What a drag

[Archivist13]

This last year was my first year hunting public land in Maryland. For 30 years I've hunted private land in PA but am expanding and hunting here in Maryland as well. In PA I've always hunted with family and had ATV/Truck/family to get the deer out of the woods. Here in Maryland I'm on my own and with public land access I am trying to get at least 1.5 miles away from the parking area. I didn't have any opportunities to kill anything this year, but I always had the "what am I going to do if I shoot something and have to get it out" in the back of head. So out of curiosity, what is the farthest you have ever dragged a deer out of the woods and did you have to do it alone. The signs at the public land say you have to be out of the woods by 30 minutes after sunset. Do they give you an exception if you show up at midnight or later after dragging a deer for hours and hours? Just curious if I'm the only one somewhat concerned about the drag?

[Bowhntr68]

If I was hunting that far back I’d either invest in a deer cart or start quartering the deer up and packing out the pieces. Dragging sucks

[seazofcheeze]

The farthest I have ever dragged a deer was 2.2 miles. It was my buddy's mule deer, and there were 3 of us dragging in shifts. Even so, it still took almost 4 hours. Let that be a lesson, NEVER EVER leave your meat pack, knives, and game bags in the truck...EVER!

The farthest I ever dragged a deer solo was just over a half mile.

The farthest I ever packed out a whole deer quartered up was 2 miles.

I always take the Dan Infalt approach, "shoot first, figure out the recovery later".

On a serious note, anything over 1/2 mile, and I'm either quartering the deer and packing it out or I'm getting help dragging. Anything over a mile, even with help, I'd rather quarter up the deer and pack it out.

[Archivist13]

If I was hunting that far back I’d either invest in a deer cart or start quartering the deer up and packing out the pieces. Dragging sucks

I have considered that or even a sled.

[Archivist13]

The farthest I have ever dragged a deer was 2.2 miles. It was my buddy's mule deer, and there were 3 of us dragging in shifts. Even so, it still took almost 4 hours. Let that be a lesson, NEVER EVER leave your meat pack, knives, and game bags in the truck...EVER!

The farthest I ever dragged a deer solo was just over a half mile.

The farthest I ever packed out a whole deer quartered up was 2 miles.

I always take the Dan Infalt approach, "shoot first, figure out the recovery later".

On a serious note, anything over 1/2 mile, and I'm either quartering the deer and packing it out or I'm getting help dragging. Anything over a mile, even with help, I'd rather quarter up the deer and pack it out.

The shoot first, figure out the recovery later is exactly what I'm having hard time accepting. I know I need to have that mentality, but I wonder if I would have potentially passed up a shot due to the exit strategy. That is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

[Jackson Marsh]

I've had a couple of long solo drags in the marsh, with none of it able to use a cart. Bone and pack out is the way to go in difficult terrain, especially if you are solo. During deer season I keep a cart, sled and frame pack in my truck.

[Ack]

This last year was my first year hunting public land in Maryland. For 30 years I've hunted private land in PA but am expanding and hunting here in Maryland as well. In PA I've always hunted with family and had ATV/Truck/family to get the deer out of the woods. Here in Maryland I'm on my own and with public land access I am trying to get at least 1.5 miles away from the parking area. I didn't have any opportunities to kill anything this year, but I always had the "what am I going to do if I shoot something and have to get it out" in the back of head. So out of curiosity, what is the farthest you have ever dragged a deer out of the woods and did you have to do it alone. The signs at the public land say you have to be out of the woods by 30 minutes after sunset. Do they give you an exception if you show up at midnight or later after dragging a deer for hours and hours? Just curious if I'm the only one somewhat concerned about the drag?

First order of business would be to get this cleared up with the DNR, and then decide what will be your best option for extraction. A lot of us are prepared with packs, sleds and carts back at the truck....that way we can use the one that best suits the terrain.

[Dewey]

I've had a couple of long solo drags in the marsh, with none of it able to use a cart. Bone and pack out is the way to go in difficult terrain, especially if you are solo. During deer season I keep a cart, sled and frame pack in my truck.

Or just call Dewey. He’s always up for dragging a buck out of the marsh. Keeps him in shape.

[Moose]

Ive always worried how im gonna get my deer out. Theres been times thats all i was thinking about while i was hunting. I really need to change my midset and be happy and grateful i harvested a deer.

[Archivist13]

Ive always worried how im gonna get my deer out. Theres been times thats all i was thinking about while i was hunting. I really need to change my midset and be happy and grateful i harvested a deer.

Yep, exactly! Glad I'm not the only one.

[stash59]

Most of the deer I've killed I've dragged to someplace I could get a vehicle/aty to. Had 2 helpers with one that was about 3 miles, and took about 6 hours.

Every elk I ever killed got boned out on the spot and all but 2 backpacked out. The other 2 I had a buddy with horses.

Haven't backpacked one out of a marsh yet. But if you have some muckier areas to cross. Make sure you have enough game bags to separate the load. And take 2 trips across the questionable areas.

[Swedishbowhunter]

1st, like previously mentioned talk to the local warden and get the time thing cleared up & then figure out what is legal to use in your area. i have found that a cheap kids plastic sled with ratchet straps helps a lot. I had to drag my buck about 1/2 a mile out of thick stuff to where I could get a deer cart and then used that for the last mile.

[PK_]

The farthest I have ever dragged a deer was 2.2 miles. It was my buddy's mule deer, and there were 3 of us dragging in shifts. Even so, it still took almost 4 hours. Let that be a lesson, NEVER EVER leave your meat pack, knives, and game bags in the truck...EVER!

The farthest I ever dragged a deer solo was just over a half mile.

The farthest I ever packed out a whole deer quartered up was 2 miles.

I always take the Dan Infalt approach, "shoot first, figure out the recovery later".

On a serious note, anything over 1/2 mile, and I'm either quartering the deer and packing it out or I'm getting help dragging. Anything over a mile, even with help, I'd rather quarter up the deer and pack it out.

The shoot first, figure out the recovery later is exactly what I'm having hard time accepting. I know I need to have that mentality, but I wonder if I would have potentially passed up a shot due to the exit strategy. That is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

If you have not recovered a deer from deep in public land before, especially solo, than I strongly discourage the, ‘shoot first, figure out recovery later’ idea... you can get that mentality after you have done it a bunch because you know that you will just figure it out. There are Some places you can’t hunt unless you have help to recover the deer, period. Unless you can legally cut the deer up and pack it out.

If you are going to hunt deep you need to have a recovery plan.

The buck I killed last October was around 4 miles or so, I have had to do several full body recoveries around that distance and it is about as far as anyone would want to do such a thing...usually it is a mix of dragging, using a deer cart or floating the deer out thru a swamp. You ain’t dragging a full deer on dry ground that far, unless you are a lot tougher than me.

[KRONIIK]

Ive always worried how im gonna get my deer out. Theres been times thats all i was thinking about while i was hunting. I really need to change my midset and be happy and grateful i harvested a deer.

Yep, exactly! Glad I'm not the only one.

I've never worried about it until after the kill.
Typical conversation by my brothers or other hunting buddies: "You shot a deer WHERE???!!!! And you want us to help you get it out? Again?"

[Jackson Marsh]

I've had a couple of long solo drags in the marsh, with none of it able to use a cart. Bone and pack out is the way to go in difficult terrain, especially if you are solo. During deer season I keep a cart, sled and frame pack in my truck.

Or just call Dewey. He’s always up for dragging a buck out of the marsh. Keeps him in shape.

I agree 100%, Dewey is always the first option.