Yeah the Elk is load. I have quartered them but I will tell you at the age of 54 I shot a moose with a bow in British Columbia. ( Thanks to a friend the hunt was free)Just getting that sucker to the camp took 10 hours and it was deboned. I have lived that trip over in my mind a thousand times and it still thrills me.

I hunt elk alone and I agree that they are a job. Sometimes I cannot roll them over to start gutting. I carrya lot of rope and some pulleys and try to shoot them close enough to a fire break or trail that I can get the Samurai in and help pull them to a tree. The first big cow took two and a half hours to get it on a trailer and then with some passing guys help at the end.That cow was huge and I got 375 pounds of deboned meat from my butcher. I pull them to a tree run the puilley up in the tree go get the big truck hook the rope to the elk and the samurai pull it up and drive the other truck or trailer under and let it down with the Samurai. One old guy two vehicles and a lot of rope and pulleys. I can tow the Samurai with my GM 4X4 that is how I end up with two vehicles. As I mentioned before that is why I want a rifle that will allow a quick second shot as I want them to drop where I shoot them not a half mile over the ridge.

It there is noup hilli can manage to drag the average hog ora couple hundred yards. Got a winch on my pickup along with 200 feet of 3/8 inch braided nylon line in the tool box. If all else fails,i keep a bunch of folks supplied withdeer and pig meat-especially pig meat.iget on the cell phone,yell help and here they come. Other hunters here are good about helping out too.

I hunt a lot of public land as well. I do the exact same thing....walk as far as I can from the nearest parking lot. Sometimesover 3miles one way. My philosophy is only shoot what is worth dragging. I pass ona lot of deer. My deer cart works good but it is still very hard work. I've seen the exact opposite of getting a long way off work as well. Seems like everyone else gets the same idea.

If i ever took one of those game cards to where i hunt, I'd leave it right in the middle of the forest. Those things would do me no good with all the aspen/pine trees fallen over in the areas i hunt. Not to mention the rock areas i have to go through. I'd rather spend a few more hours than to fumble around with a cart.

I use to drag the deer out in my younger days I remember one drag took a total of 8hours :I was deep back off a fire trail and at first day light saw a small heard just below me and the last deer was a huge 10 pointer well over 200 dressed.I drag this deer so far on one side that the deer hair was removed from the hide.I done this for more then 25 years until age started creeping up.I now use my sons 4 wheeler because my dragging days are over.I also have a 3 wheel cart I use if I hunt state game lands I try always to use a logging trail to get into the woods and hunt a little of the trail.I will leave the deer there in the woods return to the truck and walk back in with the cart,the only bad problem is the double walk and if the deer will still be there when I get back but the the problem in getting old

Where I hunt on public land there is usually a road somewhere within a mile or so. I keep a steel wagon with pneumatic tires in the back of my pickup. Last year both my friend and I got a deer within an hour of each other about 3/4 mile in. My buddy dragged them to the trail while I went for the wagon. We loaded them up and used our dragging ropes to lash them to the wagon. Been using this for years and it works fine. I think the deer sleds would also be a good idea as you can roll them up and tie them to the bottom of you pack. Not as easy as something with wheels but easier than nothing.

I tried one of those carts ONE TIME-a real pain in the a$$...Might be
ok if there is no limbs or branchs or rocks on the ground..Mine kept
tipping over and well,it was a pain is all...I gave it away....

Sounds like you and I hunt the same area. We just drag ours out. If its snowin' yeah that helps but most of the time it's not so we just have to tug. Call us old fashion, but we just find a branch about 2 inches thick wrap the drag rope aruond it w/about 4 feet of slack and tug away. I've dragged deer out about 2 miles-though now that I'm older I don't do it unless I just HAVE to. Deer aren't as big of a deal to drag as much as bear are. Deer have some structure to their bodies and they 'slide' along the ground. Bear is like dragging a sack of Jell-O... It took 11 of us to get a 320lb bear out a couple years ago. Yeah it was worth it but man it wasn't fun.

Drag'em with a shoulder harness. Sure it's work, but they are worth it.
I also carry along a smallrope hoist (mine is an 800#)should I need to haul up hill or over some difficult spot. Not much to carry in my backpack (about 3 pounds) and works like a champ.
Rope hoist like:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45076

At the vehilce, I alsohave a small hand winch to winch the deer into the back of the truck.
Like:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=30329

Tahquamenon