Deer sleds?

[Hummer]

I have some semi rigid pex tubing I can use as a handle and run a rope through it back to the cart handles, kind of like a water ski tow rope in reverse.

Having never used a game cart before this will be a game changer.


If only there was a video of Irving and buds wrestling a cart along the trail with a whole elk on it. At least someone shot it beforehand.

[Irving]

Imagine moving a gun safe on a furniture dolly with bicycle wheels through the woods for 2 miles. Shot elk at 8am ish. Returned to truck at 5pm ish. Two guys taking turns on game cart, two guys dragging a calf. Dropped the calf off halfway and went back with empty cart to retrieve it after getting mom into bed of truck.

[rondog]

I dragged this beeotch (and all my gear) a good 800 yards through hilly pasture and sagebrush to a spot where I could get to with my truck. Thought I was gonna die!

Luckily, two CPW lady Rangers came along to ask me if I'd seen any suspicious activity (poachers), and they helped me get the doe in my truck.

One of them politely pointed out I didn't SIGN the tag in the doe's ear, and both were impressed with all the preparations I'd made to deal with a dead deer all by myself.

[Hummer]

That looks like a pretty good method for snow covered ground but something with wheels will move easier on dry ground. ( How come we have to relearn this the hard way?) I'd like to build a convertible wheel base for my snow sled.

In 2013, I hunted pronghorn in NW CO. I took a buck on a snowy morning with 4" of snow on the ground. It started as an easy drag but the snow melted quickly and ground turned to mud making the drag into a high friction slog. It became a major heave with every step. At that point I should have cut the animal up and carried it the last 1/2 mile in 2 or 3 sections. A CPW officer showed up and helped with the last 300 yards. What a hero in service!

Five hours later I got home, quartered the carcass and got it all in the refrig. I began to shower and realized I was having a stroke. Must have had some clot kick loose in all the heaving. Took two aspirin and went to bed. All is well and I'm little worse for the wear. Lesson learned though. Exercise vigorously but don't push it to the Nth degree.

[rondog]

That looks like a pretty good method for snow covered ground but something with wheels will move easier on dry ground. ( How come we have to relearn this the hard way?) I'd like to build a convertible wheel base for my snow sled.

In 2013, I hunted pronghorn in NW CO. I took a buck on a snowy morning with 4" of snow on the ground. It started as an easy drag but the snow melted quickly and ground turned to mud making the drag into a high friction slog. It became a major heave with every step. At that point I should have cut the animal up and carried it the last 1/2 mile in 2 or 3 sections. A CPW officer showed up and helped with the last 300 yards. What a hero in service!

Five hours later I got home, quartered the carcass and got it all in the refrig. I began to shower and realized I was having a stroke. Must have had some clot kick loose in all the heaving. Took two aspirin and went to bed. All is well and I'm little worse for the wear. Lesson learned though. Exercise vigorously but don't push it to the Nth degree.

Jesus, dude - a STROKE? And you just "meh, two aspirin and hit the fartsack"? Tough bastard ain't ya?

[Irving]

Right?

"So there I was in the shower, smelling toast... "

[Hummer]

Nuts, or stupid I suppose, but I'm kind of a fatalist. Turned out for the better because if I'd gone to the hospital I would be on anti clot meds for the rest of my life. Went to the doc a few days later. There was no evidence of arterial plaque, clots or heart/brain issues. Just a freak thing. So, eight years later I keep going hunting, climbing mountains and living life. And from now on I'm going to use horses or wheels to get an animal out.

[whitewalrus]

I have some semi rigid pex tubing I can use as a handle and run a rope through it back to the cart handles, kind of like a water ski tow rope in reverse.

Having never used a game cart before this will be a game changer.


If only there was a video of Irving and buds wrestling a cart along the trail with a whole elk on it. At least someone shot it beforehand.

Did you get a chance to check out the new cart with your pronghorn you got?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[theGinsue]

Here is the deer sled I've used on a few occasions (very similar to the one Rondog uses):


https://smile.amazon.com/DEER-SLEIGH...s%2A=0&ie=UTF8

Sportsman's Guide has these ~$9 cheaper than Amazon.

The problem with these is the rough terrain I've had to haul through has shredded them every time and I've had to buy a new one before the next season. At about $30/pop, this starts getting cost prohibitive for a cheap bugger like me.

One of my hunting partners used a Jet Sled type of sled to help another hunting partner haul out an elk. Beyond the initial struggle of dragging the sled in to the carcass, what he found was even trying to keep the load low, any slight uneven terrain at all (and the ground they were covering was very uneven) the sled wanted to flip over. Each time he had to stop, flip the sled back over and continue to drag it out - for another 15-20 feet until it flipped again. I considered the idea of adding outriggers to prevent the flipping but with various rocks, brush and trees it wouldn't work.

I've since given up on the idea of using a sled and have opted to just use a game hauler pack with a fold-down shelf (similar to this one but mine has blaze orange fabric inside you can pull out and over your game):
https://www.sportsmans.com/hunting-g...MaAhSNEALw_wcB

[Hummer]

Did you get a chance to check out the new cart with your pronghorn you got?

Yes, i did use the Hawk cart. Sorry I didn't take pictures. After downing the animal I walked 0.60 miles to the truck for the cart and pulled it fairly easily back to load it. It was mostly level gravel-dirt grassland over several hills with maybe a net 250 ft. elevation gain.

It was mid day and pretty hot so I mostly skinned the buck for mounting and to help the meat cool. I loaded the animal whole with the head toward the handle and took a considerable time lashing with nylon straps. It was front heavy with too much weight on the carry handle end but instead of taking time to reposition and re strap, I found it easier to push the cart rather than pull it, which is what I did all the way back to the truck.

Btw, I did go prepared with a rope and semi rigid pex tube to pull the handle from my belt line but it didn't work given the balance off the cart axle. Pulling or pushing with the handle and keeping the load balanced over the axle worked best.

It worked okay, far better than dragging over ground by the horns which I've done there several times. But I had a difficult time with the with the collapsible bottom and handle sections folding closed and couldn't tighten the single pin bolts tight enough. I had read about this in reviews and thought my straps could hold it closed, but no. Upon return home I have fixed the problem by adding second attachments by drilling additional holes in the tubes and using clevis pins to hold it together. I've also assembled a kit of extra bolts, nyloc nuts and a wrench strapped to the frame as backup in the field. I'm pretty confident it will do well for my next packout so long as the terrain and trail allow.

I think it will be a useful tool and will take it along with a snow sled and a backpack for whatever situation I might encounter.