your longest or most brutal drags?

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Nocturnal
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your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Nocturnal » Tue Feb 28, 2017 5:51 am

With all the talk on hunting big woods deer. It has me thinking of some brutal drags out I've had in the past.
This may have been talked about before and this doesn't have to be big woods only. I know hills and marsh are just as tough. My longest drag was over 4 miles and it took me almost 9 hours to get out. I called my father and told him I shot a buck. I didn't get to finish my conversation cause my phone died. I caught liver and I ended up jumping him a couple times as he ran further away from the truck. I debated leaving him for the night because I didn't get to finish my call with him and didn't want everyone worrying but decided it was best to just get him out. He was not happy what so ever.
Also I'll never forget the aching pains in my hands. That lasted days after. Gripping a steering wheel or holding a spoon brought a roar of Charlie horses.


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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:08 am

It's funny how once you've been there, done that, you can completely empathize with a story like yours. The description of your hands cramping while clutching the wheel is a familiar feeling. A good friend of mine dragged a heavy beast of a buck out of a public marsh through cattails and tag alder thickets for a long ways with no sled or helping hand. He walked like he rode a bucking bronco bareback for a couple days as the soreness healed. Just brutal.

My worst drag was a two mile drag, but in the toughest terrain I've had to traverse, especially dragging a deer. We were five ridges deep in some serious hill country after a long paddle upstream and still-hunting all day when I killed the buck in the final hour. I was a hurting unit after that was over.
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Jonny » Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:30 am

Hunting up in Oneida county, a guy in our group shot a buck. His friend then did a small one man push to him and he shot a doe. Doe ran about 500 yards and jumped off a 50' cliff and ran another half mile into a marsh. Took us half a day to get the doe out and up the cliff.

The buck, well he shot the buck on a logging trail and dropped it. Backed the truck up, and lifted the buck up. Total drag, 0.0 ft
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:31 am

I have had many drags where my body was shot for weeks after and a few I still have lingering back issues from years ago. Can't really pinpoint my longest because most have been pretty brutal. Having dragged deer out of every terrain possible I will say that wet cattail marshes are without a doubt the hardest with northern swamps not far behind. When you add water, muck and very poor footing the difficulty increases dramatically.

These days pushing 50 years old long drags are giving into skin and quarter then pack out if needed. No more long drags for me. Wish I had that option in my younger days.
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby JoeRE » Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:52 am

My worst drag was about 15 years ago on a 2 year old 8 pointer thank God he was not any bigger than that. That was just over a mile, uphill most of the way.The worst part was up a 350 foot bluff. Never again.

I hear the stories about people dragging deer several times further than that - if you are not exaggerating, holy buckets no thanks. I might rather eat beef. :lol:

Ever since then I have quartered and packed out any big game that was more than a few hundred yards from the road. Even a big old gobbler can get processed in the field and carrying a sack of gobbler is a whole lot easier than the whole bird :lol: .

I pitty the fools who live in states where you lave to bring the critter out WHOLE!
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Nocturnal » Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:17 am

Swamps and marshes are brutal to drag through and your right draggin puts some strain on the lower back.

JoeRE- that was the old gps days. I had only one route marked out. And 3 cedar swamps to go through. Poor shot resulted in a longer treck out. Not to mention my younger and not so patient days. I should have waited cause he was sick but I continued pushing him and further away. It was was one of those situations I put myself in. I could have shortened my walk if I waited the next day and with some help would have been even better. I learned a lot of lessons with that one.
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby tim » Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:36 am

My longest drags I've had a helper but I've done some tough drags in my bluffs. The toughest was all alone 2/3 of the way down my bluff in the rain with a mature buck. My bluffs are steep so I took my time. I got him to top of the bluff to the pasture by myself in 2 hours and was physically spent. Luckily my Amish neighbor was home and got his horse and buggy to take it the rest of the way out. Bluffs are bad enough when dry but slippery wow I was a bloody/ muddy/sweaty mess
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Nocturnal » Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:46 am

tim wrote:My longest drags I've had a helper but I've done some tough drags in my bluffs. The toughest was all alone 2/3 of the way down my bluff in the rain with a mature buck. My bluffs are steep so I took my time. I got him to top of the bluff to the pasture by myself in 2 hours and was physically spent. Luckily my Amish neighbor was home and got his horse and buggy to take it the rest of the way out. Bluffs are bad enough when dry but slippery wow I was a bloody/ muddy/sweaty mess


Yeah I know you hill country boys have it rough. I wouldn't think any drag to be easy.. Add some rain to the mix I would say almost impossible. Thank god for you Amish neighbor!! :lol:
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Nocturnal » Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:52 am

I should have added to my story. I was dragging my deer while lost. Moving slow while working a gps doesn't work. That thing had me going the wrong way. So I zig zagged way more than I should have. It was a night from !!!! I know many guys have been lost while dragging. That's the worst feeling to have..
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Feb 28, 2017 8:09 am

Nocturnal wrote:
tim wrote:My longest drags I've had a helper but I've done some tough drags in my bluffs. The toughest was all alone 2/3 of the way down my bluff in the rain with a mature buck. My bluffs are steep so I took my time. I got him to top of the bluff to the pasture by myself in 2 hours and was physically spent. Luckily my Amish neighbor was home and got his horse and buggy to take it the rest of the way out. Bluffs are bad enough when dry but slippery wow I was a bloody/ muddy/sweaty mess


Yeah I know you hill country boys have it rough. I wouldn't think any drag to be easy.. Add some rain to the mix I would say almost impossible. Thank god for you Amish neighbor!! :lol:

I first hunted hill country last year and lucked out. I was able to wheel my buck out on my cart about a 1/2 mile all down hill to my truck. 8-) I was prepared to pack out but didn't really make sense in that case. No doubt one of my easiest retrievals. Good thing because he dressed out at 218 lbs. I don't foresee future ones being that easy.
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby hunter_mike » Tue Feb 28, 2017 8:17 am

Some good memories, glad I took some pics. That feeling you get when finally have him loaded in the truck is unbeatable.

Image

Image
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Nocturnal » Tue Feb 28, 2017 8:24 am

hunter_mike wrote:Some good memories, glad I took some pics. That feeling you get when finally have him loaded in the truck is unbeatable.

Image

Image



Without a doubt!! :lol:
Those two pics speak volume on what we go through. I do appreciate the dragging out though. I know a lot of guys dread it. I'm still young and appreciate the hard work Although It is nice when it's a simple drag out but that doesn't happen to often. :D
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Hawthorne » Tue Feb 28, 2017 9:42 am

3/4 of a mile thru thickets and rolling hills on a sled by myself. Got it done. Good thing I didn't have to go to work the next day. Not sure I would of made it. I was pretty sore
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby oldrank » Tue Feb 28, 2017 10:36 am

Most of my drags are close to a mile. One area is about a two mile drag. Most are close to a trail so its not terrible. The buck I shot this year was easily my worst drag ever. I shot him off the back of a cattail swamp. I had to drag him a half mile back to the human trail. It was through blowdowns n briars n up hill the whole way...not fun. By time I got to the truck I barely had it left in me to get him in the truck. Ive had back issues since and im pretty sure I ruptured a disk. He weighed 165 dressed. I worked the next day.
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Re: your longest or most brutal drags?

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Feb 28, 2017 10:50 am

I don't even like to talk about it. :hand: :shhh: Normally any drag has some bad language involved. :oops:
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.


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