Pack horse quandary

[cantclosethedeal]

I am looking to hire a pack service for my south central Utah archery elk hunt this year. I have never worked with an outfitter or a pack service before.
I am curious what experiences you guys have had hiring pack horses, mules, etc. (Good, bad, ugly)
What should I look for?
What should I look out for?
Also, if anyone has a service or a friend they would recommend, it would be greatly appreciated.

I have pulled out mid sized bulls by myself in the past. But, even with the 30hr 6 trip all day all night marathons of the past, I doubt I could get a really big bull out solo.

Only 9 weeks left til showtime!!

 

[HoundDawgJr]

Shoot me a PM with a little more info about your hunt and I might know a guy who can help you...

 

[cantclosethedeal]

PM sent. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

Houndawg's got the connections. He's in the know about that whole pack thing.

It's always an adventure!!!
www.awholelottabull.com

 

[cantclosethedeal]

Any horror stories out there? (You know, horses ran away while trying to get it loaded. Horse died on the trail. Horse ran off with the antlers and came back empty?)

 

[muleyman]

There are stories made every year dealing with stock. We have 4 of our own and 11 mules from my uncle we use each year. From "bolting" to going lame, to all the other crap that can happen...thats what makes it fun!!! Most outfitters have stock that are well behaved and do well packing in. If they have issues, well its not your problem if your the one paying them to take you in!

muleyman

 

[HoundDawgJr]

My buddy guides a bit down in Arizona with a local outfitter down there. They packed a guy into a camp a few years back and dropped him. I guess he killed a bull the first day.

Some guy came riding into his camp, riding a horse and had two pack mules. He offered to haul the elk down for the guy, was really nice and almost insisted he let him help.

They got the elk all loaded on the two mules, meat, head, horns the whole works... got all ready to go and something spooked the mules and they took off with his elk.

They chased 'em around all day, finally caught the one mule the next day... didn't catch the other mule for 3 or 4 days, I think he told me they caught it on the fourth day.

The hunter told this cowboy on the fourth day, "If I get in range of that mule I'm going to kill it to get my horns back." The cowboy told him, "Go ahead, if you get a shot, take it."

The mule must have heard them, he surrendered that day. So ya, **** can happen when dealing with horses or mules, or people for that matter.

 

[swbuckmaster]

good luck with the hunt
did you get my pm

Archery is a year round commitment!!

 

[cantclosethedeal]

Scott,
Didn't get the PM. Hmmmmmm.

 

[adamsoa]

how about goat packers???

 

[Roy]

Hound Dawg - that is a great story! And yes - that is why you gotta love horses (and mules too I guess). I'll bet that cowboy was just as ready to pull the trigger as was the hunter.

I know a lot of you are mule guys and more power to you. I prefer Quarter Horses (what I was raised with). I was visiting with a feller about mules versus horses and I wasn't saying a lot but he kept going on insisting that I should prefer mules because they are a lot better etc. He was going on and on about these mules he was riding on a hunt in Arizona and then down in to the Grand Canyon and how the mule was so superior to any horse he had ever ridden. Well I had about all I could take and was about to politely move on when he said "And you know why mules are so sure-footed don't you - because their eyes are placed so perfectly they can see where they place their feet" and I couldn't resist - so I said, "Well, you are right, but because a Quarter Horse is about 10 times more intelligent than your mules, it doesn't need to see it's feet every time it steps, it knows where it is supposed to step, so you keep your mules and I will ride my horse." That sort of shut him up... funny dude.



UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)