Thread: carrying deer

Originally Posted by LMcNab

There are reasons to salvage a whole carcass if possible. Leaving the muscles attached to the skeletal structure stops them from constricting to their shortest resting length, which results in a more consistently tender product. Its one of the reasons that comercial processors chill entire carcasses bone in instead of immediately boning out hot carcasses and chilling individual muscle groups or cuts.
I do agree that you probably shouldn't try achieve it at the expense of your body though, especially your spine...

I made up a meat frame to carry deer and it makes it a lot easier than piggy backing them. All the weight is transferred to my legs and taken off my spine by the gut belt on the harness.
Totally agree with you re meat quality

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

I made up a meat frame to carry deer and it makes it a lot easier than piggy backing them. All the weight is transferred to my legs and taken off my spine by the gut belt on the harness.
Totally agree with you re meat quality

Any photos ?? It sounds interesting.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

I made up a meat frame to carry deer and it makes it a lot easier than piggy backing them. All the weight is transferred to my legs and taken off my spine by the gut belt on the harness.
Totally agree with you re meat quality

I've only carried a deer on a pack frame twice from memory, the first with a guy that always wore a frame and insisted we use it. Bloody near wrecked my back as the neck and arse punched forward with every step and it was too heavy for him.

The second time I packed in some polythene for a bivvy on a frame pack and packed a deer out on the frame but stopped the forward slapping of each end by tying neck and arse back and up and it was a lighter deer.

You can see in photos it was yonks ago by yellow swannie and big jim torch.
I pikaud every other deer since and now cut them up into bits, but still have memories of that flying feeling you get when you drop that deer at the truck after a long carry.