Best Deer Cart — 2021 Reviews And Top Picks

In this guide, we will tell how to choose it, why you need it, and how to use big game carts for the maximum benefit.

Weight And Construction

First, you should think about the weight and construction. Make sure that your cart is made of steel — an aluminum game cart is fine as well, but this material is more capricious and requires more attention. It is definitely easier, but we don’t recommend it for newbies. Other details to consider is that it’s best if it’s not made of plastic. Believe us; you don’t want to find this out during the process when you already have a heavy load on your cart.

The weight of a game cart can fluctuate from three to four pounds (it’s made of aluminum as you can guess), up to 47 pounds (quite large, isn’t it? And made of heavy-duty steel) but usually, the average weight is about 28-35 pounds.

Capacity

Capacity mostly depends on weight (and can reach 500 lbs. — for example a Goplus model, it’s in our review). The main points you should pay attention choosing a big game cart — it should be compact and set up easily. Than, check if it is collapsible. Try to handle the equipment and try out the weight — some models can be heavier than they seem (for example, Summit deer cart, see in our review).

Wheels

Game carts can have one or two wheels (mostly). The evident advantage of two-wheeled carts is the low gravity, which helps you to balance when you have a heavy animal on it easily. But maneuvering is still difficult, and turning left, or right can be a real trial for you.

One-wheeled deer carts are much easier to maneuver, but you may sometimes have to make a bigger effort. So, we’d say that this aspect is up to the individual and depends only on your preferences and strength. Usually, the wheels are made of solid rubber, and they should be thick enough to go anywhere. That is, except mud — we can hardly think of a model which is fine with it — just be patient. And just in case — always take backup with you, because you never know. Some wheels are removable, which facilitates packing, storage, and transportation.

Straps

Do not forget about straps; they will help you to fix your trophy well. Usually, carts have two, but there are some models with three straps — we have included them in our review: Guide Gear Dear Cart and Summit Treestands Game Cart. Handles are mostly made one way and size, with the difference being in the curvature. Some handles have a straight stick, and some have a curved handler — the last one makes turning and rolling much easier.

Setting Up

Mostly deer hauler carts are easy to set up because they do not have that many details — just wheels and a frame. The difference is if you need minimum instruments for it or simply don’t need them at all. Of course, we are bowing in favor of the second variant.

Advantages of Using a Deer Cart

A deer cart can be useful even if you won’t shoot a prey (we hope and are sure you will!). At least you can put all of your hunting gear on it or a deer hide and fix it with straps. Actually, a cart is almost the only opportunity to bring your prey home — usually, a deer weighs about 200 pounds. Of course, you can use an ATV, and here we are with another point for the cart — if you have it, you may not own an ATV, and a cart is definitely much cheaper. In addition, prices on carts are becoming lower.

As we mentioned before, carts are easy to assemble. It means that it won’t take much space in your truck, you can wear it on your back (if it is empty, of course), and it won’t bother you during a bad season for hunting — just put it on a balcony or in the garage. There could be some problems with ATV in this situation. Moreover, there are some restrictions regarding using an ATV in some areas — whereas there are no rules about carts instead! Except for motorized vehicles, which are forbidden in many areas because of the same reason ATVs are.

How to Load Deer onto a Game Cart

It’s better not to try to lift up prey on your own or even with others help — there are high risks of getting injured easily, and let’s be honest, not that many hunters are physically ready to load a dear by themselves and carry it anywhere. The best and clearest way is to use a cart to lift it up.

Put both — your prey and the cart on their sides, turn the deer’s legs towards you and at this moment, put the cart in a vertical position. Then just roll the deer onto your cart. Be careful if it has plastic wheels — they can easily break. But we have already mentioned that it’s better to choose a rubber.

Using with an ATV

As a cart is quite compact, you can put it in on an ATV or a big motorbike. Mostly, ATVs have an opportunity to fix your gear up, but you don’t need much to do it by yourself. Just make sure that it’s fixed properly and won’t fall out due to a sharp, rough turn.

And pay attention to the straps, because they can cling to something and you will lose your time solving this problem. And as we mentioned, before going hunting, check the information about the area to be sure— it is possible to drive something motorized in the hunting area.

Conclusion

The described carts are the best on the market. You won’t regret picking one of these carts to drag the game. Moreover, who knows it can stand in good stead for something else except hunting.

Finally, we offer you to watch an interesting video about an unusual models of Sherpa’s game cart (Summit Viper Classic Model, API Classic Tree Stand Model and Lone Wolf Tree Stand Model, which can easily be turned into tree stand and back: