Anyone ever carry out a deer like this? ALICE pack or Crew Cab?

[Tedd]

I'm a backpack junkie…but I don't have a high priced one. I just keep looking at them on the internet! I have 2 ALICE packs, used, cheap from the internet. And a Badlands Pursuit I purchased a month or so thinking I needed something smaller for a recent guided tree stand hunting trip in Wyoming. I'm not at all impressed with the badlands Pursuit. It's too small for my taste and gets really stiff in cold weather. The zippers are a struggle. It rides nice.
I have field 1/4  a few deer and hauled them in my ALICE pack the way Warren Womack does. I like that. I'll probably continue to do that forever. I wish I would have done it that way when I was young and dumb and drug deer for miles in the PA mountains. The old ALICE packs have a few loose pockets, and not enough small pockets somedays but other than that it is pretty hard to beat them.
Recently I have been drooling over the Mystery Ranch Crew Cab. I have seen some internet pictures and video of people hauling a whole deer sideways on the Crew Cab. It looks like a monstrous load. But they walk away like that. I would think if the deer was a big one that it would be difficult to do that.
Some of the public ground I hunt in Maryland is good for filling the freezer with some does. Often I shoot them right at dark. It would be easier to carry the whole deer out than cut it up in the dark.
Has anyone ever tried to carry a deer like that in a Crew Cab? What are your thoughts on the pack? They are really expensive but I don't see any thing that looks as small but can turn into a big heavy hauler.  I also saw where a guy put a whole pronghorn in his crew cab. It was a small antelope but he had the whole thing stuffed in there, legs and all! And he was walking no problem.
What are your experiences with the pack?
Tedd

[RC]

I have been field quartering deer for a long time and use an old book bag of my sons that I roll up and put in my cargo pocket. I once doubled on pigs about two miles from the truck. One pig boned out and the two shoulders of the other fit in the pack. I put the other two hams in a plastic bag and tied them with a rope to the pack and got them out easy compared to dragging. RC

[RC]

killed this buck at a water oak Chris and I call the "two mile oak" A long pack out.RC
 


 

[NIGEL01]

That's slick!  Shot a doe couple weeks ago in the swamp.  Tried the gutless method for the first time, may never gut a deer again.  Packed her in a small sled, and floated her out.  Checked her remains this past weekend, nothing left but an empty skull and the spine.  No fur no nothing picked clean.  Wish I'd of put a trail cam on the carcouse.

[Rob W.]

I carry a Camelbak Commander that expands well and some pillow cases with me for packing out. I have been thinking about adding my ILBE to my truck. It could hold all my extra stuff in the truck and I could pack out very large or multiple deer.

[bigb3303]

Wow I have never heard of doing anything like this! That's awsome! I shot a 200 plus pound none point in Illinois one time. I was 16 at the time and it took me  four hours to drag him a mile to the truck along with my climber. This would have been much easer!

[Tedd]

Specifically what are your experiences with a Mystery Ranch CrewCab?

[Tedd]

We have drug deer mid morning until dark in PA. It's not uncommon for the deer to be pretty much bald on 1 side.

Tedd

[beendare]

I've carried a bunch of deer and about 50 elk out in a pack. Its a personal preference thing on packs and the most important factor is fit especially when you add a significant amount of weight.

 I'm currently using a McHale, which is probably overkill for a guy of avg height- I'm tall and most off the shelf packs just didn't fit well so I finally pulled the trigger and you can't find a better pack at any price.

Frames; The old Dana frames are good if you can find something like the K2 on ****. Barneys makes a good frame pack. The run of the mill Kelty's are OK with the Cabelas frame bringing up the rear.

Internal frames best to worst, IMO; Kifaru, Mystery Ranch....then Kuiu, mountaineering packs like Gregory, Osprey,etc.... then a bunch of others like Eberlestock, Crooked Horn, Cabelas, etc

I give Kifaru the edge due to them being lighter than MR- both excellent quality, made in USA and then a significant drop to the next 2 levels of packs. Some of those Eberle are close to 9# empty and of Chinese quality- but cheaper than the top tier packs.

If you have a shop that you can add bean bags and walk around with them is best.

[just_a_hunter]

I have packed out one mule deer whole on a Badlands and I will never do that again I am 340 lbs and a horse when it comes to packing animals and this was way to heavy and a loose load. It was like packing a 130ish pound bowl of jelly.

 

Here it is strapped to the pack that you can barely see.

 

Everything you said about the Badlands is what I have problems with but I still like the pack.

Here is half of a mule deer in the same pack with a front, hind, backstrap and tenderloin loaded from a very mature buck. Pack weight was close to 80 plus pounds.

 

A quick field quarter note: I leave the neck and rib meat attached to the front quarter being careful not to get into the backstraps and the front quarters are usually pretty close to the same weight as the hinds. Stay close to the rib cage and it peals off nicely with the front, plus saves a lot of time.

 

For hauling out heavy loads I have gone to a hand cart and have not looked back.

A quartered full elk on the hand cart.

 

Happy hunting,

Todd

[Hoyt]

I've been boning them out and carrying them in this pack I got from Walmart about 8yrs..paid $20.00 for it..got two. It's real light empty which is a good thing.
 

[onemississipp]

I put a cooler with ice in the bed of the truck, no one has stolen it yet. Then if needed go back to the truck carry the cooler in and pack out meat on ice.

[Stumpkiller]

NY gets pretty fruity about that.  Technically - you could bone the carcass for packing out - provided you tag each piece!  And you need to keep the gonads.      

 

•All portions of deer or bear meat being transported by the taker shall be individually tagged and the tags shall include the name, address, big game license number, the date that the portions were cut, and the signature of the taker. Packaged or boxed portions of venison need only one tag and must be labeled "venison" on the outside of the box. If someone other than the taker is transporting the portions, an additional tag signed by the taker with the names and addresses of the consignee and taker is required for each portion.
 •Non-resident hunters: If your home state prohibits the importation of whole deer carcasses from NY, you will need to follow the above guidelines for transportation of individual or packaged portions of deer meat while in New York State
 •A deer carcass minus the head may be transported as above, but evidence of the sex of the deer must be intact. The deer carcass tag must be affixed to the carcass, and a tag supplied by the taker must also be attached showing the name and address of the taxidermist where the head was sent.
 

[Trad Timmy]

I have been looking at packs for the last month or so to use out west when I can go. Have a budget of around 300. Was looking at the cabelas outfitter pack or the instinct frame but seen another that I kind of liked for the versitilty. Horn hunters full curl system. Has anyone used this pack?

[Biathlonman]

ILBE is the best bang for your buck.  I've picked up two for less then $50 each and they carry a load almost as well as my Kifaru.

[TURKEYFOOTGIRL]

I've packed a bunch of elk in my mystery ranch crew cab.  Very comfortable with 100 pounds or so.  Never tried a whole deer sideways?  My only complaint with the pack is that it weighs about 8 pounds empty.  Not a big deal unless you are trying to go ultralight.

[Jim Wright]

I wish I were trying to decide which pack to carry an animal out with. Here in LA. on the Wildlife Management Areas it is illegal to do more than field dress a deer on the W.M.A. The one I occasionally hunt is a beautiful natural area with a number of foot trails and two designated A.T.V. trails. The restrictions on the foot trails against A.T.V. use are waived however if you are using one to bring out a kill. This means that if I used an A.T.V. I could drive down and back up the often steep foot paths, rutting them up and setting the stage for erosion, yet it is illegal for me to quarter and pack a deer out leaving only footprints. And no, I have never received a reasonable explanation from Wildlife and Fisheries when inquiring about the policy.

[RAU]

Ive wanted to do this in Pa for a while but cant get a definitive answer as to whether we're allowed to. Everyone I know drags or carts they're deer out whole here. The following bit of text was cut and pasted from our rules and regulations. I cant find anything else in the rules about it.  Youve got to be carefull here cause Im not sure half our wardens know the rules in  and out. I called our game commision regional office once and asked them if I shot a bear way back in was I allowed to bring every bit of that bear in quartered  except the guts to the check station. I was told by the warden on the phone yes, as long as you bring in every thing but the guts to get an acurate weight thats fine. I asked a warden at the check station (i didnt get a bear i just take the kids there to see them) and was told absolutely not the bear must be brought in whole!

 Transporting Big Game:
Deer, bear, elk and turkey under transport, including those taken outside of Pennsylvania, must have an appropriate tag completed
and attached. Unmarked parts of a big game carcass taken in Pennsylvania may be transported. Upon request of any Commission
law enforcement officer, the name and address of the person who killed the animal must be furnished, along with other information necessary to properly establish legal possession.

[Trad Timmy]

Tedd I want to apologize to didn't mean to hijack your thread. That was not my intention. If I had the dough I wouldn't even shop and go with the MR crew cab.

Another thought about these packs is that the resale value they hold if it's not what you were looking for.

I was going to ask about the Alice pack you mentioned. Does it have a bar type of load shelf or a compression type of shelf?

[ddauler]

I just use my old sea bag from my Coast Guard days just tuck the top half down inside it. It rolls up nice to strap to climber when using it.