You can make this for free. I use a chunk of rope, loop one end then slide a 12 inch piece of garden hose onto the rope then loop the other end. you loop one end around the antlers or the head on a doe and the other around the front legs. Works pretty good and generally costs nothing as most people have a chunk of rope and some garden hose laying around! I sling turkey out with mine also.
My teenagers are now grown and the last one left home today, so that option is no longer valid for me. That being said, "dragging" a deer feels like it's going to literally kill me, so last month I picked up a Hawk Crawler deer cart after reading many positive reviews. It's obviously not something that you can slip into your backpack, but I must say that it is AWESOME! On Friday I shot a huge 8-point (https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?449897-Shotgun-opener-big-8!) and after strapping the cart to it and flipping it over onto its wheels I was truly impressed. With him weighing 225-240 lbs I never could have dragged him out by myself, but I'm am pleased to say that I pulled it the entire way out of the woods without any help. Even when traversing a ravine and up a hill. https://www.amazon.com/Hawk-Crawler-Game-Cart-Black/dp/B01D93036U
I have one of those, purchased at a big discount. It’s almost a great cart, however, it suffers from a couple of shortcomings, easily fixed, but annoying. Maybe they’ve addressed this since I got mine, but here goes…..
First, the knobs that lock the upper handle lack the strength to really hold the sections together. I added hose clamps to re-enforce them. Second, the lower section has holes for clevis pins (apparently anyway) but no pins came with the cart, and when I used it Monday, that section kept folding up and throwing the balance off, forcing me to hold my end down or up as needed, in addition to pulling it. First thing I did yesterday morning was to rummage through my “ tractor parts” coffee can for a couple of clevis pins and take care of that problem. I also added some mongo cable ties around the upper handle sections to further strengthen that. Folding it up now would be a chore, but I can just throw it in the truck as-is.
NOW it’s a great cart. It’s been cabled to a tree on my WMA for two seasons, and will probably go back next year. Meanwhile it’ll be hauling heavy crap around my yard. I am impressed with how it held up for two years in the woods. I toted a lightweight bike pump in to top off the tires, one of which needs a new valve core. A little mouse chewed one of the tube caps a bit, but otherwise it’s undamaged.
Jet Sled is the best thing I have found to drag deer with. Don't waste your time with the dinky low wall kids sleds. The Jet Sled has something like a 12 inch depth so once the deer is in there, it will not fall out. Also works great because they are rigged enough that loading the entire deer into a truck after out of the woods you can put one side up and then lift/push the rest by yourself. They ride over logs, rocks, mud, snow, you name it. Well worth the $50 or so.
I bought the bigger one from Sportsmans Guide. Came with the runners, which should make it last longer. So far, mine’s just been used in the yard for hauling leaves, bags of dirt and mulch, etc. Holds a lot more than my wheelbarrow, and I can tow it behind the Cub Cadet. I have a 4-gallon electric sprayer, and it’s a load for an old fat man, but in the jet sled it’s a snap.
That narrow sled in Gargoyle's post looks a lot like the heavy fiberglass one that I use. Deer are narrow and long and those wider Jet Sleds are wider than I like in a thick woods. That narrow sled pulled by a Rokon has solved any dragging issue for me. A specialized kit to be sure, but avoiding a coronary event is worth it to me. Every year I notice that I got another year older.
My other auto is a .45
The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory
If it’s more than a few hundred yards and I’m by myself, I prefer to use the gutless method and quarter. Fortunately, haven’t had to deal with that in several years.
if I ha ve to drag one more than a short distance to a trail where I can get an ATV it's getting quartered and hauled out on my pack. that dragging for a couple miles sounds much more romantic in theory than practice
The government plans these shootings by targeting kids from kindergarten that the government thinks they can control with drugs until the appropriate time--DerbyDude
Whatever. Tell the oompa loompa's hey for me. [/quote]. LtPPowell
Haha! I keep a 4 wheeler at my land in a hanger. I use it once or twice a year. Normally when I do doe killings, I do it in a field or spot where I can pull up to it.
Unless there is snow or grass, I put them in a backpack. Much easier on the body. I've got an internal frame pack with 20" frame stays that isn't too bad to carry.
The meat is definitely better if you get them out in one piece and hang them, though.
I am famous for forgetting any kind of rope. I take me belt off and rig around antler bases on bucks, neck on does. Drag with leather belt, pull my pants up every time I stop to avoid heart attack. (Every 30 yds).