New House Skinning Setup
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Bowfreak
04-Sep-23
My wife bought me one of those hitch mounted skinning hoists for Christmas last year. I had never used one of these until I hauled it to Wyoming for my antelope hunt. We took 3 goats out whole and had them on the skinner in 30 minutes or so. It worked so well that I decided to rig up a “receiver to use at the house. It took a treated 2x6, some leftover carriage bolts I used on my deck and my table saw to fabricate. I wanted the tube to slide in as high as possible so that when the deer is hanging dogs will be unable to reach it. I will drill the horizontal tube so that I can relocate the winch. If and when I use it mounted to the truck I can just relocate the winch to the vertical tube as pictured.
The wooden bracket is bolted on. I will only add it to the post when I want to hang a deer or possibly just leave it attached for the fall.
From: Zbone
04-Sep-23
Nice...
From: RD in WI
04-Sep-23
Good thinking. Butchering will be an easy chore. Good luck this fall.
From: Bowfreak
04-Sep-23
One little add on that this thing has are these little forks at the top. I had never used one of these and actually skinned two antelope before I happened on to what those forks do. When you crank the animal up all the way it holds it still and keeps it from twisting. Works great attached to the truck hitch. It will not work mounted like this.
From: Groundhunter
04-Sep-23
I love that thing, the day I saw it on utube. Ordered one. Use.it all the time, and camps I go to
From: Trial153
04-Sep-23
Looks good ??
From: midwest
06-Oct-23
Sweet, Mark! Hope you have cool neighbors!
From: Bowfreak
06-Oct-23
I do have good neighbors. The guy across the street from me was cleaning a snapping turtle in the front yard the first time we went up there to look at the lot before building.
From: deerhunter72
06-Oct-23
Pretty cool setup!
Are you pleased with your Honda Pioneer? I just bought a Kawasaki Mule and we like it a lot.
From: Bowfreak
06-Oct-23
Yes. It is a great machine. I need tires and to change out a CV boot. Other than that it is in nearly mint condition.
From: Shug
06-Oct-23
Looks great
From: fuzzy
10-Dec-23
???..
From: Jeff Durnell
10-Dec-23
I snapped off the pin that goes into the bearings the first time I used it. But I was using it to load my tractor's snow blade onto my truck. I don't believe it was over the max weight rating, close maybe, but was lifting at a slight angle. It didn't have any support that way, but it will when I fix it. :^)
From: t-roy
10-Dec-23
Did you get to put it to good use this fall, Mark?
From: Lawdog
11-Dec-23
I bought a similar set up over 20 years ago. I've used it many times. Never thought about setting it up at home.
From: Bowfreak
11-Dec-23
We had 5 deer on it so far this fall. Nothing big.
I have had to reconfigure the mounting bracket I made. We put a heavy bodied buck (193 lb field dress weight) on it and it destroyed my wooden block. I have another mount being fabricated right now by some guys at work. I’ll post it up when I get it completed.
From: midwest
12-Dec-23
I bought one this year just for solo loading a deer into the back of the truck.
From: Bowfreak
12-Dec-23
Bowfreak's Link
Nick,
It wasn't long ago that we just manhandled deer into the back of the truck. Now I can barely load a doe by myself. LOL.
I am also rigging up the side by side for easy loading. I am rigging mine up like the SB Wood and Weld setup. I have the bracket that allows you to plug a winch plate/winch at the front of the bed. I am piecing the rest of the stuff together separately.
From: Will
12-Dec-23
Love the idea. I can see how a metal mount would be better... But overall, the concept is awesome!
From: Lawdog
12-Dec-23
Lawdog's Link
I just bought the Viking L-e-vator. They advertise it to load game. I didn't buy it for that purpose. I bought to help me get heavy coolers in the truck. Dang with the weight of a decent cooler, game and ice, mine are all well over 100 lbs. Fair warning. I bought this because it was $119. You will need to make some mods. I moved the winch off center and replaced the 1/4" steel cable with 1/8" so that it would be shorter and less springy. I replaced the cable on the winch with the one I took off of the L-E-vator. I also mounted a piece of all weather plywood to the lift to broaden the base for use with my cooler. It does work well, it's cheap, and saves my aging back. Don't pay attention to some of the reviews. They did not assemble the L-E-vator correctly nor are they using it correctly. I suppose that since I have it in the truck, I could use it assist in loading game too.
