archer wapiti
WKR
I have these data, so might as well share them. Hopefully this will be useful to someone trying to figure out how much work it is to take an animal out of the backcountry.
After 7.5 days in NM unit 23 of not having an elk encounter within several hundred yards, when a small, ca. 1.5 year old cow stepped out at 25 yards oblivious to my presence, it was a gift.
The bone-in meat, head (skinned, jaw removed), and hide (no cape, just neck to tail) weighed 150 pounds.
To reduce weight, one could leave the head and hide (20 lb) and humeri/femurs (10 lb total).
At the truck, I disarticulated the shanks from the rest of the quarters to reduce their length and was able to fit two front quarters in a 48 quart cooler with no ice, and two hind quarters in another 48 quart cooler (meat cooled overnight, and cooler was also cooled overnight). The trim, backstraps, heart, etc. went into a trash bag and were insulated in my sleeping bag for the five hour drive home.
By way of comparison, last year's moderately-sized 3 x 3 mule deer bone-in meat, head and hide weighed 90 lb. The finished, boned-out meat of my first bull back in 2011, a small 5 x 5, weighed 180 lb.
Best of luck to all in your hunts this year!
After 7.5 days in NM unit 23 of not having an elk encounter within several hundred yards, when a small, ca. 1.5 year old cow stepped out at 25 yards oblivious to my presence, it was a gift.
The bone-in meat, head (skinned, jaw removed), and hide (no cape, just neck to tail) weighed 150 pounds.
To reduce weight, one could leave the head and hide (20 lb) and humeri/femurs (10 lb total).
At the truck, I disarticulated the shanks from the rest of the quarters to reduce their length and was able to fit two front quarters in a 48 quart cooler with no ice, and two hind quarters in another 48 quart cooler (meat cooled overnight, and cooler was also cooled overnight). The trim, backstraps, heart, etc. went into a trash bag and were insulated in my sleeping bag for the five hour drive home.
By way of comparison, last year's moderately-sized 3 x 3 mule deer bone-in meat, head and hide weighed 90 lb. The finished, boned-out meat of my first bull back in 2011, a small 5 x 5, weighed 180 lb.
Best of luck to all in your hunts this year!