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Hunting with an SUV

5K views 28 replies 23 participants last post by  tuny 
#1 ·
Well I finally sold my 05 Ram, I loved it to death but it was time to move on and get something more family and gas station friendly, especially now with kids in the picture. I can’t seem to come across any other pick ups around my 15-20k price range with under 100k miles, so I’m looking at SUVs. Do any of you hunt with suvs? And how do you transport deer? I was thinking of keeping a tarp in the trunk and just wrapping it up and tying off the top, but will that really prevent a trunk full of blood?
 
#4 ·
Are these “technically” legal? I think the animal has to be fully covered or not visible in NJ. I live in Bergen county these days, and I’m not sure how it would look driving down Route 17 in Paramus with one of those. I myself don’t give a shit, but I wouldn’t want a ticket.
 
#5 ·
I don't see why the hitch racks wouldn't be legal, but if you don't want to go that route, I've got a Tahoe and just haul the deer up into the rear cargo space. I put a tarp on the ground, drag the deer onto it, fold the tarp like a taco, and haul the whole thing into the back. Of course, I'm gutting before dragging out, and haven't had any more than a smear of blood on the tarp, and not even close to anything spilling off of it onto the truck itself.
 
#15 ·
I saw a guy driving a big van, the type of those old VW, with a deer on top, tied with ropes, uncovered. Garden State Parkway
kind of different.
 
#9 ·
I use a Chevy Traverse and I use a tarp and a rubber trunk liner for lack of a better term.
I actually have one for sale where i work ( i had as company car) its a 2015 LT with 85,000 miles in great shape $13,000
Its a company vehicle not mine personally. I actually prefer the SUV to the pick ups because I can lock everything in it.
 
#12 ·
I have hunted exclusively out of cars, minivans and suvs up until 2 years ago. I bought a new 2007 GMC Yukon XL and that fall transported 6 deer from my friends farm in upstate NY to Middletown NJ. You should have seen the butchers face when I opened the rear hatch. I have always just used either the husky liner cargo area mat and kept a tarp Incase I needed to cover the seats. I was able in that example to lay the back of the third row seats down and stack 2 deer on top of the tarp and the other 4 were stacked in the cargo area. When I got home. The only blood I had on the interior was on the latch. I cleaned it off with a sponge and it was good as new.


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#13 ·
Hitch haul is awesome, I will still use on my pickup because I have a tonneau cover and don't want to deal with washing deer blood out of the bed....and is way easier to load a deer by yourself.....the one issue you could have with the hitch haul is if it blocks the license plate.."technically" you can't block it for any reason but it is a real stretch to get a ticket for a deer and hitch haul covering up the plate
 
#17 · (Edited)
after my last Ford pikem up truck crapped out a trans i said never again. i got me areliable gas effciant AWD tree hugger SUV . if you get the smaller aluminum harbo freight hitch hauler you can leave the hitch hauler in the rear cargo hatch area and pull it out when needed.doing it that way you dont have to remmeber when backing up at the the gas mart or having it bottom out in rough rolling terrain. with simple modding you can screw down a plastic type jet sled inside the hauler and makes it easy to go from hauling a deer to pulling it up into the hitch hauler. in the warmer early season to let things breath you can use a black mesh tarp from harbo to cover the deer instead of the blue plastic tarps. then drivers around you wont get all upset see what you got. ive since cut my hauler down to just fit the plastic sled and is super light.
 

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#18 · (Edited)
Hitch haulers the way to go with my 4Runner I have a large plastic tote that you get from the box stores that fits in right in and I just tie it down throw the deer in the tote and you're good to go. The tote is the same width/length as the hauler maybe 2 feet wide 3-4 feet long maybe 24 inches tall. depending on how big your deer is you might have a hoof or two sticking out I might even put it in a mesh game bag so you don't see it.

the only downside with the hitch haulers if you're going into the woods and you've got to go up and down some trails what I like to call whoopty dues the carrier may bottom out.

No law on covering your deer as you transport it is in the hunters manual to be courteous to non-hunters. you do however have that your transportation tag on that deer with your CID number and confirmation.

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#20 ·
Deer need not be covered or concealed from view years ago the opposite was true part had to be exposed, but in todays PC world the regs were changed.
 
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#26 ·
Hunted for more than 10 years with a SUV and prior to that a car or minivan. No issues ever with any of them. Just put a cargo mat down for the floors and if the situation called for it I would fold down the back seat and put a tarp down to protect the interior

A few months after I bought a new Yukon XL I went hunting with several friends and I had to leave early after a super successful trip where we limited out. I showed up at the butchers with 6 deer stacked like cord wood in the back of my truck. The look on the butchers face was priceless when I opened the hatch to take them out! [emoji1787]


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#29 ·
Deer used to have to be exposed to view but that law saw changed and it's no longer required. Deer can be exposed but it's no longer required.
 
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