Well, I hunt small patches mainly on the East Coast. Rarely is it to far a drag. I' ve had a many though, mainly in NY, that were borderline-to-dang-far(about a mile). In my younger days we just grabbed a horn and started slow and easy. As I aged even slow wasn' t easy. I' d drag the deer 30 or 40 yards, carry my gear 30 or 40 yards further and lay it down, go back and drag the deer to the gear, move the gear(this gave you a breather) etc etc. Still, some of them took a long time and beat you up. Then I bought a deer cart.... better,.... but still with problems. The main one being you had to walk out to get it, walk back in and then they' re awkward on uneven ground. Then a couple years ago I picked up one of these roll up " Deer Sleighs). It straps right on my day pack, only weighs a few pounds and is slicker than grease at skidding out a deer. The ATV would be nice, except a lot of the places I hunt they' re not allowed. If I were going out West and was going to be miles off the road, I' d bone it on the spot and backpack it out. In some places that' s illegal. You have to bring out the whole animal. No way would I carry the front end(or the back) of a deer on my shoulders as you did. That' s an invitation to get shot.