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How do you get your deer out of the woods

CharlieRayT

CharlieRayT

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2017
Messages
363
I’ve dragged plenty of deer out of the woods. I’ve struggled many times but always got em out. Haven’t always had a four wheeler and on public land you can’t use em anyhow. This is an option I made a while back. It’s a homemade version of a ski polk. I haven’t used it to get a deer out with yet but I have used it around the yard. I’ve pulled both of my seven year old grandsons around in it and it was surprisingly easy. I took two of the sleds and put them together for added durability. I picked them up for 8$ a piece. It wasn’t very expensive to build.
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I like your sled.

I have used the followin: Cart, quartered, dragged, 2 men using a carrying pole, over my shoulders
 
bigjoe said:
I like your sled.

I have used the followin: Cart, quartered, dragged, 2 men using a carrying pole, over my shoulders
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Me too Joe. It sure ain’t getting any easier.


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As we get older harder to carry. In private land which I mainly hunt any more I opt, for the ATV.


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I called WV DNR last year to make sure it was legal to quarter a deer in the field and pack it out. Some friends and I were planning a doe hunt in Canaan Valley. The person told me that it was legal to do so but if the carcass was left behind there would be an issue of littering.


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I plan on buying a cart this year for public land. I want to learn how to quarter and do it in the field but I have not learned how to butcher yet. I don't know anybody who does it themselves so I need to learn it myself. I just don't want to mess it up and ruin the harvest
 
CharlieRayT said:
I called WV DNR last year to make sure it was legal to quarter a deer in the field and pack it out. Some friends and I were planning a doe hunt in Canaan Valley. The person told me that it was legal to do so but if the carcass was left behind there would be an issue of littering.


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Gotta luv it. I always get a kick out of how one DNR officer will interpret a law from another. I was told by a conservation officer here in Va that not all the game laws are in the yearly set of game laws. Well how is an individual supposed to stay legal Hunting or fishing if they do not know the laws?
 
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Catskills said:
I plan on buying a cart this year for public land. I want to learn how to quarter and do it in the field but I have not learned how to butcher yet. I don't know anybody who does it themselves so I need to learn it myself. I just don't want to mess it up and ruin the harvest
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Quartering isn’t hard. I learned years ago from a vhs video called From Field to Freezer. It showed how to mostly bone the meat out so you’re not carrying unnecessary weight. YouTube University should have some videos on the subject. A cart would be handy for sure.


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Catskills said:
I plan on buying a cart this year for public land. I want to learn how to quarter and do it in the field but I have not learned how to butcher yet. I don't know anybody who does it themselves so I need to learn it myself. I just don't want to mess it up and ruin the harvest
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You can do it. It really is pretty easy. Like anything, you just have to dive in. You'll make some minor mistakes your first couple times. You can't really ruin the harvest, you may just have a little more burger at worst. Just take your time. It gets messy when you hurry. I've done it about 10 times now and it is second nature.

As far as the butchering goes, same thing. You just cut the muscles at the seams.

A couple good youtube vids to watch:

Newburg showing the gutless method. Lot of good videos on this usually with elk. Deer are the exact same just smaller.

Butchering a deer

A lot of other ones out there of varying production quality. Good to get the basics down but really like I said you'll learn a ton just doing it a few times.
 
I shot a 210 pound buck at 7 am about 3 miles back in a swamp about 10 years ago. I didn't have anything to aid in getting the deer out and I just dragged it. I got the buck to my truck at about 6 pm and I was cramping up and dehydrated. After that year i got a sled. It is still not easy but a sled makes a huge difference.
 
One thing to keep in mind also is that it will take a little time to quarter one. If ya kill him late in the evening you have to be prepared with good lighting. I prefer headlamps over anything else. I have a medium Alice pack dedicated for packing out meat. I would most likely walk out to the truck and leave my bow and other gear and walk back in and get my deer. Also I would let my loved one at home know that I was going to be a bit late getting in. If no phone signal have a plan in place so they know not to worry if your not in by a certain time taking into account driving time to and from your location.


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Good point, I think the first one I quartered up took me a good hour. Now I can do it in about 15 minutes. It does result in needing some extra equipment. Get some good quality washable game bags. I use tag bags. I also like a little tarp, just helps keep everything clean. I just use half of a contractor bag for that. I usually keep those in my truck and after I kill a deer go retrieve them and get ready for the pack out.

The other huge benefit to me is not having to touch the guts at all. Even a lot of good shots, with deer quartering you will end up slicing into the guts. You do gutless quartering and don't touch that at all. At the end you go in and surgically extract the tenderloins and heart.
 
elk yinzer said:
Good point, I think the first one I quartered up took me a good hour. Now I can do it in about 15 minutes. It does result in needing some extra equipment. Get some good quality washable game bags. I use tag bags. I also like a little tarp, just helps keep everything clean. I just use half of a contractor bag for that. I usually keep those in my truck and after I kill a deer go retrieve them and get ready for the pack out.

The other huge benefit to me is not having to touch the guts at all. Even a lot of good shots, with deer quartering you will end up slicing into the guts. You do gutless quartering and don't touch that at all. At the end you go in and surgically extract the tenderloins and heart.
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Yep. I can do one in about 15-20 minutes pretty easy. Pop two ribs out and the heart comes right out. No need to gut at all unless you wanna see what organs you hit lol.


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ricky racer said:
I'm fortunate enough to hunt private ground near my house so access is good. This is a 1953 Farmall Cub that I drug out of a fence row and rebuilt nearly every thing on it. I still have less in it than a used four wheeler and it runs and looks like new.

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That’s awesome! Most places I hunt I can drive the Ranger pretty close to them and haul them right out. That thing has hauled so many bucks! I always try to take a pic of them loaded up lol
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Catskills said:
I plan on buying a cart this year for public land. I want to learn how to quarter and do it in the field but I have not learned how to butcher yet. I don't know anybody who does it themselves so I need to learn it myself. I just don't want to mess it up and ruin the harvest
Click to expand...
I've practiced the "gutless" quartering method on the last couple does I got at home. I had to get them out of the park I was hunting so I just gutted them, dragged them out and then had the time to practice at home without the pressure of having to get it out of the woods. It's not hard and I at least have the confidence that I can do it in the woods if I want.
 
redsquirrel said:
I've practiced the "gutless" quartering method on the last couple does I got at home. I had to get them out of the park I was hunting so I just gutted them, dragged them out and then had the time to practice at home without the pressure of having to get it out of the woods. It's not hard and I at least have the confidence that I can do it in the woods if I want.
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Great point, thank you! I was thinking of practicing on a doe that way when or if I get a nice buck or a much bigger doe I will have practice by then. And definitely practicing at home rather than in the woods
 
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