Hauling big game in an SUV... what do you do?

Cardboard and tarps always worked for me. The problem I had was to dead lift the critter up into the back of my hatchback if I was out alone.
 
I remember when I didn't have a truck I just put the deer in the back on the interior carpet and hit it with a pressure washer when I got home, wife didn't care much for it at the time but looking back at it damn that was redneck. (And funny)
 
I do not have to drive far from my hunting spot so I just wrap it in a tarp. Last December I put a deer in the back of my 4runner and wouldn't you know it that damn rear hatch handle broke when I got home! No problem I thought and just backed it up into the garage and hoisted the deer out through the open rear window. It was working slick until the pooled blood spilled out the throat and neck... Power wash and scrub scrub scrub...
 
I went bear hunting last fall and a week before my truck broke down. I drove up in the wife's Ford Fiesta. That same night i shot one. Next day I put it in a tarp and on the trunk with the seats folded down.

I was hoping i would be stopped and see it. Love to see the reaction of a skinned bear rolled up in a tarp ha
 
I built a big plywood box to fit in the back of my Escalade ESV. Poly inside, silicone joints. Three of us go five deer in there one Saturday. Only change would be hinging the back wall to make loading easier.
 
at one time back in the old days, we used to tie the carcass to the hood of the CJ-5 and head for home. One time a load of school kids on the bus saw the set up and were shocked to see the site! After that, we went to other unseeable means of transportation.
 
Boomer said:
X2 on the utility trailer. A roof rack will work, and has the added advantage of letting blood run down your windshield.
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I think that with the trailer you still have the problem of dust and road grit getting to the animal, even if tarped. I'm loath to put meat in garbage bags for any reason. For the roof rack, I'm thinking of one of those enclosed cargo boxes that we used to call 'coffins' back in the day. The type for carrying skis and other gear. It would have some leakage points where the feet mount though, as they're not airtight. Would probably let the blood run down the back window LOL!
 
fratri's pics with the calving sled are a great idea, and would totally work with a boned/quartered animal. With a big mule deer, that would be like trying to put a Labrador Retriever in a shoe box if trying to do it all in one piece.
 
we bring our deer home dressed but unskinned, as soon as we get home we run lots of cold water over it to cool it more as much as possible. Any dust that may have collected on it on the way home is washed off along with any access blood. It is hung immediately afterwards and skinned after a bunch of beers have been consumed and the hunt chat has been chatted.
 
two-dogs said:
we bring our deer home dressed but unskinned, as soon as we get home we run lots of cold water over it to cool it more as much as possible. Any dust that may have collected on it on the way home is washed off along with any access blood. It is hung immediately afterwards and skinned after a bunch of beers have been consumed and the hunt chat has been chatted.
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Me too in the past, but from now on I'm determined to learn the gutless method, and never bring home a hide again (unless I know someone who will use it, or have a use for it myself.)
 
Silverado said:
Me too in the past, but from now on I'm determined to learn the gutless method, and never bring home a hide again (unless I know someone who will use it, or have a use for it myself.)
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we use the hide as a blanket on the floor of the attached garage during the winter to hold some of the venison trimmings. The weasel (Hermie) and some of his family members move in and they keep the mice away all winter. A win - win for all!:) In the spring we take the hide and any leftovers back to the forest for any needy creatures to use up.
 
two-dogs said:
we bring our deer home dressed but unskinned, as soon as we get home we run lots of cold water over it to cool it more as much as possible. Any dust that may have collected on it on the way home is washed off along with any access blood. It is hung immediately afterwards and skinned after a bunch of beers have been consumed and the hunt chat has been chatted.
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My wildgame butcher (35 years experience and also a hunter) does not want the meat getting wet (including washing off blood) and then hung. He says it "increases" the likelyhood of bacteria and can cause premature spoilage. He requests that the animal simply be drained and hung, but if you must clean further use clean dry rags or papertowel to wipe it off. I have always gone with his advice.
 
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