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  • #16
    Originally posted by Schultzz View Post
    Aside from Jim's point which is certainly valid, what's the difference carrying out quarters or dragging a whole deer minus the gut sack? Not much in the area of weight. Besides, leaving two quarters behind is inviting Mr. Scavenger let alone Mr. Bear who didn't get the message to hibernate. If it's snowmobile weather you're okay. If it's a warm autumn day, you' better be in shape or have a buddy with a walkie talkie close by.
    We hunt in a wilderness area, so no motorized vehicles. I've dragged out four deer in the last three seasons (twice with one other guy, once with three others, and once with a whole gaggle) from 2-4 miles deep. Dragging a deer more than a few hundred yards sucks. Antlers constantly get caught on beech-whips and blowdown, there are swamps and creeks to cross (exposing the body cavity to all sorts of things), and dragging a deer behind you is not a natural position and your arms and shoulders get sore real quick.

    I'm done with dragging if it's by myself or in a small party. We hunt in a group and when there's a full party at camp, we might have 12-15 guys. We'll drag then, sure. Nothing like the sight of a big buck on the meat pole in front of camp.

    Quarters, or better yet, boning them out, allows them to be packed in a sturdy frame pack combined with some trekking poles to steady yourself over uneven terrain which makes it easier to get them out. Your hips and thighs can carry a helluva lot more than your arm can drag. Western backcountry hunters typically bone out most everything and can get an elk out of the mountains in 2-3 solo trips with loads approaching and exceeding 100 lbs. 40-50 lbs of boned out whitetail plus a head or just antlers can be done by one guy. Leave the hide (or 1/2 if you're getting a mount done), bones, and guts for the forest to reclaim. And I'll damned if I'm going to drag a 300lb+ bear out of the woods.

    Randy Newberg has an excellent video demonstrating the gutless method:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbnp82DWMCE

    NYSDEC regs are not explicit in quartering or boning out animals to pack out, but contact your local EnCon officer for guidance. Leaving evidence of sex attached to a quarter or the largest piece of meat is easy enough, bring a ziplock bag and rubber band cover the scrotum or penis so that it doesn't contact your meat.

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    • #17
      Thanks fly that was my thoughts in a nutshell

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      • #18
        While it is not a common practice in NY, quartering, deboning and packing out a deer or bear is legal to do - please refer to page 18, section titled Tagging, Transporting and Reporting of the 2016-2017 NY Hunting & Trapping guide.

        As Fly Rodder mentioned with the video link, I utilize the gutless method to breakdown an animal. I carry on my back a Badlands 2200 pack and have in it a small tarp, game bags, Buck 110 folding knife, paper and pen. I lay the animal on the tarp before I break it down to help prevent dirt, leaves, etc from contaminating the meat. I also hang the quarters/meat in a tree to cool (I find it helps with taste of the final table fare) as I break down the animal. Within each game bag of meat, I place the necessary information of my tag on a piece of paper and seal it in a zip lock bag. One of my hindquarters always contains evidence of the sex still attached to it and like Fly Rodder mentioned it is wrapped in a plastic bag to keep from touching the meat.

        At first, it took me some time to convince my hunting buddies to do this until they realized they could keep hunting instead of dragging. As I am breaking down an animal, they can continue to hunt. Also, they can still hunt as we are packing the animal out - something they couldn't do before when we dragged animals out. I will say, it does get interesting if one of your hunting partners harvests an animal as well.

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        • #19
          Originally posted by backcountry View Post
          While it is not a common practice in NY, quartering, deboning and packing out a deer or bear is legal to do - please refer to page 18, section titled Tagging, Transporting and Reporting of the 2016-2017 NY Hunting & Trapping guide.

          As Fly Rodder mentioned with the video link, I utilize the gutless method to breakdown an animal. I carry on my back a Badlands 2200 pack and have in it a small tarp, game bags, Buck 110 folding knife, paper and pen. I lay the animal on the tarp before I break it down to help prevent dirt, leaves, etc from contaminating the meat. I also hang the quarters/meat in a tree to cool (I find it helps with taste of the final table fare) as I break down the animal. Within each game bag of meat, I place the necessary information of my tag on a piece of paper and seal it in a zip lock bag. One of my hindquarters always contains evidence of the sex still attached to it and like Fly Rodder mentioned it is wrapped in a plastic bag to keep from touching the meat.

          At first, it took me some time to convince my hunting buddies to do this until they realized they could keep hunting instead of dragging. As I am breaking down an animal, they can continue to hunt. Also, they can still hunt as we are packing the animal out - something they couldn't do before when we dragged animals out. I will say, it does get interesting if one of your hunting partners harvests an animal as well.
          Great advice!! It's always seemed odd to me, but I think it's just a northeast thing to drag deer out whole. Out west, it wouldn't even be a thought to not bone out a deer or Elk. If it's possible and it's an easy drag then go for it, but if you are hunting deep then prepare to bone out and pack out. Just be prepared, have a good pack, and a game plan. It seems many hunters are about dragging deer out of the real deep woods when they should prepare and pack that big woods buck out in quarters.

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          • #20
            Cool stuff on how different hunters get it done. I've dragged alone and with a group. Larry Benoit always suggested getting the upper body off the ground. We all carry those orange drag straps with ropes. We'll find a good stick about three feet long, tie it to the antlers, put a guy and each side and off we go. Once we dragged on a side-hill and had guys in the back keeping the back legs even. It's work, but we get 'em out. A few years back we got three bucks on one drive with just four guys. We dragged them all from state land to a friend's private property line, borrowed his ATV, piled them on and took them out the last 3/4 mile. That was something! As my Uncle used to say, "I'd rather drag all day than not."
            Life's short, hunt hard!

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            • #21
              Great advice, thank you

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              • #22
                Dragging is a major PITA but I do it with most of the deer that I shoot within a 1/2 mile of the road depending upon the density of the woods and the terrain. I prefer to hang the entire animal for a few days before I butcher it. I am also able to get a great deal more off of the deer when I am working in the comfort of my garage vs. working off the ground or from my hoist deep in the woods. I also like to have water handy when I am butchering.
                That said, I also have done my share of butchering in the field. I carry a hoist (pulley and gambrel) with me in my backpack along with several large plastic bags (for the meat), rubber gloves, a towel and knives....
                In warm weather field butchering is a bit of a race and I have to note that I am not super keen about the wasps and flies that want to participate.
                In cold weather it's simply crap. Yes the deer body is warm but if it's 10 below your fingers are going to be gone long before you are done....
                If you don't like hair on the meat, field butchering is not for you...it's much harder to control in the field.

                WRT what they do out West...in Idaho my son learned how to quarter a deer from his Idaho State Hunting Regs/guide. They include detailed step by step directions in it. Last year when he bagged his first (nice) mule deer he called me to ask what he should do to get it out of the woods. I told him to call a buddy to help him drag it. He remembered that the guide had the directions in it so he decided to quarter and learned to do it himself....

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                • #23
                  How about Ranger Trainees with fullsize RZR's who charge a fee to come and get your deer. The money could go to a worthy project. They could find you via GPS. They would check your tag and load and haul out your game to your vehicle. That way the others in your party could still hunt. They could also aid in monitoring the area.
                  Never Argue With An Idiot. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level And Beat You With Experience.

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Stew0576 View Post
                    Jim the odds are pretty good in a lot of areas, penalty is they take the animal, they revoke your license for multiple years, take your gun, and give you a ticket
                    Back country ethics is the key.
                    Enterprising game law violators will find a way.
                    Jim

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Schultzz View Post
                      How about Ranger Trainees with fullsize RZR's who charge a fee to come and get your deer. The money could go to a worthy project. They could find you via GPS. They would check your tag and load and haul out your game to your vehicle. That way the others in your party could still hunt. They could also aid in monitoring the area.
                      It was always a matter of pride for me.
                      If i decided to hunt the back country, alone, I took the responsibility to get the deer back to my truck.
                      The whole essence of back country hunting is to it do alone.
                      It's hard to convey the satisfaction to someone who has never done it.
                      Jim

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Hard Scrabble View Post
                        It was always a matter of pride for me.
                        If i decided to hunt the back country, alone, I took the responsibility to get the deer back to my truck.
                        The whole essence of back country hunting is to it do alone.
                        It's hard to convey the satisfaction to someone who has never done it.
                        Jim
                        That may be true Jim, but hunters age and develop deficits physically. Better to have a service available instead of an ambulance or funeral director service. You can hunt alone and carry out your kill if you wish but not everyone is like you and many choose to hunt with a buddy or their kids.
                        Never Argue With An Idiot. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level And Beat You With Experience.

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                        • #27
                          When I hunt the big woods of western Lows Lake, I bring some plastic bags and a pulley system just to bone out a deer should I get one. Because of CWD, I'm not allowed to bring a full carcass from NY into Ct where I live. So to abide by these rules, if I where to harvest a deer I would bone it out and follow the rules, ie, label each package with my name, address, lic #, time and date. Plus I would leave an obvious proof of sex (ball sack) and label that package.
                          www.canoetripping.net

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                          • #28
                            The dragging method is certainly a PITA for anything past 1/2 mile, and really isn't an option at all for moving a carcass off the trail unless you have some other helping hands.

                            The cart method might work okay on certain trails, but a lot of trails are just to rugged for that, and carrying the cart in and out adds a bit more weight.

                            I see the field dressing and quartering method as one of the better options for getting animals out of true backcountry areas. The only requirement, according the to DEC regs (i think page 21 or 22 in the print out magazine) is that you retain proof of sex (head and antlers aren't required) and that you tag the meat, or individual pieces of meat, once you get back to your car or campsite.

                            I too think there is something to be said for getting a harvested animal out of remote and rugged wilderness, as opposed to walking 500ft from your tree stand to your car with your animal in tow. Not that there is anything wrong with tree stand hunting on a friend's farm, but I can certainly appreciate the appeal of hunting in more remote areas. That said, a few more inroads in some of the wilderness areas would certainly aid hunters getting into and out of some of those remote areas.

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Hard Scrabble
                              Schulzzie,
                              You seem not to realize the concept of not depending on other people.
                              In todays world, everything is provided.
                              The lone deer hunter in the woods of the Adirondacks has chosen to accept the challenge to locate and take a buck and to bring it home.
                              Jim
                              So everyone not physically capable of of dragging , or chooses not to make three or four trips to pack out a deer from a mile or two deep in the woods should either :
                              1. Give up hunting all together
                              OR
                              2. just plant some apple trees , corn , and some food plots within range of the back porch of a camp so a solo drag is not too far , just hook it up to the tractor / 4 wheeler and do the motorized haul of shame.

                              I wish you good health and the wisdom to know when to plant a nice deer food plot if you want to continue hunting when age and physical issues take their toll.

                              Don't take that wrong , we have a few members here that still do what many only dream of , getting way back there and doing it solo for weeks at a time. That is an art and life style that is sadly fading away . I wish there was more enthusiasm for the younger generations to follow in those footsteps.
                              Your wording sounds more like it is an either / or coin toss. If you want folks from camp to help drag that whole deer / bear back, or use any motorized help you should just stay home on the porch . Let the " real hunters " hunt and any inferior people just step aside.
                              Gee, I wonder why there is not a majority of young people today begging to fill the ranks of your mold of what a hunter should be.
                              Phil



                              “The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.” —Herbert Spencer

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                              • #30
                                It's laughable that some think that if you don't hunt low deer density Adk back country , that somehow you are less of a hunter.

                                Whew, I've done plenty of back country deer hunting in the ADK's, I used to be a licensed NYS Guide. I hunted Moose River Plains, Blue Ridge Wilderness area, North Lake Easement, and Crownlands in the Dryden Ontario Kenora District where I took two bucks that made the Ontario record book, on several do it yourself hunts. One of those bucks grossed 163 7/8 " and dressed 260 lbs. would have made B&C except the G 4 on the right side was broke off. If you like back country big woods hunting you should try Northwest Ontario.

                                I would never condem someone who hunts from a camp that has privateland and is able to plant food plots and improve the wildlife habitat. There is much gratification in owning your own land and improving habitat and then harvesting a game animal on that land.

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