loading deer
- Thread starter sako2
- Start date
GregoryB.
Beginner
- Feb 5, 2022
- 191
- 419
Looks good. I had something similar years ago that I would use with my jeep.
Wenaha
Beginner
- Apr 15, 2025
- 62
- 115
I mostly hunt Coues whitetails. No problem loading manually.
wvbuckbuster
Handloader
- Nov 5, 2015
- 3,081
- 3,359
A 2x8 board or flat aluminum stadium bench seat leaned against the tailgate of my truck then pull the deer up, sliding along works for me.
- Nov 4, 2004
- 26,380
- 12,056
Looks like a good set up.
I'm not the young bull I used to be so I got a little smarter.
JD338
Attachments
- Thread starter
- #6
Me either. As we get older we need to work smarter.
hunter24605
Handloader
- Apr 30, 2016
- 2,745
- 5,100
Neat! I never knew my bed extender could be oriented vertically until last year. Now I have another use for it. I bet one could use a 2x4 on it’s edge as a spreader bar and lift a carcass in 2 places for a level lift and not have to pickup as high.
salmonchaser
Ammo Smith
- Dec 13, 2013
- 5,580
- 7,288
I need to come hunt with you guys, I’m normally quartering them up. 
- Thread starter
- #9
I can drop the tailgate on my truck so it's at a 45 degree angle. Makes it a it easier easing the deer into the bed. That was on my 1979 F150 and 2004 Toyota Taco.
No idea whether I can lift a deer int the bed of the 2019 F150 but the tailgate will cooperate. First, I guess what I would have to do is find and shoot a deer and get it to the truck. I most likely will use a piece of 3/4" plywood as a ramp and a come along to get the deer into the bed. The guides when I was doing elk hunts use the plywood and an electric winch to load my elk into their truck.
Of all the der I've taken over the years, only one was heavy enough that I had to cut him in half to get in onto the bed. Skinned, head and leg cut off at the knees and it still weighed nearly 300 pound. That old boy apparently never went into the rut and living off some rancher's alfalfa field. Looking at his teeth he was quite old and although he appeared to be in good health, I doubt he'd survive the oncoming winter which was particularly nasty with more than a few below zero nights. That was the last deer I killed in Nevada, 1978. The next year found me in Arizona due to a job transfer.
Paul B.
No idea whether I can lift a deer int the bed of the 2019 F150 but the tailgate will cooperate. First, I guess what I would have to do is find and shoot a deer and get it to the truck. I most likely will use a piece of 3/4" plywood as a ramp and a come along to get the deer into the bed. The guides when I was doing elk hunts use the plywood and an electric winch to load my elk into their truck.
Of all the der I've taken over the years, only one was heavy enough that I had to cut him in half to get in onto the bed. Skinned, head and leg cut off at the knees and it still weighed nearly 300 pound. That old boy apparently never went into the rut and living off some rancher's alfalfa field. Looking at his teeth he was quite old and although he appeared to be in good health, I doubt he'd survive the oncoming winter which was particularly nasty with more than a few below zero nights. That was the last deer I killed in Nevada, 1978. The next year found me in Arizona due to a job transfer.
Paul B.
Blkram
Handloader
- Nov 25, 2013
- 3,182
- 3,743
Have to be honest...I thought about trailering my Kubota M7040 along on hunts. With its FWD and lots of ground clearance, and front end loader it would be handier than a SxS!I bought one a couple years ago for the same reason, comes in really handy when I travel to hunt. I bought a hitch extension so I can use it on my UTV also. Out back and on my neighbor's place I just rely on my Kubota:
When we used to hunt friend's large farm, their tractor and loader came in mighty handy on many an occasion! Mighty handy!
Blkram
Handloader
- Nov 25, 2013
- 3,182
- 3,743
For many years, I had a sheet of 3/4" plywood that was the length of my pickup box for leaning against the tailgate.
If alone, I'd drag deer or bear up plywood and tie off, jump down, lift plywood and push it into box and close tailgate.
If I had help, would have them grab and hold deer or bear once I dragged/lifted it up plywood to where they could take hold, then I would lift and slide into box as above.
Worked pretty slick!
I want to build a new 1" plywood rig to do same thing, but fashioned after a spine board with side hand-holds and runners to handle heavier loads, and make it easier to drag of back out of box for unloading. Then it also has those holes to secure the animal to the plywood if/when needed.
Might have a hinged section to lay flat over today's tailgates that don't angle down, to keep from slipping off tailgate when loading.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever took, a loader solves a lot of problems, and turns 2-3 man jobs into 1 man jobs!
salmonchaser
Ammo Smith
- Dec 13, 2013
- 5,580
- 7,288
I gotta start hunting with you guys. I was scouting yesterday. Found elk and deer which is good. Hiked at a ridge above the north fork of the John Day. Saw a good bull bedded about 1/2 way down to the river. Ballistic distance was about 200 yards, vertical was right at 800 feet. That is steep. If I hunt that bull I’m taking my kayaking boots with me to wade the river with a quarter on my back.
Blkram
Handloader
- Nov 25, 2013
- 3,182
- 3,743
I have a 12’ inflatable boat just so I can pack a couple of people and a moose or elk if I need to!I gotta start hunting with you guys. I was scouting yesterday. Found elk and deer which is good. Hiked at a ridge above the north fork of the John Day. Saw a good bull bedded about 1/2 way down to the river. Ballistic distance was about 200 yards, vertical was right at 800 feet. That is steep. If I hunt that bull I’m taking my kayaking boots with me to wade the river with a quarter on my back.
It’ll carry a 1800 lb payload.
- Nov 4, 2004
- 26,380
- 12,056
Blkram
Handloader
- Nov 25, 2013
- 3,182
- 3,743
I have a come-along and 100' of cable in my Ram Box all the time, plus a couple of pull straps and clevises.
Blkram
Handloader
- Nov 25, 2013
- 3,182
- 3,743
My wife has a calf sled that we also throw in the truck when we go hunting...actually works on the grass and short vegetation pretty well too, when/if needed.
We can also put it in the back of the 4Runner with the back seats down, if needed to haul a deer or bear and won't get the back all bloody.
