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Dragging deer out of the woods

turkeyfeathers

By turkeyfeathers,
in Deer Hunting

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turkeyfeathers Veteran

turkeyfeathers

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So you bastids with ATV's , tractors and such go suck an egg, lol.

I'll turn 48 this year and packing 10 extra pounds( ok, maybe 12)  of craft beer gut.

I've been using the harness that straps across the chest and waist for years. It's no longer fun. I keep telling myself they taste so much better with all the hard work.  Carts aren't an option as the usual mile drag thru blow downs, bunny brush, small swamp , up and down banks of trout stream won't be fun. I shortened the length of the drag rope over the years and that seems to help a bit. Been tying up the front legs in the racks of bucks.

Read some reviews of bags: looks like a royal PITA and they seem to rip, flip over and make life more difficult than easy.

I think I have a pretty good sized piece of thick canvas ( You WNY's know the dome? ,well I  think I have a piece ) Add grommets and a tow rope, wrap deer and try that. Should make it easier thru the snow I would think at least.

Other than shooting smaller deer or finding a pack mule for sale on craigslist I'm open for suggestions.

Last year I shot a buck and big doe same day. It was in teens when I went in so dressed to sit all day. By the time I was at the car with the first one I had sweated thru 4 layers and had jacket in backpack. Went in for the second with one layer on top and bottom, orange hat and drag. I had 2 down with another tag and thought "it's only 9:30 am I can shoot another one today because the action was great"  Apparently I'm not very bright, the 2 kicked the crud out of me . I was shot for days.

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wooly
wooly

I use my treestand harness to drag. When I get tired of that, I'll just tug away on the horns for a little while until my back needs a break, then switch back to the harness. I don't get exc

Pygmy
Pygmy

Quarter them up and pack them out on a packframe...Beats hell out of dragging.

ants
ants

Those cheap plastic sleds work well, even with no snow. Other than that ……...Buy an ATV… You will kick yourself in the a$$ for not buying one years ago…….LOL!!

kpkot Community Regular

kpkot

Posted
Posted

Shoot smaller deer or get a deer cart. You will walk to the car to get it, but i guarentee its way easier with the cart. 

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/herter-s-174-game-cart/1905894.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3FrecordsPerPage%3D18%26No%3D0%26N%3D0%26nl%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Ddeer%2Bcart%26search%3DSearch&Ntt=deer+cart

Cabelas even has it on clearance for you TF....

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Fantail Newbie

Fantail

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Deer cart. And uhm,.. maybe some light beer. ;)

Seriously we all know when the work starts. I have taken to pacing myself, slowed down. When I sense my heart rate is rollin or im a bit out of breath, I just take a break, don't care what time it is. And deal with it.

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turkeyfeathers Veteran

turkeyfeathers

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22 minutes ago, kpkot said:

Shoot smaller deer or get a deer cart. You will walk to the car to get it, but i guarentee its way easier with the cart. 

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/herter-s-174-game-cart/1905894.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3FrecordsPerPage%3D18%26No%3D0%26N%3D0%26nl%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Ddeer%2Bcart%26search%3DSearch&Ntt=deer+cart

Cabelas even has it on clearance for you TF....

That's what stemmed my question. Saw that on sale in their flyer. A cart though really won't help with the terrain I'm trying to maneuver thru, They gotta suck in snow too

I don't process myself  so quartering doesn't seem like the way to go. Seems like it would be a crapload of work as well.

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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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Jay..........The cart could be your huckleberry if there's no snow.  If there is snow, a plastic sled is the nuts.

I've never used a cart but seen them in action.  I have used a sled and it worked great.  Sometimes it'll roll but lash them on TIGHT and it should work out fine.

I've been fortunate to have either a machine to use or a friend within 20 minutes to help with the yankage........

Last year after I shot the 200+ pound archery buck I knew I was in trouble.  No wait, I was F#*%$!, big time.  I made a quick call to a friend who I thought might be home and he came from Hamburg to East Aurora and brought his 20 something step son along. The kid was strong as an ox!

Two years ago I killed a decent 8pt with the bow and he was no light weight either.  I don't recall the weight off hand (and don't feel like searching my posts or going upstairs to review my diary) but IIRC was in the 160lbs range.  For some reason I decided to bring that buck out the shorter way which was UPHILL but much shorter than the downhill option.  I drug that buck almost no stop for 30 plus minutes like SuperFreakingMan.  Dumb move Larry...........you can't believe how much Makers Mark it took to heal my joints. :rolleyes:

Big bucks are great until it's time to drag, load, butcher etc.

 

 

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Uncle Nicky Apprentice

Uncle Nicky

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1 hour ago, Pygmy said:

Quarter them up and pack them out on a packframe...Beats hell out of dragging.

This is what I've been doing for the last 10 years or so, if I drop one where dragging it out would be more trouble than it is worth. Take your pictures where the deer dropped, then skin & quarter it right there. 2 trips with 25# of meat beats 1 trip @ 175 #,

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grampy Veteran

grampy

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We have atv's but it always seems we shoot them in the thick stuff or swampy areas where we still have a good drag to get them to the machines. I too have found the plastic sleds helpful. But always find a stiff drink or two or three helps to sleep at night after a drag.

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Zem18 Apprentice

Zem18

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My FIL bought me one of those old plastic roll up sleds a few years ago. It will fit in your back pack and you can wrap the deer up in it. Couldn't get a good picture so here is a link

 

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=roll-up+sled&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=7010978147&hvqmt=p&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=t&ref=pd_sl_3a4faglq8i_p

 

 

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jperch Collaborator

jperch

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My plastic jet sled for ice fishing is always on call.  Some areas I hunt are muddy briar patches that the tractor can not access.  That way the deer gets back to the truck without mud.  It's easier with snow but even without it's much easier than just dragging the carcass across the mud.  I take my time and hope my buddy will answer his cell phone!

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