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Best Deer Cart: Hawk Crawler, Rack Packer, Versacart, other......?

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Point-N-Shoot

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Looking at getting a deer cart to help carry out deer because I almost had a stroke dragging out a medium sized buck this year. Tried a pulling harness, stick and rope, and pulling from the horns. I know that the Hawk Crawler, Rack Packer, and Versacart are very popular. I'm sure that there are others. Lets say that money isn't an object.



What is the best cart out there?
 
#2 ·
I have the hawk crawler. Packed a nice buck out last night on public land. Was a little of 1/2 mile and the cart did great. It was very muddy in the fields and the cart handled it like a champ. Also used the cart to help get the deer in the back of the truck. Just backed the cart under my tailgate and tilted that part on the ground so the head of the deer was just below the tailgate. Grabbed the rack and just pulled the deer in the back of the truck. Worked great
 
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#5 ·
All three are great deer carts. I had the Versacart and loved it for many years. I downsized and it wouldn't pack in my car. Got the Rack Packer and had a 70 year old man used it to haul a 275 pound live weight buck last Saturday. It folds up and fits behind the seat and is about $150. It wasn't as easy as the Versacart but it worked great.:wink:
 
#6 ·
The best thing I've found, is the biggest decoy sled you can find.
Shappel Jet sled, Beavertail, etc.

They make it SO much easier to drag a deer through the woods. They'll also float a lot of weight. So you can cross ponds and creeks.
And when you get to the truck, they give you enough leverage to single-handedly lift/slide the deer into the bed.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
copterdoc said:
The best thing I've found, is the biggest decoy sled you can find.
Shappel Jet sled, Beavertail, etc.

They make it SO much easier to drag a deer through the woods. They'll also float a lot of weight. So you can cross ponds and creeks.
And when you get to the truck, they give you enough leverage to single-handedly lift/slide the deer into the bed.
Click to expand...


Even with no snow?
 
#8 ·
I almost forgot. A sled also works to hold ice against the back-straps, neck, and hams overnight, and keeps your truck bed from looking like a murder scene until you can get to a car wash.
 
#9 ·
Point-N-Shoot said:
Even with no snow?
Click to expand...
Even with no snow.

It makes a BIG difference in moving a 200+ lb buck over the ground.
Like from "ain't happening", to "this isn't even difficult.".
 
#10 ·
thirdhandman said:
All three are great deer carts. I had the Versacart and loved it for many years. I downsized and it wouldn't pack in my car. Got the Rack Packer and had a 70 year old man used it to haul a 275 pound live weight buck last Saturday. It folds up and fits behind the seat and is about $150. It wasn't as easy as the Versacart but it worked great.:wink:

View attachment 6658639 View attachment 6658641
Click to expand...
That wheel is so small. Does it cause issue in mud or snow?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
dbow: That is a good question. Actually, we have had a lot of rain recently and it was sloppy going downhill. Stan was able to pull that deer over 10" logs. The Versacart I had distributed the weight better than the Rack Packer but cost 2x as much plus was too big for my vehical. I haven't tried it in the snow yet but don't see that being a problem at all. I've had 2 back surgeries bad shoulders and bad knees and have been able to take 3 deer out by myself with it.
As I said all three carts are good in their own way. I have used sleds but to me all three carts are easier pulling than a sled. Hope this helps.:wink:
 
#12 ·
Dealing with wheels wasn't worth it for me.

There is no maintenance with a decoy sled, and it always works.
The only drawback, is they aren't compact, and can't be folded up.
 
#13 ·
Hauled two deer stacked on top of each other and my gear a mile in a half with my versacart in October. It was mostly on a conservation access road, but I would have been hating life without the versacart. Hawk crawler looks good, too, but i have no experience with it.
 
#14 ·
If space isn't an issue, I second a good heavy duty sled...slides over all of the stuff a wheeled cart will, as well as, over the mud that a wheeled cart gets stuck in, but keep in mind, it's still a drag and not a roll, so more physical effort is required....if space is an issue, the rack-packer occupies the least space, but IMHO isn't as efficient in the hardwoods as the Hawk or the Versa..I've had a chance to work with both the Hawk and the Versa, I'd take the Hawk. Thick, nasty mud can be a problem, but its a problem for both and the Hawk offers advantages that the Versa doesn't.

Three good choices, you just have to figure out what offers the most for the conditions you hunt.

Joe
 
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#15 ·
After dragging out a couple of large bodied deer this year I decided to break down and get some help. I was going the sled route but stumbled upon the Hawk Crawler on Scheels website for $110 shipped to my door, ordered it this morning.

Just a heads up to those looking.
 
#17 ·
copterdoc said:
Dealing with wheels wasn't worth it for me.

There is no maintenance with a decoy sled, and it always works.
The only drawback, is they aren't compact, and can't be folded up.
Click to expand...
With a two-wheeler, it is much easier to drag heavy boxes etc than on a sled. Just ask any UPS driver. Those tiny little wheels do the job great and are of 0 maintenance.


A Travois for Dragging Game, Use Physics to Pack Your Deer Out
Everyone has probably seen old pictures or a movie that shows native tribesmen dragging loads behind dogs or horses on poles across the plains. The “travois” comes from the French word “travail”, which basically means work of a painful or laborious nature; to toil. That doesn’t sound too good if I have to toil, but it is the travois that does the heavy lifting.

Keith Doyle designer of the Rack Packer, recognized this for what it is. He added a solid no maintenance wheel to make it much easier to drag. He added shoulder straps and fold out legs on the sides to elevate the handles to make lifting easier. It has a hinge to fold in half for smaller storage. Only weighs about 15 pounds. If you notice in the picture, it is as wide the hunter and with only one wheel, it makes it easy to go between trees. Going between trees with any two wheel or 4 wheel cart is a royal PITA. Made in the USA.
I love having so many choices and this is the best I've found.
 
#18 ·
Anyone use the Rack Packer in soft sand? The areas I have been hunting are walk in only and many of the roads are really soft sand....wondering if that small wheel would work in this or if it would just sink?
 
#20 ·
I remember one that converted a Summit-type treestand into a game cart with wheels that clamped onto it somehow, etc.

Anybody know what I'm talking about, or was it just a hallucination/ pizza nightmare-type-thing I was having?
 
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