The real work begins once you have an elk on the ground. From the emotional rollercoaster of tracking to the hours of field dressing, here’s my take on how to get your elk home safely.
There are some tough moments in elk hunting, but nothing beats the anxiety of not finding an animal or (even worse) wondering if the meat will spoil due to improper care. While proper shot placement and quality practice are key, how you track your elk also makes a big difference in your recovery odds. In this article I’ll walk you through the entire process of tracking, field dressing, and packing out your elk so that you’re confident that you’ll can do a great job.
Above all, I believe every elk is a trophy. It’s a truly wild, pristine animal that gave its life for us to further ours. If nothing else, we owe it to the animal to do the best job we can through the entire process. Let’s do it.
What to do immediately after the shot
The seconds immediately after you take the shot are the most important to recovering your elk. It takes a lot of self control to not celebrate or let down your guard after such an intense moment, but here are the things you need to do to make sure you recover the elk:
Shut up (and/or cow call). Your entire job at this point is to minimize the distance the elk is going to run. Don’t spook it by screaming or talking until you’re 100% sure it’s down! If you can, try cow calling as the elk runs away to put it at ease.
Mark the elk and then where you’re standing. I learned this one from chukar hunting since it’s so hard to find birds without a dog: the second you take the shot, follow the elk with your eyes (and ears) until you lose contact with it. Immediately mark the exact spot you were standing (X in the dirt, sticks, flagging tape, etc). Why? Trust me, everything will look far different unless you’re standing in the exact spot where you took the shot.
Nock an arrow. It’s amazing how many times elk stop to look back, especially if they didn’t know you were there in the first place. If you’ve put one arrow in a fatal location on an elk, keep shooting every chance you get until the elk is down.
How long should I wait to start tracking?
The worst possible thing you can do is to “bump” an elk that is still alive and have it run further away, which makes it even harder to find. You need to wait the right amount of time to be sure the elk has had time to expire. The mental gymnastics your brain can do during that time is pretty astounding, so here’s my take on how to set yourself up for success:
Immediately find where the elk was shot. IF, and only if, you are sure the elk is out of visual distance, very quietly sneak up to the spot you shot the elk. Why? The tracks are the single most important thing to identify and it’s much easier to find them when you remember exactly where the elk was standing. Make sure to be extremely quiet, avoid destroying the tracks, and to mark them well (with tape and your GPS). Then sneak back out as slowly/quietly as you went in. Above all, it’s much easier to wait when you’re sure you have a trail to follow.
IF you heard/saw the elk crash: go in slow. This is the exception, not the rule for archery elk hunting. Trust me, you won’t wonder if an elk went down if you hear or see the crash, it’s not subtle. This is the only time I start tracking an elk right after the shot.
IF you made a good shot in the heart/lung area: wait 45 mins. This is why it’s so important to practice well and be able to call your shots. If you know you put the arrow in a good spot, 45 minutes is plenty of time for the elk to expire. It’s hard to do, but it’s worth it.
IF you made a poor shot: wait 4-6 hours. If you made a poor shot on an elk (gut shot, liver, marginal penetration) it’s best to give the elk serious time to expire and be extra careful as you begin your tracking.
How to judge the blood quality
Recovering your arrow after a pass-through can provide helpful info on the quality of your shot (yet another reason I like fixed blade broadheads). Everyone makes a big deal of the blood color on your arrow, but it can often be hard to judge. Also, the blood that stays on your arrow is always blood from where the arrow exited the elk, not from where it entered.
Those weaknesses aside, blood’s appearance can still be helpful. A tip: wipe the blood off the arrow onto your inside finger/palm… the lighter colored background helps you get a better contrast than a dark or bright colored arrow. Here’s a guide to what to look for:
- Red/pink color and frothy/bubbly appearance
- Congrats, this is highly oxygenated blood and likely came from the heart or lungs, especially if there are small bubbles. You probably made a good shot.
- Dark red, flat color
- Likely a liver shot or from another area of the body with less oxygen (shoulder, brisket, etc). It’s worth waiting a while unless you are sure the shot was good.
- Green/brown color, distinct smell
- This is a sign of stomach or intestines… trust me, it will smell grassy or like elk poop when you give it a sniff. A gut shot is almost always fatal, but it can take a long time. Definitely give the elk a full 4-6 hours.
Why tracks are better than blood
Ok, you’ve waited your allotted time and you’re ready to begin tracking the elk. Time to look for blood right? Well, maybe. If you have an awesome blood trail, you’re in luck. However, that’s usually not the case and that trail can dry up in an instant. Even if elk leave a good blood trail, high altitude and dry climates of elk country often mean that blood soaks into the dust or turns a dark color that’s difficult to follow.
Time and time again I’ve realized how important it is to follow tracks to find wounded big game animals, especially elk. Why? Tracks are always there (elk don’t fly after all…) and they point toward where the animal is going. Those are invaluable pieces of info. Here are my tips for tracking your elk:
Evaluating the tracks. I already covered how to age tracks (and other elk sign) so make sure to re-read that article if you haven’t already. That said, the elk will likely be running at this point in time so 1) the tracks will be deeper or have deep “skids” and 2) will be 4-6 feet+ apart. Often the hardest part is figuring out which tracks are from your elk vs others that have been in the area. This is why it’s so critical to mark them right off the bat.
Mark the sign. I always include 3-4 feet of orange flagging tape in my gear checklist since it’s so invaluable. Tie a small chunk of it to an object every 10 yards or so, or when you’re struggling to find the next piece of sign.
Stay off to the side. Nothing is worse than ruining your elk tracks! Be sure to stay off to one side and never destroy tracks even if you are “sure” they’re not from your elk.
Keep going in a straight line. This is where the tape pays off. After a while, you’ll be able to see a “line” that the elk is following. Most of the time, if you made a good shot, the elk will stay on or near that line until it expires. I’ve read lots of articles about animals running downhill or toward water, but in my experience that’s not a reliable rule unless elk go a very long way.
If all else fails. If you’ve completely lost the track, go back to where you last found sign, and take a break to eat and drink. A quick mental reset always helps. If you still can’t find anything, it’s time to “follow the line” the elk was running on and see if you can re-find the trail out in the distance. If not, it’s time to grid search: simply “spiral” outward from where you last saw sign and then walk overlapping lines in a “grid” up and down the mountain.
Before you begin field dressing
Congrats! At this point you’ve got an elk on the ground, which is a great feeling. A few tips before you begin field dressing:
- Always ensure the animal is dead
- Elk are big, dangerous animals if you get close to a live one. Always approach from the uphill side and ensure the animal has expired by looking for breathing, touching eyeballs, etc.
- Bring a tripod attachment for your camera
- These are $3-5 on Amazon and are worth every penny. Even if you have a buddy you’ll both probably want to be in the shot. Don’t have a tripod? A $10 flexible phone mount can wrap around a branch and weighs almost nothing.
- Mark the spot
- Mark the spot on your GPS so you can see how far the elk traveled (trust me, you’ll be curious later). It’s also really helpful to do a quick video of the tracking route so you can watch it later to learn from your experience.
Field dressing an elk: the gutless method
I’m a huge fan of using the gutless method for backcountry elk hunting. It limits the mess, saves you time, and still gets the majority of the meat. Instead of walking you through this step by step, here is a great video by Corey Jacobsen and another by Randy Newberg (that includes removing the head). If you want to bone out your meat, here’s a great video by the BRO guys. Here’s a few tips I’ll add on top of those great tutorials:
- Use the right size game bags
- I learned this the hard way: on my first elk, I brought bags sized for “boning out” quarters. Unfortunately, that means you HAVE to do it since those bags won’t fit bone-in quarters. I always bring full sized quarter bags now so I have the option to leave the bones in. Why? Well…
- Leave the bones in (if you can)
- Boning out saves weight, but I only do it if I am really worried about weight (i.e. very far in, solo). It’s better to leave the bone in the quarters because 1) there is less surface area on the meat, so butchers can still “age” it 2) it’s far less bloody or messy 3) It provides structure that makes it easier to pack and 4) it saves you 1-2 hours of hard work.
- Bring a trashbag
- No, definitely do not put meat in any sort of plastic. I bring a trashbag, tyvek, or an ultralight tarp so I have a clean surface to set the meat on after I pull it off the elk. It’s best to let it cool outside of the game bag (if there are no flies) since the meat cools faster and forms a nice protective “crust”. You can also use a black trashbag as emergency rain protection.
- Come back for the antlers
- If you’re taking the entire head, you can do it on trip one, but I usually “skull plate” elk antlers for a european mount. If so, leave your saw in the car since it’s heavy! You can grab it for trip two and get the antlers then. As a side note, if you want to get your elk mounted, make sure to study a video like this before you go since you need to butcher in a very specific way!
Also, I love to throw a few latex gloves and wet wipes in my pack. It’s pretty annoying to be soaked in blood a long way from the water, especially if you’re sleeping there that night.
Meat preservation and predators
The goal with field dressing is to get meat cool as fast as possible. It’s almost impossible to pack a bull out in a day, so where you hang the meat is a very important decision. Remember how elk like North facing slopes since they’re cool? Relocate your meat somewhere it will be in the shade the entire day. Even if that means going away from the car, you need to shuttle the meat to a good spot before your start packing.
The great news is September nights are very cold even if the day is hot. The same thick insulation that makes meat difficult to cool down also preserves the near freezing temps through the day. I’ve found it’s fine to leave quarters without refrigeration 2-3 nights if they’re located in the right place.
Always move the quarters away from the carcass since predators will find that first (and they like the guts the most). I tend to put the quarters all around my tent if I have to spend the night… I’d never do that in Grizzly country but I’ve never had a problem with that anywhere else. The more scent (pee, sweaty clothes) you put around the meat the better. Always be careful when you approach the kill site on each trip.
Tips for packing out
Packing out is hard, but it’s the best kind of pain you’ll experience. Here are some tips to make it go better:
- Try to get the weight up high
- The proper way to load any pack is to put the heaviest items at the top as close to your back as possible. That’s also true if you’re loading meat. For example, load rear quarters with the leg bone pointing down, so the meat is up top. Now do you see why I like to keep the bones?
- Learn how to use your pack at home
- There are some great packs out there, but they’re all complex enough you don’t want to try loading meat in them for the first time on the mountain. If you break something there, you’re screwed. Practice loading items before you leave the house so you learn what to do while you can still reference a manual.
- Stand up in sequence
- Some elk loads can be 100+ lbs. To get them off the ground 1) put the pack on sitting down 2) roll over onto your hands and knees and 3) slowly lunge your way up to standing.
- Don’t overdo it
- There are better ways to wreck an ankle or a knee than packing out an elk, but I’m having trouble thinking of them at the moment. Don’t overdo the weight and make sure to take small steps that never allow you to build momentum. If do start going down, do not try to catch yourself with your legs or arms. Just fall onto the meat (aka your back)… trust me, I’ve done it plenty of times, it works out fine.
- Have your butcher on speed dial
- The worst time to look for a butcher is when you get back to cell reception and your elk is baking in the hot, sunny low altitude temps. Locate a butcher ahead of time and know how to get ahold of them “after hours”. Even if you’ll butcher the animal yourself, you’ll want somewhere to store the meat for a while.
Finally, there is no pack on earth that will be comfortable in the same position for the entire hike out. If possible, add some height to your shoulder straps since the extra weight will pull them lower and you definitely don’t want that on your shoulders. I’ve also found it pays to transfer between with multiple positions to mix it up on the hike out.
Summary: Tracking, Butchering, and Packing your elk
It’s a great feeling of self reliance and pride when you finally drop your elk off at the freezer. If I can sum the entire process up, it’s this: prepare ahead of time for killing an elk. It’s quite the undertaking and there are lots of little details that add up to tasty meat or a spoiled opportunity. Plus, you’re setting your mind on a positive outcome, which is always a good thing.
Enjoy this post? Make sure to check out the rest of the Hunt Elk in 2020 series and drop me a line with feedback or questions.