Need tips for transporting a deer

[cdmorten]

I'm new to deer hunting. I'm going this year and I have a sneaky suspicion that I'm going to get pegged to drive my (wife's) new suburban.

Any tips on the best way to haul a deer back home without making a huge mess in the back of my truck?

Wish I had a pickup.

Thanks

 

[BountyHunter]

You can buy a plastic tray made for suburbans that fits in back ($50), get hitch
hauler that fits on rear hitch ($60) or last bet, put heavy plastic drop cloth down.

BH

 

[Matt Regalia]

Go to the nearest Surplus store and buy some body bags. I have a couple that I put deer in when i have to use my wifes Explorer. I also have the cargo tray as previous mentioned. The bags are just extra insurance. My wife could pick out a spot of blood from a mile away.

Matt

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I bought a large rack for the back of my SUV. It is 24"X60" and has 4" high sides. Fits into the 2" receiver under the rear bumper. I put an 8'x10' cheap PVC tarp on the rack, pile on the deer, then wrap it over him and tuck the excess tarp underneath. A few bungie cords to keep the tarp down when hitting highway speeds and your done.

No dirt or road grime gets on the deer and non-hunters are not offended even if they can guess what inside of the tarp.
VH

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Another thought. I have previously purchased through a mail order house(can't remember where) very large and strong game bags. They were made of heavy plastic and could hold an entire deer and still be closed tight with a wire wrap.

If you must put a bloody, bug ridden deer in your wife's truck, I'm sure that she would appreciate you bagging it completely. Maybe someone on this board knows where you can get a few of these bags.
VH

 

[J Schulze]

Keep in mind the plastic will keep in any body heat. Lay down a tarp and use a body bag or canvas bag. the heat needs to get out of the game

 

[Boyd Heaton]

I would suggest the Hitch Haul...A deer inside a new suburban would take away from that"New Car Smell"

 

[MAX]

FEDEX

 

[mnoland30]

I read a book a few years ago about boning out animals. I tried it and am totally hooked. Once you learn how, it is easier than cleaning them, much less messy, the meat alone packs nicely in a frameless pack, and you put the entire thing neatly in an ice chest for the trip home with a milk jug or two of ice. The best part is that the bones are nearly 1/2 the weight. A bull elk only weighs about 200 lbs. boned out. A big deer would be considerably less than 100 lbs.

Quality meat care requires getting the skin off the animal quickly. Even before I boned out meat, I always used a large (150 qt.) ice chest to store deer in. If packed tightly, it will hold an entire deer. It took more than one for an elk. I can easily fit an entire elk in my 120 qt. ice chest. Well worth the investment.

Cabela's sells bed liners for the back of Suburbans, and either investment would be better than the wrath of my wife over deer smell/blood in her vehicle. Your wife might be sweeter than mine, but I wouldn't bet on it. Here's hoping you have to worry about this little problem. I wouldn't transport a deer inside a warm vehicle more than a couple of hours without cooling it one way or another. I have wrapped them in tarps with milk jugs of ice inside the cavity in a pinch.

 

[BountyHunter]

Hitch Haul, wrapped in plastic, but 2-3 bags of ice in the body cavity.

quarter and bone and put in a 120 qt cooler with ice. There is a trick to skinning down to the neck, taking off the tenderloins and backstraps, then quarters. do not even have to gut them.

Use a fillet knive to cut the back quarters off thru the ball joint and around the pelvis. Then quick removal of one bone. Front and rear quarters end up one connected piece of meat for each, two tenderloins and two back straps. If you want, 2 minutes cutting big chunks of meat on the neck and you can get 2-3 deer in a 120 qt cooler.

BH

 

[SBruce]

Whatever you do......if you Absolutely MUST have them inside the vehicle, DON'T just use a couple of tarps and call it good!!

The animals will rock back and forth while you're driving, rock side to side ect. The tarp will crease somewhere or slide around or fall down and blood WILL find it's way into the carpet.

Been there done that, won't do it again!! Was my grandma's suburban.

 

[cowboy]

I read a book a few years ago about boning out animals. I tried it and am totally hooked. Once you learn how, it is easier than cleaning them, much less messy, the meat alone packs nicely in a frameless pack, and you put the entire thing neatly in an ice chest for the trip home with a milk jug or two of ice. The best part is that the bones are nearly 1/2 the weight. A bull elk only weighs about 200 lbs. boned out. A big deer would be considerably less than 100 lbs.

I hunt with my 2 sons and between us we haven't even gutted an animal in probably 4-5 years. Take all the pictures your camera can hold and bone 'em right where they fall without even gutting them. The only thing you need to be cautioned on is what your State requirements are for proof of sex. Here in Montana that is the first thing we are asked when we pull in to a Game Check Station and see nothing but coolers full of meat. Here we have to have proof of sex attached to "a portion" of meat. We leave about a hamburger patty size of meat on either a set of testicles or bag and put that into a gallon size zip lock back that we carry in our pack and throw the zip lock in with the meat - no hair on your meat.

If anybody is looking for really good quality game meat bags the best we have come up with are called T.A.G. out of Alaska. They are far superior to anything made out of cotton or canvas

 

[sp6x6]

We do the same, gut less quarter. Last season F&G stopped by camp ground and we had 3 skulls on the ground. They checked us,antelope 1/4 w/ proof of sex and tagged in cooler, They are so small next yr. try for doe tags, and eat one for camp meat no mess and on ice. I do the 12 gal frozen milk jug, that way I can refreeze in my p/u camper for multiple days fressh ice