Loading deer by yourself.

Sometimes I end up hunting by myself during the week and having a problem loading the deer by myself. I shot a 135 lbs deer a few weeks ago and could not get on the atv to return to camp. Luckily someone else was there and I got them to help me. We are on an MLD lease and have to weigh in the deer unaltered so it has to get to camp complete.

I don't a have winch on the atv. Has anyone else mastered this problem? Don't always have a strong limb on a tree close by either.

Thanks

Firestick

Yup, several. I grab the deer, if doe, by back lets and put them across the ATV seat. Of course, I'm on the other side. I then just drag it up on the seat while stepping back using my weight and once on, roll it over to the back rack. Buck, drag by the head. Strap them on and go.

It's hard to load a deer on an atv

I shot a deer that was around 165 and almost killed myself loading it. The suspension is too soft.

I can get them into the bed of a mule no problem

Getting into the gym and doing some dead lifts, bent over rows and shrugs will help tremendously

We use a jet sled from Cabelas to pull them back to camp behind the 4-wheeler. Works great and doesn't break your back.

1) Buy a Glenn's Deer Handle

Glenn's Deer Handle

or

2) Drag deer to tree

or (never tried this but might work)

3) Tie head of deer to one side of rack and then lift the other end up and over

Game hoist that goes in reciever hitch.

X2 . One of those. Monarch makes the one I have.

www.deerfeeder.com

I had to use ratchet straps couple weeks ago to load a huge hog.

I saw a crazy add on a feeder that has a winch buildt inside of it so all you have to do is hoist up the deer and just drive under the feeder than let her/him down!

Here's one I've only heard described.

Drive a large stake into the ground and tie a rope to it. Face ATV toward stake and run the rope over the length of the ATV and attach to the deer lying behind the ATV. Now, back up the ATV and the deer will be lifted up and on. Use ATV to pull up stake.

I just tie the antlers up on one side of the ATV rack as high as I can then grab both hind legs and swing his backend up and over the rack. Then just adjust him to fit and tie him down.

I use a very similiar technique.

First, I lay the deer with it's head resting as high as I can get it against the outside front of the rear fender and below the seat.

Next, I get on the rear rack and squat down so I can reach down between my legs and grab the deer by the antlers, keeping my back as vertical as possible..

Using the strength of my legs, I lift the deer just enough so that it falls half-way across the rear of the seat. If it's a large buck, I may have to step back on the rear rack.

Once the deer is across the seat, I simply slide it back onto the rear rack.

I have never shot a deer that I could not load in this manner.

Can you get your pickup down there? It's pretty easy to pull them in to the bed.

Yep, I always keep bailing wire and dikes with the 4 wheeler. This is also how I do it. After chasing my tail, I realized you must tie one side of the deer to the rack, then you can manipulate the rest of the body up on the vehicle. Works like a charm.

a small garden trailer like you would use for a lawn mower would probably work, about a foot off the ground, just drag it on in.

Like redchevy said, I use a small trailer/cart to pull behind the ATV. Low to the groung and easy to drag a deer/hog onto. Cabela's has them from $250-$550 depending on size and style.

Thanks for all the help.

Get ya a cargo rack and put it on the back of your 4 wheeler, puts it about 12" off ground.

I got a Game Kaddy....nuff said!

GAME KADDY

But....make sure you assemble it correctly. It has several welded sections, and it is covered under warranty.

erath kid- "I always keep bailing wire and dikes with the 4 wheeler"

do you tie the dikes down with the bailing wire?

When I was a little boy... maybe 5-6 years old I always liked helping my old man, still do. One day we were workin on something..

Dad- Son get me a pair of dikes.
Me- What are those?
Dad- Wire cutters
Me- Oh ok. Coming back with them Daddy, why do you call them dikes? What does that mean?
Dad- Its a derogatory term
Me- Oh... ok

I use a come along hooked to one of the tie downs in the bed of the truck. I crank it until i can finish loading the deer or hog.

I carry a short 2x10 for a drag ramp. Course, hunting the Hill Co. I don't often run into deer I can't man-handle without the ramp.

I use a 4 runner to bring in any harvested deer on our place. It's also my everyday vehicle in the city. It's very difficult to lift a deer into the back from a physical standpoint and impossible to do it without getting blood somewhere.

I bought one of these Jet Sleds a few weeks back and it worked great dragging in a doe over Thanksgiving weekend. Just roll the deer in, loop the cord over my hitch, and drag it in. The plastic is thick and looks like it will last. Wish I had bought one years ago.

http://www.cabelas.com/decoy-accessories-shappell-jet-sled.shtml

Had it delivered to the Allen store to avoid shipping costs.

JR

Man, I thought this old 67 yo was the only person to have that problem. I field dress mine and it makes a world of difference. Then it goes to the shed to be weighed for the MLD records.

Has any of you tried lifting the front of the four wheeler up and back so its sitting on its rear tires and rack, then tie the deer to the rack, and then walk back to the front of the four wheeler and pull it back down to the ground. It sounds crazy, but its really a lot easier than trying to lift the weight of the deer.This is assuming your not riding an over sized four wheeler. Mine is a Rancher 420 and its really not that bad.

My first wheeler was a 200 Yamaha 2WD and this method worked great. I don't think it would work for me now with the new OMG 4WD wheelers.

If you use a pick up in the hunting pasture a hitch hauler works well since it is not so high. The bed is too high in late model pick ups for me to load a deer alone.

You gotta load them like "Choot'em Troy" loads an alligator... Get a rope or strap and hook it in bed of truck, lift the head of the deer in and tie head up, then you can lift his back legs in and I just tucked his legs in under the tailgate cable... here is a pic of my buck I shot Friday and loaded my myself.

good one here

I just do a hang clean move on them and do it by myself.

loading a deer by yourself is not an issue, provided you hunt around Llano and people on your lease, as well as surounding land shoot 2.5 year old deer on a regular basis.
I've got to find a managed lease....

I threw my back out loading 2 250lb live weight deer in the back of my truck a couple weeks ago.

Had same problem, easy solution right in front of me...
http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3773771/1

bb07582 this one looks great. Just ordered it.

I have a Yamaha Big Bear 400 (old one) with a flat rack on the back of it. If I shoot a normal Texas size deer, I'll cut slits in the upper hind legs of the deer, slide a heavy duty rubber tie-down through the slit and hook both ends on the left of the rack and do the same with the front legs on the right side of the rack. It hangs the deer off the ground and off we go. If it's one of the 250 pounders from back in Louisiana, where I grew up, I'd have to field dress it before I could hang it like that.

Back when I was younger and stronger, I shot a real monster that was 2 miles from anywhere and I had no ATV (that was back in the 3 Wheeler days). Ground was frozen solid, so I walked out and got Dad's little Nissan truck and drove out and backed it up to the deer. I tied a rope to the antlers, looped it through the steering wheel, got in the bed of the truck and slowly worked the upper half of the deer into the truck bed (taking out rope slack as I did). Then I tied off that end of the deer and grunted the back end of the deer into the truck. I didn't weigh that one, but I'll guess him at around 250 total body weight. That was the ONLY way I could come up with to get him in the truck.