hunting without a truck how do you transport your deer

[Chef]

so i do not own or have access to a tuck do u guys think ill make a big mess if i put a tarp down in my trunk and maybe put the deer in big trash bags. does any one have any suggestions on how to transport deer without a truck. or would anyone like to share how they do it

[Chrishunter]

I have a toyota sedan, I put the deer on the roof of the car and use ratchet straps to secure it. You can pick them up at home depot. The deer is definitely secure that way.

[erussell]

just throw down a big tarp youll be fine.

[fasteddie]

I got rid of my Chevy S10 and bought a Subaru Forester . Bought a trailer for the ATV . I use that trailer to haul my deer . The drag on it cuts down the gas milage on a day's hunting trip but it sure works fine for me .

[WNYBuckHunter]

I have put deer in my trunk before, it works fine, just put a tarp in there first.

[Doewhacker]

Yup..tarp it, or buy the extra scotch gaurd package..or whatever its called...when you get a new car. The look on the sales lady's face when I asked her if it applied to blood stains was priceless. haha

[First-light]

Of course try to drain the blood as much as you can. I transported 3 this weekend to the processor by putting them inside my Tahoe with an old rug on the floor. Not a bad idea to stuff a rag in the mouth if they are in the trunk and drop them off in Jersey! No really alot of blood comes out of the mouth and it may save you from a bad stain.

[HUNT6246]

Your deer will be much better if it is allowed to cool on your trunk rather than placing it in your trunk as you travel.  Your trunk lid should have two hinge type support arms linking it to the vehicle.  Get two pieces of rope about 5-6 feet long.  With your trunk open, tie one rope (in the middle) around each of the trunk hinges.  Then close the trunk with the two free ends of each rope hanging outside and on top of the trunk.  Then lay your deer on top of the trunk and tie it on tightly with the two ropes.  Hinge spacing will usually let you tie one rope around the deer's abdomen near the hip area and another around the chest behind the front legs.  I suggest you either clean all stones and debris off of the deer before putting it on the trunk or place the opposite clean side (the side you weren't dragging it on) on the vehicle to avoid damage.  Garbage bags may not protect your vehicle against sticks and stones in the deer hide.  Any blood etc. will wash off the vehicle.  If your deer is a buck, you may want to have the head at the right side of the vehicle to avoid road damage; ice or slush from damaging it.  This worked for us for years before trucks.  It should work for you too - good luck!

[132 eight pointer]

Newspaper under the tarp will help absorb what might spill. Some people use those hitch hauls too if you have a hitch for one.

[Fitzy]

I use a home made hitch hauler behind my old Cherokee. When I was younger I could 'clean and jerk' an animal up to the roof. I don't even attempt that anymore. I put a tarp under the deer to keep road grime off while getting plenty of air circulation to keep it cool 'till I hang it at home.

[Nomad]

Easy I use a Stealth Hunting Vehicle (SHV) aka mini van. No middle seats. Have an extra piece of carpet down, and when i transport deer I put a cheap trap down,open both side doors,left head place inside, walk around go in other door grab head pull deer in . Easy as pie , low to ground means easy lift for one guy .

Ride home is 35 minutes no biggie.

I love the SHV. i change inside it, have tons of room for gear, and I even sleep in it, easy to get deer in and i've driven it places I really shouldn't. 25 mpg highway.

[Fantail]

While some above methods will work there is one other idea I'll mention. It'll depend on where your getting the deer from - meaning working room or camp, from the side of the road etc.

Well get a colapsable cooler or even a regular one and feild dress it. Now you can bring the venison home and some of the processing prep is already done. This also works if you need to keep it quartered away and cool so to say if your camped out and arn't leaving for another day or so. Extra ice helps too.

[Daveboone]

Due to last minute mechanical failure, We had 3 of us in my Hyundai hatchback one year. We ended up transporting us 3, all gear and 3 deer (one buck, two does) INSIDE it due to the very crappy weather! I always have a tarp in my vehicles. We put it around the animal then pull it in.

[fasteddie]

Here is my Deer Hauler ...............

[Robinson446]

If u gut the deer before it gets stiff. lay it over a log to bleed out for a good 10 mins. then throw down a tarp. and but the deer in a different tarp. then u will be good to go

[NY Trophy Hunter]

Put 'er on the hood and smile  ;D like a proud hunter! Get-R-Dun!

[infmphunter32]

It's a neat coincidence this thread came up, was listening to a radio show and the other day and they were talking about how when you travel through NY you don't see the cars with deer strapped to them like you used to, and the hosts speculated that it was due to less hunting, which is why so many areas are over populated with animals.  On the other hand I always sort of attributed it to the potential for clashes with antis and the fact that it's just easier to conceal the animal instead.  It's interesting that some guys still do it the old fashioned way.  Someday I hope I'll need a plan for getting a deer into soft top Wrangler. 

[fasteddie]

Last week I was sitting in McDonald's in Geneseo and saw a SUV pull into the parking lot . No one seemed to pay much attention to it . The worse part of it was it had a bloody looking a-hole ......... the deer that is ....!

[First-light]

Years ago while transporting my deer back to Long Island I had a whole family give me the finger (there were some little kids in that car) this was on rt 17. Had people point their fingers at me in the shape of a gun, GW bridge. Was asked to move my car at a diner because people didn't want to see a dead deer while they were eating, town of Cairo. Now that I have my own camp and have a processor a few miles away they all stay up there. My neighbor picks them up and keeps them in his freezer till I get back to camp. It also costs much less ($56) to butcher a deer, boneless!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Just my personal view but I won't transport a deer inside a vehicle. When they start to cool off any ticks that are on them start looking for a warm place to go....and that isn't going to be me. I had one deer last year from Rochester area that was loaded and a buddy of mine shot a spike up in 5H during ML and within an hour of placing it in the back of his truck the critters were crawling all over the bed.

Luckily I have a truck but if I didn't ...on the trunk or on the roof

[fasteddie]

I hauled a doe in my trailer about 6 miles the other day . The tires had thrown slush up on the front of the trailer . I can't imagine what a deer would look like with someone using one of those Hitch Haulers to transport a deer .

[growalot]

Well seeing the trunk of my grand marque can fit the Saprano's...I always keep a big tarp in it and manage to wrestle the deer into the trunk on top of the tarp...never had a blood issue...sometimes I do that instead of using the Gator or tractor...drag to the road and hide...then hike the hill and quick grab the car..Even seen how high the bed of the gator is from the ground? Cars so low it's a matter of rolling them in really...

[jjb4900]

roll em up in a carpet...oh wait, I was thinking of something else.....years back it was the law that the deer had to be transported exposed on the outside of a vehicle if I remember correctly, since that changed less and less people do it.

Edited August 28, 2016 by jjb4900

[Chef]

Quarter trash bags trunk..... But I now have a truck and hunt my own land so no real
Need any more

[Jeremy K]

I believe I might have an issue this year , my wife was in a car accident last Tuesday while driving the F150 and it might be totalled , I'm not putting a deer in my ST and our back up vehicle is a cavalier , I might be building a platform that mounts on the trunk lid of that.