Free: Contests & Raffles.
Quote from: savagehunter on October 23, 2023, 12:16:37 PMThere 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.
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.
Quote from: ljsommer on October 23, 2023, 12:42:09 PMQuote from: savagehunter on October 23, 2023, 12:16:37 PMThere 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.
Quote from: RC on October 23, 2023, 01:38:28 PMQuote from: ljsommer on October 23, 2023, 12:42:09 PMQuote from: savagehunter on October 23, 2023, 12:16:37 PMThere 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'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?!
Quote from: ljsommer on October 23, 2023, 03:24:59 PMI'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.
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.
That reminds me...I should throw a 5-hour-energy into my pack for just this sort of situation....
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.