Posted: 11/29/2013 8:13:49 AM EDT
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I'll admit I'm not the young PT stud of a Marine I used to be but dragging a buck out of a gully the other day about did me in at 49 yrs old.
Is it time to get that ATV yet or hunt flatter property? Old Marine  (and sore too)
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I'll admit I'm not the young PT stud of a Marine I used to be but dragging a buck out of a gully the other day about did me in at 49 yrs old. Is it time to get that ATV yet or hunt flatter property? Old Marine (and sore too)I'm right there with ya, brother! 84-99. I reckon I'll have to settle for being a has been, but that's a damn sight better than being a never was! 
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If I can't drive my truck to the deer I don't shoot! Of course where I live is flat flat flat! I used to hunt a cattle ranch/farm and I could drive up to most kills there too, not flat like IL corn fields but 4x4 truckcessable. The farm sold and the new owners don't allow hunting  .
Old Marine
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I helped my friend drag out a big 10 a few years ago after he shot it on the 5th of 5 "finger" in gorge county by Rochester, NY
Both of us were late 40's at the time and no quad, atv or even a tractor had a chance of making it close to the kill site. That drag nearly killed us both. When we started we went 100 yards then rested. By the last hill/ravine we were going 5 yards And falling over. Huffing and puffing and buckets of sweat. It got so bad my friends father (who was carrying our gear/coats) Forced us to stop and went and got help from the neighboring camp w/ high school kids I'll never drag a deer like that again. Most other places we can get the Polaris there easy but in the gorges Ill quarter the deer up before I try to take the whole thing. While 4 or 5 trips would suck at least I wouldnt Fear that my aorta was going to explode.... |
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The hardest part of deer hunting is after the shot I've always said. If your not an all-star athlete any more, no shame getting help or using an ATV. Don't need heart attacks out in the field! My dear sweet wife of 27 years reminds me that when she was a trauma nurse that deer season always seems to send a lot of middle age men to the ER from dragging deer. She recommended a pack mule that way I'd be with someone as stubborn as myself. Old Marine
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Exercise and stay in shape year round, so it won't kick your butt when you head out to do something that requires some exertion. It's good advice period even walks/hikes around the block will help I'm 44 and by just walking around the block helped me drag two does out. Also think about a cart one that has bike wheels because they will go over down trees etc got my father in law one last year he's 78 and still hunts in southern jersy next year ill thinking of getting a cart also |
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Several years ago a friend of mine shot a big doe, 170# and that thing ran off into the woods...this was right after a big snow storm 2-3ft of snow. We got the tractor stuck, and had to chase that thing for a long ways, down into a big ravine and haul it back out.
That took everything both of us had. Looking back we should have just quartered it. |
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Exercise and stay in shape year round, so it won't kick your butt when you head out to do something that requires some exertion. I am still very active physically but my Marine cut body has softened with a job where I sit a lot (power plant operations). I was still running 3 miles a few times a week till I broke my toe at the AR15.com 3g in Aug, yes I finished the match. Wasn't cleared to run again for almost two months and it's amazing how fast you can go down hill when you're older. I'm back up to a little over 2 miles and it feels like it's up hill all the way. Toby Keith has a song for this situation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldQrapQ4d0Y I got one more buck to shoot this season the bigger the better. I'll just pace myself. I appreciate everyone's input into my getting old pity party. Let's go shoot some deer but please pace yourself. Old Marine
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Several years ago, I shot about a 140 pound buck on the back side of a hill in thickets. After I got him out of there, I was across a large field. Last time I ever did that.
All my hunts now are from a stand about 30 or so yards from the gravel road and in front of a hill so I just have to drag the deer back down. I had to have my son help me lift today's kill up. 45 is hitting me hard! Dragging a deer of a creek a couple of years back really showed me a loss of strength and lead me to getting my testosterone levels checked and found them really low. Last year I shot two does in a group. They both ran across the field. One went down on one side of the road and the other on the other side of the road. I just went and got the truck and loaded them up! |
| I shot a nice doe last weekend on a park of our property that you can only walk in to. I went an got my son and a long piece of rebar and we lashed that doe to the rebar and walked the deer out of there with the meat pole resting on our shoulder, old school. Other times I've been dragging a deer, I always find my self pushing like I need to make time. You can't be in a hurry. The deer is already dead. Take your time and lots of breaks to catch you breath. |
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Work smarter not harder guys.
Think mechanical advantage. Ratchet strap on a tree up the hill a ways with say a carabiner on it. Tie rope to deer. Walk up hill to your beaner. Run rope through. Now pull rope through while walking back down the hill. It will drag the deer up the hill at a 2 to 1 ratio. You can get as complicated as you want to make it. a 5 to 1 if you wanted. Either way you may have to do this a time or two depending on length of rope you have but it makes it a lot easier. |
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http://murphyindustrialproducts.com/images/blocks/gin_block_pulley.gif One of those, a long rope, and a four wheeler will recover just about any deer you can shoot. Unless you hunt on public land that doesn't allow.vehicles. My solution 2 sons ages 17 and 20. |