# Deer hunters...



## flannelman (Oct 1, 2009)

I have a question for any of you who hunt deer or deer sized game. How do you retrieve your game when you get it down? Do you use an ATV, muscle it out, or can you drive the truck right up to it?


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

flannelman said:


> I have a question for any of you who hunt deer or deer sized game. How do you retrieve your game when you get it down? Do you use an ATV, muscle it out, or can you drive the truck right up to it?


I've used everything from Dragging to Horse.But most the time have two Wheeled Cart to get them out,

big rockpile


----------



## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

Where I hunt it's dragging, way back in. Might be able to get an ATV in there if I had one!


----------



## flannelman (Oct 1, 2009)

Well if you are dragging then how do you do it? Do you just grab a leg and go or do you use a rope, etc.? I am looking into making something to make the job easier but I'd like to know how other hunters get their deer out of the woods when they have to drag it.


----------



## Michael Kawalek (Jun 21, 2007)

My last deer was shot this Saturday. I simply grabbed it by both hind legs and dragged it to a spot where I could drive my truck. From there I drove it back to the cabin for processing.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

just me, i had a strap with a d ring and about 12 feet of line it worked well enought 
i have also doen it just dragging by the rack , or usualy using my belt , hope for 3-4 inches of snow they drag easy in snow track easy to.

we have shot some deep in the cedar swamp and it took 3 of us to carry it out over all the fallen trees 

but usuall we can get a truck to withing a 50 to two hundred yards of the deer and just have to drag to the nearst road or logging path 


i have hunted some public land here were if you shoot one there is no choice but to drag and some times it is a half mile or better depending on the location , our number one killer is heart attacks durring hunting season , and no dought some are brought on by the strenuose work of dragging out a deer for what is some times 2-3 hours 

but we mostly group hunt and our old guys don't drag thier deer far thats what they had kids and grand kids for.

even horses are restricted in most public hunting gounds i have seen all manner of cart , i saw one guy he swore buy using a big plastic sled 

for me if you have to walk back to the truck to get it why bother making 3 trips when you could make one pulling your deer back to the truck. but i don't normaly have any problem dragging a deer


----------



## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

those game carts are great but cant always get them to the deer sometimes only part way. draging you tie off the legs and theres drag slings ,webbed material like a tie down and have a loop to tie the drag rope off too and then you slip it over one shoulder and under the other, so it crosses your chest up to down. if its a doe I drag head first pull the front legs out put a loop around the head close to the base lay that on the front legs,then do a few figure eights around the legs loop the rope between the legs around the middle orf the firgure eights, a buck with a tiny rack you could do the same though big racks can get hung up so flip them the other way and tie off the back legs in the same fashion. thats about the best i can descride my procedure I have to drag them most times, if you got a buddy to help you can both just grab a back leg and drag.


----------



## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

As with "big rockpile", I've used just about every means possible to get deer in from the field, but the easiest these days is a wee "otter sled" dragged behind my ATV.


----------



## jross (Sep 3, 2006)

flannelman said:


> I have a question for any of you who hunt deer or deer sized game. How do you retrieve your game when you get it down? Do you use an ATV, muscle it out, or can you drive the truck right up to it?


We own swamp and use a 6 wheel drive amphib to retrieve our deer. We gut them after we get them out and found the meat is much better the less it is dragged over roots and blowdowns. It is used to bring out firewood too.


----------



## Handyman (Sep 11, 2009)

Michael Kawalek said:


> My last deer was shot this Saturday. I simply grabbed it by both hind legs and dragged it to a spot where I could drive my truck. From there I drove it back to the cabin for processing.


Pull by the head, not the hind feet. You won't get as much resistance from the hair because you will be dragging in the direction that it grows from. It's like petting a dog head-to-tail vs. tail-to-head. I either grab an antler, tie a rope around the neck, or put some twine/thin rope through the lower jaw. I drag as little as possible to keep the animal clean. I try to use slope to my advantage - drag downhill even if it means going 'off road'. ATV or tractor gets the deer out the rest of the way.


----------



## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Handyman said:


> Pull by the head, not the hind feet.


But it's so much farther to the truck that way. Old joke.

I use a snowmachine sled a friend gave me. It is slick plastic with a rope in the front. It will hold a deer easily and is so slick it slides over most stuff like grease. It's been used to haul out deer, antelope, cow elk, and we use it around here to slide the butcher hogs from the shooting area to the skinning area.


----------



## Homesteadwi5 (Mar 16, 2008)

In gun season we always have snow,I have a 5ft sled with criss cross nylon rope on it,works good.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

If you have to drag it yourself, this will help make things easier, while keeping your hands free:

http://www.kamessports.com/product_p/903253.htm



> Have you every needed help dragging your deer out of the woods? If so, the Allen Deer Drag Harness is here to help! This double harness features a waist belt and a sternum strap. This harness will evenly distribute the weight of your deer on your body.
> Double harness
> Waist belt
> Sternum strap
> Color: Blaze Orange


I prefer an ATV, but I rarely hunt more than 1/2 mile from my house


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Most Goverment Land we can't drive on.But one time I was getting two Does out,had a very long hill to take them up,it was 8PM had to have them checked in by 10PM  I thought hey I have 4WD if I don't get these Deer out I could get fined. :shrug: Why am I busting my Back most that will happen I get a Fine for driving in here.

So go up get my Pickup and get my Deer out.

My wife says if its late and she has to get Deer off Goverment Land she is driving right up to the Beast.

big rockpile


----------



## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

For deer I'll drag them to where I can toss them into the truck or at least get the game cart. For pigs, I just tie a rope to them & then drag them with the truck...that's if they are too heavy to toss in the back. If they are small enough to toss in the truck, they usually are made into sausage.


----------



## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

flannelman said:


> Well if you are dragging then how do you do it? Do you just grab a leg and go or do you use a rope, etc.? I am looking into making something to make the job easier but I'd like to know how other hunters get their deer out of the woods when they have to drag it.


if its a doe just grab a leg & drag...if its a buck(and i will keep the horns for mounting if i shoot a buck) i drag it by the horns to protect it(if its early in the season) if its late I be careful of the horns so they dont fall off


----------



## doc623 (Jun 7, 2004)

I have used a cheap rollow up child's sled/toboggan when I could not get any kind of vehicle into the deer. Just field dress and tie toe carcass on the sled. Slides eaisly.
I remember what an old time deer hunter told me years ago about this very subject.
Old hunter was asked what to do if you got a deer too big to drag out and no help was available. He responded - well just make camp and start eating until the deer is small enough to drag.


----------



## flannelman (Oct 1, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies. I am thinking about an easier way to do it, or at least a better tool to drag a deer out with. When I have to drag I have done just about everything there is to do. I have just grabbed a leg or the antlers, used a rope, the tree strap on my safety harness, and a two wheeled dolly like the guys on delivery trucks use. I have also been able to drive an ATV or truck right up to them and load and go.


----------



## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

around here depending on the snow cover, it's using an ATV or snowmachine to drag out a downed and field dressed big game. If on my own property hunting deer, I generally just hitch on the small trailer to my riding mower and haul out the dead beast up to the barn and hang it.


----------



## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

flannelman said:


> Well if you are dragging then how do you do it? Do you just grab a leg and go or do you use a rope, etc.? I am looking into making something to make the job easier but I'd like to know how other hunters get their deer out of the woods when they have to drag it.


Carry with you some bailing twine and when you kill a deer make yourself a Travois out of straight tree saplings of about 8 - 10 ft. in lenght. Criss-Cross toward the top and make a small platform with sticks across the bottom so that you can lay your deer on it and drag it out of the woods. After tying the deer down to the platform, step inside the criss-cross, lift it up, and drag the deer back to your truck or camp. 

I've never done this as I always carry a drag belt with me. But I have always wondered if a travois would be easier dragging since the deer would be up off the ground and only the ends of the poles would be dragging the ground.

Oh, I guess you need to carry a folding saw to cut the poles also.


----------



## brownegg (Jan 5, 2006)

If dragging your deer out is the only option. It works well to bring the front legs up by the head, and tie the drag rope around both neck and front legs. If you are fortunate enough to have help,then slide the deer out on it's back with your help grabing a hind leg and help push....giving the puller a muck, much easier job.

brownegg


----------



## cowboy joe (Sep 14, 2003)

doc623 said:


> I have used a cheap rollow up child's sled/toboggan when I could not get any kind of vehicle into the deer. Just field dress and tie toe carcass on the sled. Slides eaisly.
> I remember what an old time deer hunter told me years ago about this very subject.
> Old hunter was asked what to do if you got a deer too big to drag out and no help was available. He responded - well just make camp and start eating until the deer is small enough to drag.



Same idea but I use a piece of 6 mil plastic that I keep folded up in my pack. The rope gets routed through the plastic then around the legs. Slides nice & easy...plus, the plastic folds up nice & small & can be used for other things like cover wet ground if I need to sit


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Another thing if its cold enough and Legal as it is here you might consider just Deboning it and putting the meat in a Bag and packing it out.

big rockpile


----------



## DavidUnderwood (Jul 5, 2007)

Try using a Merry tiller.
You'd be amazed what thay will pull.
(take the plow off first)


----------



## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

Bwahahah....
This thread makes me think of my DH's very 1st deer....
We have a bit of property in Texas co. Mo. Rockpile can probably attest to the lay of the land there as it is up and won up and down at very sharp angles. DH goes out and leaves us at the camp ( me with 3 kids aged 8, 7, and 4 ) He gets a deer and of course it runs downhill into the bottom of a ravine.....he comes back to the camp and we all go to retrieve it. Not knowing that pulling by the hind legs makes it more difficult...that's how we did it....
The 4 year old not really being able to help much pretty much just walked with....at some point we hit a stump or rock and the carcass lurched and the leg hooked her and she almost fell inside the cavity as we were dragging. Talk about a squeal !!


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Makes me laugh at us getting ba Cow Elk off a mountain in Colorado.Good snow on the ground.She was uphill from the Pickup :hobbyhors W#e get her slidding,get out of the way,get her slidding again get out of the way.Did this all the way down.

big rockpile


----------



## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

DH got a 6 point bow hunting last night & we drug it out the 2 of us. We don't have an ATV & where his blind is you can't get the truck or tractor back there. My blind is a different story though. Depending on where they go we can get our truck or taractor in to mine to bring them out but my blind is in the open more.


----------

