Loading deer into the truck?
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: wisconsinteacher
28-Oct-19
I have a question about how you load deer into your truck? I have a topper on my truck and struggle getting a deer in the truck. I use an otter sled to keep the blood contained. I'm looking for a way to hook up a pulley or something like a boat winch to help with put deer in the truck without getting hurt.
From: Dusktildawn
28-Oct-19
7ft 2×12 helps slide deer into truck bed.. iIf deer is really heavy, just get sled started and tie off to front bed hook then hoist rear of 2×12 and slide in.
From: Shug
28-Oct-19
Jet sled and a wooden ramp..
From: Habitat
28-Oct-19
Get a piece of plywood some put 2x4 on end that goes towards front to hold end on tailgate.Cut a couple holes in other end for handles and screw board on that end but on top of plywood or use strap to hold deer on.Roll deer onto plywood after pulling plywood out of truck and laying one end on ground while other rest on tailgate.then use the leverage to lift into bed or you can sometimes lift deer cart as a lever also.Another option is a rack that goes into receiver that you would normally use to skin a deer on,maybe extend it so you could open tailgate.
From: Grey Ghost
28-Oct-19
I usually back my pickup into a low spot so my tailgate is closer to the ground. That way you do more pushing than lifting.
I've also seen guys use ATV winches mounted to the front of their pickup beds.
Matt
From: APauls
28-Oct-19
When I had a topper I stood straight up on the tailgate and lifted high as I could until the shoulders were on the gate, then digging my heels in the crack between tailgate and bed I would bend into the topper and pull straight back.
From: Pat Lefemine
28-Oct-19
Viking Solutions L_E-Vator
Viking Solutions L_E-Vator
Pat Lefemine's Link
This may help. Viking solutions has all sorts of stuff like this.
From: midwest
28-Oct-19
Skin and quarter gutless in the field.
Bag the quarters and throw in a big cooler.
Drive home and leave the mess for the scavengers to clean up.
From: sticksender
28-Oct-19
If available nearby, I’ll back the tailgate up to a steep bank and then drag the carcass up the bank and into the bed. At home on the farm I simply go get the tractor loader and bring ‘em home in the bucket.
From: Russell
28-Oct-19
Suggest a section of aluminum ladder used as a ramp. (ref GW)
From: cnelk
28-Oct-19
Midwest X2
I don’t know why anyone would bring an entire deer back to the truck.
From: Cheetah8799
28-Oct-19
A board or two can help a lot. I have a small come along that I can hook to the interior bed loop and ratchet it up if necessary. I also use that to hoist them up a tree or in my garage for cutting.
From: Will
28-Oct-19
When I hunted with a hatchback (sorta similar to capped truck) SUV, I was younger, so this worked: Small deer I tied the feet together with a stout dowl (biggest I could get at home depot) about 15" long. Then I basically did a low speed hang clean - ok, not quite. I just blended lifting and pushing with my body to get it in the back. Big deer, I put the antlers on the bumper, held them as I climbed in, then through a brutal series of pulls and pushes which generally left blood needing to be cleaned on the bumper, I'd tug him in. Then towel off the bumper.
With the truck I just drop the tail gait, and either use my drag line or the antlers and just deadlift the deer into the bed. Unless I'm lucky and have a spot like GG noted, then Ill take that opportunity and back up, drop the tail gate and slide em in...
From: South Farm
28-Oct-19
This weekend I was able to utilize a slight rise in the ditch and load one in the back of my truck inside a jet sled without too much effort, but in a pinch I've removed the tailgate and used it as a ramp.
Not what most grocery getter 4x4 drivers like to imagine doing, but it works! It's a truck; use it like one:)
From: LINK
28-Oct-19
I have an old friend that use to guide elk in the gila. He had a heavy duty head ache rack with a 1” receiver hitch and 12 volt power plumbed to it. He’s took a 12 volt winch and pulled elk up a 2x12 into his pickup. Obviously with a shell you don’t have a rack but I bet someone handy could rig something up.
From: Grey Ghost
28-Oct-19
I don’t know why anyone would bring an entire deer back to the truck.
A couple of reasons. First, I like to hang my deer from a gambrel in my barn and skin them out whole. It's much cleaner, and easier on the back, then quartering in the field. After skinning, I split them down the spine with a sawsall, so I can deliver two complete halves to the processor, like 2 sides of beef. He always appreciates getting them this way, versus getting them in multiple chunks. I think I waste less meat this way too.
Second, I don't like leaving guts and carcasses in my prime hunting spots.
Matt
From: LINK
28-Oct-19
Cnelk I don’t bring an entire deer to the truck, I bring the truck or atv to the deer. ;) Then I take it home gut and skin and let it hang for a few days if the temps are good. Water hose to wash off blood and hair, lights to use in the dark. There’s lots of reasons I’d bring a deer out whole but I don’t hunt public. If I did I’d do as you and Midwest are.
From: Keith
28-Oct-19
I use my aluminum atv ramp. Lay the ramp on the ground. Place the deer on the ramp. Lift the front end of the ramp to the tailgate. Lift the back end of the ramp and push forward.
From: Destroyer350
28-Oct-19
I used to tie a rope around the hook in the bed of the truck. Then lift the head up to the tailgate and tie that off. Lift the back legs in and the deer is in the back of the truck.
From: WV Mountaineer
28-Oct-19
I just pick it up and put it in there. However, being that I’m in my mid 40’s now, I have noticed that the ones I do drag out whole, aren’t getting into the bed of the truck as easily. So, I think the 2by trick is in my future.
From: kota-man
28-Oct-19
"I don’t know why anyone would bring an entire deer back to the truck"....Because sometimes you can take the truck to the buck! If it is nice out I have no problem quartering and packing out in the field. But when the temp dips and the wind is howling, I kinda like doing the boning and quartering in my garage.
From: elkstabber
28-Oct-19
I'm like midwest and cnelk. But kota-man makes a good point. If it's super cold or otherwise nasty I can see dragging a deer.
But, I mostly hunt deer on my farm. I could easily retrieve with a tractor or truck but I don't. I skin and quarter wherever the deer died. This means that ticks don't end up in my garage or in my truck's bed. Man, I HATE ticks!!!
From: Demuth
28-Oct-19
I have the exact same problem, I too use the otter sled and it works great. A couple of 2 x 6's to ramp up to the bed. I was thinking about rigging a pulley to the two front cargo hooks and then using the pulleys system to pull said deer into the bed.
From: Grubby
28-Oct-19
I loaded a whole bear into my douchebag style lifted Toyota by myself a few years back.
I pulled a paw up, got a tie down strap on it, did the same with the head then paw 2, then rolled the butt end in, went pretty good really.
From: Brian M.
28-Oct-19
I have a cap with ladder rack. I tie to the deer's head/antlers and throw rope over ladder. Pull head up as high as I can, tie off, then swing the body onto tailgate. Push into bed. Unless I forget my rope, then I work my ass off.
From: JohnMC
28-Oct-19
I am confused, who does not like getting blood in the back of there trucks??????
From: Fuzzy
28-Oct-19
I've never killed one I couldn't load field dressed, but that time is coming...
From: DanaC
28-Oct-19
From: Grey Ghost
28-Oct-19
This thread reminded me of the biggest bodied Mule deer I ever killed. He was 50-plus inches around the chest, which put him well over 350# on the hoof, according to most charts. I was able to get my truck to about 75 yards away from him. It was everything I could do just to drag the gutted beast that short distance on level ground.
Loading him into my truck was a whole 'nuther story. I've always been able to man-handle my bucks into the bed by getting the tailgate as close to the ground as possible. Not with this toad. After several failed attempts, I resorted to sticking one arm in his chest cavity and wrapping the other arm around him, as if I was bear hugging him. Once I got his chest above the tailgate, I literally dove into the bed with him in my arms. Of course, I was a bloody mess after that maneuver, causing my wife to ask "who shot who?" when I got home with him. LOL!
Matt
From: JohnMC
28-Oct-19
You could also practice with my sister in law she at least as big as Grey Ghost deer.
From: Nick Muche
28-Oct-19
Matt, that big Muley must not have been killed in one of your prime hunting spots?
From: cnelk
28-Oct-19
^^^ Ha! Probably a lowly public land spot. :)
From: Grey Ghost
28-Oct-19
Nick,
You're right, he wasn't. It was a creek bottom property that's several miles away from my own property. It was early in the season and very warm out. I didn't want to take the time to run back to my house for my tractor/loader, so I chose to gut him where he died and load him into my pickup.
I've done the gutless quartering method on several elk, but I've never had to quarter a deer in the field, nor do I ever want to. I'm pretty picky about keeping my meat clean. That picture above, with the meat slung over a dirty log, kinda rubs me the wrong way.
Matt
From: Dale06
28-Oct-19
Arrowed a Cape buffalo in South Africa. Eight guys and a small winch could not load it into a land cruiser. One of the black trackers dug a hole about 16” deep, behind the rear tires. Backed the land cruiser into those holes and the tail gate was close to the ground. We rolled the big boy in and drove away.
From: rgb
28-Oct-19
Several good ideas above...I use a game cart. Makes it easy to get deer, and especially hogs, TO the truck. Then I can place the opposite end of the cart over the edge of my tailgate, and lift up the cart and dump the critter into the bed. Doing this, the tailgate supports a lot of the weight while you're lifting, and it's much less awkward than trying to manhandle a carcass high enough to get in the bed.
From: TwoDogs@work
28-Oct-19
I only shoot small deer. It makes loading easier. Seriously, I find it harder every year to load a deer into my pickup. I have found low spots to load them on several occasions. I can usually call someone to help me load them. In Kansas you have to leave them whole while transporting to your home, unless you have a smart phone and register them electronically. You can then quarter or bone them to make transporting easier.
From: cnelk
28-Oct-19
@ Grey Ghost - that log was cleaned spotless by Mother Nature. :>)
Live a little...
From: LINK
28-Oct-19
I use to use a receiver hitch carrier on my Jeep. One made for a wheel chair with a ramp would work good.
From: brooktrout59
28-Oct-19
I put this large Doe in my truck by myself and I am in a wheelchair. These sleds which you can purchase at Dicks sporting goods for $30. It has tie down holes for bungies or parachute cord. Easy also to drag a deer out of the woods with. It is the ticket!
From: olebuck
28-Oct-19
i keep a rope ratchet in my truck, and one in my Ranger.. i use it to get there front end up - then flip them over into the back... it is cheap and works well..
From: Grey Ghost
28-Oct-19
Cnelk,
Mother Nature is precisely why that pic bothers me. I'm pretty sure I can see squirrel piss on that log. ;-)
To each their own. My Father took a lot of pride in his skinning abilities. Slicing the meat was a no-no. Cutting a hole in the hide was even worse, since he tanned all of his hides. Even the flank flap had to remain on the carcass. I've met very few hunters who know how to do that properly. I guess I inherited my Father's ways. Skinning is one of my favorite parts of the whole process, and hanging them up to skin is really the only way to do a clean job of it, IMO.
YMMV,
Matt
From: Old School
28-Oct-19
Due to a stroke my dad could no longer load his deer into the back of his truck so he had a winch installed in the front of the bed.
-Mitch
From: Trial153
28-Oct-19
I just set my pack on the tail gate with the meat in it....easy
From: arlone
28-Oct-19
Us guys that are having a harder time getting a deer into our trucks......I know why? They are making trucks higher! Nothing to do with our "abilities", at least that's my theory. I am lucky to hunt on private land with wood cutting trails here and there, so never too far away from where a 4-wheeler can get to. Some good ideas here and hope we all get to try one!
From: RogBow
28-Oct-19
If you use a cart it's already half way up.
I get them out whole when I can, I prefer to age, skin, and quarter in my clean garage. I also donate the hides to VFW so they can make gloves etc for Veterans.
From: elk crazy
28-Oct-19
I was having the same issues about 4 seasons ago.. I'm 6'5" and with a camper on my truck, loading bigger deer was killing my lower back. I could throw does in but bigger buck were a different story. I had to get in the truck, dig my heels in and jerk and pull until the front shoulder got over the tailgate. I was going to go with ramps or a winch but came across a one wheeled cart called the RackPacker. It's the slickest cart I've ever used and once the deer is strapped down, you just set the wheel on your tailgate , lift the handles and roll it in. I bought it mainly to load the deer but have found that It's the best cart I've used for uneven and hilly terrain. I don't even take my 2 wheeler anymore. Do a search on youtube and you'll find a few videos.
From: hdaman
28-Oct-19
Dana-that was a great video, thanks for sharing.
From: drycreek
28-Oct-19
One place I hunt, we have to take the deer to the “lodge” to weigh it, measure antlers, pull jawbone, etc. for their MLD program. I have a hitch haul on my truck through deer season because I just can’t load one anymore and don’t want the blood in my truck. It has a cover and a poor man’s truck vault in it covered with carpet so I can’t have a deer bleeding all over it.
From: PAOH
28-Oct-19
Hitch hauler for me
From: Strapped
28-Oct-19
Throw a rope over a large branch, hook one end up to your truck and the other to the deer and lift the deer up into the air. Unhook from truck and tie it off on a tree. Then just back your truck up next to hanging deer and let it down into the back of your truck. You can also use a block and tackle to lift the deer and do the same thing.
From: Ursman
28-Oct-19
Two one by twelves side by side. Two lengths of rope. A “come-along” anchored to a cargo hook in the truck bed behind the cab. Inch by inch, no physical exertion, except for the drag.
From: GVS
29-Oct-19
Just use an 8 ft extension ladder with your sled it. BTW, this I learned from Gene Wensel and he didn't use the sled but the sled of course makes it way easier.
From: SixLomaz
29-Oct-19
If you have a roof rack or some ladder rails over the bed, tie the ends of the rope to the left and right up high, then place the loop on the ground, place deer over the loop with legs facing away from truck, then grab the loop with your hands open to shoulder width and slowly lift and roll deer into the bed. The tailgate MUST be lowered first. Only a rope needed.
From: Shawn
29-Oct-19
I have a big Dodge Diesel and I built a ramp out of plywood and have 2 big hooks in the bed. I run a rope thru one of them and the deer up the ramp on my sled. Big deer not easy but no way I can throw em up in there. Shawn
From: Timbrhuntr
29-Oct-19
Where I hunt most of the spots I have talked myself onto are people I know . They are not agaibst hunting but if I left a gut pile etc on their property I would be one less hunting spot so no choice but to take the deer out whole so I guess that could be reason to take it out whole lol I have a game cart to get to truck then I use this set up I bought for 79 dollars. Hook on deer crank up then swing into bed !
From: x-man
29-Oct-19
I think a cheap ATV or boat winch mounted on the front of the box with a plywood sheet 2' wide and the length of the box to use as a ramp is the ticket. Attach a rope and push a button. On my truck, I can drop the tailgate down at an angle by un-hooking the straps..helps a lot.
I haven't "not" been able to load by myself yet but, I'm going to get a winch soon...:)
From: loprofile
29-Oct-19
"I don’t know why anyone would bring an entire deer back to the truck." Well, in our part of the country it is common to have a permanent skinning and processing area at camp within less than a mile. For those who don't process themselves there are countless processors who will take the entire animal - either gutted on non-gutted. The question here would be "I don't know why anyone would ever not take the whole animal out on a truck (or atv)>"
From: COHOYTHUNTER
29-Oct-19
When I lived in MN and would get a big one.. I had attached a pulley to the front of the bed and use that to assist. But usually throw them over my shoulder walk out and flop in the back of the truck. You live in Wisconsin man, spend some time in the summer tossing around hay bales. Do that enough and putting a little ol whitetail in your pickup bed will be a peice of cake!
From: Reid
29-Oct-19
After reading about 25 different ways to do this and I admit trying several of these methods over the years. I would ask everyone to create a video this deer season of them loading their deer and post it on this forum. We can then vote after the season for the most entertaining video.
From: Hancock West
29-Oct-19
before I started hunting my dad always kept a treated 4'x8' sheet of plywood in the bed of his truck year round. All you have to do is slide it out & use it as a ramp.
From: cnelk
29-Oct-19
You guys are doing it all wrong. Just shoot em in the back of your truck like we do out West. :)
From: fisherick
29-Oct-19
I use a toboggan sled same as the one Brooktrout uses. The deer is strapped down and I lift one end a place sled against tailgate and then lift the backend and push at the same time into the pickup truck. I have done this with many deer up to 176#. PS as I sit here recovering from back surgery.
From: drycreek
29-Oct-19
I used to own a Polaris Ranger before I sold it to my son. I had a cheap winch bolted under the steel roof overhang. I carried a piece of plywood the same size of the bed to use as a ramp. With the bed in dump position and the tailgate open is was easy to winch a deer or a big hog into the bed. I have a CanAm now with a plastic roof, but I’m cogitating on how to mount a winch. I want to take my time and do it once, so I haven’t done it yet.
From: GF
29-Oct-19
I use a sled and just back up to a cut into the hillside along the road. Drop the gate and slide it right in.
Or tie off a pulley in the front of the bed, tie one end to a tree behind you and drive forward until the sled is aboard.
From: 8point
29-Oct-19
Sounds easy enough, I just pick it up with the loader on my tractor, then drive to the barn why bother with a truck...........That's why I bought my property.
From: Bake
29-Oct-19
From: bigswivle
29-Oct-19
I call a friend. I can still pull a 200lb deer into my truck by myself, but I’m almost forty and I gotta feeling that ambition is gonna end
From: 7mm08
29-Oct-19
Before Missouri came out of the Ice Age whereas you had to remove a deer whole, I used a Hitch Haul since I have always had shells on my trucks. Now that hey allow us to break down the animal, I do as I do out West... quartered and on a back pack.
From: t-roy
29-Oct-19
Cnelk.....just make sure and use a Rage, so you don’t break out the rear window with a pass through;-)
From: LKH
29-Oct-19
Used to tie a rope to the head, pull up until I could grab the antlers or ears and then pull aboard. I think those days are about gone.
