Looking for opinions. Never had problems loading before, I am 6’5 but getting a little older and weaker.

I generally hunt alone and did struggle a bit loading a buck on Thursday to my Tundra tailgate. And flat out gave up yesterday with a hog.
Dead weight is certainly not easy to work with.

Thoughts on a “backboard” type system? Any other ideas?

On yoofloob there's a guy dw hunter that shows loading
up deer with a ratchet rope. That works for me because
my trouble was running out of steam and having to drop
everything and losing all the headway I had made.
When you're already tired, a floppy dead carcass seems
to weigh twice as much as it does

I tried to link it, but couldn't make it go

I have been considering something like this for loading deer:

https://www.vikingsl.com/hunting/

The older I get, the less I want to wrestle one in by brute force.

I have something similar to the “Rack Jack” that they sell, a hitch mounted hoist. The time it takes to set up and get the animal placed in the bed and then taken back down is quite time consuming. However, my back does thank me for doing so. I have also used a tri-folding aluminum atv ramp to use to simply just drag the animal up into the bed. A lot quicker setup time. A deer with antlers to garb on to makes it easier. I wouldn’t want to try that on a hog. You could mount a winch in the back part of the truck bed and just pull it up the ramp as well.

Low tech. Sent to me by a friend on here.

This bear weighed 295 lbs on the scale at the butchers and was just over 7 feet long nose to feet. I'm 5' 9", 180 lbs, 56 years old. Couple of 2x10s on a gradual incline with the bear in a 5 foot long toboggan and solo i was able to slide him in no problem.

When I moved to have to use a walker I had one of these installed in the bed of my pickup.

https://www.harborfreight.com/picku...m0mT_sKZflKBt7_k-A6zI2BtSpkaAtTOEALw_wcB

Definitely feel you! Getting harder & harder. I just drag with my 4 wheeler these days and use it to hoist up to skin & quarter. That dead weight is a beast.

Hitch Hoist is the way to go.

I put a small electric wench near the cab of my Taco. Roll out the cable, connect to animal and guide it while pushing a button.

I keep an inexpensive portable electric winch stored in my suburban year round. As well as a small bag with pulleys, extra winch rope, short straps, small waterproof tarp for game, etc. So with the kit in the bag I can pull in angles or double my pulling power if need be. The winch is like what you can buy at harbor freight or northern tools, though I think I bought it on sale at Amazon for around seventy bucks. It can hook up to my trailer ball or I can anchor it to anything by using a strap. I drag the deer to the nearest tree with a limb I can back under or near to and lift it off the ground with the winch and push the deer into the back as I lower it. If no trees I could also winch an animal or whatever up anything that could be used as a makeshift ramp by using a pully anchored to a rear seat bracket or interior tie down. And could probably do same without a ramp if I had to by just guiding it in. In the last year I have used it to pull my suburban from the mud, pull an aluminum canoe up a steep bank, raise a tower deer blind for a friend, load a deer, and hang a deer at camp for skinning quartering, and more.

I have a loàder on the front of my buggie

Yep, works great.

I recommend buying a Dutton Lainson worm gear wench (5/8" hex drive), and mount near the cab of your pickup. Keep a piece of plywood in the bed for a ramp. Run the winch with a cordless drill, works like a charm/very dependable. I use these winches on all of my feeders as well, no more hand cranking when it's 110 degrees.

I did have, but a big hog broke it.

I have used an old winch off of a boat trailer for years. It will lift the animals high enough that you can lift the other half of them up on a tailgate.

This might be genius.
I could just bolt this to the bed and always have it there. Just get the adapter, remove handle and work it with a drill?????

Yeppers, it will certainly work.

These are the ones I use on the feeders that we build, with a 25' 1/4" cable.




American made quality winch, I've been real pleased with them. My only suggestion is whenever you are loading a heavy animal make sure your cordless drill is in Low (1 speed). Running the cable out on High is fine, and quick. Low to load, even with a brushless motor. I smoked 1 drill going up in High on a 350lb feeder. Bought a brushless after that and works great, but I don't like pushing too hard. Low speed is plenty fast to load an animal.

Here are three low cost options. 1. Hitch mounted cargo carrier. This is much lower than the truck bed, I have stood on the carrier, and pulled the deer onto it. 2. Use a board as a ramp. 3. Quarter the deer while it is on the ground, and put it into a cooler. I find it works best to quarter the deer with the skin on, then skin the quarters on the tailgate. I carry a lopping shears to cut the legs, and the head. Number 3 is the method I currently use. Good luck. Save your back.

All depends on the animal, and the season.

Antelope I can still pick up and throw into the bed, when gutted.
Motorcycle tie-down strap around the neck for deer, and hook onto one of the brackets in your bed. That will hold the head and antlers up on the tail gate on one side, then lift the other end.
For elk or moose, I have found that a plastic sled and a 6 foot 2x12" works great. If trying to load one whole, then you have to have a come-a-long or winch

I don’t like working on the deer on the ground. That hurts my back. I like to get it in the tailgateand take my time.
I do everything on the tailgate of my truck.

I've been using something similar to this for 14 years now...it's essential for hunting alone in my opinion. Just goes right in to my hitch - the entire unit swivels to allow me to load the animal into the back of the truck. In addition to getting older over the lat 14 years, I've had a bad back since I was a young man - never an issue using the trailer hitch hoists...best thing a solitary hunter can have other than gun and ammo. Before going to these I would haul the animal up into a tree to clean but then you still had the issue of getting into the truck bed - this is much, much easier..

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...msclkid=929f603348a812e41ae901a2dee4307a

Earl

I had one, but bent it pretty bad trying to winch up a big hog. They work fine for deer though.

Also bent one by pulling down/skinning a hog. It was too much.

I've done hogs with mine before - some of them are flimsier than others. The one I'm using now is really heavy duty pipe. But I no longer clean the big hogs - 100lb or less, yes but the big nasty ones I just haul away anymore.

Roger that. I had some plans drawn up once upon a time to build my own heavy duty ones that you can swing in and out by pulling a pin, winch/cordless drill operated. Heavy duty and user friendly. I never built any though.

Free shipping and good price. I’ve had a Monarch brand for over a decade but I think they’re out of business. This one is rated 400 lbs.

Sheels receiver gambrel lift