Deer dragging/transport

[riddleofsteel]

After developing a near case of tennis elbow dragging deer this year I pressed one of my kid's plastic sleds into service. We killed a big doe yesterday about 3/4 of a mile into the big woods. I just rolled her onto the plastic sled and tied her down. The next step was the 3/4 mile drag to the road and the truck over trails, logs, and VERY steep hills. At the hills I uncoiled a long rope, attached to the sled and climbed to the top of the hill. Then I pulled the sled up the hill while my son kept tension on the rope that was wrapped once around a tree. Easiest deer transport to date, it was like she was on wheels. The long black plastic sled sold for about $19.95 in a hardware store during our last big snow and is pretty thick plastic. Believe me it will be on my truck from now on during deer season. It make a good drag to transport equipment into the woods as well.

 

[OH25shooter]

After a visit to the new Cabela's in WV I purchased a deer cart. I agree, for we middle aged (me) men dragging the dead weight of a deer through yards and miles of woods is not a good idea. Had I not spotted the deer cart, I was going to try the plastic sled. Oh, to be 21 again.

 

[Northwest Cajun]

I use a mountain bike, This is a deer I helped haul with a friend last year. The area we hunt belongs to a timber Co and does not allow Vehicle access. I had used it 2 weeks earlier to haul out a nice 4x4 Elk, We just tied the quarters to the back rack and walked the 2 miles back to the truck.

Cajun

 

[DT Guy]

You know, you could set that rig by the side of the road and get some crazy looks...

Larry

 

[Roadrunner]

A second for the Cabelas deer cart. I've used mine for the last two seasons, works well.

 

[trapperjohn]

Northwest Cajun, That looks like a heck of a way to get shot at by some dunderheaded "hunter"

 

[Al Thompson]

Wheelbarrows work well. So do younger hunting buddies.

 

[usp_fan]

Old whatshisbucket that used to write humor for Feild and Stream had a great story about a Deer, a Bike, and a young hunter.

--usp_fan

 

[RandyB]

younger legs

Got my 16 y.o. boy to carry the deer most of the way out. (Now if I can only get him the field dress the deer, wake up early to make the coffee, wash out the truck......)

 

[Smoke Rizen]

I use a block and tackle to raise it,then just walk a Horse under it.
S.R.

 

[dakotasin]

i have found that it is easier to get some big game animals (whitetails, antelope, and smaller - mule deer and elk need not apply) out of whatever hellhole on my back...

antelope and most whitetails i just pick up and carry 'em out whole across my back while my hunting partners bear my gear (rifle, spotter, etc etc). bigger whitetails come out nicely if you turn them into a backpack (cut the skin out between the two bones on the hind legs, feed the front legs thru this opening, and wear the deer out).**

other methods i use is a sled and rope... tie the deer to the sled before rigor mortis sets in, and arrange it in such a way that the antlers don't turn into a plow, run some rope from the sled to you and your hunting partner, and pull it out.

if you are in a tough spot, by yourself, and have a big deer down, might have to cut it in half and make two trips. in the first trip take the lighter half out w/ your gear, secure all your stuff, then go back for the other half.

** if you are carrying big game out on your back, be smart about it, and put an orange beanie over the deer's head/antlers, and wrap your deer in your orange vest.

 

[countertop]

i have found that it is easier to get some big game animals (whitetails, antelope, and smaller - mule deer and elk need not apply) out of whatever hellhole on my back...

antelope and most whitetails i just pick up and carry 'em out whole across my back while my hunting partners bear my gear (rifle, spotter, etc etc). bigger whitetails come out nicely if you turn them into a backpack (cut the skin out between the two bones on the hind legs, feed the front legs thru this opening, and wear the deer out).**

** if you are carrying big game out on your back, be smart about it, and put an orange beanie over the deer's head/antlers, and wrap your deer in your orange vest.

Thats about the dumbest idea ever and a great way to get yourself shot but thanks for including the warning.

If your going to do this (and I strongly recommend that you don't - get a sled or a cart or quarter your game or take multiple trips or get in shape) then you better dam well follow this advice and cover the entire deer with hunter orange.

While most responsible hunters shoot only after they've identified a target, the world at large is made up of irresponsible yahoos who don't necessarily have any idea about what around them, let alone what their target really is.

 

[birddog]

Good tip.

This year we inherited my father-in-law's ice fishing sled -- I think the brand name is Jet Sled. It is black, about 4 feet long and very deep. Even over dry ground, it makes hauling deer or bear out very easy. And unlike kid's sleds, the deep sides allow the animal to stay in without tipping out, or having to lash it down. There's also room for your gun, etc etc, so if you're hunting without buddies, you don't have to sling all that gear.

Good hunting!

 

[JamisJockey]

Northwest Hunter:
Start checking yard sales, ebay and thrift stores for old bicycle trailers. You can probably find one for around $50 in good shape. Great way to haul your kill.

 

[dakotasin]

countertop- i've yet to be shot, or shot at, and i haven't had any near misses, either. so, if its such a dumb idea, the masses where you hunt must be quick to shoot anything, orange or not, since you can generally see the blaze orange over a distance of several miles w/ the naked eye.

as far as carts and bikes and such... they won't get into quite a few of the places i hunt, and they are just so much extra weight to have around...

 

[countertop]

i've yet to be shot, or shot at, and i haven't had any near misses, either. so, if its such a dumb idea, the masses where you hunt must be quick to shoot anything, orange or not, since you can generally see the blaze orange over a distance of several miles w/ the naked eye.

Yep. Probably. We have lots lots lots more people, including an incredible amount of bozos who shoot first, ask questions later (if at all). Thats the difference between the east coast and South Dakota.

Where you have 9.9 people per square mile, 80% who are probably familary with firearms and hunting in the East Coast corridor between DC and Boston the population density is 9316 people per square mile, 80% of whom are probably not familiar with firearms or hunting. That figure is based upon 2000 census data. My guess is you could extend the corridor south to Richmond and north to Portland, ME without any significant decrease in its sheer size.

Throughout that corridor there is almost no hunting land (though a frighteningly large number of whitetail deer - boy do they love those ornamental plantings), so when even a small percentage of the population decides to hunt, its still a significantly larger number than might even live in all of South Dakota, on a very small amount of public hunting land (private land is a different story - but enough poaching goes on that its still a really dumb idea) that sccary situations occur.

I've never been shot at or targeted either (that I know of) but I still think for most people in this country its a dumb idea. I do most of my hunting in the North West Georgia mountains where the population density - while not as low as South Dakota's - is closer to that than it is to the East Coast corridor. I would never do it there either. But to each their own, we all judge risk seperatly.

 

[rick_reno]

I use a wheelbarrow for deer - elk we quarter and carry out, we're usually too far in to push a wheelbarrow.

 

[dakotasin]

right... dunno about the numbers, not really a concern, but the rest of your post strongly supports that different things work differently, maybe not better or worse, just different. just because something may seem dumb to you in your locale does not mean it cannot work w/ brilliant effectiveness somewhere else.

the original poster lives 'above ground' and was asking, in effect, how i get my deer out... and that is generally how i do it (carry it out). far, far easier to carry one out than it is to drag it out. first several hunts i did the dragging method, but after about the 2nd mile, the hide was rubbed off the deer in several spots. by the time the deer made it back to the truck, many times the hide was either gone, or in really poor condition (can you say rocks in the backstrap?? dirt in the tenderloins?? ...). i used to think that maybe a wheeled carrier of some sort would work pretty well, then i watched some poor feller try to wrestle his two-wheeled deer cart up and down the draws and river breaks and over the 'quicksand' and decided there was an even better way yet (for me, where i hunt)... the backpack method was discussed at 24 hour campfire, i tried it, and wow - it really works (incidentally, the originating poster wasn't called dumb for his idea, nor was he drilled on safety).

never hunted the eastern states, and really don't have a desire to - everything i hear about it makes it seems so small and congested (my favorite mule deer hunting area is around 30 square miles, and my two favoritest whitetail areas are huge (the entire black hills, and another area near my mulie spot that runs around 25 sq. mi.), and it is rugged terrain...

another factor that might be used... we don't have trees here... (well, we do have some, but they are mostly in the black hills)...

 

[Spinner]

Dakotasin's method of carrying the deer is pretty much the only way deer are extracted from the forest here in New Zealand. The terrain is just too difficult and the bush too thick to do it any other way. Either the whole gutted carcass is carried out or some guys butcher and bone out the beast in the bush and carry it out that way. The cheats (with big chequebooks) carry their deer to a clearing and call in a chopper to pick it up for them.

Spinner

 

[mtnbkr]

A "third" for the cabelas deer cart. Except, get the larger model that positions the weight closer to the axle. It'll maneuver better. Also, if you're camping, you'll want to use it for gathering firewood.

Chris