new thread. How many of you carry your rifle with on 2nd and 3rd trips if you haven't seen any bear sign?

I do. Always have a wolf tag in my pocket. mtmuley

Not unless I have another tag. Do you carry bear spray?

You can probably hire someone to pack out your meat for you. I even had a guy offer to do it in exchange for some meat. It's one trip for a guy with a pack team and 4-6 for you depending on how much you can carry and how much camp you brought in.

I like to pack out the best meat first. Usually the best front quarter and all the backstraps/tenderloins. Then each hind quarter. Then the shot up quarter (which seems inevitable and the neck meat.

Then, if I have the energy, the horns.

I shot a small forky buck and carried him out in one trip...but I did not have a saw and definitely was not about to carry the whole head. It was about 8 miles from the truck and I wasn't about to hike another 4 hours just for a crummy set of horns. Can't eat 'em anyway.

So, I'd definitely bring out what you want value most. For me, it's the meat.

As far as theft, I'm sure it's happened before. But it's not something I'd worry about. All the more reason to keep the meat in coolers and carry out the horns last. Only a special kind of moron would risk getting caught breaking into a truck bed not knowing there was anything valuable in there. Just make sure the cab is cleaned out. When I leave my truck at the trailhead, I fold up the rear seats and open up all the compartments to show the world there's nothing valuable left in the truck. The bed has all the valuables (cooler, supplies, gun/bow cases, etc.) under the hardtop tonneau. So far, I've never had a problem.

You shot a fork horn 8 miles from the truck? You do like deer meat. mtmuley