Deer winch for reds in woodland with no vehicular access

Mmmm Monty Python eh, well if you think your ground is wet think yourself lucky. The ground here is so wet even the frogs wear life jackets and the landowner insists on us being air dropped in to the place. I don't have magic trousers because one of the rules is stalking must be done naked A K95 is out of the question because all deer taken here must be with a slingshot and only when there's a Q in the month. Beat you on the three reds last Sunday too, I did four and they had to be floated out for the first half and carried in my rucksack for the second half.
 
Dragging a red deer or two a hundred metres or so once in a blue moon is ok and isnt but do it often enough for year and your body will wear out. So now after a cut and shut on my body if i cant get the bike to them then its the winch. Last resort drag by hand. There's no sense in saving a bit of money and having a knackered body. There's also the macho thing, just pointless. Often it takes a little bit more time using the winch but it saves on painkillers.
 
Some of the posts on this thread are clearly meant to be humorous and just for fun. :)
We all probably relate to Red deer as we know then in our own area. There is no comparison in the size and body weights of highland Red and woodland/farmland Red.
Woodland/farmland Red in Norfolk, live off the fat of the land. It is not remotely sensible to move (any meaningful distance) let alone lift a fully grown Norfolk Red stag, without some form of mechanical advantage. The 'macho' approach is simply a recipe for serious injuries.
Where one cannot get a wheeled vehicle anywhere near, there seems to be two options:- a powered capstan winch or leave them be for another day and place.:tiphat:
 
I heard Harkila are working on a rucksack that converts in a hot air balloon, evidently it requires no additional power source, you simply attach it to the deer and start bullshitting. a ground line of substantial length and strength maybe needed in some cases. ;) :tiphat:
 
If ur within 100m of ur motor I'd be looking at making/buying some ground anchors with snatch blocks and using ur motor to pull the deer.
Put an anchor in at back off motor then drive forward it will pull the deer to that anchor, u could also use the anchor to load it deer like in that video clip

U can buy fancy ground anchors now but in old days usually just had 2" angle iron with holes in it and a load of pins battered into ground or 2 bits welded at 45 degrees battering 1 into ground, we used to absiel of anchors like that.
Use them aas redirects and use ur pick up like in that American video.
Be fairly cheap and saves u buying a winch.
If u go for pins buy/make hexagonal pins and weld a ring on top so u can pull they out with the other pins, if hexagonal u twist them which breaks the suction, far easier than round pins

Really the only winch that would work well would be petrol capstan type.
Any others u'll have issues with line length.
Have a look on treadlight forestry website they usually have a good selection of winches online, as will other forestry companies
I would not fancy pumping 100ms of cable throu any hand winch, even when just a light wieght on end, u'd have arms like popeye by the time ur finished, and slow.
Off the hand winches a tifor copy will be the quickest but needs wire rope

For the rope u do need non stretch rope but I'd just use ARB bull or rigging rope, designed for rigging trees down throu blocks etc, relatively cheap and all u need.
13mm dynema could be a 5t or more breaking strain, great rope but dear for wot u need, it's the sort of rope u put in modern winches

U could just use a pulley set up and pull the rope by hand, every time u double the rope up u half the energy needed/pull off winch but u do double the rope/distance u need to walk.
Wot ur asking/needing the winch to do is easy compared to wot winches are designed for, relatively lightweight wieghts that won't dig in.
Just wot suits u and ur picket best
 
If you are physically capable I would just drag it. By the time you shot it, walked ( carrying the winch gear ) to it, gralloched it, attached the rope/chain/cable, walk back to the truck to start the winch you could have just dragged it ?

Whole lot less stuff to lug around.
 
If you are physically capable I would just drag it. By the time you shot it, walked ( carrying the winch gear ) to it, gralloched it, attached the rope/chain/cable, walk back to the truck to start the winch you could have just dragged it ?

Whole lot less stuff to lug around.
Ok on level ground but as soon as you get an incline then that’s where a winch comes into its own.
The shot, walk to the beast, gralloch and walk back and then on to the vehicle are there irrespective of if you use a winch or not.
The only additional time is back from the vehicle with the kit & time to rig up/take down
You try lugging a 60lb beast up a 1in2 slope for more than 50m and see what you think.
There are also some of us who are either getting on in years or have had serious health problems but are still keen to grass a beast. This at least helps a bit.
 
Ok on level ground but as soon as you get an incline then that’s where a winch comes into its own.
The shot, walk to the beast, gralloch and walk back and then on to the vehicle are there irrespective of if you use a winch or not.
The only additional time is back from the vehicle with the kit & time to rig up/take down
You try lugging a 60lb beast up a 1in2 slope for more than 50m and see what you think.
There are also some of us who are either getting on in years or have had serious health problems but are still keen to grass a beast. This at least helps a bit.
60lb! 60lb!!!??! Try dragging a 250lb red up a hill more like.
A 60lb beast is just a pick up and carry job.
Pffff. 60lb! I could pick that up with my dick.
 
You lose half your weight in 2&1/2 yrs (106kg down to 47kg) have to learn to walk again (twice) due to illness then pass comment!
No disrespect intended there Eddie. In fact, much respect to you for still getting out there and getting stuck in. I would have thought however that most able bodied adults would easily carry the equivalent of a bag of cement up a hill.
Of course, everyone is perfectly entitled to use whatever method they want to, able bodied or not.
 
No disrespect intended there Eddie. In fact, much respect to you for still getting out there and getting stuck in. I would have thought however that most able bodied adults would easily carry the equivalent of a bag of cement up a hill.
Of course, everyone is perfectly entitled to use whatever method they want to, able bodied or not.
Cheers Pal,
Me then.....
464DE786-3762-46AB-AC6C-C965F9848479.jpeg

Me now.....
464EED05-3DF1-4BD8-9376-71E5E09A65DD.jpeg

Then I could walk 3&1/5 miles in an hour and carry a hefty weight if required.
Now I’m doing well to walk a mile on even ground without additional weight.
However, desperately trying to get out to do any form of shooting as I’m starting to get cabin fever - the recent weather has not been in my favour!
I used to hold similar views to yourself but since my hospitalisation I have a very different outlook on life.
Take care & Atb
Ed
 
Forgive my ignorance of Red Deer extraction and the issues surrounding it.

Any thoughts on "field dressing"? Seems to me that much larger beasts are dealt with like that elsewhere. Elk, Moose to name a couple of examples.

Surely a few lighter journeys are better than a gut-wrenching heart-attack and allow another-wise decent beast to be taken rather than waiting for it on another day when it is nearer the road/quad-bike/. ?

(Never having shot a Red Deer I ask this question in all humility)
 
Forgive my ignorance of Red Deer extraction and the issues surrounding it.

Any thoughts on "field dressing"? Seems to me that much larger beasts are dealt with like that elsewhere. Elk, Moose to name a couple of examples.

Surely a few lighter journeys are better than a gut-wrenching heart-attack and allow another-wise decent beast to be taken rather than waiting for it on another day when it is nearer the road/quad-bike/. ?

(Never having shot a Red Deer I ask this question in all humility)
It's the fact that it has to come out whole so it can be sold to the game dealers, having said that there is the option of cutting it up onsite as the Americans do (and as I have done in the US) and getting it out on your back, then of course you can't sell it to the dealers.
At the moment my game dealer isn't taking any stags, so the only option is leave them, or cut them up.

Its not until you shoot a red and you try and pull into a better position for gralloching and it doesn't move, then you think, 'oh crap!'
On done that on more than one occasion, but these days I try to hunt 'smart' not 'stupid'

Cheers

Richard
 
It's the fact that it has to come out whole so it can be sold to the game dealers, having said that there is the option of cutting it up onsite as the Americans do (and as I have done in the US) and getting it out on your back, then of course you can't sell it to the dealers.
At the moment my game dealer isn't taking any stags, so the only option is leave them, or cut them up.

Its not until you shoot a red and you try and pull into a better position for gralloching and it doesn't move, then you think, 'oh crap!'
On done that on more than one occasion, but these days I try to hunt 'smart' not 'stupid'

Cheers

Richard
Cheers Richard
Yes I did wonder about that aspect so not totally surprised. For own consumption am I correct in assuming that would be OK? (Thats would I would do if it was for me and mine)
 
It's the fact that it has to come out whole so it can be sold to the game dealers, having said that there is the option of cutting it up onsite as the Americans do (and as I have done in the US) and getting it out on your back, then of course you can't sell it to the dealers.
At the moment my game dealer isn't taking any stags, so the only option is leave them, or cut them up.

Its not until you shoot a red and you try and pull into a better position for gralloching and it doesn't move, then you think, 'oh crap!'
On done that on more than one occasion, but these days I try to hunt 'smart' not 'stupid'

Cheers

Richard
Richard, you must have some mates locally who can give you a hand with a bit of dragging?
 
Wish I only had to drag my stags 100 yds at 60Years young + now it does get a bit harder but chin up and pull
 
Back
Top