Securing a Deer to Cart...Help!

[kellama2001]

So this year, I had my first successful solo hunt.  While it was rewarding to know that I am capable of doing it by myself, I was frustrated with how much trouble I had securing my deer to the cart.  The cart came with snap pins to secure the side arms, but they were useless over the rocky, off-camber terrain.  They kept opening up under pressure every time the cart tipped to the side.  I had to use zip-ties to hold the arms on, and even they kept breaking!  I'm thinking of replacing the snap pins with some bridge pins unless someone has a better suggestion.  The most frustrating part though, was how to effectively strap the deer to the cart!  I had the two straps the cart came with, plus two ratchet straps and some rope.  I wasn't able to get any of these options tight enough to keep the deer from moving excessively when jostling over the rough ground.  There just aren't any good anchor points on the cart, and I'm thinking of welding some D rings on.  Does anyone have any tips, tricks or suggestions to make next season a little easier?  Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

More rachett straps.

[Timberstalker]

Ratchet straps & Mule Tape. 

[h2ofowlr]

More ratchet straps as mentioned and mule tape.  Works great.  Hook them to the cross bars which your deer is on versus side bars.  You can strap it tighter to contain movement better.  Don't use bungee cords if you are trying to control movement.

[Encore 280]

Here's mine from a few years ago. I'm glad I had help getting him out of a clear cut. I wanted to save the hide and tan it so we had to keep it out of the spokes and tires but we made. That's the hide in my avatar under the Encores.

[Rainier10]

I would contact Sam at Bullpacs.  Their packs have hooks on the sides of them that I use paracord to strap my animals down with.  I think they are pop riveted on.  You could get some of those from him and mount them on the sides of the cart every 12".  Then strap a bunch of paracord on the cart when you go in empty, take the cord off, put the deer on and then strap it down with the paracord.

[Alchase]

Para cord works great as well, as shown. Tie the head down, you can also cut a hole behind the ligaments in the legs and tie or strap those down as well.
I keep two 6 foot ratchet straps attached to my cart and para cord in my pack always.

[sagewalker]

not sure if this is or isn't an option, if it is an option and you are capable to do so. Just quarter it up and bring it out with you? 

[wannabhntr]

Shoot smaller deer

[Damnimissed]

Put the cross bars on the inside of the frame.

[Stein]

not sure if this is or isn't an option, if it is an option and you are capable to do so. Just quarter it up and bring it out with you? 

That's what I do with the same cart the OP has. 

[300rum]

Drill a few holes in steel and use bungees. 

[kellama2001]

Awesome, thank you all for the help.  Will definitely be putting your ideas to good use!

Shoot smaller deer

Hard to get much smaller and still be legal! 

not sure if this is or isn't an option, if it is an option and you are capable to do so. Just quarter it up and bring it out with you? 

Probably would have done this, but the truck was less than a mile away.  It seemed faster to just 'tough it out', especially as warm as it was getting

[YellowDog]

Your bungie cord (which I would never use for this application) are hooked into the clips that are intended to hold the side rails onto the mail frame of the cart. Those clips are not intended as an anchor point for any kind of tie down.  It doesn't take much pressure to pull the clip over the pin which would cause the card to disassemble. 

I have the same cart and haven't really had any problem securing deer or antelope to it with a nice long piece of 550 cord.  Never use a bungie cord and don't run any kind of rope or cord through the clips that are holding the side rails on, that is asking for it to fail.   

[JJB11B]

So this year, I had my first successful solo hunt.  While it was rewarding to know that I am capable of doing it by myself, I was frustrated with how much trouble I had securing my deer to the cart.  The cart came with snap pins to secure the side arms, but they were useless over the rocky, off-camber terrain.  They kept opening up under pressure every time the cart tipped to the side.  I had to use zip-ties to hold the arms on, and even they kept breaking!  I'm thinking of replacing the snap pins with some bridge pins unless someone has a better suggestion.  The most frustrating part though, was how to effectively strap the deer to the cart!  I had the two straps the cart came with, plus two ratchet straps and some rope.  I wasn't able to get any of these options tight enough to keep the deer from moving excessively when jostling over the rough ground.  There just aren't any good anchor points on the cart, and I'm thinking of welding some D rings on.  Does anyone have any tips, tricks or suggestions to make next season a little easier?  Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

looks like he's gonna have one hell of a sore back when he wakes up

[chester]

I have the same cart and replaced all the pins they give you with bolts washer and wing nuts , keeps everything from rattling apart. Also using about 4 tie downs instead of bungees


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[rut72]

I have the same cart and for the first two years it was the cause of some major frustrations due to the exact same reasons you stated. I finally decided to forget about having a collapsible cart and just welded the pins in place. Best thing ever! No more rattling or losing pins in the brush. Also, cut all four legs off at the knees, put it in a heavy duty game bag and ratchet strap and rope the heck out of it. 

[Chukarhead]

Heavy solid rubber tarp straps--they're the only way to go to secure elk quarters or whole deer to pack boards, I don't know why it would be different to this cart.  Buy some with hooks large enough to go over the tubing at joints. 

[Firedogg]

 I would seriuosly look at some game bags and break the deer down a bit more. Does two things... 1. Easier to secure good game bags that have grommets on them 2. Helps cool and keep the meat clean.

[Bean Counter]

^ What he said. I've used my game cart a few times but the deer/elk have always been in quarters and just tied down with either twine or bungee cords. Who wants to push all that weight, anyway?

[kellama2001]

Thank you all again for all the help, there's some really good advice on here that I plan to utilize.  To clear up the bungee issue, i actually found that in the field when I was dragging the cart up to him, so I just threw it across the neck to bring it back (my grandpa would be proud...never let a free bungee go to waste  ), it wasn't actually what I brought with me for strapping the deer down.   You guys have given me some great ideas for next time...just wish it wasn't so long to wait!  Thanks again!

So this year, I had my first successful solo hunt.  While it was rewarding to know that I am capable of doing it by myself, I was frustrated with how much trouble I had securing my deer to the cart.  The cart came with snap pins to secure the side arms, but they were useless over the rocky, off-camber terrain.  They kept opening up under pressure every time the cart tipped to the side.  I had to use zip-ties to hold the arms on, and even they kept breaking!  I'm thinking of replacing the snap pins with some bridge pins unless someone has a better suggestion.  The most frustrating part though, was how to effectively strap the deer to the cart!  I had the two straps the cart came with, plus two ratchet straps and some rope.  I wasn't able to get any of these options tight enough to keep the deer from moving excessively when jostling over the rough ground.  There just aren't any good anchor points on the cart, and I'm thinking of welding some D rings on.  Does anyone have any tips, tricks or suggestions to make next season a little easier?  Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

looks like he's gonna have one hell of a sore back when he wakes up

And yes, I agree...why can't they design a more ergonomic deer cart so the carcass can be more comfy on their final ride?