Are deer bags really worth buying?

Deer stalking
GEORGE WALLACE
Being a bit rough and ready, I?m afraid I have always regarded Roe sacks as something of an affectation; particularly the ludicrously expensive ones.

There are several ways of getting a dead deer to your vehicle and my own method, since my usual quarry are Red or Fallow, has always been to take the Land Rover to the crime scene, attach one of David Stretton?s invaluable gralloching hoists to the tow ball, and thus avoid all that grunting and heaving.

However, if you don?t have a Land Rover and might need to move a small deer some distance to the vehicle access point, then a Roe sack ? sensibly priced and easily cleaned – might suit you very well.

For my own part, I do not like anything other than the rifle slung over my shoulder.

It seems to restrict my freedom of movement and impair quick handling of the rifle.

I prefer a simple dragging strap which can be made quite easily from a length of car seat belt made into a loop, an eyelet joining the two ends and a short length of rope eye-spliced to that.

It lives in a coat pocket and when needed the rope is tied through a slit in the deer?s lower jaw ? don?t try to drag them from the other end; it?s hard work ? and the belt goes comfortably over the shoulder.

You can drag quite a heavy deer by this method.

If you want to make dragging a little easier and keep the carcass as clean as possible, then a dragbag or sled may be even better.