Had to drag a medium size doe this afternoon. From inside the bramble filled woods to the edge of the field. I’ll tell ya what. It kicked my butt. 60 years ago it wasn’t so tough to do. Maybe I am aging a teensy bit. Nahhhh…

I’d like to say that I made a magnificent shot, but it was broadside at 150 yards. No wind. Lovely day.

Well, my need to get a doe for the freezer is done. Hopefully 2 Advil will help my suffering.

My folks retired over the last year. I feel bad at the work they get done with no help, but impressed at the same time. I think they are helping you keep advil in business.

My 10 year old shot his first this year we drug it maybe 20 yards. We each had a hind leg and about half way I quit pulling and the deer stopped on the spot, I told him “see what happens when daddy stops pulling” lol

I tuck the head between the front legs and grab the ankles. Takes a fairly big hand and a fair amount of strength. You couldn’t pay me to drag backwards against the hair.

It gets worse; but if you have “IT” you will keep going until you drag him in a wheelchair. But, beware, “IT” can gradually
disappear or abruptly stop when your in your 60’s. Just a natural thing according to stats. So, good for you.

I turn 65 next month. Shot a 10 pointer yesterday evening around 5:15 and he ran into the woods. Got down to look and found him about 50 yards back in the mesquites. He was a big deer and I had no help. Grabbed his horns and pulled him walking backwards the whole way. Then I had to walk back and get the truck. I was plum wore out by the time I had him gutted and on the way to the processor. But I got up this morning and am in a different stand looking for a pig.

Before UTVs, I always carried a thing made out of seatbelt material that you strapped on like a backpack; nylon rope going off the cross of straps down to an aluminum cinch piece. Cinch it around antlers or head, strap up, and start pullin'. 'Bought it off the $1.00 table at Gibson's...in Fredericksburg, a long, long time ago. I loved that table as a kid.

I’ve always thought it’s easier to pick up a doe and sling her over your back than drag. Buck changes that, but a 100lbs or less doe isn’t too bad for me right now. Hopefully I can still say that in 40 years

my granddad died at 86, and he could kick but, built the bunkhouse when he was in his 70's, finished the concrete and built two concrete tanks in one room of the b h, windmill pumped water into one tank, the overflow into the 2nd with a concrete shelf that held milk it was at the right hight to come up on the bottles ect perfectly cool, he & grandma moved to Dodge City area in a covered wagon, he broke sod for a dollar a day and save money to my the farm.

You need a hitch hoist.

I’ve got all I need. The deer had died in a very tough place to access. No way to get the Honda in to it. Remembering the old days, I cut a 2’ piece of a sapling about an inch thick, put it through the legs with the help of the KaBar, and began dragging with one hand, as I used the other hand to keep the briars out of my face. Besides the briars, there was a bunch of downed cedar limbs to drag the deer over. A very tough drag, and I got the deer about 20’ from the field edge, then used the ATV winch from there. By then it was pitch dark.

Sometimes the deer drop, or run a short way, but this one had more mileage in her than I would have thought.

I was after a good size doe. I had passed on a big mature 9 point the day before at that feeder. He was a beaut, but she’ll be better to eat. It’s all about the venison these days. I don’t ’hunt horns’ any more.

It didn’t occur to me till later that if I had hurt myself or had a heart attack (it happens), absolutely nobody knew where I was. I left the Honda at the blind and walked to the woods where the deer was. As I get older, I need to think about stuff like that. In my mind, I’m still a 25 year old former Marine.

Interesting. I had to drag a doe last year and a buck this year. The buck was much bigger and much easier to drag by the antlers. Maybe that has something to do with it?

I’m 64. One of my favorite places to hunt is a saddle on a pretty high ridge. If they run, they go down one side or the other. If there is a drag, it is always uphill. Last year, at age 63, I shot a pretty nice buck that made it about 125 yards down the hill. I was sucking bad gas by the time I got it back to the top of the hill. Embarrassing as it is to admit, my legs were sore for a couple days afterwards. Apparently the legs are the first thing to go. Upped what I’ve been doing on leg days and for cardio. No runners to date in ‘24 but based on toting a new 50 gallon water heater upstairs earlier this month and toting the old one back down the stairs, dragging deer up the hill will hopefully go back to not being a big deal. Things I used to take for granted are starting to require some maintenance.

If you want to find out what kinda shape your in start dragging a deer... you will find out soon enough.

Word.

Ditto on 64...I shot a nice 4.5 year-old deer last year that was sporting more mass on his belly than horns. It was mid-week and I didn't have any help and I was able to get back to him with the ranch truck...which is where the problem started. The ranch truck is a F-250 with 20 inch tires and it was a LONG way up to the bed. This year I shot a 185 lb 7.5 year old and was VERY happy to have two 40 year-olds to help with the task!

I am 70 and got to drag my 9yr old grandson’s buck out Saturday afternoon. Luckily not uphill and only about 75 yds and under a fence. What’s getter tougher for me is gutting elk at 8000ft on a steep mountain slope so steep that once I pulled the guts out they rolled a 100yds down the mountain.

I’m about to be 82. If I shoot one, I drag it out with a 4wheeler. Then trade that off for the John Deere front end loader.

My hunting buddy is 6’3 and 245 I’ve been depending on him for years, he turned 60 this year and decided we need something better to get deer out of the woods so we got deer hauling carts,now I can encourage him while he pulls deer out of the woods 😬I’m 67 by the way

Like Dave, I normally use the 4Wheeler to drag em back to the house. I try real hard to drop them quickly and in the open, but every now and then they don’t cooperate. That’s when the dragging rears its ugly head. It’s the really big hogs that are really tough, and often too heavy to drag. I’ve twice had to chainsaw a path wide enough for the 4 Wheeler to get to them. A few years ago I shot a whopper of a sow, and when I finally fought my way through the tangle to her, I said to heck with it and just left her there. Plenty of good eating there, but I just didn’t want to work that hard. A doctor can bury his mistakes, and the coyotes will erase mine.

Does, high neck shoot them and they do not run.

I am 81. I shot a very big buck a couple of weeks ago. By myself with no way to load or move him so I just quartered him on the ground like I do a bull Elk. worked fine and was easy to move the quarters and head.

You're a role model for us all.

Sounds like there are a lot of us who will never have to pay child support.

I have not dragged or gutted a deer in years. Even if I can drive to it, I quarter it on the ground and into a cooler it goes. If I can't drive to it, I carry the quarters to the truck. I skin the quarters on the tailgate. For many years I used to: drag the deer to the truck, load it, haul it to camp, hoist it up skin/quarter, then haul the unused parts away from camp. Never again.