Dragging deer sucks. I hunt uphill and as close to a vehicular access point as possible! Lol...as far as techniques go....nothing compares to the brutal method of grabbing the antlers and yarding the bastard out. Or, if you don't want to damage the antlers, or if it's a doe....just rig up a 3-foot hardwood branch and paracord the animal so it's front hooves are behind it's ears. Tuck a plastic sled under it (or not) and go go go go (break) go go go (break) go (wtf) go go go (this sucks) go go go go go (seriously, I need an atv) go go go (who do I know that has one) go go go (I'm gonna buy one) go go go (I need a beer) go go (maybe I should take the loins and run) go go (this is the longest day if my life) go go (finally.....there's the truck.)

The best thing is one of those folding carts, then you can wheel barrow them out.

drug my first deer evar out last weekend, about 250 yards.  was only about 90lbs, definitely was no fun.  im a small guy (5 8 180)  I got to rig up something to strap my crossbow to my backpackable tree stand and maybe some type of collapsable game cart to stack on there are well or carry.  or strap the gamecart to the back and carry the bow.  or just get a game cart and try to wheel everything in on that.

or something

If you don't mind me asking. where abouts? WMA land?

Damn that sounds familiar.

Only problem with the last big one I took was that an ATV would not have helped unless it had two winches on it.  I sure know how to pick a spot to shoot a big buck (next to impossible to get it out)....

Saturday: opening day last week. Doe cull.  My hunting partner and I killed 2 doe at the same time. His was a yearling mine was a  full adult. 55lb gutted/ 85 lb gutted. Caddo National  grassland we were 2.4 miles in. Tied a tow line around the head after tying the rear legs closed.

That was an exhausting drag. 2 qts of water sweated out. 75 degree day. My back still aches.

Most of it was a grass drag. That was easy. I tied onto my back pack handle. Standing, my line pulled the head and neck off the ground. Towing it on flat ground was easiest. Stopped alot for air and water. I could lean forward and let my falling weight pull the animal. Up hill was a bitch. Pic incoming.

Before. Day started at 32 degrees. Day ended at 74. I was dressed too warm to be draging .


During- IE Sweating my ass off


You see the bandaids ?
He cut those fingers trying to learn to gut. I had to gut both of them.
His first deer. His first hunt. Ever.

He had the right idea. Layers....

My sons and I hunt on family property, I am mid 60s and retired.  When my sons are hunting, no problem, pair of ATVs and plenty of help getting deer out to vehicle.
More often than not I am on the property alone with no ATV.  Dragging a deer the 3/4 mile or so is not in the cards for me, back surgery, open heart surgery, etc...

Fortunately one side of our property is bordered by interstate 20.  A main travel corridor is next to the interstate and I limit myself to hunting that area when by myself.
From where I hunt, it is a downhill drag to the fence, it so happens there is a washout under that fence.  I keep a hefty length of rope in my pack making it easier.

After the drag I leave the deer in a somewhat concealed spot and walk back to the truck, drive to the interstate, drag it to the truck and use the rope to get its head up
over the edge of tailgate and hoist it up.  Once I was having trouble getting the deer up in the truck and another hunter stopped and helped me.  People around here do that
sort of thing.

The point of all this, planning ahead of time goes a long way for us old farts...

Last critter I helped move and load in a truck was a mature cow elk.

I'm hunting Coues whitetail this year.  I *think* it'll be easier than that elk was.  :D

Good luck, y'all.  No heart attacks!

I use "clinkity clank."  That's what I call my deer cart as that is the sound it makes going up and down hills in the woods.  I don't even bother trying to drag.  I just go get clinkity clank and come back.  Then wheel the sucker out.  Only problem is when the deer is really heavy and you have to cross mud and fallen over trees.  That kind of sucks.  Still WAY better than dragging.

Look up your state's laws in regards to what is required for evience of sex.  For example, here in NV, the scalp (inlcuding ears, and all the way to the base of the muzzle), and antlers or horns is all that is required, because we have antlered, antlerless, horns longer, or horns shorter than the ears hunts.  THAT is the evidence of sex.  We also have very clear definitions of wanton waste of game, and what meat must be taken.  If evidence of sex is required, such as the vulva or penis sheath, its very easy to leave a portion of that attached to a single quarter.   Look up the gutless method of field dressing deer on youtube.  An entire deer should be able to be packed out by one perosn.  Make sure you have some orange cloth or something to cover the antlers with and walk out.  Really not that difficult.  I did an entire elk by myself last year, about 1/2 mile from the vehicle, 5 trips in 5 hours from the time I pulled the trigger.

Last years deer drag was just under 2 miles. This year I bought one of those backpackable game carts!

Ive carried nebraska mule deer on my shoulders a couple of miles before.  Not fun, but I'm devoted.  The joys of public land.  I find it easier than dragging through, less friction to overcome.

Wonder when they'll have a combo cart treestand dealio thats either backpackable orwheelable

I discovered a method that worked out pretty good for me this year.  A guy only needs rope and a sturdy branch a foot or two long.  Tie rope to the deer's head/antlers and the other end to the branch.  I used about 5 feet of rope between the two.  Straddle the rope and place the branch on your upper thighs, being sure the leave enough clearance for the family jewels.  Then you just walk out with the branch moving along with your thighs.  Instead of putting strain on your arms and tweaking your back you pretty much keep the work isolated to your lower half, which I prefer.

I use a "Deer Retrieval" kit I made and pulley it up the steep hill.  

You strap a pulley around an anchor tree, a pulley on the deer's antlers.

You tie the rope to the anchor tree, then slip it through the pulley on the deer's antlers, then take go up and put it through the anchor tree pulley.  As you walk down the hill with the rope, the deer goes up the hill with a 25-50% let off.  It still is a lot of work, but it's the only way to get them out of the hollow I hunt.  You mount the pulleys and rope to tie down straps and just move up in 30 foot increments at a time.  It takes me about 2.5 hours to take the deer up 4 flats.

Bump for the update, thanks guys

That deer might have weighed 70 lbs field dressed.  Good job!