how to haul out a deer carcass

Hey Folks,
Here is another greenhorn question. I've only been on one hunt, and it was guided. I killed my first deer which weighed in @110#, my guide was gonna drag it for me, but I figured since I dropped it then I should drag it, 60yds over flat terrain and that sucker got heavy...and I'm in pretty good shape! My problem now is that I've joined a small hunt club with 1240 acres and 9 members, 2 of whom rarely hunt. I have only met 2 members and in all probability I will be hunting a fair amount on my own. My "pivate" area consist of roughly 65 acres predominantly hardwood bottoms with a deep/steep creek bank separating a steep westerly oak ridge from a gentler sloping thick/dense planted pine grove. I have access to 2 food plots which will be no trouble. In all probability if i get a buck (or doe) with my bow, I'll be trying to drag the beast out of the creek channel, or worse the thick, and I mean THICK pine grove. Any tricks for one guy to get this done with out having a heart attack?

Buy you a cart. The beast in my avatar weighed in at around 260-270 lbs live weight and we got him back to the truck in 38 min flat from where I killed him. It was over 1.75 miles from the truck. It's a no brainer. Best $100 I ever spent.

will they work pulling out of steep ditches?

If you can't get the cart, a 4 x 6 sheet of mylar (think heavy plastic sheeting) can help. Duct tape a small patch, pass the rope thru a hole cut in the duct tape (so the plastic will not rip), tie the rope around the neck and start dragging. It will definitely still be work, but less friction involved.

You can buy a pre-made deer cart for about $100. My buddy made one out of spare pipe, a cart axle, and a set of wheel-chair wheels. We call it our "rikshaw".

Made one out of the rear section of a 3-wheeled 'bicycle', I used 2 pieces of 1" conduit (8 ft.) as the handles and then took 3/4" conduit and bolted crossways all the way back. 'Curled' the back section of the handles so he wouldn't slide off. Later I added a basket to the front section to hold my pack, water, etc.
it too was like a rickshaw, worked so good somebody stole it!
Didn't cost but just a few $$ because I got the bike free out of a scrap pile.

if you are in a hard area to get around in just 1/4 the deer up in the woods, much easier that way to haul out plus you can get it on ice that much faster.

I have a deer cart so if you want to save money i'll come hunt the property with you and will be willing to let you use my cart if you take a deer. I usually wouldn't offer that to anyone but since youre fairly new at this i want to help

your such a nice guy.

xhunterx said:

I have a deer cart so if you want to save money i'll come hunt the property with you and will be willing to let you use my cart if you take a deer. I usually wouldn't offer that to anyone but since youre fairly new at this i want to help

Click to expand...

I appreciate that very generous offer xhunterx, however, unfortunately club rules don't allow visitors

Order now: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/sear...ault.asp+KW+Box&s=SEARCH&a=search&k=deer+cart

I have the $59 one and it works well. The wheels are removeable and store inside the cart for easier storage. The aluminum one would be lighter, might be worth the extra $30.

The also have a trailer hitch adapter so that you can pull it behind a 4 wheeler. That's on back order till the end of the month. Still worth ordering to have when they get around to it.

4 wheeler and a long rope!

Cabela's offers a plastic "sled" that rolls up for storage, but can be used for this. It is only about $30. I usually move my truck so that I can drag downhill as much as possible.

Good luck, I hope you have enough opportunites to become an expert at this, this year!

I just got a Glen's Deer Handle. I'll let you know how it works. At least I hope I'll get a chance too. {mental note to self "try not to be over confident"}

Thanks a lot Ripper! After reading this thread, I now have yet one more thing to build on my long project list!

Yep, Deer Cart......

I've have dragged them so far it rubbed all the hair off one side!!!!!

NOYDB said:

Order now: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/sear...ault.asp+KW+Box&s=SEARCH&a=search&k=deer+cart

I have the $59 one and it works well. The wheels are removeable and store inside the cart for easier storage. The aluminum one would be lighter, might be worth the extra $30.

The also have a trailer hitch adapter so that you can pull it behind a 4 wheeler. That's on back order till the end of the month. Still worth ordering to have when they get around to it.

Click to expand...

I just looked at that cart and see it's only rated to hold a 250# deer. What good is it?

use a 4 wheeler and drag it. i have drug deer a mile or more sometimes and never cut thru the hide yet. i have to drag them as i can not pick them up do to back. if all else fails you can hang it from the nearest tree. skin it and quarter it. myself i usually cut off the backstraps and debone the rest. scince i want burger. plus by doing that is a lot lighter. you will still have around 40-50 pounds of meat on average..{for the deer here anyhow} take unscented trash bags for meat and a good backpack. get in on ice in a cooler as soon as you can.

also if alone and you cant hoist it in tree a small 10x10 plastic tarp to lay on the grd to skin it out will work to keep dirt out.have a pc of rope to tie to the head or a leg then tie it off to a close tree. that will keep deer from sliding off of the tarp as you pull on the hide.

if you know what your doing one can be skinned and deboned for the most part without gutting it to make the job cleaner. also take plenty of those latex goves. makes cleaning yourself up a lot easier to.

beleive me. with a bad back i do it the fastest and easiest way i can.

proccessing the deer yourself is very easy to do. plenty of books out there that give step by step info on the cuts of meat and how to unroll the meat to get those cuts. once you do a couple of them then its all second nature. plus its a lot cheaper than paying someone to do it for you. but like i said. all i steak out is the backstraps. rest is burger.

sure my grinder cost a few hundred. but it paid for its self the 1st yr. plus i can make sure my grd meat is all meat and not full of "junk" pcs that the proccesser will for sure grind all in there.lol.

i got a little off track. but scince you are new at it i figured a little more info aint bad. good luck..

ClydeWigg3 said:

I just looked at that cart and see it's only rated to hold a 250# deer. What good is it?

Click to expand...

well it can probably hold two ark. deer at the same time..lol

Another possibility: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=450188

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=210605

Less weight to carry in than a cart, and you can get it into the thickest stuff or down a gully.

Deer hide is pretty slick if you pull from the head. Something like this (which I think I've seen at Wallworld too) might be all you need.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=356155

There are drags that include a shoulder harness so that you have your hands free to carry your gun/bow.

One caution. Be careful about pulling from one side of your body. It can put enormous pressure on your back and cause permanent damage.

Of course the best solution is to shoot'em so they run towards the truck.......