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How do you get your deer out. What kind of terrain?

Depending on where I’m hunting if I’m in a marsh where I can get the mud boat in I just drag it where I can get the boat to if I’m where there’s no way to get the boat in sled is the answer for me. Option two is grab some buddies and split the meat for help with the drag.
 
I would imagine if hunters worked to combine data, knowledge, and responsibility, we could get to a place where everyone can process deer where they die.

The two downsides to doing it are the concern for disease, and aesthetics - you don't want to see carcasses everywhere when you're hunting.

On disease, it's pretty simple. Humans created the breeding ground for all deer diseases. Not that they didn't exist already. Just that we artificially created overpopulation in the virus or bacteria's eye, with baiting, fencing in deer to breed, take urine, vehicular transport, or high fence. If you kill a deer and it dies near a water source, or in it, this is pretty much the only kind that would be better served to move. Besides that, in every case, it can be shown pretty easily that chopping up a deer where it dies is always less impactful on the population when it comes to disease. How can I say that? Deer die all the time all over wild places, and diseases don't run rampant. If you kill a deer, "eat it where it lays". Unless of course, that's in a watering source.

On aesthetics, I personally have no issue seeing a gut pile or carcass in the woods. It seems awfully hypocritical to go in the woods to kill things, and be offended by seeing dead things. Bring deer into urban areas, processing, and dumping the waste also creates an externality that I don't have to deal with directly, and that's pretty crappy too. On top of generating more risk of disease, transporting an animal into my environment, so that I can then dump the waste into a place where it is far less likely to decompose with little effect, seems silly.

One thing that drives me insane, is these dynamics actually makes disease worse. How? People don't want to cart a bloody dead carcass back to their garage or camp. So what do they do? They process, and then dump guts, or carcasses off of bridges, ditches, gullies, etc. No one likes to haul stuff to high ground - we lazily dump downhill. What happens then? It puts viruses and bacteria in the water sources that spread them. All of this can be avoided by doing things a lot more like they are done naturally. But that requires knowledge, data, and responsibility. We have two of the three. It requires us to execute based on the things we know, and to hold to account those making the rules.

Sorry, I'm done. What I meant to say, is that if hunters are willing to work together, we can push legislative bodies to reckon with the science, and make rules that make sense. But it won't happen so long as our shallower tastes and preferences win. We know that transporting animals and putting animals in one spot is what causes all of these problems. We know that leaving a carcass where it is, is far less impactful on nature (with lone exception of in/near a water source). I am for packing out animal bits I intend to consume, and leaving the rest. I hate deer carts, sleds, atvs, all of the jazz. For the reason above, and because they all have shortcomings. Packing meat on my back is as old as time. I'm doing it regardless of terrain. And I'm willing to put time/resources into changing rules so that we all can do it everywhere we hunt.
 
I would imagine if hunters worked to combine data, knowledge, and responsibility, we could get to a place where everyone can process deer where they die.

The two downsides to doing it are the concern for disease, and aesthetics - you don't want to see carcasses everywhere when you're hunting.

On disease, it's pretty simple. Humans created the breeding ground for all deer diseases. Not that they didn't exist already. Just that we artificially created overpopulation in the virus or bacteria's eye, with baiting, fencing in deer to breed, take urine, vehicular transport, or high fence. If you kill a deer and it dies near a water source, or in it, this is pretty much the only kind that would be better served to move. Besides that, in every case, it can be shown pretty easily that chopping up a deer where it dies is always less impactful on the population when it comes to disease. How can I say that? Deer die all the time all over wild places, and diseases don't run rampant. If you kill a deer, "eat it where it lays". Unless of course, that's in a watering source.

On aesthetics, I personally have no issue seeing a gut pile or carcass in the woods. It seems awfully hypocritical to go in the woods to kill things, and be offended by seeing dead things. Bring deer into urban areas, processing, and dumping the waste also creates an externality that I don't have to deal with directly, and that's pretty crappy too. On top of generating more risk of disease, transporting an animal into my environment, so that I can then dump the waste into a place where it is far less likely to decompose with little effect, seems silly.

One thing that drives me insane, is these dynamics actually makes disease worse. How? People don't want to cart a bloody dead carcass back to their garage or camp. So what do they do? They process, and then dump guts, or carcasses off of bridges, ditches, gullies, etc. No one likes to haul stuff to high ground - we lazily dump downhill. What happens then? It puts viruses and bacteria in the water sources that spread them. All of this can be avoided by doing things a lot more like they are done naturally. But that requires knowledge, data, and responsibility. We have two of the three. It requires us to execute based on the things we know, and to hold to account those making the rules.

Sorry, I'm done. What I meant to say, is that if hunters are willing to work together, we can push legislative bodies to reckon with the science, and make rules that make sense. But it won't happen so long as our shallower tastes and preferences win. We know that transporting animals and putting animals in one spot is what causes all of these problems. We know that leaving a carcass where it is, is far less impactful on nature (with lone exception of in/near a water source). I am for packing out animal bits I intend to consume, and leaving the rest. I hate deer carts, sleds, atvs, all of the jazz. For the reason above, and because they all have shortcomings. Packing meat on my back is as old as time. I'm doing it regardless of terrain. And I'm willing to put time/resources into changing rules so that we all can do it everywhere we hunt.
Wish we could pack out. We have to check in a full field dressed carcass. They pull a tooth to age as well. I"ve dragged deer for literally 6 hours off the top of a mountain over ridges and talus-field type terrain...its miserable.
 
Wish we could pack out. We have to check in a full field dressed carcass. They pull a tooth to age as well. I"ve dragged deer for literally 6 hours off the top of a mountain over ridges and talus-field type terrain...its miserable.

theres a formula to get full weight of a deer +-10% from ham measurements. I can pop a tooth out. I can provide cel pictures for overall health and condition of deer.

all easily solved. Just gotta coalesce with your fellow hunters and start working on it
 
Wish we could pack out. We have to check in a full field dressed carcass. They pull a tooth to age as well. I"ve dragged deer for literally 6 hours off the top of a mountain over ridges and talus-field type terrain...its miserable.
I get the DNR wanting info, but it seems like you're doing their work for them. The only places I've hunted in alabama that required a weigh in either allow ATVs for retrieval or actually have DNR guys to assist with extraction.
 
I would imagine if hunters worked to combine data, knowledge, and responsibility, we could get to a place where everyone can process deer where they die.

The two downsides to doing it are the concern for disease, and aesthetics - you don't want to see carcasses everywhere when you're hunting.

On disease, it's pretty simple. Humans created the breeding ground for all deer diseases. Not that they didn't exist already. Just that we artificially created overpopulation in the virus or bacteria's eye, with baiting, fencing in deer to breed, take urine, vehicular transport, or high fence. If you kill a deer and it dies near a water source, or in it, this is pretty much the only kind that would be better served to move. Besides that, in every case, it can be shown pretty easily that chopping up a deer where it dies is always less impactful on the population when it comes to disease. How can I say that? Deer die all the time all over wild places, and diseases don't run rampant. If you kill a deer, "eat it where it lays". Unless of course, that's in a watering source.

On aesthetics, I personally have no issue seeing a gut pile or carcass in the woods. It seems awfully hypocritical to go in the woods to kill things, and be offended by seeing dead things. Bring deer into urban areas, processing, and dumping the waste also creates an externality that I don't have to deal with directly, and that's pretty crappy too. On top of generating more risk of disease, transporting an animal into my environment, so that I can then dump the waste into a place where it is far less likely to decompose with little effect, seems silly.

One thing that drives me insane, is these dynamics actually makes disease worse. How? People don't want to cart a bloody dead carcass back to their garage or camp. So what do they do? They process, and then dump guts, or carcasses off of bridges, ditches, gullies, etc. No one likes to haul stuff to high ground - we lazily dump downhill. What happens then? It puts viruses and bacteria in the water sources that spread them. All of this can be avoided by doing things a lot more like they are done naturally. But that requires knowledge, data, and responsibility. We have two of the three. It requires us to execute based on the things we know, and to hold to account those making the rules.

Sorry, I'm done. What I meant to say, is that if hunters are willing to work together, we can push legislative bodies to reckon with the science, and make rules that make sense. But it won't happen so long as our shallower tastes and preferences win. We know that transporting animals and putting animals in one spot is what causes all of these problems. We know that leaving a carcass where it is, is far less impactful on nature (with lone exception of in/near a water source). I am for packing out animal bits I intend to consume, and leaving the rest. I hate deer carts, sleds, atvs, all of the jazz. For the reason above, and because they all have shortcomings. Packing meat on my back is as old as time. I'm doing it regardless of terrain. And I'm willing to put time/resources into changing rules so that we all can do it everywhere we hunt.

Get out of here with that reason and sense making!!!! lol

I think a lot of the Eastern laws of requiring the animal to come out whole just come from the "we've always done it that way" mentality so when we've always done something that way we gotta keep doing it that way and make up all sorts of justifications to not improve because change is scary. Same with just about any modernization of hunting laws, folks come out of the woodwork to cry about how it's going to be the end of hunting, doesn't matter if a state over people have been doing whatever the proposed idea is since the dawn of time.
 
Just started using a cabela's big game cart last season. its huge and it is awesome! big wheels and a wide wheelbase equal less issues in crappy terrain. we hunt mountains and rocky terrain only. its a big difference. for small-medium sized does we just dress and carry em out tied to stick or drag em. 200lb bucks...no friggin way man.

if we have to cross water we pack out but i can see where a sled would be clutch.
 
I've dragged and help drag hundreds of deer out of some ridiculous places.That's just the way it's done in Pa for some reason.About 4 years ago,my son and I shot doe about 5 minutes apart on the last evening of archery season.He thought his hit was good but we couldn't find his arrow so we came back the next morning.All night long the thought of dragging two big doe out of that area weighed on me so I decided to pack them out.My 12 year old and I went in with two Walmart packs,found the doe I shot and quartered her up with the hide on.We ended up finding his pretty easily and did the same thing.This was a remote spot with a couple of steep ravines that would have been a nightmare to get one deer out of,let alone two.It took me less than 15 minutes per deer to cut up and we just walked those deer out.We got back to the truck and I just laughed at all the deer I dragged out over the years.I haven't dragged one out since.Lasy year,son son killed a doe in a really bad spot during our rifle season.We tagged it and decided to come back and back her out later.A couple hours later,he ended up killing a buck about 1/2 mile away.We took care of the buck and walked back to pack his doe out.I carried his rifle and he carried the deer.Dragging deer just makes no sense.
 

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Last deer I drug was a small doe about 100 yards up a slight incline and I vowed I would never do that again if I could avoid it lol
 
I gots this sled from rural king works good, I hunt in southeast Ohio hills.
 
View attachment 30985
I built this to haul my meat out. Spare parts, junk mowers, and E-bay. I have been updating it every year since about 1998 and finally happy with it.

We’ve just been introduced to the boss on the final level of “no one makes a thing to do it my way, hold my beer”...

All the rest of you DIY guys have been put on notice. Step your game up boys!
 
We’ve just been introduced to the boss on the final level of “no one makes a thing to do it my way, hold my beer”...

All the rest of you DIY guys have been put on notice. Step your game up boys!
Believe me when I say I've tried it all and the sleds are the best if you don't have flat, solid ground. Age makes you seek easier ways to accomplish your tasks.:)
 
I gut it, yank it down the trail, and try not to die of a heat stroke in 90 degree temps. If it's real bad, I walk up the trail about 150 yards drop my gear, drag the deer up to that point and repeat.
 
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