For a hunter, there’s an incomparable thrill in riding a horse into elk country. Just you and your buds and a string of ponies, headed up, flanked by glowing aspens, snowy peaks and a special kind of freedom. It’s the classic image of the ultimate sporting adventure. So strong is the allure, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for many years has offered horse-packing clinics during its annual convention – including the 2014 edition held Dec. 4-7 in Las Vegas alongside the National Finals Rodeo. Here’s what attending cowboys and hunters learned from a veteran outfitter.
Blain Jackson (above) talks tack with clinic attendees. Jackson operates Cottonwood Ranch Hunting Services in northeast Nevada. His outfit has been guiding elk hunters for many years, packing several hundred loads per hunting season in and out of the Jarbidge Wilderness. With all that experience, Jackson can offer plenty of tips, but admits that as long as your gear makes the trip and nobody get hurt (including the stock), there’s really no wrong way to rig a packstring.
Jackson advises, drolly, that if you have a choice between shooting a Boone and Crockett-class bull versus a wee raghorn, you really should consider taking the bigger one. The main reason? Wider antlers, he says, offer more packing options. A big rack fits either astraddle or atop a load.
A hands-on clinic, instructors and attendees work together positioning elk antlers across the top of panniers, the containers that hang on either side of a packsaddle.Continue reading this article at this LINK.…
—–
Join ODU Magazine on Facebook here at this LINK…..
Join ODU Magazine on our Twitter fishing site here at this LINK…..
Join ODU Magazine on our Twitter hunting site here at this LINK…..
.
