Game carts
 

We’ve been using a commercial cart for a few years and killed a couple sets of wheels too. I’m thinking of using some dirt bike front wheels for a cart... what’s your thoughts? Side by side wheels ? in line wheels? One wheel? Two wheels?

Depends on the typical terrain you hunt on - do you need to go over logs, lots of sidehilling, etc?

I'm curious... What killed your existing wheels? What design were they? Inflatable? Metal-Spoked? Injection-Molded Plastic?

The first set were spiked and lasted awhile, the second set were injection moulded plastic-solid rubber wheels. They didn’t last 3 feet with 4 elk quarters. Lots of side hills and lots of logs where we use it the most.

4 Elk quarters? You need a trailer! You could spend $500 on one for your truck that wouldn't haul that. A game cart is something you pull by hand isn't it?

I don’t know how I typed 4 quarters.... it was late at night I guess.

We had 2 on and it collapsed without even moving it. The spoked wheels we had lasted longer but gave out last year.

This is what got me thinking about using dirt bike front wheels.

I’m really curious about these.



https://gametote.com

I have a gamecart I have used for multiple deer and quartered out moose. I have gutted and put mature bucks whole on the game cart and had no issues. Looks like pretty basic inflatable bike tires on the cart. 2 Tires

I haven't gone through crazy terrain but it goes over logs and hills with out much problem. I have even packed whole deer by myself on a decent game trail a few kms. Tipped over on me a few times and wasn't very easy but I was able to make it to the truck with the deer whole(gutted).

That looks awful to me.

Impossible for one person to use, and really dangerous with two.
Think of your knees, ankles, hips and back. So easy to lose balance and slip.

Two tires!

My homemade carts all used mountain bike tires and rims.
Never have I had a blowout or collapsed rim.
Stick with smaller diameter tires.
Used kids bikes....

Honey badger is a smaller version but you would Ha V e to quarter to critter. My game cart is rated to 300# and packs whole deer or 2 Elk quarters no problem. Going over huge 8+" logs is an issue or getting it through thick bush.....I just use the frame pack

How do you get a whole elk into it? Seems like you would need to wrestle to load it.

Then wrestle again anytime it tips over.

It does look ideal on a well worn game path with few obstacles - would work great there - but seems that loading it, recovering ot when tipped over, etc,,,, could be a PITA

I got one of these, haven't hauled any game with it but hauls things around the yard with ease.

I am currently in the market for a set of wheelchair moulded wheels.I realize they are very narrow but should have no cactus issues.Spoked tires become an issue in heavy brush as they forever pick up branches.

I've got this one and hauled a few moose out with it. Never an entire moose at once of course but an entire half yes. I don't know how you could kill the wheels on this, the tires being solid rubber and the spokes are oversized. I've had it more than 12 years and it should last another 25. I've hauled a couple dozen of deer, moose and antelope. Some I've done myself and some with help from a friend. I don't know how I would do that myself with a one wheeled cart?

https://www.amazon.ca/Leader-Accesso.../dp/B00LIHHBYC

That’s exactly the one we had... killed the rims. It’s the side hills that are so hard on them.

Choices
 

we used these carts for a long time, then last year I noticed a nice sized HD plastic sled. at Canadian tire, $90 for the sled seemed expensive at the time.... Till we got it out to where the elk was at Suffield. Rolled two animals in that sled and dragged back to the truck, sooo much easier than using a cart. In terrain a front and rear rope would likely be a good idea. This sled worked very well, I believe my cart days are over.....FS

Don’t give up on the wheels too fast. We use sleds too, sometimes they work great, other times wheels would be nice. I have a calf sled that I set up with “pulk” poles, it’s ok. I also have a cheap kids “banana” sled that the neighbour tossed out, it’s really nice with one elk leg.

I’m thinking about putting aluminum runners of some sort on the calf sled, they sure do take off sideways on the side hills.

Same with me. I've used a heavy-duty 2 wheel cart for 30+ years, lots of cactus flats but generally, worked well when hunting with 2 guys - one to clean the critter, while the other did the long walk back to the truck to get the cart. Now I use a cheap, Dollar Store, 3 ft kid's sleigh. It fits like a turtle shell over my daypack, so it's always on hand. I do the 'gutless' method exclusively now, and the cheesecloth bags of meat ftie down well on the little sled, and off I go. Works best in snow, but also does ok on dry ground/grass and bush. Kind of this type:https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/m...5203p.html#srp

sled
 

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/p...8265p.html#srp

this is the unit I bought, I guess it is meant for hauling ice fishing gear.... love the high sides for multiple critters hauling, and where we were there was very little snow but this thing was still super easy to pull....FS

Exactly what I use. Works great in almost any conditions and the lip (front edge) is thick and strong as is the body of the sled. Only thing I did was put in a better (longer and thicker) climbing rope, carabineer and sling.

Also ran a tag line to the back, of there's 2 of us, so the person trailing can steer (keep) the back end from sliding over too much on steep side hills, but it will ride pretty good on a side slope.

I wrestled a friend's Cabela's "game cart" and won't be doing that again.

I've also used crazy carpets, they work pretty good but if the plastic breaks where the rope is - it can be frustrating.

How do these sleds works if there is little to no snow? I picked 1 up this spring and put the runners on it but have yet to try it out.

My experience is they suck when the snow runs out. Also if the snow is seriously deep they Bush up,a bunch of snow in front of them. But still better than packing in some cases.

x 2

My old sled was a 6" deep, red calving sled from the UFA and for years it worked great but it wasn't as stable as the deep Canadian Tire one.

I find when the snow runs out, the sled is still better than straight hide rubbing the ground....Never the perfect scenario.

I carry lots of extra rope to tie the animal into the sled as deep snow is not forgiving and the sled is always tipping sideways.....

Yuppers, more sweating and swearing....haha

Sasquatch used to make some great carts, but I don't think they are in business anymore (www.sasquatchfabrication.com).

I used to have a Big Game cart like the one in the picture below, but recently sold it to a fellow member here.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....4q7lL._AC_.jpg

This one is similar to the one CNP posted (the Amazon version of the Cabela's Big Game Hauler). One of the biggest issues with any of these is when sidehilling, the wheels will be more vulnerable to collapsing. I hadn't had any issues with mine, but I didn't stress-test it either.

I like the Hawk Crawler that Geezer posted. Keeping a low center of gravity seems like a good strategy. The only thing I don't like is the size/weight of the thing. Looking forward to seeing how that one works out!

I missed having it two weekends ago, when we had to drag my son's deer back to the truck (didn't bring the sled! Argh!)

I primarily use the sled now. I historically don't pursue big game until there is at least some frost on the ground. Now that I'm doing more serious hunting with my boys, my situation is a bit different. We are out a lot earlier in the season, and we all have bows too, so now I need to rethink my strategy.

I have two old frame packs that I'm thinking of using for early season, in combination with using the gutless method.

I also told IncrediGirl that I think I'm old enough now to warrant buying a quad. :lol:

Found an old video showing the Sasquatch cart, and how it's designed. Again, lower center of gravity, and has support for both the inner and outer ends of each axle (making the axles independent as well, which helps with ground clearance).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS8WDq-0jtE

CalgaryChef, if you know of someone who has some fabbing capability, maybe you can get something like this built up?

Here's a link to a thread from a while back, where MK2750 shows his modified child carrier, with an ice sled built in.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showp...89&postcount=5

I got the Cabelas Deluxe Game Cart for $199 which is pretty heavy duty. The wheels are solid and airless. It's heavy and noisy, but it rolls around nice on the ground. The frame sits just above the top of the wheels. You might as well throw away the foam handle, it just spins around.
https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/Cab...2132?id=x0orP0