For those of you who pack in

[sparelink]

Question for you guys that pack in for your hunts, What is the weight if your packs coming out when you are successful?

Following Brady Miller and saw that his pack for a 7 day pack in it 60lbs, what is he expecting the weight to be if he is successful on the way out?

Also saw another hunter on youtube breaking down his pack, and said it weighted ~40 lbs after his unsuccessful hunt and ~60 lbs before his hunt.

I am interested in doing a pack in hunt next year, just trying to figure out what kind of weights i could be experiencing if successful.

 

[Daniel_M]

~62 going in, ~135 coming out. 11 miles, 2.5 days. Almost 30 hours.

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[Stein]

When you come out, you can leave thing back unless you are going to one trip it.

I'm of the age and intelligence to really like 80 pound max loads unless it is a real short trip.


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[Soj51hopeful]

I've come out with 100+ lb (not exactly sure, never weighed it) packs and when it's that heavy I basically go from a resting rock to next resting rock. It's hard work but if you're more than 3-4 miles in it's nice to get it out in one shot. Last year I backpacked in 2.5 miles and set up camp. 2 days later I killed a buck a couple miles further in. I packed the deer back to my camp and hung the quarters, then packed camp and the horns to the truck, unloaded and went back for the meat. It was well after dark when I pointed the truck home but making two trips when feasible sure felt better on my body the next week than some other 1 trippers did.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I try not to go above 80lbs on the way out. I know I'm not big or strong enough to pack out an entire elk or even half most times so no sense over loading myself there. I imagine there are instances where it would be preferable to carry out animal and pack in one trip, I just haven't been in one of those instances.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Mountain hunting in Alaska during the fall, 45-50 lbs is pretty normal going in. I personally go as light as possible, but carry a Hilleberg Soulo for added weather protection. That weighs 5 lbs alone. Coming out.. well last week I packed a whole Caribou, bone in, along with Day hunting gear. 127 lbs. I weigh 137. Prepare well for those times!


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[rodney482]

No way could I handle gear plus animal. We only hunt 4-6 miles from the truck and meat is the priority.
Going in im 60# in gear.

 

[archer wapiti]

It's not what other people do, it's what you can do.
Buy trekking poles and use them on these heavy packouts. They'll save your knees, ankles, and face.

 

[Daniel_M]

It's not what other people do, it's what you can do.

Mind over matter. 99% of it becomes mental when the load goes over 100#. By day 3 on my sheep hunt, it was a literal death march. Dragging knuckles all the way back to the air strip one foot in front of the other. Poor sleep, too tired to even eat, tossing out food just to lower the pack weight. Water was the only thing we valued and even then muling 3-4 liters sucked. I learned a lot about what I'm capable of during the last 3-4 days.

It wasn't until I got home that it all clicked. Time to regroup for 2018.

 

[Brock A]

Question for you guys that pack in for your hunts, What is the weight if your packs coming out when you are successful?

Following Brady Miller and saw that his pack for a 7 day pack in it 60lbs, what is he expecting the weight to be if he is successful on the way out?

Also saw another hunter on youtube breaking down his pack, and said it weighted ~40 lbs after his unsuccessful hunt and ~60 lbs before his hunt.

I am interested in doing a pack in hunt next year, just trying to figure out what kind of weights i could be experiencing if successful.

Weight going in on my latest hunt was 52lbs. Coming out with camp and a deer was 103lbs. It was just about the hardest thing I have ever done physically...

 

[Yellowknife]

2017 I went in this year right at 50 lbs for ~11 days, including rifle, etc. Tent was carried by partner.

Took two rams, one at about 8 miles and one at closer to 10 miles back. There was several miles of an exceptionally rough patch between the hunting area and the take out point, so no heroics were attempted. Just spent two days and double tripped them with loads in the 75-90 lb range. It wasn't easy at all, but when the ground is really lousy, that's when you NEED to just do two trips.

Made two trips the year before when we packed a big bull caribou through a bushy valley in 2016, and three trips when we dropped three mt goats the year before that on Kodiak. A quick run back with an empty pack for the second load is usually easier and less prone to injury than a 100+ lb sufferfest IMO.

I've single tripped a camp + full sheep one time that was in the 130+ range, and it sucked. So did packing a wet B&C brown bear that was heavier than that. Normally, try to keep things in the sub 90 lb range. Sub 80 lbs is better, at least for my wimpy self.

 

[duchntr]

As said above pack weight starts anywhere from high 40's to low 60's, usually when something hits the ground its around 100 on the way out depending on type of animal and if you have a pard. A few weeks ago I one tripped a cow caribou, that sucked and I don't know how much it weighed, my wife carried most of camp as well. Just go hunting kill something and carry it out you'll find out real quick if you want to do it again.

Hey Reynolds think I saw you and your bud up there, glad you killed smithing in that little valley, cool country in there.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

A quick run back with an empty pack for the second load is usually easier and less prone to injury than a 100+ lb sufferfest IMO.

<cut out a chunk>
Sub 80 lbs is better, at least for my wimpy self.

These echo my thoughts/experiences when in terrain. If the trip isn't too steep/technical and its a one/done I'd consider loading myself up heavier but otherwise I'm much more comfortable moving around with a 75-80lb limit for any extended period of time. I'm training harder this year and moving around easier with a 75lb pack in training than I could in prior years but still no desire to perform feats of strength when I know a steep stretch of downhill can hammer my knee pretty good. Ideally the training means my legs aren't beat to crap for a week or two after like they have been in the past, esp. when going into the next hunt sore legs suck.

 

[seldomseensmith]

Amazing numbers. Last year I bought a game cart and packed a 6 by bone in elk out with 6 day camp on my back with partner in one trip. 7 miles, old logging road. Never again will that cart leave my property. Was the worst idea I've had ever. Scouted the hunt and thought it was gonna be a great idea. The road looked like a completely different animal the day we packed it out. We still die laughing about this one when it comes up.

 

[Callen21]

Weight going in depends a lot on the game you are pursuing, time of year, and duration of hunt. My spring bear and fall caribou hunts are usually just an over nighter with an ultra light weight sub 10 pounds including rifle and optics. With an average of 110-128 pounds bone in on the bou. My sheep hunts are 50-55 pounds for 12 days. Winter hunts go up 60-70 pounds going in and typically pull a sled out.


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[oenanthe]

On last year's sheep hunt, I left the strip carrying just over 70 pounds. I had two full weeks of food (23 lbs.) and packrafting gear (14 lbs.). So my base hunting weight was about 33 lbs. I can go lighter, but I had a few luxury items: an 82mm spotter and tripod, and a few extra clothes and socks. Extra socks make me happy!

Coming out to the river where I launched the raft, I had 82 lbs. of sheep meat (he was bulky!) and 15 lbs. of horns. So that's 82+15+33+14=144 lbs. plus remaining food and a little water, let's call it 150. At the time I didn't really know how much the sheep weighed, but my aging bones told me this load was not a good idea. So, for the first time in my life, I double-carried a sheep. Two 80 lb. loads, since there's about ten pounds of pack and rifle that are always with me.

My first ram (DCUA in 1997), I shot 18 air miles from the truck. I carried out 68 lb. of meat, 15 of horns, and my base weight back then was about 40 lbs. I didn't have much food left so the total load was 125-130 pounds. This was on a cheap Ridgeline frame pack. Frankly I would not want to repeat that experience; I had blisters on my hips and was very near the end of my rope when I reached the truck.

Have carried out several other sheep solo, but never so far, so heavy, with such a crappy pack.

 

[Daniel_M]

Have carried out several other sheep solo, but never so far, so heavy, with such a crappy pack.

A quality pack helps the suck factor that's for sure. Never did I feel any shoulder or back fatigue after ~11 miles @ 135# with the SG X-Curve.


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[Idaho Lefty]

Amazing numbers. Last year I bought a game cart and packed a 6 by bone in elk out with 6 day camp on my back with partner in one trip. 7 miles, old logging road. Never again will that cart leave my property. Was the worst idea I've had ever. Scouted the hunt and thought it was gonna be a great idea. The road looked like a completely different animal the day we packed it out. We still die laughing about this one when it comes up.

LOL,..YUP, been there, OWN the T shirt ! We packed a whole Spike out in one trip, everything was fine, until we decided to get off, the Road and cross a ravine,.. in soft Dirt, to get to another, Road ! Yes, you better KNOW every foot of the Road Bed if, using a Game Cart !

 

[mfllood3800]

It really depends on you, area, time, weather etc

I had an elk down, loaded rear qtr(60-70 lbs) , in pack with all my other gear (40 lbs) and hiked down from processing sight. It was at least 100 lbs. To reduce the requirement of climbing back up for way to many trips I opted to haul a frt qtr (40-50 lbs) in my arms. So I came out on 2 trips with 130-140 lbs. Actually my second and third trips I unloaded bulky stuff and reduced my pack weight to just emergy,water, kits.

There was no way I was going to make more than 3 trips the next morning up the face of the ridge where he laid.
I got it all done in 4 trips (counting the one the night before which was head and horns)

Weather was cool enough, I was in shape enough, and I felt 2 heavy loads were better than 4 steep ones.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

As said above pack weight starts anywhere from high 40's to low 60's, usually when something hits the ground its around 100 on the way out depending on type of animal and if you have a pard. A few weeks ago I one tripped a cow caribou, that sucked and I don't know how much it weighed, my wife carried most of camp as well. Just go hunting kill something and carry it out you'll find out real quick if you want to do it again.

Hey Reynolds think I saw you and your bud up there, glad you killed smithing in that little valley, cool country in there.

Yeah, you and your wife had the teepee? It was a good valley to go up. Wish we had brought camping, or atleast bivy gear. It was a long night with nothing. The haul out was really really heavy as we doubled up on the far ridgeline.

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