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Hauling Your Game Out

by , Posted to on 01/01/2012 10:46 PM | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |

Joined: 04/27/2007
Location: MT
 Here is something that I have learned while hunting in Montana that I think will work anywhere that you don’t have vehicle access to. By using a very long rope or tape connect it between a sled and a vehicle of your choice and pull your game out.

The things you need, find a merchant that has;


·         Polyester tape. I use a 3000ft roll of 5/8” polyester tape “Mule Tape” rated at 1800lbs. It weights about 15lbs and fits on a spool that is about 12”x16”. Costed me about $150. If all you are going haul is deer then you can use ½” 1250lbs tape.


·         Plastic Sled. A heavy duty sports sled like an “Otter” sled. Size it to the game you are hauling. Mine is an XL size for elk, about $150; medium should work for deer, about $40.


·         Bungee and tie down straps. Use these to keep the game in your sled, pkg of 4 tie downs for $20.


·         Snatch blocks. Use these to run the tape through to go around obstructions in you trail. Size the pulley to your tape. Can be found at TSC/Home of Economy equivalent stores for about $30.


·         Ground Anchors, Straps and Shackles. Use these to secure the snatch blocks. Screw in ground anchors is self explanatory and the straps are for around trees. The Shackles are to hook them together. Size the ground anchors to what you are hauling and the soil type; I use 3ft ones in silty soil hauling elk. Ground anchors and straps cost about $10-$20 each. Galv. D-ring screw pin shackles are about $3 each.


·         Radios. Yep RADIOS! For Safety! If you are more than 50 yards apart towing something, YELLING doesn’t work. FRS/GMRS radios are about $50 a set. Someone will get hurt if you don’t use them and if you are an hour or 2 from help that really sucks. If you hunt where I do it’s more like 3 to 4 hours drive out unless they send in an Army Blackhawk to get you and that will cost you about $2000 an hour and up.


Once you have your game down, gutted and in a safe place and as you walk out to your vehicle, find the best/easiest route. Get a friend or 4 to help you then get your sled, anchors, snatch blocks, shackles, bungee cords/tie downs and mule tape then head back into your game again making sure this is the best/easiest way. Load your game into your sled and secure it, tie the tape to your sled and start back to your vehicle putting in snatch blocks and running your tape wherever you need them to clear an obstruction.  I use a snatch block in the trail/roadside before hooking up to the vehicle. Call the people at the sled and make sure they are ready then slowly drive the vehicle down the road/ trail, put in snatch blocks as you need them as you drive.  Stop whenever the sled comes to a snatch bloke, take out the block and anchor then resume.


All this may sounds like a lot of work and it is but if you don’t have a 4 footed hay fed vehicle this is the easiest way to move an 800lbs dead bull elk a mile. It is definitely better than having 100lbs of fresh bloody meat strapped into a pack frame on your back in the middle of grizzly country.


I hope this helps someone out there


Cliff Betterley

 Elk hunting at 9000 ft is easy. Dragging that elk out at 9000 ft is hard!
Re: Hauling Your Game Out
by on 01/02/2012 10:30 AM | Reply #1 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |

Joined: 08/29/2009
Location: nd
Do you have a video?  I gotta see you pull an elk for a mile with 3000' of rope.
Re: Hauling Your Game Out
by on 01/02/2012 5:22 PM | Reply #2 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |

Joined: 04/27/2007
Location: MT
Sorry not videos, maybe next fall during elk season. You actually need 2 rolls of 3000' mule tape to reach the 5280 feet in a mile.  You can find 6000ft or even 15000ft rolls of mule tape but they are just a little to spendy for me. I did have just one roll of tape and a friend had a 2500' roll of rope and we use them together but that didn't turn out well, about a 1000' of my roll on that pull got twisted bad from the rope spinning. The spool of rope he had was about 30"X24" and was close to 45lbs. My brothers sled has made about 15 pulls and is about worn out. Once we pull the elk out of the brush, the sled is hooked to the ATV then pulled all the way back to the cabin that we rent which is about 7 miles.
If you want to know where this cabin is go to www.recreation.gov/ and in the where box type in West Fork Cabin chose the (W. of Ennis) one. That will take you to the page with a map that shows where the cabin is plus also show you Black Butte, Notch and a few other cabin sites that are available in some of the best elk hunting area in Montana. There are also hundreds of camp sites all through the Gravelly Mountain range. WOULD NOT advise anyone to go up on the tops during hunting season without the a 4X4 with very good tires, chains for all 4 tires and a shovel, had a 1 1/2 ft of snow the morning after opening day 2010 season (almost everyone got there elk on opener) . This year I was up there the last week of October and had 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground and when that melted 4 to 8 inches of mud on some of the roads (that's why you need good tires and chains). On top of the ridge between Elk Creek and West End Cabin the road (Gravelly Range Rd) had drifts of about 1 foot deep. I have seen 5th wheel campers up there but believe those guy have bigger one than I do!
 Elk hunting at 9000 ft is easy. Dragging that elk out at 9000 ft is hard!
Re: Hauling Your Game Out
by on 01/02/2012 8:05 PM | Reply #3 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |

Joined: 09/11/2002
Location: ND
By the time you got back to said deer, I'd have the whole thing deboned, in my pack, and back to the truck sipping a celebretory Sierra Nevada.

I say to hell with that pot o' gold.

Re: Hauling Your Game Out
by on 01/02/2012 8:22 PM | Reply #4 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |

Joined: 04/27/2007
Location: MT
 
ggenthusiast Said:
By the time you got back to said deer, I'd have the whole thing deboned, in my pack, and back to the truck sipping a celebretory Sierra Nevada.

Like I said in my post, try that with a 800lbs bull elk or even a 500 to 600lbs cow at 9000ft let alone with 80 to 100lbs of deer. Just the walk back to the ATV with your gun and 10lbs day pack on your back up or down a mountain has 90% of the hunters out there sucking wind as if they had just done a marathon. 
 Elk hunting at 9000 ft is easy. Dragging that elk out at 9000 ft is hard!
Re: Hauling Your Game Out
by on 01/02/2012 8:25 PM | Reply #5 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |

Joined: 09/21/2009
Location: nd
Indeed nice country, I hunted lots just to east in Madison range and Lee Metcalf area mostly south closer to park. Man we took lots of good bulls in a area just west of Yellowstone Park They love to dump problem grizzle here. You guys are crazy to take campers up that high. Snow can get deep. Interesting way to get your elk out. Of course this was back in 80s and 90s, have heard now wolfs and grizz really took toll on this area. Just on other side to east is where that famous guy with all money owns a large spread. Sure miss Montana, live in North Dakota now waht a change.
Re: Hauling Your Game Out
by on 01/02/2012 9:11 PM | Reply #6 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |

Joined: 04/27/2007
Location: MT
 
Wall-eyes Said:
Indeed nice country, I hunted lots just to east in Madison range and Lee Metcalf area mostly south closer to park. Man we took lots of good bulls in a area just west of Yellowstone Park They love to dump problem grizzle here. You guys are crazy to take campers up that high. Snow can get deep. Interesting way to get your elk out. Of course this was back in 80s and 90s, have heard now wolfs and grizz really took toll on this area. Just on other side to east is where that famous guy with all money owns a large spread. Sure miss Montana, live in North Dakota now waht a change.
Know what you mean about griz and wolves. US Game and Fish "removed" the wolf pack that was in the area because it was the main calving grounds for the elk herds up there. For the 2010 season the Ranger I talked to said that the est. was about 950 head of elk. US Game and Fish also is hinting that the grizzlies should be taken off the protected list because they are also recovered but want to wait until the court fight over the wolves is finished. They had to put down 1 sow in the area that I hunt because she was raiding camps.  In the Kalispell, MT area where I live the human/bear interactions as they are called, almost doubled from last years 27 to 49 this year.
 Elk hunting at 9000 ft is easy. Dragging that elk out at 9000 ft is hard!
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Posted On: 01/01/2012 10:46 PM
1183 Views, 6 Comments

Tags: sled, tape, game, hauling, vehicle, rsquo, work, don, something, montana
More Tags: US Federal Reserve, Cliff Betterley, Hospitality_Recreation
Region: North Dakota

Categories: Hunting > Big Game Hunting - Bear, Elk, Moose, Antelope
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