You want to hear something silly?

[RC]

There are a lot of things that dictate how you do this. Where the deer is shot may dictate if you go gutless or standard how far of a pack out and what kind of terrain. May be better off hanging the meat and coming back in daylight or if it's 70 yards down to the road drag it whole, down to take care of it in the headlights. How big he is and how steep it is . It is way more likely to get hurt trying to take a big load out in the dark especially by yourself. Also posting for help on here is liable to get a good response I know I would drive anywhere in snohomish county or south skagit to help a fellow member out of a jam especially getting them out safely.

I'll likely be about 5 miles in (if I go back to the spot I've been going to the last few years) so it'll be a pack out of some cut debris up to a fire road and then miles of fire roads back out.
I have a mountain bike but I find it really hard to ride a bike with a ton of weight hanging off my back - it constantly pulls me backwards and it's very tiring using my arms and core to counter-balance that.

If you're able to drag the deer to the fire road, why not just ride it out on the bike?  Body cavity on the bike seat, front legs zip tied to the front forks and back legs zip tied to the back forks, then hop on and go.  Any sort of uphill can be a little challenging, but riding out on the flat or downhill is pretty easy. 

[Bullkllr]

There are a lot of things that dictate how you do this. Where the deer is shot may dictate if you go gutless or standard how far of a pack out and what kind of terrain. May be better off hanging the meat and coming back in daylight or if it's 70 yards down to the road drag it whole, down to take care of it in the headlights. How big he is and how steep it is . It is way more likely to get hurt trying to take a big load out in the dark especially by yourself. Also posting for help on here is liable to get a good response I know I would drive anywhere in snohomish county or south skagit to help a fellow member out of a jam especially getting them out safely.

I'll likely be about 5 miles in (if I go back to the spot I've been going to the last few years) so it'll be a pack out of some cut debris up to a fire road and then miles of fire roads back out.
I have a mountain bike but I find it really hard to ride a bike with a ton of weight hanging off my back - it constantly pulls me backwards and it's very tiring using my arms and core to counter-balance that.

If you're able to drag the deer to the fire road, why not just ride it out on the bike?  Body cavity on the bike seat, front legs zip tied to the front forks and back legs zip tied to the back forks, then hop on and go.  Any sort of uphill can be a little challenging, but riding out on the flat or downhill is pretty easy.

Done exactly that several times. Great way to get a deer out even if you end up pushing. I'll bring a bike (or have one available) even where I'd prefer to be on foot just for that reason. Bring a plastic bag to put over the seat.

[mcrawfordaf]

There are a lot of things that dictate how you do this. Where the deer is shot may dictate if you go gutless or standard how far of a pack out and what kind of terrain. May be better off hanging the meat and coming back in daylight or if it's 70 yards down to the road drag it whole, down to take care of it in the headlights. How big he is and how steep it is . It is way more likely to get hurt trying to take a big load out in the dark especially by yourself. Also posting for help on here is liable to get a good response I know I would drive anywhere in snohomish county or south skagit to help a fellow member out of a jam especially getting them out safely.

I'll likely be about 5 miles in (if I go back to the spot I've been going to the last few years) so it'll be a pack out of some cut debris up to a fire road and then miles of fire roads back out.
I have a mountain bike but I find it really hard to ride a bike with a ton of weight hanging off my back - it constantly pulls me backwards and it's very tiring using my arms and core to counter-balance that.

If you're able to drag the deer to the fire road, why not just ride it out on the bike?  Body cavity on the bike seat, front legs zip tied to the front forks and back legs zip tied to the back forks, then hop on and go.  Any sort of uphill can be a little challenging, but riding out on the flat or downhill is pretty easy.

Done exactly that several times. Great way to get a deer out even if you end up pushing. I'll bring a bike (or have one available) even where I'd prefer to be on foot just for that reason. Bring a plastic bag to put over the seat.

Don’t be dumb like me and forget to wash your bike before putting it in the garage corner for the season…

[ljsommer]

I've got to ask: once the deer is on the bike, with the body cavity resting on the bike seat...did you actually try to throw a leg over and ride the bike?!? If so doesn't it just look like you're riding a flying deer corpse?!

[Sundance]

Good headlamp and go slow. I figure quartering an animal in the dark solo adds 30-40% more time to the task for me. I’ve had coyotes and black bear stumble up on me while processing in the dark, so I’ve taken to playing music on my phone and singing along while cutting in the dark. I also carry a reusable glow light to hang on my kill site and will hang my sweaty tee shirt, hat, face mask next to the meat to spread my scent.

[RC]

I've got to ask: once the deer is on the bike, with the body cavity resting on the bike seat...did you actually try to throw a leg over and ride the bike?!? If so doesn't it just look like you're riding a flying deer corpse?!

Of course!  But yes, a bit of an interesting look, but I don't care.  In addition to putting a grocery bag over the seat, make sure you have a sturdy book rack.  If it's a bigger deer, the back end will hang off and drag on the back tire.  Learned that the hard way my first time using this method 20+ years ago. 

Hardest part is getting the deer off the ground once it's attached to the bike.  If you're by yourself, you just have to make sure the tires are pushed up against something solid, otherwise you'll never get it off the ground.

[pianoman9701]

I feel like that about shooting elk at last light, especially on my solo trips.

[Bullkllr]

I've got to ask: once the deer is on the bike, with the body cavity resting on the bike seat...did you actually try to throw a leg over and ride the bike?!? If so doesn't it just look like you're riding a flying deer corpse?!

Of course!  But yes, a bit of an interesting look, but I don't care.  In addition to putting a grocery bag over the seat, make sure you have a sturdy book rack.  If it's a bigger deer, the back end will hang off and drag on the back tire.  Learned that the hard way my first time using this method 20+ years ago. 

Hardest part is getting the deer off the ground once it's attached to the bike.  If you're by yourself, you just have to make sure the tires are pushed up against something solid, otherwise you'll never get it off the ground.

The 'ride' for me is mostly coasting on the downhills while standing on the pedals, pedaling some.

[tgomez]

I am a 40 year old, self-confident guy, physically fit and have never struggled with anxiety or fear of any kind. I am also a very amateur hunter with only one deer under my belt and it was a morning deer so I got to process him in the daylight.

You know what makes me nervous? Shooting a deer at last light and then trying to figure out how to process that deer in the pitch black with only a headlamp, on a slope (because of course it will be on a slope). I say "figure out how" because it's been so many years since my last deer that I think I'll be starting all over again.
Don't get me wrong, I'll take that shot and I'll figure it out but I don't relish trying to get this done by myself in pitch black.

Now: time to get out there and find that deer.

Get a good pack and watch Randy Newberg's Gutless Method video. Watch it a few times, take some notes.

[dilleytech]

That reminds me...I should throw a 5-hour-energy into my pack for just this sort of situation....

I have never felt tired working on an animal
Late into the night. I don’t think you need to worry about falling asleep you will have to Much adrenaline.

[tvandy45]

I echo this statement 100% - it always seems for me at least that the starts align right at last light after i've hunted all day and expended most of my energy/water. Then after breaking down the animal solo I'm fully out before even starting the pack back. I started putting liquid IVs in my hydration pack as well as being more serious about my hydration the day before heading out.

Water is what I am always in need of when processing at night is water.

Long day hunting, normally have exhausted my water supply for the day and now my day just got longer. Bending over, kneeling down, always make me cramp up if not while processing while hiking out with the heavy pack.

[Molon5labe]

I've quartered up and packed out a handful of deer and a handful of bear, solo, and so far everytime feels like the first time. Doesn't hurt to watch a youtube video or two. I just watched one yesterday. Sometimes you can still learn a thing or two just by watching someone else's method.

[brokentrail]

There are a lot of things that dictate how you do this. Where the deer is shot may dictate if you go gutless or standard how far of a pack out and what kind of terrain. May be better off hanging the meat and coming back in daylight or if it's 70 yards down to the road drag it whole, down to take care of it in the headlights. How big he is and how steep it is . It is way more likely to get hurt trying to take a big load out in the dark especially by yourself. Also posting for help on here is liable to get a good response I know I would drive anywhere in snohomish county or south skagit to help a fellow member out of a jam especially getting them out safely.

I'll likely be about 5 miles in (if I go back to the spot I've been going to the last few years) so it'll be a pack out of some cut debris up to a fire road and then miles of fire roads back out.
I have a mountain bike but I find it really hard to ride a bike with a ton of weight hanging off my back - it constantly pulls me backwards and it's very tiring using my arms and core to counter-balance that.

If you're able to drag the deer to the fire road, why not just ride it out on the bike?  Body cavity on the bike seat, front legs zip tied to the front forks and back legs zip tied to the back forks, then hop on and go.  Any sort of uphill can be a little challenging, but riding out on the flat or downhill is pretty easy.

Done exactly that several times. Great way to get a deer out even if you end up pushing. I'll bring a bike (or have one available) even where I'd prefer to be on foot just for that reason. Bring a plastic bag to put over the seat.

I have used this method on a bunch of deer and taught my boys to do the same.  I usually end up pushing it, and I usually zip tie the back legs to the frame to keep them from dragging,  but it sure beats trying to drag it.  Then, I went to a small pull behind bike trailer, which works out really good, both for bringing stuff with me that I don't specifically want to carry on my back as well as getting a deer out.  I am usually miles behind a locked gate and I try and hunt daylight until dark, so having a few extra supplies never hurts.  Granted, this method means you can get the deer to the road if you want to bring it out whole.  Last year, I couldn't get mine to a road, was too steep, so I used the gutless method and quartered him, hauled the game bags to the road and then rode them in the trailer.