My friend Bill has one like that. It's nice looking and traditional, but I can't recommend it. In October, three of us butchered and carried out a fairly large bodied stag from a tricky spot. It was something over a mile, uphill over rough broken ground, from the stag to the vehicle.
I used my BDS canvas roe sack (which I very much do recommend with one reservation) to carry a haunch and a fore leg. [
Postscript looking on the BDS website, they do not seem to have this one currently.] My friend Bill used his German roe sack (as far as I can tell the same as the one in question) to carry the saddle and some other bits. Dan used a quality "hiking" rucksack to carry the other haunch and fore leg. Dan deliberately chose that rucksack because it is designed for load carrying.
Apart from puffing a bit - I'm a desk jockey - I had no problems. The BDS roe sack coped very well, the weight was in the right place, and the padded shoulder straps were comfortable. I was carrying something around 50lbs but it was stable and well positioned. Dan with the same load in his hiking rucksack also had no problems for the same reasons. Bill with the German rucksack was carrying the least weight and had a hard time. Faor enough, Bill is in his 60s, I'm in my 50s and Dan is in his 30s. But Bill is always outdoors and fitter than either Dan or me.
Bill suffered due to his rucksack's design. The plain leather straps cut into his shoulders. Furthermore, the straps join the rucksack between the shoulder blades and this design keeps the weight low down on the back. Additionally, the shape of the bag allows the load to hang some distance off the back, pulling Bill backwards which resulted in him having to lean forward to get the right centre of gravity. By the time we got to the truck, he wasn't a happy bunny. Whereas when I took off my rucksack I simply "grew" six inches and was happy not to be carrying the load - no other complaints. Ditto for Dan.
Footnote My reservation with the BDS roesack is that the nylin webbing which reinforces on the shoulder straps provides little friction for the rifle sling, so it has a tendency to slip sideways. I was thinking of sticking some rubber onto the strap or fixing a hook to secure the sling. Here are some pics. It's designed to carry two roe, and has an inner liner.
And this is the secondary use for the rucksack, keep the dog warm and dry.
-JMS
