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easier to use with quartered deer in hilly woodlands: jet sled or frame pack?

in wv with a quartered deer, which solo extraction method is easiest on your body?

  • jet sled

    Votes: 1 4.5%
  • frame pack

    Votes: 21 95.5%

  • Total voters
    22

raisins

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
6,200
I hunt solo a lot and have been quartering in the woods and then making 2 trips out with the meat. I use a frame pack that I leave in the truck.

I always thought the jet sled was more for open/watery places.

But if you've used both methods in a place like West Virginia, please give me your thoughts.

I would still quarter the deer with the jet sled, I see no reason to bring out the skeleton, skin, etc.
 
I have very limited experience but have done both...never hunted up there but have been in the woods up there. I think the only thing packing out has over the sled would be downhill descents....maybe if u attached a second rope handle on the rear u could hold the rear handle and let it slide down with the nose facing downhill. Advantage to the sled is u can put all ur other gear in it also and be more nimble on ur feet....the sled is pretty darn inexpensive and a good tool for things other than hunting....may be worth trying both and then make a decision as to which works better....
 
Sled is handy to have for lots of things. Sled also can't go through real thick stuff. Do you need to cross areas that are dense enough in trees/understory or have enough blowdown etc. to severely impede a sled? It's likely gonna be a sometimes this, sometimes that situation.
 
It can be difficult to control sled on side-hill walking

Ive had to drag my sled thru ditches and over berms

Straight up or down is doable but diagonal or side hill dragging was a pain

All of this is with whole ungutted deer so the sled is more prone to tipping than it would be with only quartered meat


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I've only dragged out deer. I recently bought the jet sled but feel going up and down hills would be easier with a pack.
 
I hunt in the ozarks of Arkansas, which aren't as steep as WV, but definitely not flat by any means and I’ve tried a sled and several carts with mixed results. As mentioned above the side hills are what get you. On side hills you’re fighting the sled and carts just turn over easily. If it’s legal in your state, the easiest thing I’ve found is to completely debone and pack out the meat and head only.
 
I've always used a two wheeled cart to haul deer out and depending on the terrain features it made it real easy or frustratingly difficult. Packed out one of my does Thursday morning and decided I'll never use a cart again.
 
thanks everyone (can you tell the shift keys on my laptop started sticking?)....gonna stick with the pack. i'm in thick stuff and on the sides of hills way too much, based upon what everyone has written
 
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Frame pack. Tried sled in hill/mountain country.
One trip through laurel thickets with a sled and you’ll never do it again. Sleds also difficult to control on sides of hills—especially with lots of brush.
 
one thing i want to try is a boat winch with a climbing rope attached, adapter to tie to trees, and chuck a cordless drill into it

you can have a spotter that pushes the deer around while you reel the deer up the hill, saw a guy on youtube do it and it was slow but was zero effort going straight up hills

you tie the long rope to the end of winch cable and that goes around the deer, when you run out of cable, you release the cable and the spotter pulls it all back to himself and wraps the slack around the deer's neck and ties a hitch to keep it there, rinse repeat until you run out of rope and start over further up the hill or are up the hill

sounds like a lot of work, but if you've ever dragged a mature whitetail straight up a hill (small mountains here...what we call hills people in flat areas call mountains) with even two people, then slow but not back breaking is good
 
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If i could only have one, it would be a pack. But I still bring both because there are times when a sled is better such as dragging mostly downhill or when there is deeper snow.
I agree. I always have my sled when there is snow. But I love my cart but I also have lots of trails. Quartering out is less headache than pulling a sled through the mountains by far!
 
thanks everyone (can you tell the shift keys on my laptop started sticking?)....gonna stick with the pack. i'm in thick stuff and on the sides of hills way too much, based upon what everyone has written

Seriously look into deboning. Then you’re down to one trip.
 
I am just north of you in Pa. I have used both. Jet sled when there is snow, minimal side hilling. Pack every other time. I tried to use the sled in a blow down area and it was a mess. Going up and over a bunch of logs was a real pain. They both have their place. Short distance I still just hook up a rope and start dragging.
 
I keep my sled in the back of my truck all season long. You can put other stuff in it when your not using it so practically takes up no room. As inexpensive as they are I would keep one for the situations where it would help.
 
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