Ways to reduce strain on your back in the field

Time Well Spent June 15, 2022

I have recently injured my back and it has had a big impact on my deer stalking. Can you recommend any way of making my life easier in the field?

Q: I have recently injured my back and it has had a big impact on my deer stalking. I used to have no problem manhandling fallow deer, but now struggle and I have no wish to suffer a recurrence. Can you recommend any way of making my life easier in the field?

DOM HOLTAM replies: Having just spent an ‘entertaining’ evening dragging a giant fallow out of a field, I can fully sympathise. It is all too easy to hurt yourself when dealing with large deer such as fallow, sika and reds. But there are some really clever bits of kit out there that can definitely help. Keith Watson’s Stalker’s Mate mini pulley and folding gambrel is an ace addition to your stalking kit.

Napier of London do a clever drag bag, called the Ready Sled, a ratchet lift called the Auto Lift, and the Auto Click system, which can assist you with carcass extraction, lifting the carcass and also doing a suspended gralloch.

There are various carcass sleds on the market that double up as a way to keep your car boot free of blood and the carcass clean and hygienic.

Visit these websites to see what clever solutions they have on offer to make collecting and gralloching your kills a little easier on the back

www.napieruk.com

www.keithshighseats.co.uk