Capstan Winches

[Sleepy Creek]

Does anyone have any experience using the Simpson capstan winch or similar for dragging out a moose? My experience is just using the backbreaking Lewis chainsaw winch. We've been using a 2 ton winch with a 490 powerhead. This seems like total overkill. A 2000 pound capstan seems like it would do the job? Any thoughts?

 

[BCBowtech]

Ive got a truck... 400ft of 5/8" lifeline ropes for roofing, and a come a long.. lol

Other option is just quarter and carry..

 

[kickemall]

Can't help you with moose but I've dragged out lots of bears using both Simpson and Lewis. I'll take the Simpson every time these days. Its much lighter to pack and you can run a much longer rope for long pulls. You can use either one solo by just shortening your pulls so you can watch the animal as it comes. Minor drawback on the Simpson is that you can use so much rope on a pull that even if someone is guiding the animal you can't hear them over the saw and its not really practical to tie off the saw to the animal like I do on with a Lewis. Once your used to it you get a pretty good feel when the animal is getting hung up and can let off to find out whats up. I use a Husky 61 with either and on the Simpson I had trouble with the oiler keeping the drive chain lubed because of a design issue. I took it to a local shop who modified it and got it working o.k. I've pulled some big bears (over 500 on a scale) and neither one ever failed to bring them through some brutally rough ground. As heavy as moose are, I don't know, I've never pulled anything that heavy. Hope that helps.

 

[RCA Dog]

Before I knew any better, I tried to pull out a moose with a 2000 lb winch tied off to my truck. It didn't work at all. I ended up using the truck to pull. Now I just gutless quarter, even if the truck is right there. It has to be skinned and deboned anyhow, right ?

 

[norsepeak]

Used a Simpson last year in BC to haul out my moose whole. Worked great and was nice to get the moose out whole to keep the meat clean. Much easier to skin/cut etc. hanging from a backhoe!

 

[Sleepy Creek]

I've been eyeballing the Simpsons for years. Well, it turns out a local store had one sitting on the showroom floor yesterday…and it now its on my garage floor.

 

[BrodynIdaho]

I used my buddies capstan last week to pull out my wife's moose. Only needed to drag it about 300 yards and took about 30 min. My wife kept tension on the rope and pulled while I held the winch level at the tree is was cabled to.
First time using one and mentioned to my wife if she had an issue finding me a xmas gift this year, look no further.

 

[Sleepy Creek]

Yes, they are awesome. I used one years ago when they had the two stroke Tecumseh's. I was able to drag a skiff many miles through the brush by myself as the two stroke ran whether it was level or not. I have heard the new hondas will quit if the tilt too far due to false oil reading? Did you find that the winch wanted to roll to one side? It seems as though the tension would hold it fairly steady and flat? Also the older Simpsons were a one speed show, I like the throttle control on the new version.

 

[BrodynIdaho]

It was a two stroke I used and it would not stay level. The pulley side with the rope would tilt up and that's when it would act like it wasn't getting any fuel.

 

[bourbon]

THis one looks like it works...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMRzeEZnZhs