I am amazed the tote method hasn’t been mentioned.
This is how we do it in Montana:
Take this:
Plus one of these
Fits in the back seat of the wife’s Park Avenue without getting blood anywhere in the vehicle. That is how that particular buck was transported. One note, the car is the wife’s, if it wasn’t fool proof there isn’t any way in HECK I would even think of trying it. The really good thing is the totes have handles on both ends that help with the lifting. You don't have to bear hug the bloody deer to lift it into the vehicle. They cost between 7 -12 bucks depending if they are on sale and last a long time I have used this one for seven or eight years. I have a Ford F 250 with the high tailgate, so lifting a floppy deer 3-4 feet isn’t always easy, using the tote solved all my problems. Lay the tote on its side and push the deer in back first with the butt against one end then roll the tote up. It’s amazing how the deer just settles in, and then you push the head on to its chest. With nice rack you might have to stick the front legs behind the antlers to keep the head from hang over the end of the tote. Oh ya, remember lift with your legs some of those deer can get big. I don’t transport any major distance using this method because it slows down cooling the meat.
Otto, I can relate, they give you funny looks don’t they. In my case it was a Mazda RX7 and an entire elk pulling into the check station…but that should be a thread in itself.