Amen. It is short range hunting for me from a drag-out perspective. The last deer I shot was a heavy-bodied 6-pointer from about 60-yards in the woods. The bullet apparently hit a branch and deflected, expanded but still hit the deer which ran 50-yards (mercifully towards our car before dying). I gutted it and my hunting buddy and I about killed ourselves in our 7-th decade of life pulling it out a hundred yards with each of us holding a handy antler. I am the only guy in the world (with having been a rock-climber wanna-be) carries 250-yards of rope in my truck. The battery in the winch controller chose not to work and we communicated by phone as I pulled out the deer with the truck the last hundred+ yards. Going miles into the woods and carting out of hundreds of pounds of meat is beyond comprehension.
Well the subject of how we get them out never comes up here does it?
Maybe because it isnt considered to be as important as the type of scope you use. lol
But those of us who shoot from ridge to ridge know differently.
First you have to go down the side of the ridge your glassing from. Then probably cross a fast moving stream in the valley.
Then up the side the deer is located, and drag it down to the bottom where the stream is.
And thats the easy part, because now you drag it uphill to where you shot, and where your vehicle might be parked, but maybe not.
There are options however, one would be a device called a chain saw winch, where a chain saw engine is coupled to a special type of winch. It requires a special type of rope, not just any rope.
And they are a bit pricey.
But they work, even for large animals like Elk.
And there is another option, the one we use, as do others we know.
Its a product called Mule Tape, designed for pulling things thru underground conduit, or overhead electric cable from pole to pole.
It comes in different sizes as for breaking strength.
The smallest size being 1800 pound, and the next being 2800 pounds.
We have pulled three bucks at the same time up a very steep hillside at a power line location with the tape wrapped around the bumper of my Jeep with the 1800 pound tape.
They need to be tied in a single file order, not in one bunch.
And it needs to be a direct pull, not around a tree.
For going around trees you need a strap with a pulley for the tape to run thru. Otherwise it will stretch like a rubber band and break.
I keep it on a garden hose reel, just grab the end and take it with you as you go.
Then wind it back on.
Keep your eyes open for linemen, both electric company and phone company.
They will often give you what you need if you ask.
And you can tie several pieces together, or back together should it get damaged.
And i should add, that its best to drag them backwards, with the tape thru the hocks on the back legs.
