Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Capstan winch anyone?

Anyone use a capstan winch for recovering animals in steep country?

Most of where I hunt is steep, nearly road-less so recovery is usually done in several trips with a strong back.

So here's my dilemma. My boys are all grown up and will likely not be around for elk season this year. I'm pushing 50 and although I'm in decent shape I'm not what I once was. Pops is great to be hunting with still but is not going to be carrying anything.

Have any of you used a capstan winch? How'd it go? What lessons did you learn? How long of a pull have you made?

I've watched videos but haven't used one myself. They're neat winches but dang they're expensive. Northern Tool has a 1 ton with a Honda engine for $1500, and that doesn't include rope. A good winch rope isn't cheap, either.

One thing is the weight rating. A winch on a truck is rated for a rolling load up an incline. A 5000 winch will pull a rolling 5000 lb load up something like a 20 degree slope (or maybe is 20%, I'm not sure). It won't deadlift anywhere near 5000 lb.
OTOH, a capstan is rated for exactly what the line pull is. A 2000 lb capstan will deadlift 2000 lb.

Tirfor is an option.

Manual. But unlimited like a capstan.

Guess it would matter how far ya gotta go..........and how much time.

BN,
We have one.
Small, light and unbelievably easy to use.
We pulled one out last fall in a nasty steep area with old logs, brush and live trees all around.
We have 300' of rope. We just chain it to a tree and fire it up. The gear reduction on the 2 stroke does the rest. One fellow walks along with the animal to "start" it over a log and guide it 'tween trees.
It saves lives........:)

WS, Have you ever tried putting the winch by the elk so the winch operator can see the animal? I wondered if it could/would work as a one man show? Where are you at?

No I haven't.
I don't see why you couldn't use a snatch block and go solo if you had to.
I was sure glad we had extra people for last fall to help. It was a very steep slope and plenty of big dead falls to cross.
The stretch in the rope would give a one man show some time to "help" the carcass over the log, but still be by the winch to shut it down if need be. It is not a fast pull, but anyone's standards, but it is a lifesaver.
We are in Clearwater Country.

In rough stuff, you don't want a fast pull or the guy at the elk can't keep up.

They make a version that can be fitted to a chainsaw body if you look up Simpson Winch on the interweb.

Before buying rope from a winch company, do some searching. You can find it cheaper elsewhere.

http://capstanropewinch.com/

I use this style and brand for bear extraction in NC. Some of these bears are 600lbs and it works great. We have 600' of synthetic rope that is soft with a little stretch. One person stays with the machine keeping tension on the rope while the other people guide the animal out of the woods. I would say the speed over flat ground is a walking pace. Probably have $1100 in the thing but its worth it pulling large critters long distances from remote areas. A handheld radio also helps coordinate the pulls.

In a one man show ya need double the rope.

Got to be careful but with slack on the rope,walk back paying out the rope.

Pull on the running end puts tension on the capstan. Away you go. Let go and it stops.

Big Nate, considering the cost of the capstan, rope, and work for one man, wouldn't it be cheaper and more convenient for you to find someone up there in your area who would pack your meat out on horses or mules??

L.W.

Thanks WS.
JBO- that's the exact one I'm thinking of getting. The chainsaw one weighs more and from what i am hearing the chain drive can get caught up in brush pretty easy, and gets the rope oily. Requires mixed gas.

Leanwolf - I have not found anyone that's able to respond soon enough when it's warm out for us bowhunters. The ones I've talked with usually want to come out a day or two later. Even if they were available right when we called, to trailer stock into where we hunt is close to a two hour drive. Not counting loading, unloading, outfitting the mules, the walk in and out, plus who knows what I'm concerned about spoilage and Grizzlies. I don't know what one would charge, but I'd suspect a couple or three elk and the cost of the equipment would be a wash.? I have not personally had a bear problem but talked to a neighbor who's friend walked in to carry a second load out and found one sitting on it.

We've usually been able to bone and haul one out within a a couple three hours or so. Later in the season when it's cool it wouldn't be an issue.

does mule tape work on the capstan winch?

I'd think mule tape would work well. Cost wise it'd be better, but I don't know how it would be with pulleys for rigging.

1/2" rope

Pull tape

You can't fit 700 yards of that 1/2" rope in a duffelbag like you can muletape.....

Capstan winches rely on friction between the rope and drum. I've never handled mule tape so I don't know if it would grab or slip. You'd have to try it to see. It would have a lot of advantages if it would work...price, weight, strength, etc.

We use mule tape for pulling deer up steep hills,
but from what I'm told by friends who have both the tape and
a winch, it wont work with the winch because of slippage.

I wonder if it would work on a regular winch. Since it's so thin, you might be able to get a lot more on the winch than you can rope or cable.

Big Nate, I didn't know you were hunting early stick-'n-string season. I know that the heat can be much higher early on so understand about it taking too long for a packer to get in and bring out your elk meat before it soured.

I thought perhaps you might know a packer nearby your hunting area who could reach your kill on short notice.

I know what you mean about Grizzly bears. I've hunted in Idaho twice in Griz areas and once in Wyoming in a Griz area. I highly respect them.

Good luck on your hunt.

L.W.

I was reading up on mule tape and found that it doesn't work at all on capstan winces. For one, it's lubricated and slips too easy. Next, it apparently tends to loop and you can't get it wound on the winch right.

You can get it up to 6000 lb (if you have a need for 3000'). That can be used on many smaller winches.

We ll we pulled the trigger on the self contained one. Also ordered 600' of 1/2" tugging rope. The minimum breaking strength is #7500 with a working of around #800. Keeping the rope stowed will definitely be the issue. I suppose a big duffel might work but I guess we'll see.

I heard mule tape slips to much and anything nylon will slip enough to get hot and start melting in spots.

I'd just bone it out.

Not being a dick, but I've had the pleasure of killing, and being around allota dead elk, as well as Lewis chainsaw winch, and capstan winch, it's waaaay easier to haul em on your back...

There are a group of guys in Colorado who have devised a system using the ATV rear tire to winch Elk out.

Way to go Nate.
To each his own, but I would rather be back at camp quaffing bull drinks and having a whole hanging elk aging properly, than still in the canyon boning, quartering, bagging, loading, log hurdling, falling and brush beating for the rest of the day.
YMMV

I have a Lewis chainsaw winch. It makes pulling a moose to the closest quad trail or road a breeze. With a 4000 Lbs single line and 8000Lbs double line rating it can also get your truck out of trouble.

Well if anyone is interested, the winch itself was ordered on the 14th and arrived, well packaged today the 19th. They have an order form you could print and mail to them but it was easy and pleasant to just call and I was done with the order in a few minutes.

The spool of rope was listed as a week to ten days delivery. It came over-night.

I'm not sure how I want to deal with the rope itself. I've considered keeping it on the spool, and rolling it off when needed. In the field though, a bag or duffel might be the way to go.

Depending on how big you need, these wind up reels can save a lot of work. How big is your reel of rope? I suspect it's a lot bigger than these will handle.

Why does the rope have to be in 1 piece? A knot probably wouldn't feed through the winch but you could tie 2 pieces together leaving about 6' extra on the one tied to the elk. That would give you enough to get the next piece started. A bowline knot should work great and be easy to untie.

1/2 mile of mule tape on this spool. Pulling the mule tape at right angles through the hitch of the second 4 wheeler, we were able to pull this bull out whole from 800 yards...

Shrap:

What size mule tape is on your reel?

You can greatly extend the range of a capstan merely by tying a length of mule tape on the end of your rope. Before you try it with an elk, make sure you can tie a knot that can be untied in the field.

It is about 3/4 inch wide and 3/32 inch thick. You would never think it would handle the load over that terrain, but we pulled out 2 elk that day with it...