After the Hunt: Loading a Big Animal Alone

I ran across the above illustration a while back, and figured it was worth sharing with our readers. It shows a method of loading a large animal such as a deer, hog, or bear into a truck bed without herniating yourself or having to go fetch help.

You fix a pulley to a rope across the front of the truck bed, then thread another rope through it. Tie one end of that rope to the animal you’re loading, after getting it sorta-kinda started on a ramp made of something such as plywood.

Then you attach the other end of the rope to a fixed object such as a tree or post, and drive away.

Here’s a video that shows the method, and although he uses plywood for the video, he suggests you use 2×8 or 2×10 boards 8-10 feet long.

Here’s another idea; this guy made a “back board” to lash the animal onto. Then he can lift one end of the board onto his tailgate or ATV rack, then lift the pther end and slide it on in.

I have a UTV with an electric winch on the front. A loading method I’ve been happily using for a while now is to toss the synthetic winch line over the top of the machine and attach it to the animal, then simply winch the critter on up into the bed. Works like a champ!

What’s your favorite method for loading a heavy animal alone?

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.