Has anyone ever added an electric winch to your truck to drag a deer out? I thought that would be a good idea since I don’t own a 4 wheeler and can only drive about 300’ yards away from my stand due to the condition of the road, but read some of the winches aren’t very long.

My son shot a smaller deer over the weekend and instead of field dressing it I waited until I got him closer to the truck bc the road is full of dirt and ruts and I didn’t want the meat messed up when dragging him up the hill.

Essentially it wasn’t the most fun drag and only gets worse the older I get. I had a strap around its head so I didn’t have to bend down as low but still had to take a few breaks in between.

I’m afraid a deer cart would just tip over in certain parts of the road due to the ruts. Any other ideas? Roll and ice chest to the deer next time and quarter it out there is my other theory unless it’s a wall hanger.

Also read about using the safety harness to help pull a deer out

deer sled.

I have a winch in the back of my Taco.

This is what I use. Put deer in it and I have 300' of rope. tie to my truck and back up. will go through a lot without tipping over.
I'm way to old to try to drag one out anymore.
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/cabelas-utility-ice-sled

Shock pouch it!

Pretty much all the deer I kill (and pigs) are recovered with the 4Wheeler and winch. If I absolutely have to drag a deer, I’ll drag it the minimum distance to where I can hook it up to the Honda. Like the OP, I can’t drag them like when I was a young man. You might want to invest in a used 4Wheeler. You can even do without the winch if you have a long rope you can pull with the 4Wheeler. I’m having to work smarter.

I always kept a 6' aluminum step ladder in my truck. If it was quite a distance to the truck I would lay the deer on the ladder and attach a rope to the top part of the ladder in a loop so I could drag it back to the truck. A whole lot easier than trying to carry or drag it on the ground.

When I got to the truck I would just lift the head end of the ladder onto the tailgate and then lift the foot end and slide it into the bed. Only way for an old guy to lift the deer without a winch.

x2

I use a big wheel furniture dolly.

tractor with front loader.....

Deer cart, add a wider axle if your worried about it ripping over.

Personally I’d try to scare the deer off so I wasn’t tempted to shoot one so far from the truck

I use a cart because I may have the deer down a mile in and some places it has to come out whole. Carts are much easier than dragging but I don't shoot anything not worth the effort to roll out if I'm far back in. Get a wide one with big wheels to help get over logs. I've had mine for over 20 years.

Ideas I've looked at that others have done use portable winches. You can get a battery operated ATV winch and just keep moving the winch if you have the trees. That's the only winch that is cheap enough to not start thinking old 4wheeler. And the battery isn't exactly light. It's more than a cheap 4wheeler, but a gas capstan winch and a spool of tape will pull one from about forever. Only thing cooler is a bed mounted commerical fishing boat winch.

I've also seen where people gear down a mini-bike to pull a cart or sled. That's less than most old 4wheelers and would get through a thicket easier. The most attractive part to me is you can get a hitch-mounted carrier for the mini-bike. Don't even have to put it in the bed or on a trailer. Literally the only reason I haven't done this I can't get past the idea that it sounds stupid.

Spoon where are you located? If your close your welcome to use one of my carts to see if it’ll work in your situation before you buy something.

I have a small sled for deer, or gear. I have the large size for elk quarters and halves. The game cart is great for any WMA that has roads, but won't allow you to drive in to get the animal. That said, Mule Tape (electrician pulling tape) is cheaper than any heart attack you ever want to go thru!!! Thousands of feet for a couple Benjamins!!! Available everywhere, and cheap on Amazon

We use one every year in Wyoming elk hunting. With snow on the ground and tied to a SXS no one breaks a sweat. Just slide them to the meat pole.

Get a Jet Sled. I’ve used one to drag deer out for years in areas where vehicles and atvs were prohibited.

i used the hawk crawler