I have a fall bear hunt coming up and hope to put a homemade broadhead through a bear with a homemade longbow. And then there are the deer I hope to send an arrow through. Couple that with being in my 50's with back issues and a darn truck with a bed that too high to simply lift an animal into and its come time to make loading those trad kills into the truck easier. So thats what I did. Here is a 1 minute video of what I hope to be an often used piece of my bowhunting gear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USbA6psnwew
Being a 68 year old guy with typical old age joint and back problems I bought one of the $88 deer hoists from the Sportsman's Guide. I keep it in my truck all season and have picked up two road kills with it as well as all the deer I killed. I have an F250 pickup with the tailgate WAY off the so I need a hoist.
At 65 I am thinking that rabbits and squirrels are a lot easier to load than a stringy old deer....
Of course, I am less concerned with loading them into the truck than getting them there in the first place.
Good idea, I often carry one of the folding ATV ramps to help get deer in the truck, there's offer great foot holds. But of course I still got to drag them up the ramp.
Neet idea. One thing to consider a bear or a deer being dead weight may flop off your ramp. It may not stay on as nice as your crate of weights.
Good idea!
I helped a friend carry out a black bear (fall hunt) and what a chore that was. Talk about hard to hold onto- that thick shiny hide.
I also shot a nice 4X4 buck, probably about 180 lbs or so dressed out. when hunting by myself a few years ago. It was all I could do to get it lifted into the truck,
I have a cable winch for that purpose now. The ramp is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Gary
QuoteOriginally posted by Mr. fingers:
Neet idea. One thing to consider a bear or a deer being dead weight may flop off your ramp. It may not stay on as nice as your crate of weights.
Thats why the ramp is built in a "V" shape to keep the animals centered.
I think it's going to work fine. Rigor will probably have them stiffened up by the time you get the truck anyway.
My problem is getting them to the vehicle! Last year I broke a deer down to quarters and carried it the mile or so out on a pack frame.
Should work fine, but I like Eric Krewsons idea for the receiver hitch mounted game hoist the best. The good ones also swivel so you can lift them up above the bed, then swing them into the bed and let them down.
Bisch
Agreed but that required a purchase of a hoist or the welding of one. The wood ramp was made from a shed full of excess lumber and a garage sale block and tackle. The cost was 115 feet of new rope. Bowhunters are cheap, we even retrieve our ammo after the shot. ;)
Great idea and will serve you well. Very well thought out.
A jet sled will help her the critter back to the truck and go up the ramp really easy and also keep critters from falling off the ramp.
I use a jet sled to get animals to the truck then lift from of jet sled onto tail gate ( with critter in sled). Then hook a pulley to my truck bed front tie down loop. Then pull the rope as I guide the sled in from behind the sled. Really easy as the sled offers no resistance on the the truck bed.
6 oz pocket knife and 20 minutes will turn a deer or bear into easy manageable pieces. I have not hoisted an animal in many years.
Dan in KS
Few bucks for knife and game bags, quarter up your game.
Like the livestock we butcher, we prefer to do all the butchering in the clean setting of the butcher house with all the gear we use when processing livestock. Doing it in the woods in the dark is not what we consider a good time. Having back in the butcher room with good lighting, tables, running water, packaging equipment, etc, serves us well and produces the best table fare.
Ron- check out Fred Eichler on youtube quartering out an elk with a Leatherman in 25 minutes. It is FAR easier than dragging and hoisting a carcass. . .Even in the dark with a headlamp!
(Check out my New Years deer post with my wife. 20 minutes tops. http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=147941;p=1#000000)
I don't butcher it, just quarter it. Still take the quarters home, hang them, and butcher them.
Good luck.
Dan in KS
Until just recently, quartering big game in WI was not legal. They had to be taken out whole. Now we can break them down to 3 pieces if we like. (I dont care for that)
For the same reasons I would not haul a steer or pig out into the woods to break down, I would not do it with a bear or deer. It might just be a western thing vs a Midwest thing but For maximum cleanliness and the best table fare, we will continue to process in a clean room with running water and all our butchering gear. Now we have a low cost and solution for getting large animals in the truck which was the only sticking point.
We dont even gut in the woods as attracting yotes, wolves and bear is something we hope to avoid.
Been a long time, but when you mentioned the legal requirement in WI It came back to me. We had to drag them out in one piece back when.
It is a west vs Midwest thing, like you say. When I was younger I thought nothing of dragging a deer a mile or more. Most guys out here don't break their deer down, but my ODO will roll over to 70 next month and doing it in pieces is my only option when I'm alone.
It is a challenge keeping things clean in the woods.
For the price of the rope, how could you go wrong :thumbsup:
I like your idea Ron... Can see you put a lot of thought into it! :thumbsup: Thanks...
... mike ...
Great idea, same concept here, everything has to be taken out and checked in whole.
Pretty neat idea. That would probably work with a fishing kayak too. Some weigh over 100#.
I get it. Different laws and styles for sure when it comes to hunting. Your ramp idea looks like it will work for you.
I was raised eastern as well- same mindset. Once I started quartering like Eichler (no gutting, leave hide on) I wondered why we spent the effort and hours all those years. When accessible I can still even use a cart to haul quarters out.
Good hunting
Dan in KS
I use a really neat contraption called game handlers. It is a set of straps that allows you to use the deer or hogs weight as leverage. Compact--- it fits in a large pocket-- I keep mine in the storage compartment of my four wheeler. I have loaded deer larger than me onto the back of my bike solo with this rig. I am blessed to do most of my hunting within walking distance of my house and mainly use the bike to haul, but these straps will work to get the deer into the bed of a pickup. The price is the best part...
Ive thought about the best way to do this. Here is my idea: use whatever ramp you like, but use a 2X4 with a boat ratchet strap into the pickup truck load lock to ratchet up your critter.
Very nice and well thought out! I switched to using a Jet sled and love it, but can be difficult to load into the truck by yourself.... your contraption coupled with a sled might be the ticket!
Thanks for sharing!
Good luck, shoot straight and God bless,
Rodd
I carry a sheet of half inch compessed fiber board in the bed. When I shoot an animal, after getting it to the truck, just lower the tailgate, drag the fiber board off leaving one end on the gate. Pull the animal onto the board. At this point, depending on the weight, I can either continue dragging right in to the bed or hop off, grab the lower end, lift and slide the whole shebang in to the bed. And I'm 72. Has worked like a charm so far.
In Mass, we are required to check in game animals whole. I use a kids sled to haul the deer out, lift one end and rest on tailgate and slide the sled/deer in. Sometimes I use a game cart to haul out a deer. I am 63years old. I like the ramp idea.
cool idea. you could truss the critter up with some cordage to stop it from flopping all over the place- the jet sled is a good idea too.
i too like to take the deer home whole- for cleanliness too- but also because we use so much of the guts.
heart, liver, kidneys, stomach( tripe!!)- brain for frying, lungs for the dogs. and this year i am going to start processing the intestines for casings!
Ive survived almost 30 years of loading deer without anything like this. If I were going to use anything, it would be the hoist bisch described.
Jet sled works pretty well. Can be used to get them out of the woods then right up in the truck.
Tie a rope around a tree, run the end thru a pulley secured in the front of your truck bed. Tie the other end to the critter. Drop the tailgate and pull forward. Done N done
Very Cool!
Keep cooler with frozen plastic bottles in it. Bone deer out and leave all the unuseable stuff where you killed it. Coyotes and possums will thank you, and you wont have to drag a deer, but carry out in your pack just what you will eat.
I didn't know anything else but dragging deer for miles for my first 20 years or so hunting. Now I enjoy deboning and getting that meat cooled down as quickly as possible. A light weight tarp and game bags keeps everything clean and a cooler at the truck with frozen jugs is handy also.
Your system looks like it should work good as well.
Very nice idea, Ron! It's that transition from ground to truck that concerns me as well.
I think it was Gene Wensel who used a section of a ladder stand. Lay it on the ground, pull the deer onto it, then lift one end up onto the tailgate. Then you lift the other end and slide it in. Probably not as easy as it sounds, but should be an improvement.
This was discussed some time in past history too. At that time someone suggested you tie a length of rope, cord, whatever around one end of the critter and do your best to hoist it up enough to tie it to one corner of the pickup bed ( or car trunk). Once secure pick the other end up and put er in !
I have, in younger days, taken and tied two straps around the buck's body, one at each end, then used them as handles. A big buck is still a big buck, but at least there are handles that way. Yes, hunting in Wisconsin, where you still primarily need to drag it out whole (that is changing however) , has its pitfalls.
ChuckC
I think that is a good invention.
same as Eric. After breaking my back and getting 5 vertebrae's fused in 1993 I had to change the way I did things..I first made a 2 wheel deer hauler. then I bought a 2 piece deer hoist that swivels. I have a gambrel for it and have used it on over 75 deer and hogs. I replaced the hand crank winch and cable last year. I have also used it for putting heavy objects like 5500watt generators in the truck.
If you have a stout tree near your truck here is what I do. You need two lengths of sturdy rope. Throw both over a sturdy branch and tie them both around the critters neck. Then tie the end of one to your trailer hitch and leave the last end free hanging. Now pull your truck forward and hoist the critter up to the height of your bed. Now take the free end and tie it off to a tree trunk. The critter will now be suspended by two ropes. One attached to your hitch and one tied off on a tree. Then just back up so it's suspended over the bed and untie both ends. Sounds complicated when I type it but, really it isn't.
I tried to get a younger hunting partner a few years back. Thought he would come in handy for just such chores. Turns out he was either too lazy or too smart to hunt some of the places on public lands I hunted at that time. I never figured out if it was laziness or smarts, probably the later. I even said I was always lucky enough not to kill a deer there.
I will be building a similar ramp before the season opens.
Thanks for sharing. The
Speaking of having to check in game intact...
Not many years ago, NH required that a moose kill
had to be checked in whole!(but field dressed).
Had to have someone with a brace of draft horses,
a tractor, or skidder lined up to help get the
beast out of the woods. Also made you think
about where you were in relation to a road
or trail before taking a shot.
More enlightened now, the rules have been
amended to allow a hunter to check quarters and
meat.
Neat idea. At the end of a long hunt, and a long drag, I would be grateful to have the opportunity to try that out!!
You are smart to plan ahead
I have a similar ramp, but I just tied two 2"x6"x6' (shorter bed)boards together (drilled holes about every 18" and have a rope through the hole with a stop knot which goes on the bottom) in order to get more spacing between the blanks. Ideal is a support in the front shoulder area and the hind quarter area of the deer. In order that it can't slide around, I attached loops for stakes in the corners of the bottom and have two longer pieces of rope I can tie to each side of the truck bed to keep the ramps spread out. Folds down very compact on top of one wheel well. Deployed in almost no time. No back issues here, but I am not tall enough to lift a limp carcass this high. Like this, it is a breeze.
I am not one for skinning, quartering and/or deboning deer at night. The chances of a slip or cut are magnified and I like to do those chores in broad daylight under ideal conditions.
Lots of different people, problems and solutions! :thumbsup: should be a method here that fits any situation.
QuoteOriginally posted by KSdan:
6 oz pocket knife and 20 minutes will turn a deer or bear into easy manageable pieces. I have not hoisted an animal in many years.
Dan in KS
It took me many years to figure that out!
So much easier than dragging!!!!!
Where legal of course ......
I debone them where they fall and pack them out in my backpack.
only thing i'd change from that video is i would rig the winch point centrally not off to one side. it would only require a rope from each tie down point in the corner of the bed and the winch point tied centrally.
Absolute true story - I used to have permission to hunt adjacent a Catholic Convent. They used to let me park behind the Convent barn. More than once, I had Nun's in full Habit help me lift deer into the bed of my truck. :archer:
A few years ago, I had a downed elk to load in my PU. I took a small electric winch which has long wire to hook to the battery of the PU. I cut a jack pine about the size of my arm and placed it in front of the wheel wells of the PU. Attached the winch to the log with a short chain. Attached the other end with a short chain around the elks neck and turned on the switch. Worked great. Actually I shot the elk over a steep hillside not far from the PU. I also used the winch to pull the elk up the hill. Had to make several moves with the winch to reach the top, but was much better than hauling the elk on my back, even quartered out. If you do this, take a couple blocks to double the pulling power and the winch will not have to work as hard. I just removed the battery from the PU and carried it down the mountain and placed near the winch which was chained to a tree. Continue on up the hill till you get to the PU.
QuoteOriginally posted by Roger Norris:
Absolute true story - I used to have permission to hunt adjacent a Catholic Convent. They used to let me park behind the Convent barn. More than once, I had Nun's in full Habit help me lift deer into the bed of my truck. :archer:
Now that would be something I would have had to get a picture of.... :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
I keep a pair of ATV ramps in the bed of my truck, all season long. I built a cart for hauling. I either walk the cart up the ramp for smaller deer or use a ratchet strap to winch it for bigger deer.
Delaware requires that all deer remain intact with proof of sex.
Guess I've been luckier than I realized over the years. I've always had good friends and family to help with all post hunt effort. Whether it was tracking, dragging or loading help has almost always been just a phone call away. I can only remember loading two deer by myself. One of which, I backed the truck up to an embankment and just dragged the deer right in.
Bvas stole my thunder, but I know that guys prefer to spend money on gizmos and machinery.
I have loaded many many deer into my truck, and in earlier days, onto the trunk of my 66 Dart that way.
Killdeer :dunno:
I have loaded many of them by finding a depression in the ground, such as a well worn cow trail.. With your rear tires in the ditch, the tailgate gets to a much lower height and you can easily drag them in yourself.. I have also drug them with the truck, a fair distance just to use the terrain feature
Looks like it will work fine!
QuoteOriginally posted by redfish:
Of course, I am less concerned with loading them into the truck than getting them there in the first place.
X2 ... lol
I try to use "the buddy system". Get my buddy to do it.
A cold beer, and a thirsty passerby.
When I hunt solo, it means solo. Hence the need for the ramp and black and tackle so I can load solo.
I hunt solo a lot too....loaded many a big hog and big bodied deer (259#s) solo....not to needing a ramp yet....but nice to know I have this option later on if need be....but I'll likely just cut them up as I don't drive a truck to haul an apparatus like this around.
:campfire:
I use an extension ladder that has 2 eight foot sections and a deer sled.Slide it right up.
I load my deer in an ice fishing sled in the field. Makes them a lot easier to drag. Then when at the truck I load sled with game on a hitch mounted cargo tray. Cover with a cheap tarp, tie it down and done. The tray in not near as far off the ground and the sled keeps all the mess contained to just the sled. Works great.
"I use an extension ladder that has 2 eight foot sections and a deer sled.Slide it right up."
That's sort of what I've been thinking.Sounds like a great system.I think my back would like it.
Holy crow you guys , just pick it it up and put it in the truck.
For crying out loud if it is bigger than a Whitetail deer than just quarter it. :dunno:
QuoteOriginally posted by Bert Frelink:
Holy crow you guys , just pick it it up and put it in the truck.
For crying out loud if it is bigger than a Whitetail deer than just quarter it. :dunno:
Amen! And further, I quarter deer in the field anyway and carry meat out in a pillowcase/game bag -- just like elk. It's so much faster and easier, and you've got to remove the meat from the carcass anyway, so why add the extra steps of gutting and dragging (and loading)?
QuoteOriginally posted by Bert Frelink:
Holy crow you guys , just pick it it up and put it in the truck.
For crying out loud if it is bigger than a Whitetail deer than just quarter it. :dunno:
Some places here,that's not legal.
Lots of opinions, guess it depends on your situation. The property I am hunting now has a great road system. Shot two deer this year. One I had to drag about 30 yards, no problem picking it up and loading it by myself .The second one I had to drag maybe sixty yards, but could have drove to within 20 yards. Luckily, I had help to get him in the truck. So, in my case it would be more time consuming to quarter them up.
I did pass up a slam dunk shot (if there is such a thing) at a small buck because of the location and trouble of getting it out. The older I get the more I think about these kinda things.
its very easy to keep meat clean deboning in the woods. Paracord hind leg and drag up as high as you can from a tree limb. Skin down close to the ground, debone, then raise higher. Every time you debone a section the carcass is much lighter, enabling you to hoist some more. If you don't mind working on your knees, skin the animal and keep the carcass on the skin as you go, rolling as necessary to debone the meat. All deboned meet goes into a gamebag, or plastic garbage bag. Get deboned meat to ice as soon as possible as the plastic will not allow cooling, and spoil quickly. Its all so easy. Don't complicate something so simple. Its just a big rabbit ! :)
I really like this. It stays put and out of the way until you need. Rotates 360 and is below the rails until you raise it. No more gutting and cutting on the ground or I can load up and do at home.
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=150384#000000
Bert, when I was in my 20's I thought just like you about just tossing them in the truck. Now that I am in my 60's with 2 separate back injuries and recent shoulder surgery I am finding these suggestions very interesting. Fortunately, on my small plot, most of the time, if I kill one, I can drive the tractor up to him and roll him over into the front end loader. Then I can just dump it in the truck bed.
I use my cart- It is long enough, I can place one end of it on/against the tailgate. I then lift the other and slide it up to the wheels. The wheels then roll and off into the bed it goes. Lets me use leg muscles and I pretty much just walk forward. I don't have to drag a thing.
This allows me to get them to and in the truck.