Game Cart. Do they work well?

[Rook]

Ranchers in SE Alberta aren't letting vehicles or AFC on the land. Have to carry out an elk some how. Like to hear from some who have carts and used them. Pros and cons. Thanks

[hawken]

They are great!
I packed out a whole moose 3 km by myself with one.

[thumper]

Practice the 'gutless cleaning method', and use a game cart - and you'll find you can take out a whole elk in one trip.

[sapsk]

I think whether a cart is useful depends on terrain and cart design.

I used one once to bring out a deer in brush and muskeg and it was a bugger. It kept wanting to tip and wheels sunk in soft spots (wasn't frozen), I had a couple fence crossings and had to unload to cross. The height of the cart was awkward and a real back breaker.

I've gone to using a plastic sled. Pelican and Viking are the brands I have. They slide on grass fairly well (way better than any calf sled) and can just slide over wet and uneven ground, as well as under fences. Of course in snow they whistle along. Loading into a truck and transporting is easy with the sled too. Two guys can just toss it in the truck box full of whatever you have and I've loaded a full sled alone by backing into a hill or ditch and just pulling it up to the tail gate and in. You could even transport in a hunting mini van because the sled contains leakage.

I think a cart would be good in open country as long as handles are high enough that you aren't bent way over and the bigger the wheels the better.

[Passthru]

Worked great last night. Not an elk but a doe

[bowhunter9841]

I plan on purchasing this cart when I get the funds. It looks awesome, here's the link to check it out. I hunt a lot of foot access only sites. It'd be great. Called the Hawk Crawler.

https://www.hawkhunting.com/products...multi-use-cart

[elkslayer132]

Originally Posted by bowhunter9841

I plan on purchasing this cart when I get the funds. It looks awesome, here's the link to check it out. I hunt a lot of foot access only sites. It'd be great. Called the Hawk Crawler.

https://www.hawkhunting.com/products...multi-use-cart

I bought this a month ago but have not used it yet. Looks great but it is big. Got mine from Cabela's in Calgary you have to special order it but they had 25 in warehouse here so i got it in about three days.But it costs about $249 plus tax your link is in US funds. Can't wait to put it to use. I see it is on sale now for 199.99 at Cabela's

[glen1971]

Originally Posted by Rook

Ranchers in SE Alberta aren't letting vehicles or AFC on the land. Have to carry out an elk some how. Like to hear from some who have carts and used them. Pros and cons. Thanks

Double check with the landowners before burning gas to their doorsteps.. Some aren't allowing ANY access.. No rifle.. No bow.. No trucks, quads, etc.. That would also include levitating yourself and hypnotizing an animal into walking to your truck.. There is lots of caution this year, and rightfully so..

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by thumper

Practice the 'gutless cleaning method', and use a game cart - and you'll find you can take out a whole elk in one trip.

Yes to the gutless method but I prefer a sled.

[Bonescreek]

Read a post on another forum this morning where one reply said
they used a truck bed liner cut out about 24" of the center width and
overlapped and bolted the left and right sides together.

Another reply said they took a sawsall to a plastic pickle barrel to cut it
in half and mounted an axal and wheels to the bottom of it.

Both of these replies where used for white tail deer.

[bowhunter9841]

Originally Posted by elkslayer132

I bought this a month ago but have not used it yet. Looks great but it is big. Got mine from Cabela's in Calgary you have to special order it but they had 25 in warehouse here so i got it in about three days.But it costs about $249 plus tax your link is in US funds. Can't wait to put it to use. I see it is on sale now for 199.99 at Cabela's

I was just in the south side cabelas in Edmonton the other day, and they had 2-3 of them in boxes on the floor. Maybe they're sold out now? Wish I had the cash to buy it right now, especially if it's on sale. It does seem like it's pretty big, but it also seems much more ergonomic and easier to use than the other styles with two wheels. Let me know how it works out for you.

[stob]

X whatever to all the above ... i use both and I have 2 diff sizes of jet sleds ( i drill the perimeter for lashing and reinforce the front for pulling )... we pull deer out of the badlands coulees over grass and clay etc dry pr snow up steep grades with the sleds .. i will one day modify a cart with the pneumatic sand tires one day after a bottle of inspiration to try it out

[Headdamage]

Anyone used a powered game cart or powered wheelbarrow for game recovery?

[Korygaudreau]

I use ice fishing sled works great

[Drewski Canuck]

I have both, but you will find the UFA Calving Sled indispensable on frost covered ground or snow covered ground.

As for the game carts, usually the webbing is too wide. If you take 1 inch by 1/8" steel and weld softly with a flux core or mig welder to fill the gap, you will have a good game cart.

Drewski

[petew]

I had a wheel fall off , because the pin got snagged in brush. Take a look at how the wheels are attached, and secure the pins with wire, tape etc, and tape spare pins on the cart.
Also keep tie down chord on the cart so it is there when you need it.