Military Pack for Elk Hunt

T

tbowers

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Feb 14, 2019
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Hey Guys- new to this forum so apologies if this isnt the correct place to post this. I'm going to hopefully be hunting Elk out West this year for the first time. I'm on a budget of course, so trying to pick and choose where I can get by with less then the best or borrowing gear from someone. I plan on investing in some new boots as I only have Lacrosse Burleys for hunting w/t in the Midwest. Best boot around for this area, the mountains, not so much. Where I'm looking to try and 'get by' is in the pack area. I will only need it for the pack out as we will be staying at a buddies cabin and I plan to use my current whitetail pack as my day pack. I have access to a Molle II military frame pack that certainly has the capacity to haul out an elk (5k cu. in/200 lb capacity). They obviously are a bit on the heavy side, but curious if anyone has used one for hauling out meat? I would think it would work fine. I just cant see dropping hundreds of dollars on a pack that i will likely see use once every couple years(assuming I go back).

Below is the pack i have access to, 8.3lbs

www.midwayusa.com

Military Surplus MOLLE II Large Rucksack Complete Assembly Grade 3

The Military Surplus MOLLE II Large Rucksack is an update of the original MOLLE Rucksack that was introduced to replace the aging ALICE system. The...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com
 
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That will work fine as a daypack/meat hauler, at most you are going to put in 100lbs at a time.
 
For the price I'm sure it will do fine; however, being someone that has used that for many years in the Army I'm not a big fan of them. Personally I was surprised when I first started getting into western hunting how much better the commercial packs felt compared to my high dollar military packs I was issued. Again thats a lot of pack for $39 but if you plan to keep hunting out west it would be better to save your money and buy a better pack in my opinion.
 
nhn2a said:
For the price I'm sure it will do fine; however, being someone that has used that for many years in the Army I'm not a big fan of them. Personally I was surprised when I first started getting into western hunting how much better the commercial packs felt compared to my high dollar military packs I was issued. Again thats a lot of pack for $39 but if you plan to keep hunting out west it would be better to save your money and buy a better pack in my opinion.
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My brother is military and said essentially the same thing. Even if I hunted out West once a year for 5 days I have a really tough time spending $4-500 on a pack that i wont utilize anytime outside of that. I have packed out a number of whitetails however if you debone the meat i can fit it all in one load in my smaller 2500 cu in. pack. I'd be way easier persuaded to drop some coin and upgrade some of my base layers, glass, etc that I would also be able to use here in the whitetail woods.
 
You can make a haul system with webbing and buckles pretty easily. I even modified a small day pack to integrate with my meat hauling buckles and carried it on my MOLLE frame for a year or two. It's not as nice as a pack specifically designed for hauling meat but it works fine. You might just consider getting the MOLLE frame, straps, and belt if you really want to save money. You can always buy the bag latter. But it's heavy and often smells like surplus gear mildew.

EDIT
Oh hell. I just saw that the whole thing is $35. You can't go wrong.
 
You can also fine very nice packs on sale for ~$200. I believe there were some MR Metcalfs going for $250. I would also say boots and optics first, but I would absolutely spend the money on a decent pack.
 
These large Molle II packs are everywhere for $25-50 bucks on eBay. I know you can find higher end used packs in the $2-250 range but thats a far cry from spending $40. Its still 10x better then what folks were using 20-30 years ago i figure! Thx for the input
 
I have the old Alice pack I was issued, I sent it to Tactical Tailor about a decade ago for some work. I've welded the frame, and some other stuff. The ruck has been on a ton of deployments with me and rucked countless miles. I have never had an issue with it, and can't see any problems with it yet to come either. It's heavier, sure, I mean it's a solid 6 pounds heavier than my civilian pack. But I still use it for hunting, and have since I was issued it 14 years ago. I have options now to buy a new ruck, sure, but I still take it with me on deployments, actually I'm using it as a desk as I write this. I've used it for elk, deer, hikes, camping, deployments, etc.

Just my opinion, but if the ruck will support the weight, and is reliable, use it. You don't need to spend $4-500 on a pack, but if that's what you want to do go for it. IF you decide to use the ruck, I would suggest investing in a new belt, kidney a and shoulder straps, then you're fine.

To add, I literally just weighed my ruck when empty. With the extras, like claymore pouch on top, etc. It came out at exactly 8 pounds. I'll keep using this ruck, yet my other gear is all ultra light weight stuff. Guess I'm just going lightweight elsewhere to stick with an old friend. YMMV.
 
Having schlepted one of those POSs around for too long I would suggest maybe looking for a good used backpacking pack before that. MOLLEs were just not engineered to put the weight down on your hips where it needs to be due to usually having GI belt related crap around your mid section usually. On my first elk hunt I used an old Osprey internal frame pack to pack out an entire elk and it was pretty comfy (although a little small for a rear quarter with the bone in). Just my opinion, but even at a similar price I would think you can find more functionality and comfort.
 
SFC B said:
Having schlepted one of those POSs around for too long I would suggest maybe looking for a good used backpacking pack before that. MOLLEs were just not engineered to put the weight down on your hips where it needs to be due to usually having GI belt related crap around your mid section usually. On my first elk hunt I used an old Osprey internal frame pack to pack out an entire elk and it was pretty comfy (although a little small for a rear quarter with the bone in). Just my opinion, but even at a similar price I would think you can find more functionality and comfort.
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I second this. I too have rucked my fair share of miles. I have had that pac and hated it. The reason the military is struggling to keep rucksacks is they are causing to many back injuries. My first year packing a elk and I used a Exo and my CSM used a Army ruck. It was night and day difference, With the ruck, like what your considering, you can’t secure the meat to your back and hips. It just flops around even if 550 corded. On the other hand the Exo’s meat Shelf design kept it on snugged into my back and carried the weight well.

With that being said there is a place for a old Alice pack frame. The tubular frame gives you a solid place to tie 550 cord to and really sinch it down. If I were trying to save money I would pick one up and use the heck out of it. They are way better than the new rucksacks for carrying meat.
 
Addicting said:
I second this. I too have rucked my fair share of miles. I have had that pac and hated it. The reason the military is struggling to keep rucksacks is they are causing to many back injuries. My first year packing a elk and I used a Exo and my CSM used a Army ruck. It was night and day difference, With the ruck, like what your considering, you can’t secure the meat to your back and hips. It just flops around even if 550 corded. On the other hand the Exo’s meat Shelf design kept it on snugged into my back and carried the weight well.

With that being said there is a place for a old Alice pack frame. The tubular frame gives you a solid place to tie 550 cord to and really sinch it down. If I were trying to save money I would pick one up and use the heck out of it. They are way better than the new rucksacks for carrying meat.
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I will agree with this, in that I use the old ruck, not the new one. I used the new one once, and never again, I've stuck with the old version.
 
The Mollie Packs work just fine for a simple, cheap pack to keep in camp or a cabin. I own two of them and always have them around. Both have hauled plenty of meat out of the Washington Cascades. As stated with previous posters... They are not the most comfortable for a long haul (3,4,5 miles) or as a backcountry pack but for a haul pack your gonna use out of camp (Trailer camp, cabin or your truck) they work awesome for the Ebay price you can get them for. Hard to beat for the price. A large Molie will easily fit two Elk quarters.
 
we used the Molle this past year. packed out 2 elk, worked just fine. gonna buy another one for the next trip. it is not the most comfortable pack but I can deal with it. would much rather spend my money on boots and optics.
 
If you thought the Molle ruck was ok, when you finally get around to buying a decent pack you are going to be thrilled to death.

After about a week of using one of those things in the Army, I went back to the ALICE pack whenever possible, when they tried to get me to turn my ALICE back in, I told them I would rather pay for it, than be left with that plastic framed torture device.

Find a used pack frame, or internal frame pack. When that plastic frame breaks you are going to be hating life.
 
tbowers said:
These large Molle II packs are everywhere for $25-50 bucks on eBay. I know you can find higher end used packs in the $2-250 range but thats a far cry from spending $40. Its still 10x better then what folks were using 20-30 years ago i figure! Thx for the input
Click to expand...
They are that cheap for a reason. It is not better than packs available 20-30 years ago.
 
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