Tips for moving large game solo?

Hey y'all,

I am wanting to kill a certain hog that's been showing up on my camera virtually every night, and he's a big SOB. Much more than I can move (female with a bad shoulder... Ahh the consequences of dirtbikes!)I am itching like crazy to pop him this weekend but will be without anyone who can help me get him loaded. What I do have, is a Polaris with a winch. I'm thinking I can get it around his neck and drag him about 200 yards to an area that is accessible to my truck. Then I can take the cable off, throw it over a sturdy limb, get it back on him, winch him up and lower him into the bed. Figure I will pack his chest cavity with ice overnight and take him to processor first thing AM. (Hope that made sense.) Does this sound insane? Does anyone have a better solution? If he is as big in person as he is on camera, I'd like to shoulder mount him so I gotta move the whole hog. I hate to miss a great hog hunt just because I am so damned unlikable nobody can help me move it!

Draggin should be fine.

We have a big meat hook we used on larger hogs, hook it through the hock and then one of the safety chain loops on the receive hitch and dive.

That's a good idea. I don't have a meat hook but the clip on the end of the winch lets it from a sort of lasso. If I get it good and tight on the neck, you think it'll cut into his skin? They seem hard to jack up but I want to keep him nice for the mount.

If you want a mount I'd think dragging it by the hind legs would be the ticket.

It's too late for now, but for the future you should seriously consider getting a game hoist from Mr Burns Holt out of Georgetown. I have bought 2, one for me and one for a buddy. They are solid and very reasonably priced. I use it to load game on to the truck, and if I am at my uncle's place whose game station has seen better days, I winch the deer or hog back up and use it as my cleaning station. He's a THFer and here's a line to one of his ads.

http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/5966105/Searchpage/2/Main/478243/Words/hoist/Search/true/Re:_Game_Hoist_______$185.00#Post5966105

I would look into one of those portable wenches that fits into the receiver hitch. You probably have one the same size on your truck and the polaris. Works great to lift into the bed. As for the dragging through the woods...never been a fan of that really, but with a hog unless your going to do a shoulder mount go for it.

Personally I have used a Rubbermaid wheelbarrow to get a scimitar oryx out of a mesquite thicket and it worked great. Expensive but our skid steer was down at the time and its all I had to use. Easy in and out over mequite and pear.

The sturdy limb should work but please stay out of striking distance of the cable In case it breaks and absoultley stay out from under the hog. Your life and limbs are more important than the meat or mount.

I can't believe your that unlikeable, I like you, with out ever meeting ya!!!

A big male isn't one you want to eat anyway. I wouldn't waste processor money on it.

I'm not sure what a Polaris is, but if it has a winch could you throw the line over a sturdy branch and pull the hog into the air, tie it up with a separate rope, and then put the bed of the Polaris under the hog, loosen the rope, and let it fall onto the bed?

^ This. I would leave it lay for the buzzards, coyotes, and hogs to eat.

Your plan to load the Hog by lifting with the winch sounds feasible, provided the weight of the hog and friction of the winch cable do not exceed the weight of your Polaris.

Of course, FIRST you have to get that hog on the ground. Presumably...you are talking about a mature Boar. I can tell you from many years experience, he won't be around for long...so you'd better get out there as soon as you can.

The next thing you'll want to do, is decide whether or not you are going to have a shoulder mount made. IF you are...then there are several things you will want to do, to avoid damaging the cape or creating situations where 'hair slippage' is likely. Your taxidermist can only work with what He/She is given.

Do NOT drag the animal backwards (against the lay of the hair), you are sure to damage the root of the hair or the follicles to some degree.

IF you have to drag the animal a significant distance or on anything but grass, pull it by the front legs, NOT the neck and place a scrap piece of carpet or tarp underneath it.

Do NOT hoist the animal by the neck, again....you will damage the cape. Hoist by the front or rear legs, they are going to be discarded anyway.

The hide/cape will need to be removed and COOLED as soon as possible. Packing the chest cavity in ice will cool the meat resource, but if the hide is not cooled (below 40° F) then you risk having bacteria propagate in the hair follicles which can cause hair slippage.

Always a good idea to wash the hide (if possible), this will keep blood, dirt or other contaminants from effecting the quality of the hide (your taxidermist will thank you and you'll get a mount that will last many years).

As for the meat resource, a big 'Ol Boar can be a 50/50 proposition. Actually...most can be good table fare, but improper handling, skinning, cleaning/processing results in tainted meat. Personally, I'd take the tenderloins and hindquarters and call it good. Even then...there are glands/lymph nodes that should be removed from the 'hams'.

Best of luck.

Oh...remember, No pics= it didn't happen!

Flint.

I would probably still pull the back straps. But nothing other than that, saw it off at the base off the neck, throw it in a cooler and take it in for your mount.

A 99 dollar yard work trailer from atwoods, home depot, etc will get him.

Get it close and tilt the bed down, run the winch under the atv/utv, then up over the SIDE of the cart (over the top closes it too soon). Winch him into the cart.

I've done it with branches, but this way works without anything else. And the cart is handy back at home.

We have built carts from old Dilly boat trailers for exactly this purpose.



For getting game out of the woods, I have a buddy that uses an old push lawnmower frame, drags the animal on that, then drags it out of the woods.

There are some really good ideas here, I appreciate it very much!

Aghunter78, that is exactly what I need. I think I know what I'll be asking for this X-mas

Curtis, the mental image of that is pretty funny! Clever, though. Sadly, my property is hills and rocks. And more hills, and even more rocks. I know I'd get more cussing and hollering done than actual moving, haha!

RDHibbs, I worried about that myself. The thought of that cable snapping has crossed my mind more than once. We always use it to hoist up game on the gambrel though and it's never been sketchy. I will definitely watch out, though. Thanks for the nice words I was mostly just teasing but I'm just fine with it. The fewer the people that like ya the fewer the people who ask to come hunt your place, right?

Y'all are probably right about not bothering getting him processed. I've never really eaten a boar that was over maybe 80 lbs on the hoof, forgot they say the big macho ones taste about how they look. I'll just pull his straps and let the foxes have one hell of a grocery run.

Flint, very much appreciated! I'll drag by front legs and cape him ASAP (this'll be my first time all by myself, so when I post photos, no laughing! ;)) It's supposed to get down to the 30's tonight so I won't be in any rush.

Push mower frame is genius! I like the cart idea, too. Luckily the Polaris can get just about anywhere, just too weak to get game into it. I wonder if anyone makes game racks for 'em yet....

I use an ice-fishing sled to drag behind my side by side. No snow or ice required. They are tough enough to be dragged over dry ground, logs, rocks etc. Once at the truck I use a a couple 8 foot long 2x8s as a ramp and a winch tied off to the bed hooks.

Cabelas sells them:

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&N=0&fsch=true&Ntk=AllProducts&Ntt=sled&x=10&y=6&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

Don't know how big the hog is but on one occasion I dragged 2 deer at once with a combined weight of almost 400 lbs for 3/4 of mile.

I used to use an old car hood to drag game out of the woods with my 4- wheeler. Just went to the junk yard and got the smallest one I could get. Cheap too if they have one that they can't sell because of dents and rust. Worked great. As far as loading it by yourself, the tree idea works but you sure need a pulley in the tree. The drag on the limb and the weight of the hog gets to be more than some rigs can do.

^^^^ +1 this is exactly what I was going to recommend. A sled of some sort works great. The car hood is a good idea as well. You'll most likely need a heck of a good rope to drag it over a tree limb without breaking it. I've loaded large animals by using two ropes and the pickup because the 4 wheeler didn't have the power to lift the animal up in the air. Tie two ropes to the hind legs, throw both of them over the limb, tie one to your truck to lift the animal, once in the air use the second loose rope to tie to the tree base to keep the animal up in the air, untie the rope hooked to the truck and then back up under him.

I agree with those that say he's not going to taste very good and not worth the time, effort or money to get him into the freezer. I like to gut the big ones enough to get a blood trail, then drag it around my place to the edge of my big pasture where I can see it and keep an eye on it. In two days, I will usually see coyotes. My best hog gave me three dead coyotes. Last year I got my first double!!! One was eating when I shot, the other took off and I hit it on the run. Probably one of my greatest hunting memories.

If you are worried about damaging/ruining the mount, roll him onto an old tarp and drag that. Most tarps have loops to tie them down, that you could run the cable through. I just got my first deer, rolled him onto an old tarp to drag him out. Made it a lot easier and protected my deer from being uglified while I dragged him out. I just wanted him to look good for the picture

ing with android... ta HF huntsolo here with my opinion... Wich tis worth about a post... From reading your posts tis hard believe a young sweet natured lady twould have troubles finding help... Majority of my hog hunts tis on WMA & tis found meself alone way back down in the hollows... My hunts are for en & chillen & remove hide ta get at backstraps, then quarters, roll over & repeat... Since you have a Polaris, throw meat on it, were i use back pack... Others have good tips on their posts.. Best Wishes, above all stay Safe...

If you want to mount it, dragging the wrong way will rub the hair off. Tie his head up as high as you can to the back of the Polaris so it keeps most of his shoulder off the ground.

Kind of like this:

Using the winch to help you out is your best bet in your situation I think.

I'm sure your thinking of something like this:

lift rear legs up while standing in the bed of the truck... tie to gooseneck ball or bed hook then get down and roll the shoulders over along with the head... once you get it down its pretty simple..

that or toss the winch over a branch and pull him up then back the truck under... works just as good...

for dragging you can run the winch to the back rail and hook to his head..then winch the front of his body up were only the rear will be dragging...

Id just winch him up a tree were you kill him and cape him out real quick... that way you don't gota mess with moving all that around..

Trade in the Polaris and get a tractor They are great for hauling game.

There also maybe someone on here that hunts close to you that would be willing to lend a hand in loading him.

Does make things nice...

Thanks for the awesome suggestions, everyone! Sure as hell, the nights I went and waited for him, he didn't come in. I guess he didn't get so big being dumb. I know he will be back, though. If I've learned anything from hunting, it's patience...

STXHunter, that is exactly what I have pictured in my mind. I'm glad to know it wasn't a completely stupid idea and others have done it!

Navasot, congrats on that beast! Bet that tail was delicious. What felled it?

Thank you sir it was good stuff.

What's felled?

Whatcha kill it with?

5 day old chicken, 16/0 J hook, and a .17HMR

I often hunt by myself and I don't have a winch on my Rhino so this was my solution for loading game in the bed of the Rhino.

Rhino game loading system.

I hunt with a friend in West Texas who uses a come-along to winch the bucks up in his Mule. He attaches one end of the cable to his roll cage back bar with a rope. Then attaches the other end around the bucks horns with a rope. He then tilts his bed and winches the buck up in the bed and then locks the bed back down in a normal position. Cheap and works great. I know, since he winched my 197 lb buck up in his Mule for me.

Man, I'm telling ya. That is a hell of an animal. Congrats again. Sounds like a fun hunt. I got a big ol' gator on my "someday" list

Twinbubba, that looks like a pretty damn effective way to get it done! Stxranchman, gotta love dump beds. I'm hoping that'll make my winching a little faster and less precarious when I finally do get that sucker!

Get you a sheet of old tin and make a cheap sled to tie him to and drag him out with the Polaris.

Stxranchman, that I can do for sure. When we bought the property the guy renting this place was... well he had accumulated quite the collection of crap. We have more old tin, gates, and tires than you can shake a stick at

The problem with the layout of the land is that it is extremely steep. Apparently there used to be a road that went all the way thru it, but after about 15 years of neglect it is not in drivable condition (even in the Polaris.) We're slowly working on it. There is, however, a way to access the top via an easement. It is also really steep, but hey, it's a road. I'd just sled him all the way down to the house and the hoist if I didn't think the makeshift sled would just slam into the back of the Polaris. Maybe I am underestimating how the weight of the hog would come into play. I suppose he might be heavy enough to keep that from happening.

Between the equipment I do have and the great suggestions here, I have no doubt tht I'll be able to MacGyver something up when the time comes