Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    I'm not sure about the game carrier, but tell us about the elk!
    Jeff

    The elk, unfortunately, was not mine.  It belonged to Mark "I like
    to shoot animals the size of New York" Waters.  I helped him pack
    it out last Sunday.  I would be doing a disservice if I didn't let
    him tell the story.  I will say, however, it was a 5 point (Colorado
    count), and it was a magnificent animal. Mark will be back next
    Monday and will likely open a new note.
    
    						Dave()

    
    Though I have never done anything like what you explain ( I have
    only dragged one 125 pound deer out, a little smaller than an elk)
    I have a question.  Would cutting the animal into pieces (quarters)
    help? They do this in the magazines, is this practical in real life
    or only in the books?
    
    As for the design, the idea of the wheel may not be a good idea,
    if you have to go up/down a hill with the weight of an Elk the wheel
    will not help you stop gravity from pulling down the hill and there
    goes your elk.  What if you used metal runners like on a sled? 
    Would this be anytype of improvement, it would be a little harder
    to move than a wheel but may be easier to control.
    
    Just a thought.
    
    --Bob
    

    We did have the elk quartered, but it was still a behemoth animal.
    I considered having skids as you suggest, but the reason I initially
    decided against it was because I found myself going over several
    fairly large pieces of wood, and I didn't want to have any problems
    with the skids hanging up.  Another reason is that it would add
    to the weight.  A wheel (I think) would weigh less than a set of
    skids.  Still what you say would make a great deal of sense when
    it comes time to drag something across a snowy area....
    
    						Dave()

    What you need is a good FORD 4X4!! give some thought to only
    carrying what you cannot find naturally..ie the wheel etc. If
    you were to engineer only the wheel or skid part of what is called
    (sp) a travois and use downed tree limbs and attached with the drag
    rope you have already then there would be much less weight to tote
    around. Also during snow try one of those sleds kids use that are
    nothing more than a sheet of stiff nylon material, they are slick
    and will slide over snow with little trouble. Beware of the laws
    in the various states as some (Ohio for example) have to have the
    animal checked in at a checking station for official tagging
    intact. Another caution is to be sure that there is lots of orange
    on the body of the animal....you just never know!!
    I got my whitetail Oct 26 with a bow but not nearly that big that
    it required quartering.
    May all your drags be exhausting....
    

    A lot of people around here (Oregon), when they are hunting in some of these
    canyons, will bone the animal before they bring it out.  It cuts
    down on the weight a lot and then you can carry it out on "game
    boards".  Anything with wheels sounds to me as though it would be
    more trouble than it's worth.  At least around these mountains.
    
    
    Ken

    Another problem with wheels would be that you would need an awfully
    big one (13"+) just to get the ground clearance possibly 2 of them
    for stability. Bicycle rims from a 10 speed would be great, ones
    from those mountain bike would be even better. If its a matter of 
    leaving the animal overnight, and returning to quarter it and 
    pack it out, i would think this sort of device would be super...
                                           
    If you could rig up some kind of axle arrangement/attachment, a
    couple of supports made of tree limbs, and some canvas (with
    gromets/rope), and you'd be golden... this way you'd only have to
    pack in the two tires/1 axle (3/8" rod threaded at ends, length
    is negotiable) and some extra rope to lash the axle/rod to the support
    limbs.
    
    follow me so far???
    
    kinda like a 2 wheeled wheel barrow without the bucket...
    
    Fra

    You ought to get friendly with someone that owns a plow/pack horse.
    One of the locals here was nice enough to pull a freinds big deer 
    out of 3 miles of woods for $25. Cant say you could get that kind of 
    deal but I would be willing to pay more to save my back. I have
    also heard of people pulling there deer out with those 4 weelers, I
    dont know about a elk though. 
    
    Rich

     The 4 wheelers would most likely pull an elk out.  I've seen guys
    in Maine pull moose out of the woods with them!
    Jeff

Saw something along the lines that you've mentioned ... wheel barrow-type
outfit in the Flattops here in Co.  Looked like it was put together quite
well.  This one had a bicycle tire under the center of gravity with a fairly
substantial racking area for the animal.

Two fellows were wheeling an entire elk out while we were  dragging (and 
swearing at) quarters.  They had happy faces, we had none.

Give some thought to connecting a set of caliper brakes so the person guiding
with the back handles can brake on the downhill stretches.  Theirs was what
looked to be alunimum (beats steel anyday!) and worked quite satisfactory.

Can't imagine dragging a skid arrangement through the mountains unless there
was adequate snow cover.

AA

    Dave,
    I've built just the thing you are looking for.  It is a conduit
    frame with a basket built into it, on top of a 17" motorcycle wheel
    that uses the brake assembly for down hill speed control.  It is
    light weight, I can lift it over my head, and two men can bring
    down a whole elk in it.  We have used it for the last 12 years and
    believe me it has save lots of time and pain.  Don't use a bicycle
    wheel though, first design had one and the front quarters of my
    six point bull caused the rim to fold.  Dave and anyone else interested
    can contact me for pictures of this thing.  It is easy to build,
    tools required are: tube bender, welder, and misc hand tools.  Total
    cost to build is around $15.00.

    RE: .11
    
    I guess you'll need my location. 
    CX03-2/B5
    548-4540
    CSC32::G_ROBERTS