Easiest Way to Hang Meat (73 yr old Dad)

[treillw]

My dad is 73 and still chasing elk around the mountains. If he gets one and help is unavailable, what is the easiest way for him to hang the meat so nothing gets it?

Some sort of a pulley system might be the ticket?

Thanks!

 

[87TT]

Lots of small pieces/bags?

 

[Scoutfarm]

Quarter, plenty of paracord and snatch blocks if pulling weight on limb is too much for him. Someone makes a Pack-A-Pull which looks light enough for the backpack.

100’ of paracord is usually enough for 4 quarters and 2 meat sacks.

 

[WyoKid]

Couple of light weight D caribiners with wire gates, 2 light weight rescue pulleys and light weight rope.

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[Corvus Corax]

How handy is he with knots? Knowing some basic Knots/hitches that can be tied, and almost as importantly untied under tension can make things a lot easier. Specifically truckers hitch and burn knot. Carabiners are good for improvised blocks as well. Good luck!

 

[Gerbdog]

This year i didnt have any trees with thick enough branches where the elk died to hang the meat in, it was all deadfall and young young pine, I Tossed down some larger logs from the deadfall to create some airflow underneath and then over that put a layer of cut fresh pine boughs. Placed the meat on top of that and then put a few more fresh pine boughs over the meat. Was good airflow around the meat and it Kept the flies off and kept everything cool while I did the packing trips.

 

[Indian Summer]

This year i didnt have any trees with thick enough branches where the elk died to hang the meat in, it was all deadfall and young young pine, I Tossed down some larger logs from the deadfall to create some airflow underneath and then over that put a layer of cut fresh pine boughs. Placed the meat on top of that and then put a few more fresh pine boughs over the meat. Was good airflow around the meat and it Kept the flies off and kept everything cool while I did the packing trips.

What he said. The goal is just air circulation. That’s the important thing. Hanging keeps them out of reach of coyotes but that’s about it. Birds can get at quarters either way.

 

[Finch]

So I've seen plenty of pics where people aren't hanging the meat very high. In CO, are bears not the main concern when it comes to meat scavengers? It seems they could easily reach based on the pics I've seen.

Also, I tried the method in this video the other day in my front yard. Tried pulling up my pack which still had the bag of concrete in it that weighed in at 70lbs. Was getting way too much stretch in the line to get it off the ground very far.

 

[Gerbdog]

So I've seen plenty of pics where people aren't hanging the meat very high. In CO, are bears not the main concern when it comes to meat scavengers? It seems they could easily reach based on the pics I've seen.

Also, I tried the method in this video the other day in my front yard. Tried pulling up my pack which still had the bag of concrete in it that weighed in at 70lbs. Was getting way too much stretch in the line to get it off the ground very far.

My thoughts on bears are.... they're going for that huge pile of guts over there and arent concerned with my meat... for them the good stuff is in those guts

 

[Finch]

My thoughts on bears are.... they're going for that huge pile of guts over there and arent concerned with my meat... for them the good stuff is in those guts

Good point. I guess you would just move the meat a couple hundred yards away at least so they don't get tempted once they're done with the carcass/ guts?

 

[Gerbdog]

Good point. I guess you would just move the meat a couple hundred yards away at least so they don't get tempted once they're done with the carcass/ guts?

Well that's probably the wisest... and if I were in Grizzly country I certainly would... but the black bears here in CO don't bother me and even in the area I hunted this year I saw multiple black bears but ... none got onto my kill site before I got all the meat out. I left the meat only 20 yards from the pile of guts/carcass and didn't have any problems (this could be shear dumb luck). I think that gut pile and carcass are just too big of a temptation to wild animals compared to the lean, non fatty, low nutrient meat that I like so well. The robber jays sure were quick onto that carcass though haha, those birds were feasting as soon as I left the carcass alone (again, they weren't interested in the quarters / backstraps / etc.).

Actually you know what, maybe that's only half true.... haha I forgot a bit of story..... that night after we finished packing all the meat out to the trucks my brother had just put a tarp over the back of his truck and was sleeping in the back, a bear DID try to get into the bed of the truck with my brother in the night.... but there was no meat there, all of the meat was hanging in the trees in the woods away from the trail head.... so even then I don think the bear cared about the lean elk meat so much as he wanted whatever twinkies my brother had stashed under his pillow

 

[Finch]

Actually you know what, maybe that's only half true.... haha I forgot a bit of story..... that night after we finished packing all the meat out to the trucks my brother had just put a tarp over the back of his truck and was sleeping in the back, a bear DID try to get into the bed of the truck with my brother in the night.... but there was no meat there, all of the meat was hanging in the trees in the woods away from the trail head.... so even then I don think the bear cared about the lean elk meat so much as he wanted whatever twinkies my brother had stashed under his pillow

Haha, good stuff!

 

[Indian Summer]

Ain’t much flat ground in elk country. I’ll put some effort into rolling the carcass downhill when I’m done then I go down and slice it open. The only thing that seems to like the quarters more than the carcass are those damn birds. They are the reason I leave the hide on until I’m packing them out.

 

[Indyal]

I have played with block and tackle systems for moving game. You really need static rope so you don’t lose some of the mechanical advantage from stretch and friction.
look up z rigs and references to water rescues for ideas and illustrations.

 

[Agla06]

I take 4 small pulleys and 100' of paracord. 1 pulley for my bear bag the rest for elk. Use stick for a handle (like a yoke) and walk down hill to pull up the meat.

Pretty easy.

 

[Salmonchaser]

I’ve been hunting elk for 52 years, killed 43. All but a couple were out overnight either hung for air circulation only, or propped up off the ground. Haven’t lost anything yet, a little to the camp robbers, that’s it. No grizz in NE Oregon but a hell of a lot of wolves, black bears and cougars. I have had the gut piles hit however.
did leave one out for two nights and jumped a bear as we got close. Think he was trying to work up the courage to ignore the man scent and go in.