Game Carts in Rugged Elk Country

[Poser]

I keep seeing trucks with giant game carts, some of them homemade. I was up scouting this weekend in the San Juan’s and counted 13 game carts in the backs of trucks on a single FS road where the trails are rugged single track, way to rugged for a game Cart and using one of these things off piste is out of the question. I can only imagine how top heavy a whole elk would be and you’d need 2 to 3 guys pulling and pushing. So what’s the deal? How are people using game carts? Or, are these all just wishful thinkers?

 

[kiddogy]

better to have and not need then need and not have , I suppose.

 

[WJS23]

My game cart is pack no way in hell would I use one. Back home I used my buddy’s game cart once and it was a pain in the a$$.

 

[Poser]

better to have and not need then need and not have , I suppose.

I don’t see how you could use one pretty much anywhere in the San Juan’s except on a actual road, so I don’t see how you could possibly “need” one.

 

[GunsAreFun]

My game cart is pack no way in hell would I use one. Back home I used my buddy’s game cart once and it was a pain in the a$$.

Honestly, sleds are better than carts, way better if the ground has snow or is wet from rain/dew.

Those game carts are about worthless unless you hunt fields or well beaten paths.

 

[WJS23]

I have the jet sled that I use

 

[handwerk]

If you use one make sure it has decent tires and rims, I learned my lesson years ago packing out an elk from 4 miles in, busted the rim/spokes before we made the first mile, even though it was kind of a trail an elk's worth of meat is a serious load, it was hell trying to come down on 1 wheel.

 

[huntsman22]

not for me........

 

[Mosby]

I have sleds and a game cart. Depends on the trail but the cart is great when hunting off closed roads. Mine holds up to 300 lbs. Saved my butt once getting a bear down a closed road in Montana in the dark. The sleds are great in snow. I have used them a lot in PA during deer season.

This is the cart I have:

 

[elkchsr]

I have used these in several and they are the real deal.

Neet Kart | The unique 2 wheel in-line carrier and game cart

The Neet Kart is absolutely the easiest way to move game, haul backpacks, traverse rough country, go around gates, haul in rescue equipment and retrieve the injured.

www.neetkart.com

 

[bigdub257]

I've got one of the old PAC 'Orse single wheel carts that has come in pretty handy in the right situation. Will haul a whole elk (medium), deer or bear with two guys. Breaks down and hardly takes up any space in the truck. I always take it along just in case.

 

[Poser]

While the single wheel option seems more reasonable, assuming they have disc brakes, how do they perform when you have to go up steep hills? What about a “staircase” of 1-3 foot drops? Across a screw slope or boulder field? On singletrack full of babyheads?

 

[CJF]

I ran into a camp near the CT opening weekend at around 11.8K elevation a few miles from the nearest road. The guy had, not a game cart, but a sure enough wheel barrow. I looked all over the place for him to ask how in the world he got it up there and how he was going to get it back down. Never found him, so I still don't know.

 

[jspradley]

Did they have TX plates? Texans LOVE game carts...or at least the idea of them. lol

 

[Poser]

Did they have TX plates? Texans LOVE game carts...or at least the idea of them. lol

Texas mostly, but also saw Michigan plates.
I have to think these are first time elk hunters, but I saw one cart that was homemade: it was huge with extended arm levers. Someone had clearly put some work into it and it’s hard to imagine someone was thinking “I’m going elk huntin’, reckon I need to weld together a game cart big enough for a world record bull”, rather, seemed like a product of ingenuity, even though I don’t see how you could get that thing up or down any singketrack in the San Juans.

 

[Austink47]

Two units we hunt have a lot of well maintained roads that are closed to the public the game cart comes in handy there. Most of the time it stays chained up in the truck. One time we used it to wheel out a fat hiker with a sprained ankle. I wouldn’t buy one but if you have it and the space it can come in handy.

 

[wytx]

We've hauled out a whole elk on a cart in one trip. They can a and do work in areas without roads.
Lots of locals use them for pronghorn and deer, elk just depends on the amount of packing help you have.
Once hauled a friends whole 6 pt off of Kennaday peak in Wyoming through the thick down fall.
Hauled my smallish 5 pt last year in one trip on a game cart, no road but open country.
Use ours pronghorn hunting quite often, it is a Cabela's cart.

 

[5MilesBack]

I have a buddy that built one years ago with a big wheel in the middle of it, arm extensions out front and rear for two people to use it, and brakes. I think he's up to about 75 elk now hauled in that thing. Backpack it to wherever they can get the cart to, and then cart it out. Every little bit helps.

 

[efnm]

If I have a close road hell yes I'd use it. I'd just shuttle meat to that road and then cart it in the rest of the way but only if the road is good enough. Otherwise it's 100% on my back.