Extracting Red deer, advice needed.

[User00033]

Fellas, have you replied to the suggestions of boning them out in the field? I’ve read the whole thread but don’t recall seeing you say yes or no to that suggestion. Reason I ask is that as soon as recovery becomes a pain in the arse then field butchery is the immediate go to option for us, and we don’t leave much behind. You would have thought about it yourself obviously, is it not an option for you for some reason?

DeerStalker’s point about the owners providing sensible safe access is the first thing I would do if I wanted to spend serious time on a block like this. Not my place to preach health and safety but considering the kind of mess left behind in pine forestry here, and some of the situations in which ATVs and quads have resulted in death and serious injury which is a massive problem in New Zealand, then do please have a think about what you guys are undertaking.

 

[deerstalker.308]

Trouble with boning them out is that they then can’t be sold on to the game dealer, and a lot of people just don’t have a use or space for 80+kg of meat....

 

[User00033]

Ah, I see. Hadn't thought of that, makes sense now. Venison goes to friends and family here, gone in 60 seconds! And to the dogs, they are fed pretty much exclusively on venison and goat and a handful of pellets and they do very well on it.

 

[kenbro]

How about one of these?
Ken.

 

[Treeehorse]

I saw a video a while ago of someone winching a deer up a hill with a capsten winch and a long rope. They had cut a kayak in half and treaded the rope through the nose. The deer was pulled up inside the pointy nose of the kayak and glided past any trees/stumps without snagging. I thought that was a good idea. It might suit your situation better than a deer sled, which can tip over.
Failing that its surprising where you can drag them out of if you put your mind to it, even the 100+kg stags.

 

[25 Sharps]

Trouble with boning them out is that they then can’t be sold on to the game dealer, and a lot of people just don’t have a use or space for 80+kg of meat....

This

 

[25 Sharps]

How about one of these?
Ken.

Where does the 150 kg + stag go?!

 

[SaOsborne]

Thanks for an entertaining and thought provocing thread, the Kyack has got me thinking. My wife of all people has sugested I erect a cable line on poles. It is not a bad suggestion, some work and outlay but thereafter easy work.

i am looking into getting a track run in, just cost, but worth it I think.

 

[sauer]

Don’t have “use” for 80kg of venison?

Buy a bigger freezer and a vac pack machine!

I have plenty “use” for venison

Give some to folks next door !

Paul

 

[kennyc]

Where does the 150 kg + stag go?!

cross that bridge when you come to it

 

[tuck1]

I was going to suggest something similar.
or alternatively, you mentioned you had a capstan winch. How about mounting the winch on the front of the deer sled, (or having a boat shaped one fabricated) and some more 100m lengths of rope? That way you could get the deer on the sled and drag it in any convenient direction whilst having close control of it to guide it over stumps etc. Worthy of some thought?

 

[SaOsborne]

I was going to suggest something similar.
or alternatively, you mentioned you had a capstan winch. How about mounting the winch on the front of the deer sled, (or having a boat shaped one fabricated) and some more 100m lengths of rope? That way you could get the deer on the sled and drag it in any convenient direction whilst having close control of it to guide it over stumps etc. Worthy of some thought?

Rope is too expensive, for stuff that works with the winch anyhow, the 100m I have was over £220, and that is not Dynaline!

the sled shap works, but a boat shape I bet would work better as the sled presents a broad sloped front end meaning dragging over stuff.

 

[kennyc]

stick to the classics Simon

 

[Freeforester]

Have ye considered mair porridge?

 

[tattie]

A few thoughts on getting them out.
Most of the timber harvesters have tracks, (as in Ranger22s reply), they use in removing timber to the collection point for removal by the timber lorries. These tracks are usually well laid out with brash from the felled trees (brash mats) I know they will not be bowling green smooth but usually perfectly doable for a quad.

Take an afternoon/s and work your way through/along one of the forwarder tracks clearing any easy bits out of the way (nothing like a sticky out bit of branch to re-arrange the plastics on a quad) and if you do that a few times you should have made a bit of inroads to the block for extraction. Similarly lay bits of brash down in the soft/sticky/shi--y bits to aid the quad in getting through them.

I use a Honda capstan winch (mounted on a plate on the front of the Honda 500 and easily removed via a bolt and R clip) and 10mm braided polyester 2000kg breaking strain (static rope, no stretch) 1x50 meter coil and a 60m coil, (have a look at Cheap Rope UK) no need for 100s & 100s of meters of rope, you could possibly get away with 8mm braided 1,300kg breaking strain. If your winch is one of the ones with the 4 stroke (strimmer type motor) on it, you can anchor your rope at the destination direction and attach the winch to the beast and be close enough to ease off any snags.

I have extracted reds (and also assisted a good friend) from some pretty unpleasant/ horrendous clearfell areas up here, at first I thought, I/ we will be here till tomorrow but after a while, having spent a bit of time on sussing out the place you learn to make life easier for yourself.

Cheers

 

[wraith]

helicopter job done

 

[John Gryphon]

No kayak?

Use an upturned car bonnet. the older the better for a more upswept nose.

I remember as a kid being towed across paddocks behind a motorbike while we sat on the car bonnet,it was IIRC an FJ Holden.

 

[John Gryphon]

Remembered a run into the Wicklows with JL from Camolin, I took these pics as we got back to the trailer. Carried two blokes a 300 mag and a sika in the bag and she did it easy.
Perhaps a thought as they float across the shiit a lot better.

 

[tuck1]

Point taken about the cost of rope.
So, how about a light but effective ground anchor? Could be knocked together cheaply and , once the deer is loaded on the sled, carried out and deployed at the limit of the rope. Walk back to sled, start winch and control the pull feeding the rope into a tub as you go. Reach the end, stop winch and repeat. Any good?

 

[SaOsborne]

Point taken about the cost of rope.
So, how about a light but effective ground anchor? Could be knocked together cheaply and , once the deer is loaded on the sled, carried out and deployed at the limit of the rope. Walk back to sled, start winch and control the pull feeding the rope into a tub as you go. Reach the end, stop winch and repeat. Any good?

Thats pretty much what I am looking at if we cant pull it, just takes some time with hundreds of M to go, but better than a heart attack!


The forwarder tracks wernt filled in on this job, then they ran the brash up into rows, hard to get out as mud n all in there. Just have to pick our battles and improve access over time. Lots of good ideas, but sadly looked at most and either not practical here or money, just need a sling shovel......