I'm looking for a better way to get a mule deer across a mile or two or rough ground. Any further in than that and I'll bone and pack, but if possible, I like to get 'em out whole so I can get it on a chain hoist over a drain.
This one is affordable, but it seems awkward to carry while still hunting:
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/original-deer-sleighr-game-sled.aspx?a=450188
This looks about right, but it's 6 lbs. and $100:
http://www.amazon.com/Huntings-A-Drag-HADGS-Game-Sled/dp/B001PHXLGM
There's got to be something better. Isn't there?
Or I am being unreasonable again?
:dunno:
Both of those should work....how much do you want to spend? My best thought......Hunt with somebody a lot younger and let them help.......a lot!! Good luck in your quest!!
:biglaugh:
trouble is I've already worn them out getting wood.
But I'd spend $50 on something I could get in a small pack, didn't weigh ton and was reusable two or three times at least. Maybe in two or three years they'll be heavy enough to crack $100.
An ice fishing sled (black plastic) works BEAUTIFUL. I've dragged dozens of deer and elk out whole. It pretty much glides over rough terrain, you just have to tie or ratchet strap them down incase it tips so they don't tumble out. CHEAP!!!!
Looking at the first picture and judging from the size of the head and horns there is a lot of that deer not in the carrier It looks like just head and hide. Have you looked at carts I would think they would be easier than dragging that distance but you would have to go back to your vechile to get it. I think Ron had the best idea.
Jack
QuoteOriginally posted by YORNOC:
An ice fishing sled (black plastic) works BEAUTIFUL. I've dragged dozens of deer and elk out whole. It pretty much glides over rough terrain, you just have to tie or ratchet strap them down incase it tips so they don't tumble out. CHEAP!!!!
Any sled will work, plastic cheap things can be found for 20 bucks or less, it's all you need - that is what the first link is (10 sled for 90 bucks).
I've got a goofy looking orange sled that the kids didn't want anymore....It works GREAT!!
yeah i'll third the jet sled jr. take the deer,bungee the front legs and back legs together to form the body into a square, tuck the head under the body and throw it in the sled. couple a bungee's over it and youre good to go. take it into the woods with you and stash it somewhare till you need it .
and you can bungee your bow and pack to it, freeing up both hands. sweet
As sick as I am I use a clean heavy duty bodybag,yes the ones for humans. I got them from work and in the snow they are the best. You cant get antlers or legs cought on anything. And they will hold a huge deer.
Check out colemans military surplus and other military surplus stores they may have the canvas or HD nylon type.
When I was young and stupid I'd just drag em out by the horns or a front leg. Then I got older and figured out an easier way using a folding cart like this one here:
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunting/After-the-Shot/Game-Carts-Carriers|/pc/104791680/c/104689980/sc/104353380/Ameristep174-300-lb-Steel-Deer-Cart/847365.uts?destination=%2Fcatal og%2Fbrowse%2Fhunting-after-the-shot-game-carts-carriers%2F_%2FN-1100183&WTz_l=SEO%3Bcat104353380 (http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunting/After-the-Shot/Game-Carts-Carriers%7C/pc/104791680/c/104689980/sc/104353380/Ameristep174-300-lb-Steel-Deer-Cart/847365.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fhunting-after-the-shot-game-carts-carriers%2F_%2FN-1100183&WTz_l=SEO%3Bcat104353380)
They work great but of course the down side is you end up leaving it with your truck until you have game on the ground which requires a round trip to get the cart. But if you have several miles to haul a deer its worth it. My record is 4.5 miles on a 180 lb desert mule deer and after that experience I just gave in an bought an ATV...
:)
QuoteOriginally posted by PaddyMac:
I'm looking for a better way to get a mule deer across a mile or two or rough ground. ...
I have used a drag stick and rope. But dragging a deer, especially if its a heavy body buck that far, will abrade the hair right off the down side unless there is snow or slippery ground cover. Don't ask me how I know this. And for the amount of effort dragging takes, its not worth it IMO. Pack it out, Regardless.
Joshua
Most of the terrain I hunt muleys is too rough to consider dragging. I'm almost always alone so I just cut up and pack. Draggine is probably right up there with snow shoveling for promoting a heart attack.
I think the body bag idea is the best.
Paddy,
I have one of those Deer Sleigh'ers and I wouldn't pull a deer on our desert type ground with it. I have a ton of scrapes in the bottom of mine just from pulling it on 12 - 18" of snow bringing out deer and elk. Logs, sticks and any rocks sticking out of the snow will gouge and scrape it but at least it rides on the snow well and makes pulling it easier. On dry ground like our early seasons in the Northwest (unless you are in big timber all the way with soft ground, pine needles, etc.) - no way Hoss!
I bone and pack mine. :thumbsup:
I used the Sleigh'r for a lot of years. There is still one in the back of my truck. I would wear it a lot like a back quiver. My spare sweater and maybe rain gear would go inside the tube, along with the drag rope, which, sticking out both ends, became the "quiver strap".
In use, there would be a lot of mulie hanging out of it, even the whitetails had some overage. But it would work better than having nothing. They do get scraped up, but in our softer Virginia mountains, I haven't put a hole in one.
The downside is that it would be bulky, perhaps noisy, and may interfere with your pack. I used a fanny pack and was OK with it.
I eventually decided that the hassle of tying the deer to it, and schlepping the tube around all day was not worth it, as my drags are usually less than a mile. Even less if I don't kill anything.
Killdeer
i can just picture using a sled to take a deer of the mountain i hunt, the thing would run me over the first pull down hill. i would look like Clark W Grizzwald on the silver saucer!!!
Cell phone , call some young guys to come help me :)
I like as sled also if I have a long pull.
If Clark is around, I try to get his attention so that he can bring the plastic toboggan. It never works. That boy is the master of obtuse. But the toboggan is the ticket!
Kenny, your post reminded me of the time I had a doe for a sled. There was fresh snow and...
Killdeer :bigsmyl:
Bike. No back to the truck and drop off your bow for itsnsafety, and unnecessary gear. Get a drink and push/ride the bike to the kill. A second guy on the other handlebar makes a snap in these rocky mountains
2nd boning & packing!
A friend uses the sleigh'r for deer and elk, snow or dry ground. Much easier than dragging on plain deer hide.
I bone and pack. much easier on my back and on the venison. A good-sized buck is a amazingly small and light package with the bones all gone.
Even halving them and packing on a frame is better than dragging.
bone and pack. Easier on you, the venison too.
A friend does use the roll-up sleigh'r for deer and elk on dry ground and on snow with good results
i draged them by the legs or horns, then i tied a rope around the neck and to my body and dragged them. then my uncle bought 2 atvs. ill stick with the atv much nicer tehn dragging then things up the steep hills to his house
I'd look around for those el cheapo roll-up sleds they sell the kids in the winter. Punch some holes along the edges to lace through and they slide dead easy on grass and leaves.
Cheap, rolls up small, seems like just the thing for pack hunting.
Papafrank & Yornoc, great idea with the plastic sled. My homemade deer dolly (on wheels) works great. Hope to get it hooked up behind the mtn bike this year.
I swear by the folding carts. If there is snow I use the thick plastic kids sleds with handles on the side so I can tie it down real good.
I have used the Deer-Sleigher and it helped some but wouldn't use it again.If you are anything like me,I think you would get tired of packing something like that around,still hunting 10,20 or more times for each time you actually used it.
I have a plastic sled,app 6' long that I leave in the truck.It works real well for getting antelope back to the truck on semi-level ground.Sleds can be worthless in hilly country and if you have to drag over rocks,even small stuff,it really increases the drag.
If the ground is very rough at all,a game cart is better but hills can still be a problem and it too needs to stay in the truck.
Anything killed back in the hills,I skin,quarter and pack out.That saves me dragging garbage home that I will just have to haul away after processing.
I normally keep the sled,game cart and packframe in the truck during season and use the best suited,if the time ever comes.I don't like carrying something 100 times on the chance I may use it once.
I've used a Deer-sleigh'r several times, if you tie up the legs and wrap everything tight it works pretty well. At least on the generally moist leaf covered ground we have in Minnesota. A fully grown whitetail buck is still a heavy load for one person, your mulie will be even heavier.
If I have a trail or open ground though my Cabelas Super-Mag hauler is the ticket. You can balance the load and with the big wheels it is almost effortless on level ground. Hills are a little more interesting but still a good method.
Thanks. You've given me some ideas. the body bag idea sounds great. Sounds just sick enough, too.
I do bone and pack but only if I'm pretty far out there. I usually don't need to but my last muley just about killed me back. That's one of the reasons I've gotten in a lot better shape this year.
I used to just grab an antler and take off, then I started carrying nylon webbing, then I started wearing military load bearing gear for a drag harness. They seem to be getting heavier and heavier though.
When going downhill (as hills qualify as such in this country) I just let 'em go and try and keep up.
hey guys i have used a 20 dollar hand truck from dollar general. works good just need some ratchet straps.
My old hunting partner in Michigan made a one wheel cart out of a bicyle wheel and some metal conduit pipe. it even folded flat to go in the back of truck. If you are not that ambitous or handy then the plastic sled works great and is cheap.
I've heard some good reviews on this. Haven't tried it myself but the video makes it look pretty easy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXF5_XZUlPQ
Ron
I use a folding wheeled cart. It stays in the car except in the unlikely event I actually kill a deer. Last year I
* walked a mile or so,
* stuck a doe, tracked her and found her,
* walked a mile or so back to the car to the cart,
* another mile or so back to the deer,
* dragged her out of the thick crap to where I could use my cart and
* a mile or so back to the car.
It was a fair bit of walking but I'm really glad I had the cart available.
You all back East have a different problem than in the West mountains. My buck last year was a mile plus to the road. Then we drove the truck to him.
The bike makes it easier. I used that bike trick in Virginia. I love to hunt mountains but like to drag on there flat lands.
Very very rarely do I drag a deer more than a few yards to a good spot to bone out.I do have a two wheel cart I made years ago and if I`mhunting near home and my Son is there I`ll get him to "roll" the critter out. Even my home hunting spots are over a half mile in. Rarely am I less than a half mile from the truck anywhere I hunt.With the weather usually warm down here boning out is the best way to go. Plus I can do it in about 15 minutes and when I get home another 15 to process the meat and its time to focus on getting another.RC
Gutless quarter and pack; 10 miles or .10 miles...
Check out the "Dead Sled". Google it. I bought one 2 years ago and have used it for 2 seasons on dry ground over rocks and logs and on snow. After dragging out half a dozen critters it doesn't look any worse for the wear. Easy to pack and priced right. Be sure to follow the instructions when using it otherwise it turns into a flip over tube! Thats's from experience!Used according to instructions, it's the cat's meow, right after the ice fishing sled. Another TG'er turned me on to it some time back.
I killed a big bear last year in a place where I could get the truck within 100 yds of it.The bear was in a thick creek bottom and I had to cross a creek and go up a steep hill to get to the truck.I had the sled,a game cart and the pack frame.
There was no way I could get that bear on the cart by myself let alone pull it up that hill.I couldn't pull it up on the sled either.Only 100 yds but the pack frame was a no brainer.I skinned and cut it up in a little over an hour.It took 3 trips of 60 lbs+ and that wasn't any fun going up that hill but it was about the only way.The only thing I had to throw away after getting it home were the skinned out feet.
I've got the roll-up Sportsman's Guide sled. Carrying it around can be a pain and it can be loud. I hadn't thought of using it as a pack ala Killie, that would make it a lot quieter. I wound up rolling it up loosely and letting it expand inside my pack, then putting my rain gear, lunch, etc. inside it. It worked out okay but was bulkier than I liked. This year I was planning on rolling it around my quiver, or rolling it up tight and strapping them together.
A friend of mine bought a dozen children's toboggans in the springtime and buried them around the area he hunts. He buries an ammo can with water, 1st aid supplies, and an MRE together with the toboggan. When he has an animal down, or needs some emergency rations, he's rarely more than a mile or two from the supplies.
I have the black plastic rollup deal from Cabela's - have used it on 3 deer - one medium doe and 2 bucks that were in the 225-245 lb range. Has a couple small rips in it now, but it should be good for a few more trips. I surely wouldn't carry the crazy thing around with me though.
Below are a couple pics of another option I tried out a few years back. Ole and Angar didn't mind, and it saved me some dragging. I think I had a little too much horsepower for the task at hand, though.
Ryan
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/horse2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/horse4.jpg)
QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
Both of those should work....how much do you want to spend? My best thought......Hunt with somebody a lot younger and let them help.......a lot!! Good luck in your quest!!
Hey, I feel like I'm being used :biglaugh:
Then again, Ron if you kill a deer (or Elk) I'll be the first one to help.
I do have a friend who said, "If you actually get a bull down on the ground in this county, you just climb up to to the tallest ridge you can find and use your cell phone to call me and I'll come up with some mules."
He's pretty safe with that one. There aren't many in the Okanogan, but I think I will try and hold him to that.
I'd use stock except it's kind of a tossup about which is harder, dragging a whole buck all day or dragging a mule for a couple of hours.
Most of the time where I hunt I can drive to within 100 yards or so of the kill. I do have a fold-up game cart, but so far we use it mostly to haul my cousin's old Double Bull blind for turkey hunting. That sucker is heavy!
The last deer I shot, I backed the truck right up to and loaded him up. When I hunt eastern Iowa with my son, he has an ATV. Let me tell you, THAT is the way to drag! LOL!
Last year my cousin shot a huge-bodied buck. We had to drag him about 100 yards or so to where we could get the truck. Even gutted that was quite a drag for two old farts!
I got a Waldrop Pac Seat last season and used it to drag a deer. With the hip belt and chest strap evenly distributing the weight, it makes dragging much easier. After reading this thread I think I'll add the roll up sled.