Too deep only a matter of perspective!

[fairchaser]

Often, I've avoided certain areas as too far or too difficult to get to or to get a deer out. But, after my recent moose hunt in Newfoundland, my perspective has changed. After spending a week walking through swamps, over rocks, navigating through difficult habitat taking boats, planes and argos to get to the moose, my perspective on difficult has been adjusted. Once you do get a moose down, a quarter weighs nearly 100 lbs. Thus, 4 quarters, backstraps and tenderloins and the hide, head and antlers equals 6 trips for one man to pack out. Killing a good buck 2 miles deep and taking a few hours to pack out seems like a breeze. What's your limit on difficulty these days?

 

[bowtechgump]

I have always looked at it as you can never go too far but the ratio (of size) goes up as you go in. The farther in I go the bigger the deer/animal has to be for me to warrant killing it. I understand that the moose was a ton to carry but the story itself warrants the kill. I have never regretted the walk in or the drag out.

 

[Savage Knight]

Now days? Getting out of bed is the worse part. Once I'm awake it's game on and I'm down for whatever

 

[philsanchez76]

Often, I've avoided certain areas as too far or too difficult to get to or to get a deer out. But, after my recent moose hunt in Newfoundland, my perspective has changed. After spending a week walking through swamps, over rocks, navigating through difficult habitat taking boats, planes and argos to get to the moose, my perspective on difficult has been adjusted. Once you do get a moose down, a quarter weighs nearly 100 lbs. Thus, 4 quarters, backstraps and tenderloins and the hide, head and antlers equals 6 trips for one man to pack out. Killing a good buck 2 miles deep and taking a few hours to pack out seems like a breeze. What's your limit on difficulty these days?

Man that's sounds like you had an awesome experience! My longest pack out is laughable in comparison. 2 years ago i arrowed a 150 pound buck about 1.5 miles from my truck. Terrain was not very amicable towards a deer cart so I quartered him out and put it in my pack. With quarters, backstraps, tenders, some of the organs I'd say I probably packed out 60 pounds and I was tired man. After that I got a deer sled and that makes getting em out of there much easier as it navigates rough terrain way better than a cart. At this point I have no limit on difficulty. Get em down first and figure out how to get em back to the truck after. Every now and then I'll join a friend for a private land hunt and we will take a tractor right up to the deer, no hauling involved and it just doesn't feel as good! I still don't argue with him, but your missing that bit of grit.

 

[Crappieaddict]

There have been a few places that I have hunted that would require a special deer to warrant the misery that would follow.

 

[tellico4x4]

Actually depends on where I'm hunting. Out west, pretty much whatever it takes to get it done. Have packed them out on atv, push cart, tractor, horse & on my back before. Here at home, afraid I've grown lazy and complacent in my hunting. Spent the last 20 yrs building a place that buddies & I could hunt when we got old. Now that you I've gotten old, one of first thoughts that pop into my head is " can I get my Ranger to that deer if I shoot it"? If my grandsons are in camp I'll hunt just about anywhere & let them worry about getting it out .

 

[Ski]

Pfft, I don't even like carrying my squirrels!

The worst pack out I ever had was a bull elk my buddy shot about 3mi up a narrow canyon in NM. We deboned it and packed it out one backpack at a time, back & forth. Then my wife kills another one 3 days later of the same hunt but hers was on a cliff edge on the opposite side of the mountain peak. At least that one was almost entirely downhill, minus the few hundred yards to the crest. Deboning that thing was tricky because of the slope. The ground gave way under me a couple times & I seriously feared I might end up over the cliff.

Aside from that hunt, the only drag that sticks out in my mind was a big nannie doe when I was maybe 14yrs old. I must have been nearly 2 miles in. That was the last time I ever shot a doe that was anything more than earshot from the truck. That deer weighed as much as I did.

 

[megalomaniac]

In TN, there is almost no place I wouldn't shoot a good buck. I've hunted several places where I hiked in with a pack frame with the very intention of quartering/ deboning the animal and packing him out in a single trip. The flip side, I'm not shooting a doe unless I can drive right to her.

Out west, I've had to pass up a couple elk because there would have been no possible way to get to them if they ran/ fell off the top of the mountain on the wrong side. General rule of thumb... if I cant get to the animal and recover the meat in time to ensure it doesn't go to waste, I won't shoot it... varies by daytime temperatures, terrain, and whether I'm hunting solo or with a friend (packout with a friend is twice as fast as a solo packout).

 

[CHRIS WILSON]

My buddy and I have a few hunting spots that are a pretty long haul through some nasty terrain. Hauling a deer out of these areas is not quick or easy. I don't mind making the trip into these areas but I've told my hunting buddy a few different times that whatever I shoot is going to be worth the time and effort it's gonna take to get it out of there, so it won't a doe or a younger buck.

 

[RUGER]

LOL
Reminds me of the hunt at Lake Barkley State Park.
@Wildcat said I was way too deep in the woods.

 

[JN]

For remote areas in the mountains that I hunt there is no way to drag a deer out. To thick with mountain laurel and rhododendron you have to quarter them up and pack out which even that is difficult when there are certain areas you are crawling through. When I hunt those areas it is going to be a buck that is worth the effort. I am not shooting a doe there when I could shoot one at places where it is easier to get them out.

 

[themanpcl]

Often, I've avoided certain areas as too far or too difficult to get to or to get a deer out. But, after my recent moose hunt in Newfoundland, my perspective has changed. After spending a week walking through swamps, over rocks, navigating through difficult habitat taking boats, planes and argos to get to the moose, my perspective on difficult has been adjusted. Once you do get a moose down, a quarter weighs nearly 100 lbs. Thus, 4 quarters, backstraps and tenderloins and the hide, head and antlers equals 6 trips for one man to pack out. Killing a good buck 2 miles deep and taking a few hours to pack out seems like a breeze. What's your limit on difficulty these days?

Maybe I'm the only one but "Cousin Eddie" has the attitude that he will go as deep as necessary, be damned if he'll worry about how far I have to help him drag it out...lol

 

[DMD]

If legal where I am hunting, I debone my deer and haul meat and head/rack out only. Just don't care about dragging them out anymore or hauling quarters out.

 

[Lost Lake]

Thankfully, I'm not sure of my limits yet, which tells me I haven't had a long enough drag lol. I've had several hauls of 1.5 miles or so, and it was work for sure.

Once I get a buck, the hunt is over for me, so unless there's some reason that's time sensitive, I'm gonna take my time and enjoy getting them out. The sore muscles and long drags in the darkness all make for good memories in later years.

The worst was a boar that my buddy killed in Cherokee National Forest about 15 years ago. We were 3.5 miles back in on a trail when he pulled the trigger. Durn thing dressed 325 if I remember correctly. We took him out Tarzan style on a pole, which probably wasn't too smart looking back on it.

I couldn't walk straight for a few days after that one.

 

[backyardtndeer]

I guess I have gotten a little lazy, the ones I cannot drive the tractor up to to slide in the bucket are the difficult ones.

 

[Gravey]

Never been anywhere that's too deep so far but most of my hunting has been Tennessee and a few surrounding states. Have been able to drive the 4-wheeler / side by side up to them or very close.

 

[bigtex]

I'm spoiled I guess. Here on my place most times it's a down hill drag that leads to my food plot and I call the wife and tell her to bring the SideXSide.
Every now and then the Deer will run the wrong way and it's an uphill struggle.
Last weekend I was hunting a WMA and I was about 3/4 of a mile deep. Killed a pretty good sized doe around 10:30 and didn't get her to the truck till around 1:30. Next time i'll have a deer cart or quarter it up. Bad planning on my part.

 

[EastTNHunter]

The boneless method opens up a lot of options. I know that is work, but that's part of earning it, and it makes memories

 

[AT Hiker]

Nobody has ever accused me of going too deep.....

Like Mega, I've never experienced a place in TN that made me second guess shooting a buck. Doe on the other hand, rarely am I that hungry to kill one in a place that is going to take a lot of effort to get it out.

After packing a few mule deer out in the 6+ mile range with full camp in your pack you most definitely gain a different perspective. Then again, packing a clanking deer stand in .5 mile bouncing off the back of your knees sucks too.

 

[Specializedjon]

If I can't pull my truck up to it, I'm probably where I shouldn't be.