The work after the kill

[nickdooley987]

I have a topic that has been discussed much on here with the gun season opening in 5 days its somthing thats already on my mind. I hunt a giant block of federal land here in illinois and i get deep in to avoid the other hunters, but the farther in you go the farther it is to drag the deer out, ive drug deer up to 2 miles which is backbreaking. Can anyone give me any tips on how to make this easier. Keep in mind i hunt a river bottom which is muddy and well as thick with undergrowth.
Thanks

 

[mtmiller]

Do you have to bring out whole?

 

[npaden]

Do a search on the gutless method.

I shot a whitetail on my property yesterday that I could drive my pickup right to and still did the gutless method on it. I do the same with feral pigs, elk, mule deer, pretty much everything. I haven't gutted an animal in 4 years now and I've killed or helped after the kill on probably 30 to 40 animals in that time.

 

[nickdooley987]

id like to try and keep it whole if at all possible due to the muddy and muck nature of where i hunt and i also like to leave the deer hangin whole and butcher it at home with the family its kinda of a tradition

 

[Ultrahunter]

Gutless or not id quarter those things. And pack them out on my back.

 

[npaden]

id like to try and keep it whole if at all possible due to the muddy and muck nature of where i hunt and i also like to leave the deer hangin whole and butcher it at home with the family its kinda of a tradition

Seems to me carrying it out quartered up in a nice clean game bag on your back would be cleaner than dragging it out through the mud and muck for a couple miles.

Still plenty of butchering to do once you have it quartered up. You can leave it hanging in the better game bags just as well as if you left it whole.

 

[WapitiBob]

pack it out on your back, 2 trips is all it will take.

 

[2rocky]

Ask a Moose hunter what they do in a muddy, brushy environment....

(HINT...It ain't draggin' 'em)

 

[12 guage]

Read last weeks outdoor news from mn. A guy from ontario shot a huge mosse and had to rent a helicopter. Neat story its also on youtube.

 

[elk_hunter]

Yeah, I'd really try to get as much "meat only" on my back if you're looking for more of a whole-animal type approach. Can't eat the bones or hide!

 

[DavidKeenan]

Muddy river bottom. Seems dragging would get a lot of dirt on the meat. I'd do like others have said. either debone it, or quarters. Get a MR CC , it will handle the meat off a deer on one trip.

 

[Dinkshooter]

Eastern Tenderfoots are funny.

 

[StrutNut]

Not sure that you can cut quarter it. Look at some of the deer dragging sleds for the muddier areas. The Cabelas Super Mag came cart is very good for dry ground. I borrowed a guys Supermag game cart and it worked fantastic. It is on my must buy list for next season.

 

[putm2sleep]

I agree -- eastern tenderfoots are funny. Get some game bags, a decent pack & bone that sucker out. note: Check yer regs to ensure proof of sex.

 

[nickdooley987]

I just got off the phone and it is legal to quarter deer (which i agree sounds like the way to go) but i have to keep either a nipple or vag of doe or the scrotum of the buck attached

 

[nickdooley987]

so i guess my next question for the western guys would be... do you know of any good videos online that could show an eastern boy likemyself how to quarter a deer in the field? is the process any different than doing it when its hanging in the garage?

 

[putm2sleep]

Yes, there are good videos. Nope - not any different imo -- having room, and a cold beer or not having to peel quarters off on a steep slope is different. Otherwise, same.

>Good sharp knife and sharpener is what you'll need. Fronts come off like butter. The hind end takes some time and practice to find the hip / joint / ball, but once you have that down yer set.

 

[putm2sleep]

http://elk101.com/webisodes/gutless-video/

 

[shoots-straight]

If you have a buddy you hunt with, you can build a stretcher on site out of 2" diameter saplings, just wide enough for you to stand inside. A couple of adjustable straps that you throw over your shoulders and strap over the ends of the stretcher will help carry the weight and help a bunch. Most deer can be carried out in one piece this way. We use this method a lot and stretchers are sitting all over the forest where we unloaded them. Carry a taped up bunch of 16 d nails, and the seat belt webbing in your packs. It's quite easy.

 

[tarheel]

I agree -- eastern tenderfoots are funny. Get some game bags, a decent pack & bone that sucker out. note: Check yer regs to ensure proof of sex.

Our forest indians carried them out whole, our fathers, grandfathers and many generations preceding carried them out whole, hung them on game poles and meat houses because that was the way it was done. There's a lot to be said for tradition, and many of us honor our ancestors by doing it the way they did. That may seem funny to some, but I'll stick with it.

All the tenderfeet went West last century and since; they seemed to have trouble hacking it back East.