Angered as I saw a deer 'HANGING' off a hitch cargo carrier on the highway today...

[hookset6969]

I don't guess it really bother's me either, I would have put something over it to keep the road slim off but if the road's were clean I more than likely would not cover it because I would want the meat to cool as much as possible. I don't have this problem I own a truck but I do strap my kill to the front of my 4- wheeler and drive that into the back of my truck and away I go [:)] I think this guy should have protected his meat a little better than he did but other than that I have no problem. And as far as respect for the animal I don't believe it care's it's dead. However I do agree a guy should not be wasteful and if your ruining meat to be a show off or whatever other reason thats disrespectful and ignorant IMO, So if that's what your talking about I agree. I don't want to sound like a smart a-- but keep in mind we harvest crops like corn, bean's, etc we kill thing's that have a pumping heart to compare these animal's to crop's could also be considered disrespectful, Just my 2 cent's not trying to start a big argument.

[SHKYBoonie]

ORIGINAL: Woods Walker

Here in Illinois people are used to seeing deer in the back of pickup trucks, lashed to atv trailers, and elsewhere. It's really no big deal.
 
Now I wouldn't haul one the way that was described because of the dirt/salt issue, but as far as hiding my kill, no. I'm not ashamed of what I do. I hunt these deer, and when I kill one I use it for food. Why should I be ashamed of that?
 
We're hunters. We hunt. The purpose of the hunt is to kill game. That's what we do, and PC'ing it doesn't fool anyone.

 
I'm kinda on the same page as Woods on this one. Where I grew up in MS it was normal to see someone who had been successful hunting going down the road with the tailgate down to display their kill. Now, bear in mind that to my knowledge there wasn't a threat of upsetting some tree-hugger, because if there were any around, they weren't from there. I come from the deep South and yes we had the rednecks that would indeed strap a big buck to the hood and drive around town to show all of their buddies or anyone else that was interested. I did feel that this was a little overboard. I had alot of hunting buddies and we would all go to each others house to show off our kill if it was big enough to get bragging rights.
 
However, living here in TN, I have run upon several people that feel that hunting isn't right. It just blew my mind! I have been in convenience stores dressed in camo on the way to a hunt and had these people approach me. There was not ever anything rude said but they voiced the fact that they didn't like it. So, I have been alot more careful about the way I handle myself and my kill in regards to this.
 
As to this incident that has been referred to, yeah the guy maybe should have taken a little more time to strap it and cover it a little better. I've been in these situations because I use to drive a Jeep CJ and would have to strap the deer across the spare tire just to get it home. Alot of times there was a good amount of blood running down the back of the Jeep as well as other things that may have not been pleasant for some to see. It was the only way I had to go. I guess if I had been a little more conscience about it I could have brought something to wrap it in, but I am not ashamed of what I do. I am a hunter, I love the outdoors and part of who I am is the fact that I kill the things I hunt, if I'm lucky.
 
In short, I don't think hunters should be tacky about displaying their kill but the fact that they display it at all means they are proud of their success.

[DeanoZ]

I had similar experiences as a child. I grew up in a town on the edge of the suburbs (at that time) in New Jersey. In the center of town, there was a 200 year old building that began it's life as a stage stop, and was now a restaurant.

Ok Woodsie, I gotta ask...where in Jersey were you from and where is 200 year old Meatpole staging stop...I'm guessing it was somewhere in Sussex or Hunterdon County?

[shaman]

This is an issue I've seen discussed for 20 years online. 

Although I don't get cranked up about dead deer hanging off the back of a truck there are some issues that I agree with.  First off and most important, folks have to realize this practice is rude.  A lot of people are very sensitive to this sort of thing and it really messes with their image of hunters.

Secondly, leaving a carcass uncovered while it is being transported is not a good idea. The wind dries out the flesh, exposes the carcass to road filth and exhaust, and generally contributes to skunky tasting venison.

Third, even if you don't buy into the first issue, the second issue I gave should be reason enough.  If I see a hunter driving an uncovered carcass out on the road, my impression is that this doofus has absolutely no understanding of what he's up to.  He's mucking up a good piece of venison.  I saw two good bucks out on the road this Fall-- matching bookend 10 pointers that a couple of guys were hauling to the processor on an ATV trailer.  They were just laying on the grate.  There was a good 10 miles of road between where I saw them and where they were going, and on the way there were going to be dead skunks, motor oil, tobacco waste and piles of mouldy hay.  Blech!



While I'm up on my soap box:  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Don't do this with a head-shot deer.  I am not the squeemish type, but head shots are one of the few things that set me off.  I don't mind folks posting kill shots.  I don't mind post hunt necropsies, but  how your made the deer's head go BLEWIE! is . . . just plain gratuitously gross.  The one special case where I draw the line is when guys drag an uncovered head shot around. 

[Lot to Learn 2]

this reminds me of a story happened mid 90's or so in Edwardsville, IL.  College town full of tree huggers, hippies and hippie want to be's.  A friend of mine was self employed and sold one of his vans to another guy, also a friend of his. Of course his business name and phone number was still on the van.  Guy that buys the van kills  2 or 3 deer(can't remember exactly anymore) and hangs them off his front porch facing the road which happens to be down the road from a daycare.

Want to guess how many phone calls the guy who sold the truck who had nothing to do with this got??  He ended up buying tarps and wrapping this guys entire front porch and spray painted his phone number off the van.
Police were actually called and came, they told the guy not illegal, but come on.

[Woods Walker]

ORIGINAL: DeanoZ

I had similar experiences as a child. I grew up in a town on the edge of the suburbs (at that time) in New Jersey. In the center of town, there was a 200 year old building that began it's life as a stage stop, and was now a restaurant.

Ok Woodsie, I gotta ask...where in Jersey were you from and where is 200 year old Meatpole staging stop...I'm guessing it was somewhere in Sussex or Hunterdon County?

 
Nope. It was UNION county....Scotch Plains. At that time, there were still farms in Union county. In fact, the land where the high school I attended was, I used to play Daniel Boone on and fish for sunfish in the ponds when I was a young kid. This is an old town, and the Presbyterian chuch that's in the original downtown area has headstones in it from the early 1700's. The meat pole and the hunters who filled it are long gone, but the building still stands, and is one of the better eating establishments in the area.
 
It's located at Park Avenue and Front Street in Scotch Plains.
 
http://www.stagehouserestaurant.com/
 

[passin through]

I agree 100% with WW's 1st post.  Shaman does have a point about the head shots though.....I just never thought about it too much.  Down here its really no big deal...you hunt it you kill it you eat it...if its a good one show it off a little.  Most of the deer visible in trucks or on 4wheelers I've seen in or around town have been at drive through windows or drive in type places with guys getting lunch or breakfast before going on home or to the processor.  Its generally warm enough here they aren't ridden around too much and definitly aren't with an open body cavity.  

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: Ifishandhunt

Here are my thoughts I had when I saw it: I was disgusted as I saw this deer just laying in this carrier on it's side with the whole open body cavity wide open for ALL to see. It was totally disrespectful to the animal he just harvested as well as those he was driving past. All the nasty road slime was spraying all over it. In my opinion it needed to be either covered and then strapped to the carrier OR at least tuck it's legs in and close the body cavity so people don't have to see it. It is a real turn off for many people and is one more 'thing' that gives hunters a bad name to see this going down the highway in such a way. As a hunter who respects the animal I chase, I was disturbed by what I saw.

Am I off base on this?

Nope you're not off base.  There is nothing wrong with having respect for the animal as well as respect for those feelings of people who may not see hunting in the same light as we do, or for those people who just don't want to look at a dead, gutted animal as they're driving down the highway, hunters and non-hunters alike.

[Proline]

Not an uncommon site here in New England.  States like MA. require the deer be in view until officially tagged at a check station. My buddy has an SUV and carries his on the hitch haul.  He is a salesman and has clients in his SUV all time.  Cant really stuff a bloody carcass inside there and expect to haul clients around with blood stains on the upholstery. Drive RT95 during the Maine hunting season on a Sunday and look at all the guys heading south with multiple deer strapped anywhere they can get them onto the vehicle. Vehicles are so packed with equipment you have no option. 

[Drhunter2k]

I may be a bit of a hack on this one but it doesn't really bother me to see someone's deer on, in, or around their car, truck, SUV, or ATV. I am so tired of always having to worry about what everyone else thinks. When I am driving during hunting season, I'm always looking at other vehicles to see if they have a deer. I realize there are some people that don't like to see a dead animal strapped to someone's vehicle because they feel it's wrong but there are a lot of things that bother me too. I think it's great to show the deer you took while hunting. I also have to say, I have hauled deer home on one of those hitch racks during a snowstorm and had road salt and everything else on the deer by the time I got home and never once did my venison taste bad. I am a hunter and I enjoy hunting animals. I also like to place my deer on the tailgate of my truck to let other people see. The difference is, I always have the open cavity facing in. I guess I do it only because I don't want to have to clean up all of the blood when I get home. I look at it this way. If you don't like to see the animal that I have strapped to my vehicle, don't look at it. The deer takes up a small spot in the rest of your field of vision.