solo hunt for mulie

[gutpile]

anybody do a solo hunt for mulie in the high country , and make one trip packing out all meat plus antlers
is that doable ? it seems that it would be to much weight it would be a killer .

[Rob]

That could be a tough one solo if you shot a big muley. Meat and skull/antlers could push 140 plus.

[gutpile]

That's what I was thinking , I want to hunt in the alpine but that is going to be to much for me !

[HighCountryBC]

Deboned it is doable. Depends how much gear you have/how long you're planning on being in there for.

Go for it man!

[Rayne]

Hey gut pile if you need a hunting partner hit me up. I'm always game for a hunt

[264mag]

Been there done that, head,antlers, deboned meat. 130 lbs plus rifle. (Plus 3 days of personal recovery)

[kevan]

Gutpile, the answer largely depends on your physical ability.
I did that once after my kid Brother died of cancer and I will not do it alone again.
There are too many things that can happen both physically and otherwise.
You never know when an extra pair of hands can mean a huge difference between success and failure...

[Big Lew]

I've done it for both mulie and bear...but I was in excellent shape in those days.
I only brought out the meat though, not the head, antlers, or hide.
I typically carried 75-80lb packs all day, so my legs were muscled and toughened
up for it. I would echo 'kevan', 'Rob', and '264mag' though in that it's not only
borderline in being able to do it, but when carrying more weight then you're used to,
the risk of twisting a knee or ankle, especially in mountainous terrain, is very high.
I had to relay my bear meat out for part of the way because of the ultra steep conditions.
As '264mag' mentioned, de-boning the meat makes a huge difference.

[Ourea]

Also depends on your packing skills/experience, fitness, grade of terrain......blowdown......knowledge of best route out,

[two-feet]

Pack up camp, stash it, come back in a week or two.

[Shikari300WSM]

Been there done that, head,antlers, deboned meat. 130 lbs plus rifle. (Plus 3 days of personal recovery)

Haha I was thinking the exact same thing!

[HighCountryBC]

Pack up camp, stash it, come back in a week or two.

I'll second this and have done it before. The pack out can be a bit rough on the body as, depending where you are, it's usually not all downhill. Give your body a couple days to recover and then head back for your gear. I always leave things tight in camp knowing that it could be several days before I return.

Keep in mind a decent snowfall late in the season while you're away could make getting back a lot tougher.

Ourea brings up some great points as well.

[guest]

We always went in with the rule knowing with two guys, your only harvesting one good buck between us, if we were expecting to be out with buck and full camp in one trip.

with three guys we stretched it to two deboned bucks and it was killer. But worth every second. A fully mature deboned mulie is no small sack o potatoes ..... But .....I'd sign up tomorrow to do it now.

These are in areas of mountainous steep heavy timber to alpine hikes within a full day pack of an accessible road . A full looooong day LOL.

Getting away in the high country brings on special times .......... Yes it's doable, or as others have said, return for a second trip. The work required to get into these places is worth it.

CT

[twoSevenO]

Sheep hunters do it all the time. And I don't think a deboned sheep is much different than your average deboned mule deer.

Either one is going to suck but I'm hoping to have a first hand report come Sept 5th

[guest]

Sheep hunters do it all the time. And I don't think a deboned sheep is much different than your average deboned mule deer.

Either one is going to suck but I'm hoping to have a first hand report come Sept 5th

true ...... But, your so dam hungry from busting your back side for days .......you eat 1/2 the critter in there, then pack out. Fresh sheep over the fire, yummy! Ah heck, pig out, eat as much of that big monster Mulie as ya can, it's doable then .....:lol:

[Everett]

Sheep hunters do it all the time. And I don't think a deboned sheep is much different than your average deboned mule deer.

Either one is going to suck but I'm hoping to have a first hand report come Sept 5th

Sheep are tiny animals compared to a mature mule buck. But I have manage it but it wasn't easy not sure if I could pull it off now.

[338win mag]

Just take a partner with you, its pretty tough doing something like that alone and chances are good your going to be doing alot of it in the dark. I've done it and it is just too much stress now.

[campking]

Three of us packed out 3 caribou and our camp in one go all downhill, our packs were stupid heavy, the type where you lay on your your back and have your buddies pull you up and your knees started shaking we were young and yes stupid.

Point of my reply to post don't kill yourself I swear my knees feel it today 25 years later!!

[Amphibious]

Virtually all my hunting is solo. Two of my last three goats were packed out alone.

Debone, and let the meat air/drip overnight before your packout. Sheds lots of weight that way.

[gutpile]

With this type of hunt , I need a partner, at 56 I would be going slow a easy .

[rimfire]

With this type of hunt , I need a partner, at 56 I would be going slow a easy .

Just bring the horse with you!

[twoSevenO]

Sheep are tiny animals compared to a mature mule buck. But I have manage it but it wasn't easy not sure if I could pull it off now.

Tiny? Either you're consistently shooting some tiny goats or some massive mule deer?

[twoSevenO]

Are you guys packing out all the trimmings and burger meat too? Because most people hauling a mule deer off a mountain do not. I'm not seeing how else you're coming up with 130lbs of boned out meat.

Boned out quarters and back straps .... what else do you need? Yeah, rib meat is edible and you shouldn't leave edible portions behind but so are the heart and liver and people leave those behind all the time.

Proguide even mentions in one of his videos, right as he packs out one of his blacktails solo, that he doesn't take things like rib meat.

Granted blacktails are smaller, but some of his blacktail have been bigger than most people's mule deer sooo...

[Bistchen]

Solo hunting is not easy. Many, many trips of trial and error to find a system that works for you. Everyone is different. Getting a deboned buck and antler out of the hills is easy if you have an empty rucksack. The problem is all the gear you need to make the hunt a success. This adds weight and space.

[guest]

We've deboned everything, taking flanks, neck etc etc. Right on the spot. All edible portions. Skeleton is left remaining for the critters. But ya, 130 - 140 deboned as in no bones at all is a Big Mulie. Hence one buck between two of us plus camp to make it out in one trip. Them early season bucks are terrific eating and worth every drop of sweat and tears to be successful.

Good luck to you, my pack trips are my most memorable and rewarding.

[twoSevenO]

Solo hunting is not easy. Many, many trips of trial and error to find a system that works for you. Everyone is different. Getting a deboned buck and antler out of the hills is easy if you have an empty rucksack. The problem is all the gear you need to make the hunt a success. This adds weight and space.

This. You pretty much need everything that a sheep hunter going for 2 weeks needs, except less food. And for most people that's going to be 40lbs of gear alone. Youre probably looking at 10lb just for binos, spotter, tripod and ammo.