Crossing a river...

[Rembrandt]

With a river running through the hunting property, it's been tough not getting your feet or the game wet plus trying to drag animals up the banks. Came up with this solution....a simple rope operated chair lift. Strung a piece of 1/2" diameter steel cable across tied to trees on each side. Made a simple trolley from pulleys and attached a seat to a metal frame. Next was a series of pulleys with a pull rope.....one man operation to pull yourself to the other side. Strong enough to haul gear and deer.

Made a chair lift that incorporates safety features for the kids. Has expanded metal seat to allow snow & moisture to fall through and weather well outdoors. Safety bar lifts up and out of the way....drops down and provides a hand hold.

Added several attachment points on the frame to hang a gun-bow-backpack-or deer.







This photo is from a few years back with a different seat arrangement.

 

[MCgunner]

Interesting ingenuity. But, in Texas, that's not a river, that's a ditch.

 

[Supertac45]

Looks like a lot of extra work to get across that little flow. A small foot bridge seems easier and safer.

 

[Flintknapper]

MCgunner wrote:

But, in Texas, that's not a river, that's a ditch.

You beat me to it.

Not even a big ditch.

 

[Old Shooter]

Interesting project.

How hard is it to pull it along when you get past the half way mark and the trolly has to go uphill?

Anyone care to envision what that little ditch would be like if a Texas "Gully Washer" storm was to come thru?

 

[Rembrandt]

I've heard everything is bigger in Texas.....so I won't even try to go there.

It's about a 60' span across and goes out of it's banks each spring, foot bridge would get washed away. Banks are too steep for one guy to drag out deer and even worse with snow and ice. It's quite easy to pull across, a little tougher with the weight of a deer added, but quite manageable.

 

[dakotasin]

might be a ditch in texas, but i doubt you texas boys would enjoy submersion in knee deep ice water (per the last pic of the deer going for a ride), regardless of if it is a ditch or a river.

interesting solution to the problem, and i'd bet the kids will get a summer o' fun out of it. unfortunately for me, here in the great state of s.d., they don't make very many trees so even if i had a river (or ditch) that would warrant such an exercise, i'd have to build a couple trees to it first...

all that said, i would like to see pics of your new solution in full weight bearing operation.

 

[ambidextrous1]

Very resourceful!

May I suggest a refinement? Anchor the cable a bit higher on the far side. This means you'll be pulling mostly uphill, when you start out, fresh and not laden with a recent kill.

On the return trip, the trip willl be mostly downhill, when you're returning, tired, but (hopefully) with a trophy. The momentum you accrue on the downhill part of the return trip may provide enough energy to complete the uphill portion of the crossing; marbe more...

 

[JimKirk]

An idea to add...
A bicycle pedal type hand crank with the pull cable wrapped twice or three times around a "drum", out in front of the seat within comfortable reach.

Jimmy K

 

[grubbylabs]

That thing looks cool, good luck and I hope you have to use the heck out of it.

 

[MCgunner]

On the return trip, the trip willl be mostly downhill, when you're returning, tired, but (hopefully) with a trophy. The momentum you accrue on the downhill part of the return trip may provide enough energy to complete the uphill portion of the crossing; marbe more...

That'd make a pretty good youtube vid, methinks. Might even make Leno's "what did you think would happen?"

Yeah, I figured any foot bridge might be quite temporary there. Besides, you priced lumber lately?

 

[RumRunner]

yall ever hunted in LA swamps? ??? you spend all your time in water

neat little contraption yall got though

 

[MCgunner]

I hunt ducks in marsh, does that count? I've broken ice to set deeks, yeah, even in Texas. In over 40 years of duck hunting, yeah, I've been wet and cold.

 

[dakotasin]

well, it really isn't duck hunting unless there is a good dose of misery mixed into the equation, right?

 

[KodiakBeer]

Ever try to just bone out a deer in the field? When the animal is still warm, the hide comes right off and the meat cuts like butter (well, almost). Do NOT gut the animal. With the animal lying on its side, make an incision down the spine and the peel the hide down. Make an incision down the thigh bone (where it's marked with a whitish seam) and then cut the meat from the thigh bone. Joint the front shoulder at the first joint, then slide your knife between ribs and upper shoulder and it comes off in your hand - that's the only bone you carry out. Make an incision along the spine from the top, using the lateral part of the vertebra as a guide, then filet the straps right off the ribs. You've got 80% of the meat from that side now, without making a mess. Lastly, you cut all the miscellaneous meat off - neck meat, rib meat, whatever.

Now flip the animal over and do the same on the other side.

Lastly, cut the belly and get the liver, heart, inner straps or anything else you want.

Once you done this a couple of times, it will take less than twenty minutes to have all of the meat in your pack, and walking home. Why drag home all the bone, hide, etc, that you're going to discard? Just stroll home without building bridges, lifts, and all that. Why go through all the labor of cutting the congealed, tough meat from a cooled animal?

Lastly, and most importantly, if you cut up the meat in the field it will bleed completely out instead of staying in the meat and making it tough and gamey. It will taste like tender fine-grained beef.

Despite what gramps told you, hanging venison in the garage doesn't improve it. It only allows the meat to dry out and the blood to congeal in the meat and give it an off-flavor. Hanging beef (in controlled conditions) improves it because fat is integral to the meat and its breakdown makes it more tender. Game doesn't have fat within the meat, so you're only drying it out. Worse, it picks up oils, dirt, from the hide which make it even less tasty.

Cut your meat up in the field - tossing it onto a clean game back to drain. Then take it home, wash it and freeze it. You'll be amazed at how tender and flavorful it is when handled properly.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I like it a lot, and need something similar myself - good job.

 

[chas08]

Once you done this a couple of times, it will take less than twenty minutes to have all of the meat in your pack, and walking home. Why drag home all the bone, hide, etc, that you're going to discard? Just stroll home without building bridges, lifts, and all that.

Unless I'm missing something. I fail to see how the above is going to keep your legs dry. As for the Bosuns chair across the creek...Great Idea.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Unless I'm missing something. I fail to see how the above is going to keep your legs dry. As for the Bosuns chair across the creek...Great Idea.

I was thinking more of dragging the deer through a muddy ditch, which you wouldn't want to do. Getting your feet wet doesn't strike as being much of a tragedy. I would think a pair of rubber boots would do the trick if getting your feet wet is just too awful to contemplate. It just seems like a lot of work to facilitate carrying yourself and 150 pounds of deer across a muddy ditch, when you could just stroll across with your meat in a pack.

 

[chas08]

Getting your feet wet doesn't strike as being much of a tragedy. I would think a pair of rubber boots would do the trick if getting your feet wet is just too awful to contemplate.

I don't care to hunt deer in waders. And 18 inches of water, with a pair of 17 inch rubber boots, in the weather pictured above, would be a tragedy. (LOL) I still like the bosuns chair.

 

[MCgunner]

"KodiakBear"? With a handle like that, I'm guessing he goes swimming with the first thaw....in July.

Now, think about this. You're going to cross that ditch to get to a stand on the other side. It's 15 degrees and you plan to sit in a tree stand for 6 hours. You wanna do that with wet feet? BURRRRRRR

 

[MCgunner]

BTW, I have worn my 5mm neoprenes tot he stand before on a cold day just for the warmth.

 

[KodiakBeer]

"KodiakBear"? With a handle like that, I'm guessing he goes swimming with the first thaw....in July.

That's KodiakBEER, if you don't mind! In Alaska, we normally hunt in rubber boots. The entire state is a swamp. Even the mountains are swampy...

Anyway, a pair of Xtra-Tuffs and backpack seems an easier solution.

 

[chas08]

That's KodiakBEER, if you don't mind!

Yeah,MC....Don't you know nuthin'?

 

[Rembrandt]

...a pair of Xtra-Tuffs and backpack seems an easier solution....

Already familiar with cutting up animals.....just wanted a dryer way to cross knee deep water.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Already familiar with cutting up animals.....just wanted a dryer way to cross knee deep water.