Hunting Partners

[WapitiBob]

2 miles in with a Bull on the ground hasn't been a problem. Just takes time. Get the quarters hung up in the shade and start packing. One mistake people make is sleeping at night, packing during the day.
4 miles in can be a problem depending on terrain. It;s going to take several trips either way. Getting burned out can also be a problem.
My wife wants me to pack a Spot or the McMurdo Fast Find this year. I read the Fast Find is a much better unit to actually get you found but no hands on with either.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

MNHunter---I just got back from turkey hunting up at my northern cabin and saw this thread had been added to. Thanks, but that goat was not taken in unit 27 and I'd rather not say what unit I shot him in, but it was taken in October of 2009 and the horse manure that was posted by Mr. pain in the azz supposedly happened in unit 27 last year. I actually did see several goats that were much better than that one in the two days I was in 27 last year, but I was not the one with the goat license who muffed the shots opening morning. It's really a shame when people post a bunch of lies on the net like that thinking they are hurting someone, but he will have to live with it, not me! Then someone who wasn't there and has no idea what really happened and knows neither of us, other than by posts on another website, decides to c/p it on other sites to further his twisted agenda. I have hunted and continue to hunt with a number of others here in MI and out in the western states with no problems at all, so none of that BS that is posted is hurting me at all!!! Heck, Buzz and I don't see eye to eye on everything we discuss on another website we frequent, but he's a damn good guy, a dedicated conservationist and hunter like I feel I am, and I'd have him in my camp any time. He may not feel that way about me though, LOL!!!

race24x---That is one heck of a big whitetail! Good going and if you need any help in regards to any hunts you might want to do in Wyoming please give me a shout. I've been out there almost every year since 1992 and have pretty good luck on all DIY hunts I do out there. You just need to ask for help from people who can steer you in the right direction and then go out and get your feet wet. It's quite different than hunting whitetails here in MI or Maine, but I guarantee once you go out there you will want to keep going back.

vdo84---The big bull I posted took the two of us four trips over 1 1/2 days backpacking all the meat along with the head/cape out to the truck. We could have probably done it in 3, but I'm almost 64 and have a bad disc in my lower back and can't carry more than about 50# at a time. I can bone out and carry an antelope out in one trip, but it takes two trips for a boned out mulie. Elk and moose are a bugger and if you can find someone with horses or mules to bring one out that is the way to go. The nearest place to where we hunt that you can rent horses is over 150 miles, so when we get a bull we get it skinned, quartered, and in game bags up off the ground and in the shade as quickly as possible to speed up the cooling process while we are packing everything out to the truck to put in coolers on ice.

 

[BuzzH]

vdo84,

I wouldnt worry too much about hunting alone or getting an animal out on your own. Once you get an animal you have a lot of time to get them to the truck. I'd suggest for safety reasons to make more, lighter trips, than trying to get them out in as few trips as possible. Its usually not the distance involved that makes the packouts tough, its the amount of weight.

I've taken elk out in 2 trips several times and it about kicks my shitty ass. The last few I've made 3-4 comfortable trips and its hands down the best way to go. Treking poles make a huge difference when carrying heavy packs.

I probably dont worry enough about something happening when I hunt alone. That said, I really think about what I'm doing when hunting alone. I think being aware and letting someone know where you will be, when to expect you back, etc. is probably the minimum you should do. I'd say at least 60% of the areas I hunt I can call out on a cell phone. I have a work issued sat phone that I could carry for emergency use, but I never have.

I've never worried about it enough to keep me from hunting alone, thats for sure. Just use your head and be prepared...nothing complicated.

 

[RJH]

I have hunted with family, friends, strangers and solo. There have been great times and horrible times but I am hunting and it still beats working!

I do not mind hunting with strangers that I meet online as long as we can chat beforehand to get a feel for each other and I can ascertain there limitations. My first encounter I prefer archery over rifle just seems safer. Met up with two guys from Illinois last year 3 miles back in the woods just below 10,000 feet just wandering around and one of the guys looked like a zombie and was having trouble breathing asked him what was wrong said he had asthma - just shook my head and took them down to about 8500 feet and set them up on clearing on a creek where they nailed a cow next day. If you are coming to Colorado you got to know your limitations at high altitudes.

 

[race24x]

I am just wondering how old you guys are and what kind of shape you would want to be in? I am 40 not in great shape (round is a shape LOL) I am not in horrible shape you can see from the picture, but I have had a few operations on my knees. Dragging that buck for about a half of a mile was quite a chore. What kind of weight are we talking in a pack? maybe I could put that much weight in a pack and see how I do with it for a couple of miles. It would be better to know now what to expect rather than get there and try it and find out I cant handle it.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I'll be 64 in August, am 5'10" and 170# and, except for a ruptured lower back disc I suffered in 1986 that keeps me from carrying more than about 50# in a backpack, I'm in above average shape for my age. That is because over the years I have continued to be active year around and I think that is a big key to doing what we are talking about. You can't just spend a few weeks before a hunt getting ready and go out in those higher elevations exerting yourself and expect to have a great time. I'm not a jogger, but probably put in close to 20 miles a week here at home doing brisk walks of at least an hour every day on uneven ground. The legs are the first thing that go IMHO. especially when going uphill and at elevation, and that is mainly what I work on year around. Like BuzzH stated, you just do what you can do on a trip and multiply the trips if that's what has to happen to keep hunting. I think I mentioned earlier that I can take out a boned out antelope in one trip and a mulie in two trips with no problem. However, I quit hunting elk by myself about 5 or 6 years ago because it just takes too many trips out of the back country where I hunt to do it by myself in a reasonable amount of time in order not to take a chance and waste good meat. Since then I still get my jollies hunting elk by helping other younger guys out like I did with my Wyoming buddy with that bull in my avatar. John is in his early 50s, as big and strong as an ox, and could probably backpack me out if he had too, LOL! Where he can take a bone-in hindquarter of an elk or a head/cape out on his back for several miles, I have to limit myself to helping him with boned out sections of the animal so I don't exceed about 50#. I can do that all day with no problem and that's why BuzzH mentioned that it's the weight a person tries to carry, rather than the miles that you carry it that knock you out! If John had someone along like himself, that bull could have been brought out in 2, or at most 3 trips. Because of old feeble me, LOL, it took us 3 trips one day and a final trip in and out the next morning to get all the meat to the truck. If you plan on going out and having a good time, my advice is to get on a lengthy plan and start building up your entire body. At your age you should do fine, even if you have some weak knees that you will need to work on. Just get started on a program and use common sense all the way from the start until that buck/bull is down and out to the road. Good luck and "just do it!!!" PS: Having a proper backpack is another key to carrying any real amount of weight and doing it properly. Take a look at the thread in the equipment section on this site that BigFin started and you will see what some of these guys that are in good shape are carrying on their backs!!!

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

any other hunt talkers out there that drew new mexico 2b muzzleloader for 2011,would they like to group up with me on the hunt?

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I'll be out in 2b to help my buddy on his rifle hunt (11/5-11/9) and would appreciate any help you could give us after your earlier hunt is over. If you would be willing to do that, you can email me at: [email protected] and I'll tell you how to reach us out in Wyoming where we'll be hunting before heading down there. Thanks!!!

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

Ill try to get ahold of you when i get back around oct 6th or so as i got a antelope to get in unit 17 also after the 2b hunt.

 

[Corax]

I hunted deer and did the occasional outfitted western hunt for many years when I lived in New Jersey. When I moved to Texas 10 years ago I started concentrating on elk. I found it was possible to draw non-resident cow tags in NM (that's gone now). The first year I went alone, then with friends. I have been accumulating preference points in Colorado (12 elk, 16 deer, 8 antelope) and Wy (4 for elk, deer and antelope). I never intended to get that many points, but they build up. I am 61 and starting to take more time off from work to hunt. The longest pack so far was 2 cow elk down with a buddy a mile and a half off the road in the Valle Vidal. Had them on the ground at 9 am, back to the truck at 930pm, using a combination of a backpack and a game cart. None of my friends or relatives are interested in playing the preference point game, or in taking 2 weeks (door to door) for an elk hunt. So I have been looking for a hunting partner. Right now I am interested in an antelope hunt in Wyoming and a deer or elk hunt in Colorado.

 

[fair2middlin2003]

I must be crazy myself. Going this October solo for a elk OTC hunt in Colorado. Its hard to find friends etc that are willing to make such a long trip and invest so much time and energy into something new. Not to mention the expence. It will be my first elk hunt. I honestly feel a little overwhelmed by the prospect but one thing I have learnt, if you wait for the perfect time and opportunity you will spend your life waiting. Sometimes you just have to MAKE it the right time.

 

[Foss1lHunter]

Elk Hunt in Montana in November

I will be in Big Sky first week of November with a Big Game Combo tag.
I am looking to partner up with another hunter that lives near the area.
I am taking a vacation break to finally visit this wonderful state and take
in some time hunting in the woods. I will be taking my family and will
be staying in Big Sky. This is my first elk hunt. I have hunted mostly
white tails.

If you are interested please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[DAVIDKERR]

sat phone

you could rent a sataphone if you wanted to go by yourself also. sci magazine has info on renting a satalite phone. i dont know how to spell satelite???