Loading that big boy into the back of your truck
 

Hey everyone,
This year I plan on doing quite a bit of hunting by myself. I have a heavy duty game cart to drag deer out of the woods and I'm able hoist a small to medium size deer into the back of a truck by myself. The problem is, how in the world do I hoist a 200 lb+ buck into the back of my truck without giving myself a hernia or destroying my back. I'm thinking maybe making a ramp or getting this: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...233&hasJS=true
but I honestly don't feel like spending $180 dollars on a solution. Any suggestions?

This will help a bunch. Keep a shovel with you, if you kill a big deer, back up close to it, then pull forward 10 or so feet. Take your shovel and dig a 10 or so inch deer trench 3 or so feet long where both back tires were. Pull the deer in the truck and pull out. That 8 or 10 inches of depth makes a lot of difference.

i dont see what a Ford is gonna do for ya, just because they are tough, dont mean it will make you stronger, its just a myth :poke:

we actually have one of those hangers, we made it ourselves..i didnt know they sold em....just thought it was a red neck thing..they work great for us.

Can you hook a cable hoist/"come along" to your truck? Maybe use it in conjunction with a ramp.

Consider one of these.

http://www.deerhandle.com/

There are some videos of a guy loading a decent sized deer into a pickup. Of course it's a commercial and all but still.

'Course you can make one of these quite easily yourself for less than $5. I did.

Ya know just a thick full size sheet of plywood can do wonders as a ramp. Especially with a small comealong or even ratchet straps. The plywood in the bottom of the bed takes up no extra room.

All you need is a good rope. I dropped this buck next to a logging road so I didn't need the game cart. I was the only one at the club that Sunday evening. I tied his legs like this.

I stood on the tail gate, squatted down and grabbed the rope in the middle. Remember to lift with your legs, not your back. Once you get him up you just walk backwards to drag him into the bed. If you need to you can drag him to a hill and back your truck up to that. It will make your lifting distance shorter.

Don't know if you field dress them. I do, saves a lot of weight. Can you lower your tailgate past horizontal? That helps.

If I have a big deer, and I've worked at getting it to the truck, I try to drag to deer onto a slight rise that I can back up to, so the truck is as low in relation to the deer as possible. If you can do that, it is easier than digging trenches for your tires.

I bought a cart for this year, the plywood ramp idea sounds good. I might double up a 3/4" sheet and cut so it is 2 ft wide x 6 ft long.

i just keep em on the back of the four wheeler and drive up my ramps to the back of the truck.

and if you dont have a four wheeler, buy some ramps anyway. then drag the deer up into the bed.

Tie a rope the a tree in front of your truck or ever your truck. Then tie the over end of the rope to the deers hind legs and just back up to the deer and watch it get pulled into the truck.

Go get a cheapy 12 volt winch at Wal-Mart. Either get a 12 volt battery or run cable from a 12 volt source to the bed of your truck. Run a chain or cable across the front of the bed to hook the winch to. Hook up ele. supply. Hook up deer and start winching into bed of truck. Might want to use a ramp of some sort. I don't use a ramp but my truck is just an old beater. Loaded more than a few deer this way by myself.

Sorry for the rambling on my first post. Nice web site.

I carry a sheet of plywood in the back of my truck for one of those reasons. Makes a great picnic table too and takes up no room. I've also used it in getting a cow elk in the back of my truck by myself.

Bobby

A 5 foot length of rope and an 18 inch broom handle. Tie one end of the rope to the "handle" (broom stick) and the other to ur deer as a drag. When at ur truck, tie the deers rear legs together w the rope and use the rope to help pull the deer up into the bed.

This will also work by simply grabbing the horns and pulling...has been my method and has worked well enough.

take your tailgate off and use it as a ramp...

or just stand int he back of your truck and lift'er in!

I always hunt with my brother... Unless its on personal property, where i can just throw it on top of the hood of a old beater car, since i have no truck.

But my brother and I just grab the legs and throw'r in the jeep/truck which ever we have that day... kinda like how you play with kids and toss them on the couch by the legs and arms.

The question was, how do you do it if you are by yourself.

first off, gut the dang deer! dont know how much weight it takes off but its alot. also, dont be scared to give that deer a bear hug, you already killed him. By that I mean, get your one arm under him and grab his ribs then do the same on the other side. then pick him up and sling his ass in there. dont have money for a second vehicle right now, so all i have is a jeep liberty. imagine my struggle, not only do I have to get my deer in there, but I also have to worry about keeping them on their backs the whole time so not to make a mess. on that point, if you are in that situation and you do make a mess, the best thing to do is to mix up some detergent, and make it pretty concentrated. make sure you mix it with cold water, hot will set the stain. pour it on generous, then scrub the hell out of it, then pour some more on. works everytime, make sure you do it as soon as you can.

I have a homemade unit like the one in Cabelas and to date it has worked thru a few elk, several deer and a moose.

Steps:

1) I take a 6foot piece of rope with me.
2) shoot deer
3) gut deer
4) Cut a slit in the deers hind legs.
5) place stick inside the hole, tie legs to stick.
6) grab stick with arms behind back, and haul away..

This is the easiest way i've found to drag a deer... If its a buck sometimes you have to tie the antlersto the stick also so they don't get in the way while draging.

To get in trunk or truck bed, bring a 4-6'x2' plywood.

It's easy to do alone. Just tie a short rope on his antlers then stand on your tailgate,pull the antlers up and grab them and walk backwards and pull the deer in. I am by no means a strong guy and I weigh 165#. I load deer that weigh over 200# this way with very little effort. If you can get the deer up on a hump and back up to it it is even easier.

good luck diggin into frozen ground! by the time you dig that you wont have enough energy to finish loading the deer. nice thinkin tho

How about a pick and a shovel? I havn't seen the ground frozen like that around here.....

any more redneck ideas! jk. lol! there's some good i'de'ers....

... A Jet Sled
 

A buddy of mine got me started using a Jet Sled... used for ice fishing... you just slide your deer into the Jet Sled, slides great on leaves and snow, pick up the front end of the sled and rest it on the tailgate, then pick up the back end and slide it into the truck bed.

One man can load a BIG deer and slide it into the truck with ease.

Plus you don't need to hose out the truck bed as all the blood stays in the sled.

Mine is camo, so I use it for hauling duck and goose decoys, and storing gear.

Thanks for your ideas everyone. I like the extra-thick plywood idea the best! It cheap and doesn't take up much room in the bed of the truck.

Let me see if this works. I drew a crappy pic on the arts program. But I usually take a buck and with a good rope tie his antlers together with the hind legs. squat down so you are on the side with the feet, shoulder the rope and lift. Be next to the tailgate. With the deer at hip level, put him on the tailgate and then slide him into the bed. I haven't been lucky enough to try this with a 200# but I did do a 150# last year and it worked great. with a doe, same thing just tie rope around her head.

loading deer yourself
 

strap the deer to a ladder, prop one end onto the tailgate, then lift and slide the deer in.

or

I had a game cart similar to the looks of the cabelas super mag hauler, and modified it. I made sure the wheels were easy to remove, and also modified it so it could be locked in a flat position, then loaded it like the ladder, in the example above.

or, you might look into the gutless method, and quarter your deer in the field. there are a few dvds you can buy, or I found this video to give you a general idea:
http://elk101.com/webisodes/gutless-video/

i'm pretty sure some states won't allow quartering out a deer before checking it in. i personally never would regardless if it was allowed or not. that was a neat video though!

oh and i like the plywood and ladder ideas. they sound quick, easy, and a cheap way to do it. thx......

Plywood. Put one end on the ground, one end on your tailgate and drag the deer up on it. Then pick the ground end up and slide in the back of the truck. Much less work than horsing a dead deer up by hand.:barmy:

Ramps or 4 wheeler