Loading a moose into a truck?

[Andrew_Arsenault]

I will be going to wainwright for moose on December first. I have a bull tag and my dad has a calf tag. I'm just wondering what tactic every one uses to load their animal. I am thinking about building a plywood ramp and using a calf sled and a come along. If some guys could share their ideas it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Reeves1]

Search: Truck Hoist

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...ht=Truck+Hoist

Other (inferior) ones have been posted as well.

[GoodTimes]

If you have a quad and trailer back the quad into the box of the truck and use the quad winch to suck the moose up the ramp onto the trailer.

If you have a quad and no trailer park the truck in a steep ditch (if available). Position the quad next to the trucks back wheels and use a strap and the quad to pull the moose in.

If you have no quad/trailer........start cuttin.

I installed a 4000lb winch in the box of my truck. Ive never loved anything like I love that winch.

[NIKON]

Originally Posted by GoodTimes

If you have a quad and trailer back the quad into the box of the truck and use the quad winch to suck the moose up the ramp onto the trailer.

If you have a quad and no trailer park the truck in a steep ditch (if available). Position the quad next to the trucks back wheels and use a strap and the quad to pull the moose in.

If you have no quad/trailer........start cuttin.

I installed a 4000lb winch in the box of my truck. Ive never loved anything like I love that winch.

Try halfing it........ Alot easier to handle front half and back half

Nikon

[GoodTimes]

The problem I see with the one above is that a moose is well over 10 feet long when picked by the back legs. A tailgate is about 3 feet off the ground or so. So you would need to pick a 1000 lb animal up 13 feet then try to swing that contraption around to get him in the box? Maybe Im missing something. Looks like it would work great for skinning a deer though.

[MKD]

Ask the other guys that will be wanting to see your moose to help you load it.
I have never encountered a problem loading anything in Wainwright as the two hundred other hunters have always been helpful.

[GoodTimes]

Originally Posted by MKD

Ask the other guys that will be wanting to see your moose to help you load it.
I have never encountered a problem loading anything in Wainwright as the two hundred other hunters have always been helpful.

That sounds awful lol.

Originally Posted by NIKON

Try halfing it........ Alot easier to handle front half and back half

Nikon

x2

[honda450]

Loading a whole moose into a truck is easy long as you can get the moose to the truck or the truck to the moose.

Headache rack is essential or a winch.

Method 1

Have a winch installed on your headache rack and with a ramp drag em up.

Method 2

Attach a snatch block to headache rack, run quad winch cable threw and back to the moose with ramp on tailgate. Give about 15 feet of slack then slam it into reverse and give er all its got. May take a couple give ers.

Method 3

Attach a Jack all to headache rack and use as a come along. With a ramp of course.

I have done all 3 methods all by myself.

[GoodTimes]

Originally Posted by honda450

Give about 15 feet of slack then slam it into reverse

The gears in your quad winch are usually plastic, but this is VERY hard on even steel gears. Any half decent quad winch has got the balls to pull a moose up a ramp, ESPECIALLY with a snatch block. Dont tear your winch up or risk catching a broken cable in your teeth. This is BAD ADVICE.

[HunterDave]

Bring tarps and skin and quarter it when you are there.

[honda450]

Originally Posted by GoodTimes

Any half decent quad winch has got the balls to pull a moose up a ramp, ESPECIALLY with a snatch block. This is BAD ADVICE.

Try it with a foot of snow on the ground. Got a 3000 pound winch on it and it will drag the quad before the moose. Nope not bad advise ya just never done it.

[Dark Wing]

I drug my moose to a berm and backed my tail gate up to it. It was allready halved and my buddy and I easily pulled it in. I know a guy who loaded an entire elk in the back of his jeep yj using a rope and a high ditch. I think he posted the pick on AO.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...highlight=jeep

[HunterDave]

A farmer that gave me permission to hunt his land told me to tie a rope on the moose, over a round hay bale and to my truck. Pull the moose up the bale and when it was on top, back the truck up to it and pull/push it on. It sounded like he knew what he was doing......lol.

[honda450]

Yeah after I got thinking about the thing Goodtimes stated. The honda only weighs 450- 500 lbs anyhow. Don't matter bout the winch capabilities. Sure that winch may pull 3000 lbs but if its only anchored to something that weighs 500 pounds, something is going to move first. hehe

Snatch block or no snatch block Good times it pulled the lighter object. Designed just as they should be.

[huntin]

The calf sled idea works if your moose isn't to big last year my buddy his one kid andme loaded a whole moose guts in with an otter sled. Rolled moose into sled backed truck up close stood stood sled up backed tail gate under. One big push it was in. But I like to bring my trailer and rhino drive straight on with moose in tow

[curtisb]

1. 6' quad ramps - unless you have a high tech redneck lift kit (inconvenient!)
2. plywood (1 sheet for ramps, one sheet for box IF you have a liner)
3. cheap tarp or tarps (usually onsale and CDN tire for 9.99, watch the flyers all year long!)
4. back up to slight inclince if available (not needed)
5. position moose
6. postion ATV (2000lbs winch is lots of pull!)
7. set up block and tackle with small snatchblocks, if it won't pull, add another snatch block (you can get them at princess auto for it think about $5 - I have about 10, use them for everything!)
8. pull the moose in; helper can help guide, manouver downside shoulder as req'd
9. the moose is now on slippery tarps (you mentioned hunting in Dec - two men can move the WHOLE animal around no problem on a tarp - like ice! - the cheaper the better!)
10. tie the mooses legs together, head to the corner of the box, close the tailgate

Peice of cake!
*1 thing: make sure you have a good anchor point in the back of your truck! STAY OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE! - Serious safety issue!

[GoodTimes]

Originally Posted by honda450

Snatch block or no snatch block Good times it pulled the lighter object. Designed just as they should be.

A little pressure in reverse fixs that problem on dry ground, or in snow/slippery conditions anchoring the back of the quad to a tree/stump/truck/fencepost/use your imagination works too.

Youre right, Ive never snatched to my truck and "slammed my quad into reverse" lol, Im not foolish enough to do such things. I have however winched literally dozens of moose into the back of a pickup. What Im telling you is the truth. The way you explained this way of loading a moose is dangerous and will ruin your winch. There are far safer, more effective ways to do it. I work with winches every day. Have you ever seen what a broken winch line can do? Its like a missile.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Depends how many pieces you cut it into....a big moose (Alberta) guts out, hide off, head off, lower legs off will be 750lbs tops....half the animal (fronts and hinds, to do this count 3 ribs from the back and cut in half from here).....fronts are heavier than hinds so say 250-300 for the hinds and 400-450 for the fronts.....to make the fronts more manageable break down the fronts to 3 peices easily by removing both floating shoulders...(as you know ungulates have no shoulder joint like we do)...likely about 70-90 pounds each, now you have 4 pieces to deal with and not 2.....250,260, 90, 90 (all rough guesses) but doable. This is all done assuming you have already fully skinned the animal....all can be done with a knife but a small pack saw makes it a bit easier....

LC

[bucktaker]

if u can get a truck close to it and have a big tree handy. Tie it to a tree. Tie rope high in tree about 8 feet high. Tie rope to back legs of moose. Back truck up close to tree on a angle tail gate down / off back up moose slides right in. Have done this several times over the years works great.

[Don K]

Take some game bags (6) and skin & quarter it there. Extras for tenderloin, ribs, backstrap and neck meat. Works great, and mess is left there. Ijust use meat hooks and hang when I get home.

[livinthedream]

Gutless field dressing. Animal is skinned, cut into quarters, saddle loins are removed, neck meat is removed, you could even take the time to remove ribs if so inclined. You can even reach in and remove tender loins. Meat cools rapidly and you have very little work to do when you get home. Check out the video's online.

[honda450]

Originally Posted by GoodTimes

A little pressure in reverse fixs that problem on dry ground, or in snow/slippery conditions anchoring the back of the quad to a tree/stump/truck/fencepost/use your imagination works too.

Youre right, Ive never snatched to my truck and "slammed my quad into reverse" lol, Im not foolish enough to do such things. I have however winched literally dozens of moose into the back of a pickup. What Im telling you is the truth. The way you explained this way of loading a moose is dangerous and will ruin your winch. There are far safer, more effective ways to do it. I work with winches every day. Have you ever seen what a broken winch line can do? Its like a missile.

Guess you like that phrase I wrote " slam it into reverese" I just shift it. I use winches all the time too on trucks, quads and argos, so i do know there capabilities. Nope not dangerous at all. And to he## with the winch. What I am telling you is the truth.

[rottie]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

A farmer that gave me permission to hunt his land told me to tie a rope on the moose, over a round hay bale and to my truck. Pull the moose up the bale and when it was on top, back the truck up to it and pull/push it on. It sounded like he knew what he was doing......lol.

Trust me ,this works great. Shot a moose north of Bently one year, the friend I was with showed me how slick the bale method works

[Stress Medicine]

I have used the ditch idea several times and managed without killing myself. Just drag Mr Moose to the ditch with the truck, back in with tailgate down and slid him in. A guy can usually move one end or the other at a time and roll them over to get them in. I found that unless you have beefed up your pickup box, hooking a snatch block into a corner usually gets you a bent box.
Since I now have a quad and tandem tub trailer for it, loading moose is easy. To get both to bush I have to have a utility trailer so I built short ramps between the truck box and trailer. Back in bush, tip trailer on its side beside the moose (on the hump side). Wiggle trailer edge under hump. Go around, grab moose front and back leg and roll moose onto back into trailer, continue pushing until trailer flops back on the wheels with the moose inside. Tuck legs and horns in and away you go back to truck. Once at the truck, drive up and across utility trailer into truck with quad, uncouple trailer, tie things up and head for home. If you are having trouble loading moose, use winch on quad or a rope tied to the legs and up over the trailer to roll him in. Been doing this for several years and while extra help is great, certainly not impossible by yourself.

Cheers, the Crew of Stress Medicine

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by livinthedream

Gutless field dressing. Animal is skinned, cut into quarters, saddle loins are removed, neck meat is removed, you could even take the time to remove ribs if so inclined. You can even reach in and remove tender loins. Meat cools rapidly and you have very little work to do when you get home. Check out the video's online.

I am sorry guys but all this talk about gutless dressing......whats everyone got against the guts? Its not that hard and WAAAYYY easier to get the tenderloins out from the inside....I can gut a deer in less than 5 mins and a moose around 10...by myself. I guess I just don't get why this method would be used over the other? UNLESS you are planning on packing out all your meat but even then I would gut it.....

Also how to you quarter it without gutting it? I am talking truly quartering it by splitting the back bone down the middle.....

Never bothered to do the "gutless" way but I am all about learning about it.

LC

[crawfy]

Last year when I shot my bull elk in the wmu 102 we use my aluminum quad ramp(trifold) and me and my buddy slowly pulled/walked it up the ramps and into the box of the truck.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Don K

Take some game bags (6) and skin & quarter it there. Extras for tenderloin, ribs, backstrap and neck meat. Works great, and mess is left there. Ijust use meat hooks and hang when I get home.

x2 but with garbage bags and rope instead of hooks. Fancy eh?

For rottie.....I totally believe that the hay bale method would work well. Too bad I didn't get one there or I seriously would have tried it before doing what Don K mentioned. Might as well do the skinning, etc in the garage.

[rottie]

your right Dave,not always a bale there when you need it, thats when a portable winch comes into play. Its not always the norm to harvest a moose in an open field

[catnthehat]

I have used my rope capstan for many different things , pulling boats off the rocks for one, and have a friend who has loaded moose and elk into his boat with it.
You are limited only by your imagination as far as rigging it goes if you have a plowshare anchor, cables, snatch block,etc.!
Cat
http://www.capstanropewinch.com/