Elk quarters

[Stringinit]

Hello fellow packgoat hunters. My string has reached the age where I can take full advantage of their strength. 

I hunt for meat and have some preferences for processing meat. I am a deer hunter most of the time as elk tags here in California are hard to come by. My boys can handle 2 whole, bone in, deer quarters apiece but 2 elk quarters is just way too much for even the biggest goat. I prefer to age my meat with the bone in, as it allows the meat to go through the rigor process properly. 

Has anyone ever loaded their goat with a full elk quarter? I invision somehow loading my goat with a full bone in quarter somehow balanced and strapped across the top of the sawbucks lengthwise...? Anyone ever attempt this? Everything I've ever seen on packgoat hunting videos they have always deboned the meat and equally distributed the meat in each pannier. I want keep the quarter whole.

In any event I will attempt to load my boys with a quarter apiece and will report back. 

The hams might be too much weight for even my biggest boys and so I may be forced to carry those out myself. 

Happy hunting and good luck to all this season.

[Stringinit]

I should have mentioned this is a cow tag, quarters most likely will be in the 60lb(pushing their limits)and 40lb(easy, all day long) range. I will safely load my boys to no more than 30%. Difficulty of terrain will reduce that percentage even more. I'll probably pack the hind quarters out myself.

[Stringinit]

Well, the hams were just to bulky to load and too risky. We carried out the hams and the boys carried out the rest. 1 ham (72lbs each) for my lady and 1 ham for me, Big Dipper carried both shoulders (whole, bone in) for a total weight of 64lbs, Able carried 43lbs of neck meat and backstraps and JW carried 48lbs of scrap/rib meat. Big Roosevelt cow.

We were maxed out and I had to come back in for 1 more side of ribs. Not bad for 2 people and 3 goats.

It was an incredible hunt. We had 40-50 cows and multiple bulls screaming!

[Nanno]

Nice work!

[IdahoNancy]

Good job, I have never heard of any one managing a full elk bone in hind quarter on 1 goat. You may be able to rig up a goat to pull a travoise. You would need to practice pulling with a goat. Get the proper harness and pray you could get the goat and travoise through the underbrush. It would take a lot of thinking.