Horses, guns, packing out, etc

I'll be taking 2 horses on my first cow elk hunt in Jarbridge Wilderness NV in Sept. I'm very experienced with horses but have never hunted with them. I have camped with horses quite a bit, so I'm familiar with what all is required to do that. I won't be packing in, but will day ride from camp and either pony one or come back to camp if/when I get a cow down.

I'm looking for any suggestions for preparing for this hunt.

I picked the two that I'm taking because they are both okay with blood/hides etc. We used my husband's archery buck this year to figure this out. Hung a fresh hide on the fence and both were ok with walking up to the gut bucked.

One of the horses has packing experience (according to who I got her from) and she appears to be totally okay with pack saddles/panniers etc and both horses pony well from each other. Ideally I'll do a practice run with my A zone buck in the next couple of weeks and pack it out a few miles.

I've been working on getting them used to gunshots. I have zero intention of ever firing a gun horseback, but want them to be prepared enough if I need to get off and try to take a shot. At this point they are doing very well with a loud pellet gun, much improvement in the past week or so. Any suggestions on how to introduce a bigger bang? My plan is to just start from farther away and work my way closer, but don't really want to burn through too much ammo. I don't have a great place at home to shoot my rifle, but can take them just down the road to do so.

Any suggestions for scabbards? How to attach, brands, etc? That's one thing I know I want to mess with before I go, actually packing my gun around while riding.

I'm looking into weed-free hay or cubes still... Have vet appointment for coggins and health certs. and new shoes scheduled a couple of weeks before I leave.

What am I missing?

Thanks!!

Our Sonoma county horses did great in Wyoming. I'd ride one and pony the other to your lookout spot if you are going more than a couple miles from camp. That way they aren't nickering to each other. If it is closer than 2 miles, just hike to your spot.

Learn to do a gutless quarter (there are videos). Since it is a cow hunt you won't have to worry about packing antlers. You can put saddle panniers on your riding horse, and lead out both horses with relatively light loads. Hindquarters on one horse and Shoulders/Trim on the other. If you are familiar with lashing packs, I like a Box hitch to lift and stabilize my Panniers
[video=youtube;7f2GrFKF6tY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f2GrFKF6tY[/video]

In the picture below you can see my Scabbard rig. Under my right leg, butt back. My personal preference, YMMV.



You can jint the legs at the knees and hocks, my friends wanted Elk hooves for their dogs.





Sawn Quarters slung on a riding saddle. That is a Basket hitch..

Thanks! I'm in Mendocino County, so howdy neighbor. Nice mules. I've got a young mule who we hope to pack on eventually, but realize he is just too green for this trip.

I had dreams of leading my horses out with an elk on them. I really don't care if I ride them or not, but would like them to pack an elk for me.

I conditioned Rusty to dealing with bloody stuff. He really doesn't care about much of anything and is more curious that scared. Here he is with a boned out mule deer, but alas, the lass in the photo can't really deal with Rusty going to the mountains. So, home he stays. Just as well. He'd be one more thing to keep track of while trying to kill an elk.

It sounds like you are off to a good start. Just taking them camping is great practice for staying on a high line or being snubbed to a tree for a few hours. Shop carefully for a quality scabbard that will fit your rifle/scope combo. That has always been my biggest issue and bought several to fit a variety of rifles. If you have an option buy made for a 26" barrel and 50mm scope. That should cover whatever you shoot now and in the future. Remember to NEVER leave that rifle on the animal when he is tied (not for 1 minute), he will rub something or snag it and snap your stock! I use a scabbard that rides scope up and barrel forward on the left side, which makes it quickly accessible when you dismount. If you have a sling, be darn sure its tucked in so that it does not snag on brush and rip your rifle out. Check the manufacturers specs carefully because many hang the rifle upside down or have the straps lengths wrong, flap and latch on wrong side etc. As far as conditioning to the shot, if you have neighbors in close proximity, using a blackpowder pistol and simply firing the percussion caps (I did it when they were eating initially) works pretty well and is very cheap. Good luck!

Thanks for all the good info!

Do the gunfire while the horses are eating. As said, just keep moving closer.

I would position your scabbard so the scope is up. Don’t ever leave your rifle on the horse when you’re not on him. Good way to end up with a broken rifle.

Good luck on your hunt.

When we hunt off horses we always just take the horses we are riding if we kill an elk we quarter him up, hang the quarters in game bags from tree branches then go get some pack horses. A lot of times it gets late and just come back in the morning. To me leading a pack horse all day is a pain once you get off the trail and start getting into thick, rough country.....blow downs, ditches, brush...... We have no easy country here in this unit in NM your hunting country might be different. I’ve hunted both ways I just like one horse better. Make sure your horses will put up with dead critters. Last year a horse we have used several times didn’t take to packing elk quarters that day and pulled back breaking the tree and was on his way back down the mountain....panniers loaded with meat and all. Have fun !

My experience from hunting off horses in northern BC, is always cover the end of your rifle with some sort of tape. I use electrical tape. Scaberts correct all sorts of stuff.