I'd spring the money and buy a winch. I rate as "almost" a necessity. I use mine a lot, not too often for being stuck but for a lot of other things. For instance, last year I shot a doe that did her death run right into a 40' deep gully. We snaked the winch down to her from the top and winched her up. Two people trying to get her out would have danged near killed ourselves without that winch. As mentioned before they're great for hanging deer. I also use it to hang feeders full of corn from trees. It also gives you the confidence to go places when you're riding alone that you might get stuck in. I might not tackle some places that look iffy on getting stuck knowing that I've got to walk two miles out if I do get stuck. With the winch it's not an issue, I'll go on through and if I do get stuck it doesn't ruin my day.

There are a few things I rate as a necessity for my hunting ATV. It's got to have Honda written on it, it's got to be a 4x4, and it's got to have plenty of racks. After that, the winch would be the next thing on my list.