I am just wondering how you guys get your deer out of the woods. I usually have or get my ATV, and am out of there in no time. I don' t even gut the deer. I just take it home, hang it by the skidsteer, and in five minutes, its hanging in the barn.

The reason I ask is because i shot a mule deer this year 2 miles from the truck. My friend, who supposly knows what he is doing, suggested we cut the deer in half, and each carry out a different part. This worked, but not very well. I was beat carrying the front half over my shoulders. Boy am i glad it was a small one.

I am going to post in the " west" forum, but i was just currious how you guys do it.

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.

The deer around here don' t get very big. I just use my safety harness as a deer drag which keeps my hands free.

what is the realy name of this product (Deer Sleighs)? sounds like the shiznit


Is this the one you have?

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...ite=DDI%20link

I also hunt in the east and it is always grab and go. I did start hanging them with the quad though. Just tie it on and pull it up. No more hugging the carcass.

Greg

I shot a big mule deer last year in the wilds of Idaho, 5.5 hours later I was still dragging it. That was the first whole animal the the Idahoians that I was hunting with had ever seen come out of the Selway Bitteroot Wilderness. Next time its skin, debone and pack out. Dont have to many alternatives, unless you can get a horse to it.

I just shoot the 40 or 50 pounders and throw them over my shoulder.[][:-]

benhuntin,you do that up here and you will be getting drug out.Up around here its down if it is brown. I get a neighbor or friend to get mine out.Which aint ever to far

I' ve used both davidmil' s and jeremyk' s methods. The best way for me now-since I use hunt solo--is to attach the deer to my safety harness which keeps my hands from wearing out and becoming the weak link in my drag method.

I went to the local department store and bought a childrens plastic toboggan. Its about 6 ft long made out of black moulded plastic and costs about $14.00 US. It slides over anything and lasts about two seasons with heavy use. I practice dragging my wife around, who weighs a bit less than the deer we have around here (or so I tell her).