Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Anyone use a Come-a-Long To Load a Deer????

This is the same one I use. Heavy?--- comes apart in the middle, it's a two piece unit. Pete I do clean hanging up. Real easy on my back to clean like that.

That's a good set up.
Useful for lots of things, ( other speceies bodies etc..)

Another easy set up :
an eye in the front of the bed, a snatch block type pulley and a line to another truck, ATV or other winch.
Then a motorcycle , atv type wood ( smooth ) ramp .. and up she goes.

Come a longs are kind of a two handed device.

I would bolt either an electric winch, or one of those hand crank winches like you see on the front of boat trailers into the bed and then use 2X6's for ramps.

The hand crank winches can be used with one good arm, with 2X boards this is an under $40.00 solution.

As the father of a daughter with only one hand I am used to finding solutions for one handed operations. As a cheapskate I am used to doing it for pennies.

I salute you for enjoying life to its fullest.

Yeah, I can appreciate folks using them to clean and perhaps skinning..

Getting back to the OP, from his original post, it looks like he only has limited use in one arm, so I can understand why he does not want to be erecting a hoist..

A couple of pieces of plywood cut as ramps however are easy to drag out the back of the pick-up, and a 12V ATV winch with a "cable remote" will allow him to control everything while standing on the ground next to the ramp..

I use a come a long to winch my game up to weigh and clean.
Slow but effective.

I carry my animals on the rack (hitch-haul)on the back of our SUV's. Less lifting in the field. Deer load easily.
Pigs are a pain with no good handles!

With your physical issue, I would try the electric winch method and maybe a 3/4 inch piece of plywood for a ramp. It would lay flat in the truck when not in use.

stumpy

Yes Sir, I own and use one of those, and it takes about 90% of the work out of lading deer into the back of my pickup. Nice setup Calhoun.

I've tried this, and for them to work, they need to be rigidly mounted to the truck..I tried mounting one on a board and using a strap to temp attach it to the back the cargo area of my 4x4, but found the winch twisted and moved as you cranked it and it was a real PITA..I then tried a come-along and that worked much better..If the boat winch had been rigidly mounted however, I think that would have been a better solution..

Actually I always thought the same until I used a cleaning table. Its MUCH easier on my back to do all the prelim work plus gutting, and then its half skinned and all I have to do is hoist and basically typically one pull and the rest of the hide is off.

Won't go back to skin/gut hanging again especially having to go up and down constantly with the animal.

In the cradle I don't have to squat, bend over, reach above my head, move the hoist etc....

Not saying one is wrong and one is rihgt, but don't knock the cradle type until you've tried it.

Twenty or Thirty years ago you never saw a setup like that out here, I think my boss and I designed and built the original one, I posted a photo it on one of the Hunting/Shooting Forms and the idea went viral. We should have applied for the patient for that setup.

May be the way to go for the OP or find a buddy to hunt with. How in the world are you going to work a bolt on a rifle, clean the deer with one arm etc.
Understand the height of PU beds in todays world they are tall or I'm getting shorter.

This is the way we do Elk!

Wait a min. I'm a caveman. I just got off the ground in the cleaning. I get this new hoist and now a cradle is the way to go.

I like to skin them hanging, when I can.

I use a winch

This is a picture of the Game and Fish department loading a SECOND moose into the pickup. This one had been hit by a car. They use an electric winch mounted to the "head ache" rack on the truck.

Wtxj

Browning makes a FANTASTIC Lever action. I have kill 5-6 a yr for the last 12 yrs and with the use of a mono pod shooting stick I have no problem.

For all the 24 hourers: Once again Thanks to all of you, as always Good friends come through.

Here is how I get the deer in up till now. Drag them to the truck in a plastic sled used for floating duck decoys. I have 3 2x8 boards with boat trailer slick pads on them that I use for a ramp and before the shoulder surgery I used to pull the deer up the ramp into the truck.

Siskiyous6:

Thanks for the reply. With a daughter like me I know you Walk Daily in my shoes. I had polio when I was 9 months old, so I have grown up with my situation. Due to the Shriners taking care of me (4 surgeries, a year of physical and occupational therapy, and education) I have been able to live a very wonderful life. Till I injured my good shoulder I fished about 100 days a yr. but my shoulder can't take the repeated trauma any more of casting about 30 times an hour bass fishing.
I looked into setting up an electric winch in the bed of the truck but decided against it due to the need of an extra battery and fastening the winch to the bed floor of the pick up.

My question to you is concerning your comment that a "come-a-long" is a 2 hand operation. I have never used one before and would appreciate any other info you care to give me.

Once again Thanks
BLRNut

To "pull" with a come-a-long, one hand should be sufficient, To release or let cable out under stress is a two hand operation.

Small Portable winch should run OK using heavy duty jumper cables for no more than your going to do, battery will not run down if you leave the engine running during winch use.

I am not far behind you age wise, and using a come along bent part of the bed of my truck a few years ago getting a big elk into it. I am, going to, if i get drawn again this year, bolt a piece of metal in the front of the bed and attach a big eye bolt in it. Then use a cheap atv winch with gator clips to pull power off the battery. I have a atv ramp to start it up the hill. This year i solved the problem without it. I took a grandson along with me.

Well I hadn't thought on the levers. Great choice.
The come alongs have a very limited lenght to pull up the cable. Maybe 2 to 3 feet, then it must be unhooked and cable pulled back out and reset to pull again.
I used to pull 4x4's auto's up my trailer ramps, never again.
Winch, sure but as you say has to be fastened to something.
But a winch has a long single pull cable with remote control.
12 volt Cheap ATV type will work if your interested.
Mount that sucker on a small plate of light steel, put a hook on the front (to hook to inside of truck bed somewhere) of the steel plate then run wires from the bat (leave it in the engine bay, not an extra bat) to the inside of your truck. There are places where you can run a wire into the cab through the firewall.
Run the wires to the back floor board. Plenty of places to hide this wire on path into truck.
Then when you shoot the deer and get him back to truck, just grab light weight atv winch and place in bed of truck, hook up the wires to wires in floor board of truck and drag the sucker up.

Or get a hunting partner.