Well my wife just bought me a kayak for one heck of a deal. Its a sit in 10' sundolphin with the livewell etc. I was just pondering about using it to access my hunting spots on public land as i always hunt on backsides of lakes which normally involve a very long walk. Whats everybody's thoughts on this. Im thinking takedown bow so its easily stored and carry an extra life vest and some rope in case i shoot something i can just strap the life jacket to the deer and pull it back across the lake instead of dragging it through a mile of spillbanks.
From personal experience (a BAD experience) you should plan on putting anything you get in the boat. Trying to paddle a kayak straight while dragging a body behind it will prove more difficult than schlepping it through that mile of spillbanks. If you don't field dress it, it will be that much heavier, the body cavity will eventually fill with water and act like a sea anchor and drag you down. Field dressed the chest cavity will scoop water and make it impossible to make any headway or be able to track straight.
If you think you wanna try it, take an aired up spare tire and tie a rope around it and try paddling while dragging that. Then multiply it by whatever size and weight of deer you might kill.
All is not lost though! If it is legal in your state to quarter or even butcher and debone a deer carcass after a successful hunt, most average deer will fit in a cooler you can strap on your boat.
I have a sit on top kayak and have hunted out of it quite a bit. I had a great turkey spot picked out that I was going to access from the river but ran up against some odd regulations (or maybe just an odd interpretation of the regulations) that prevented any access other than "at official, established entry points". Other than that I have deer hunted and squirrel hunted from it a lot. It is a great way to get to places others can't like islands in the river or public land that is cut off by private no access land.
I knew a guy that planned to deer hunt with his kayak. He went and got a 50lbs sack of feed, sealed it up in a contractor grade trash sack and practiced paddling around with it strapped to his boat. I haven't gone that far... but it's an idea.
Good luck with the new kayak. I have really enjoyed hunting and fishing out of mine.
OkKeith
Quote from: OkKeith on July 11, 2019, 11:15:40 PM
From personal experience (a BAD experience) you should plan on putting anything you get in the boat. Trying to paddle a kayak straight while dragging a body behind it will prove more difficult than schlepping it through that mile of spillbanks. If you don't field dress it, it will be that much heavier, the body cavity will eventually fill with water and act like a sea anchor and drag you down. Field dressed the chest cavity will scoop water and make it impossible to make any headway or be able to track straight.
If you think you wanna try it, take an aired up spare tire and tie a rope around it and try paddling while dragging that. Then multiply it by whatever size and weight of deer you might kill.
All is not lost though! If it is legal in your state to quarter or even butcher and debone a deer carcass after a successful hunt, most average deer will fit in a cooler you can strap on your boat.
I have a sit on top kayak and have hunted out of it quite a bit. I had a great turkey spot picked out that I was going to access from the river but ran up against some odd regulations (or maybe just an odd interpretation of the regulations) that prevented any access other than "at official, established entry points". Other than that I have deer hunted and squirrel hunted from it a lot. It is a great way to get to places others can't like islands in the river or public land that is cut off by private no access land.
I knew a guy that planned to deer hunt with his kayak. He went and got a 50lbs sack of feed, sealed it up in a contractor grade trash sack and practiced paddling around with it strapped to his boat. I haven't gone that far... but it's an idea.
Good luck with the new kayak. I have really enjoyed hunting and fishing out of mine.
OkKeith
i dont have a spare tire to test out well but i do have a very well fed friend that i may be able to talk into strapping up for a test paddle. As you said worst case in my state i can at least cape and quarter a deer to get it out.
I never brought anything home with a kayak but I have with a canoe. And in some fast water too. I think the quarter or bone out strategy would work. Or if you get something down, hang and return with a bigger vessel.
Hoosierarcher88-
That would be a GOOD friend indeed... for a little while anyway.
Again through my own trial and error (mostly error) I have found that contrary to my initial thought, it's better to be a little bow (as in the front of the boat, not your hunting implement) heavy as opposed to stern heavy. I was trying to haul a big rock back to the truck in my kayak and strapped it in the tank well behind me. I had zero steerage with the nose in the air. I guess it was kinda like trying to ride a wheelie on a bike through the woods. I shifted it to the front and even though I took some water in my lap I made way much better so that solved the issue.
Now... the issue of how my wife talked me in to paddling a 150lbs rock back to the truck because "it was interesting and would look nice in the flower bed", I will not speak further of.
OkKeith
Rocks never make good ballast, even in a canoe. The canoe empty may stay at the surface, but fill if full of water and then a 20 pound stone, many fancy kevlar canoes will go to the bottom and keep the rock. We used to paddle upstream to hunt a particular place and take the river out in the dark. Beavers can be very curious creatures in the dark. I use a water proof rubber back pack half full of water when I use my kevlar Mad River Explorer solo. The sit on top kayak may not like an entire deer in the front half. Heavy in the bow with those is no free ride either. You may need to sit partially up on the rear storage area to keep it balanced front to back. Three kids here tried to put a similar boat in a flooded pond earlier this spring here. It tipped two of them out in shallow water, when it started taking on water. They were on sale at a local store for less than 200 bucks, it may be easier to tow gear and possibly a deer in a second one or better yet, call someone with a canoe if you get a deer.
I float mine and have never had a problem. I have a large super stable kayak though. If you pull your friend behind to test it please take picture! :goldtooth:
I've never used a canoe/kayak for access to a hunting spot. Although the idea intrigues me. But I was reading the replies and thought to myself "Why not use the kayak for access and if you kill a deer carry it out like you would without a kayak?" Not to sound negative but you most likely won't kill a deer every trip right? Use it to hunt and if you kill a critter revert back to what you would have done before the kayak was in the picture.
Might be a little more work. But I'd rather have that work than the work of paddling and maybe drying everything our because something went wrong.
Best of luck!
-Jeremy :coffee:
For years I used a Perception "Illusion" 14' sit on top kayak to access fishing areas along LA.'s coastal marsh. The boat was a jewel, fast, stable and straight tracking. I seldom kept fish but when I tried putting a trailing stringer with 2 or 3 redfish behind it I was amazed at how much it affected performance. I cannot imagine trying to paddle with a carcass trailing.
Talking about this same subject with a local compound shooter, he told me how his brother shot a deer along the Iowa south Dakota border. The deer made it across the Sioux River. The rivers have been high here. He had a blue sit on top plastic kayak, so he went home and got it and put into the river above where the deer crossed. He floated down to the spot and found his deer in short order. Dressed and put it in his blue kayak and tied it down. His goal was to just get across to the Iowa side. He sat on top of the deer, pushed off got about half way across the river and it dumped him into the river. He said, "That God for water proof cell phones and life jackets". That was the coldest swim he ever had. I am pretty sure any number of guys with jon boats would have run out there to help him out.
If a kayak is what you got to work with...and a canoe is not a option, then consider rigging your kayak with a(n) outrigger(s).
So as previously stated probably not the best boat for getting an animal out. For what it's worth I've been down a similar road though and can share my thoughts. I was going into the Adirondack Mountains in NY with a friend on a bear hunt. We entered through the water taking kayaks. I was not willing to leave my expensive Kevlar kayak and paddle while hunting so I took in a cheap $200 12' plastic kayak. There is a 250# weight limitation on that boat as there is on yours. I go 185. Point being not a lot of room physically or load wise even if you push the limits some.
My answer to this was to pull a 2nd kayak behind me that my girlfriend affectionately called the bear boat. In short this worked ok. These kinds of boats without rudders, short, flat bottoms, get pushed around in wind bad, track poorly, and take any waves not so great. If your ok with all that then that's fine. It's doable but not ideal. The farther you travel or the harder the conditions the more this will become apparent.
If you do it wear a good life jacket any strap everything you care about down. You should be prepared If the boat tips with foot wear, clothing and all your gear. I don't want to sound like a negative nelly but just some things to think about. Best of luck, keep us posted :campfire:
The problem with good out riggers is that they cost as much the plastic boats. On Canadian canoe trips, when we had to run dangerous open water, we sometimes lashed two canoes with a couple of ten foot sturdy samplings, with a couple of feet in between canoes, tied in the middle and tight ropes controlling both ends of the canoes. It is remarkable how much big water such a rig can paddle, as long as everyone paddles about the same. Don't go and buy a $300 system, this will work for what you need, you can play around with the amount a floatation and give yourself adjustable freeboard with extra weight on board, as long as you don't have too far or too much wind and current to deal with. https://goneoutdoors.com/homemade-canoe-stabilizer-5486458.html
I agree the cost of outriggers is ridiculous....was suggesting a more 'redneck' engineering solution.
Lots of homemade examples out there.
The one issue with shorter craft is where to put the outrigger so there is still paddling room. There is one I seen on a local sandpit for a plastic job that he bought at Bomgars Hardware with a plastic out rigger that was suppose to be made for the craft. It mounted behind him originally and left him no paddle space, so he jerry rigged it to way forward and then said that he would have been better off if it was behind him. I will give it credit, he was standing and casting for bass.
I had honestly thought about homemade pvc pipe outriggers. This boat will never see moving water, just strip pits which are fairly sheltered by trees so even wind isnt of much concern. There are just many spots that either are not accessible by foot or would involve several hours of weaving back and forth to get to that would only take 10 minutes for me to reach via a small boat.
Hoosierarcher88 -
Couple of scouting trips and I bet you would be good.
I was doing some searching on the internet and found several folks that use innertubes to float deer out. They pack them deflated and have a hand or foot pump stashed in the bottom of the kayak. Makes for a small package. When needed they unfold them, pump them up and strap the deer to two of them in tandem and paddle out towing it.
I gonna give this a try. Sure will make it easier the next time my wife sees a rock she has to have.
OkKeith
I like the inter tube idea....compact, lightweight, only put out when needed.
I've fished from kayak and like them for that. Can't comment on hunting use because I too use a canoe. Your concept of using it to access otherwise hard to get to places is exactly why I got my canoe and it works great for that. At 45# it's a breeze to move from truck to water and even at 11' 9" it works for hauling deer and climbing stand. Both it and my bike have aided me in escaping pressures from shallow woods hunters.
Quote from: OkKeith on July 13, 2019, 10:32:53 PM
Hoosierarcher88 -
Couple of scouting trips and I bet you would be good.
I was doing some searching on the internet and found several folks that use innertubes to float deer out. They pack them deflated and have a hand or foot pump stashed in the bottom of the kayak. Makes for a small package. When needed they unfold them, pump them up and strap the deer to two of them in tandem and paddle out towing it.
I gonna give this a try. Sure will make it easier the next time my wife sees a rock she has to have.
OkKeith
the innertube idea sounds like your on to something. Our local tire shop deals with a lot of ag tires so im sure carries some medium sized tubes. I may pick one up and believe i have a foot pedal pump that should easily fit into my pack
I've hunting and killed two deer off public land with a canoe. I love the process and find the paddles in the dark to be a rush. Having said that I literally thought I was going to tip my canoe trying to get a big buck out a few years back. It was seriously scary. No way I would try to pack out a deer in a cheap kayak. A canoe is hard enough. Think out tipping with a trophy buck your gear and a bow you don't want to lose. I think a Jon boat or a steady canoe are the only legit ways to get a buck out. The paddle in and then pack out by land or butcher on site is how I plan on doing it the next time.
Beavers can scare the crap out of you at 5 AM when they slap their tail on the water right next to your canoe. Sounds like a monster jumping out of the water :biglaugh:
Use what you have. Get it out and use it a bit and learn how your gonna store stuff. I didn't see where your from or how large the deer your after but most whitetails broke down don't take up much room or weigh much. I cant see you dragging anything behind it? thats a pain, even a stringer of fish cause alot of drag.
Bottom line 10' is small but it will work great! I think your main issue is carrying gear? then dealing with an animal? think almost certainly you have to quarter them in the field? but maybe not? depends how big they are and what kinda water you gotta cross.
J
Quote from: J-dog on July 15, 2019, 12:09:34 PM
Use what you have. Get it out and use it a bit and learn how your gonna store stuff. I didn't see where your from or how large the deer your after but most whitetails broke down don't take up much room or weigh much. I cant see you dragging anything behind it? thats a pain, even a stringer of fish cause alot of drag.
Bottom line 10' is small but it will work great! I think your main issue is carrying gear? then dealing with an animal? think almost certainly you have to quarter them in the field? but maybe not? depends how big they are and what kinda water you gotta cross.
J
Im from Indiana so deer can be of good size. For the most part my gear consists of my bow and my backpack which is a small single strap cross shoulder pack.
Yeah, our deer are small? But still maybe some game bags then in a garbage bag? I dunno. I do a lot of kayaking, use to have a native ultimate that was basically a pirogue but you could haul a lot with it.
I mean you could probably get the deer gutted in the boat and then just straddle and paddle? Or if you have hip boots or chest waders just get thr deer in the boat and walk it out close to the bank staying shallow??
I didn't read any of the threads in the last 3 days..... Agree trying to kayak a deer across a Lake will be a BIT CH....
Carry with you A inflatable boat.... That will make your paddling much easier with the deer in the inflatable boat.
Quote from: Terry Green on July 17, 2019, 11:43:29 AM
I didn't read any of the threads in the last 3 days..... Agree trying to kayak a deer across a Lake will be a BIT CH....
Carry with you A inflatable boat.... That will make your paddling much easier with the deer in the inflatable boat.
my wife gave me the idea of packing a mini raft made out of pool noodles and tarp similar to the slings/rafts they use for transporting dolphins via boat. Ill have to see what i can slap together in my redneck science lab and test a few options out
This might work...
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Quote from: OkKeith on July 17, 2019, 02:07:17 PM
This might work...
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:biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
Nope!
Slap some orange on it for safety.
Agree with others -- cheapo inflatable raft of some sort will do just fine to tow it out, depending on the water, of course (river vs lake). Unless you actually kill something, you won't even have to take it out of the box. Just tie a rope around the carcass somewhere that's attached to your kayak so if the raft sinks, you don't lose your deer.
I've towed helpless canoe riders with another canoe in 20 mph headwinds. It's work but not impossible. As long as you have some buoyancy under the carcass (like a raft), then it should tow just fine for a mile or two. Much more than that will just require some longer breaks.
And if you can walk in, you can also walk out. Put the deer in the kayak & walk the shoreline. Or make 2 trips: first with the deer on foot & the a second with the kayak. Getting a deer is always a good excuse to show up late.
I like a canoe
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I personally don't see the current fascination with the cheap plastic kayaks unless the focus is on the word cheap. A nice canoe on the other hand can be a good investment.
End wrenches and socket drives... kayaks and canoes; different tools for different situations.
I have both (TOO many of both!). I love my kayak for how fast I can get it in the truck, get it out of the truck and have it on the water. The canoe is definitely better for hauling loads. Not all plastic kayaks are cheaply made (and many certainly ain't cheap $$!). Just like I have a canoe with a keel and one without, I have kayaks that do different jobs better than others.
Ya gotta run what ya have.
OkKeith
I use a 17 ft canoe alot to get to hunting spots only accessible by bayou. Usually have two full grown 200+ lb men and gear. Never had any issues with it. We squirrel hunt out of it with 3 full grown men just can't shoot at the same time out of the same side lol learned that the hard way.
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It has been officially tested. A cheap red Bomgaars hardware sit on top kayak paddled by a skinny little girl can tow a cheap blue similar kayak occupied by her fat older brother in a straight line all the way across a two hundred yard sandpit and do it in a straight line at a reasonable speed. If all else fails get a second plastic kayak. For some unknown reason, they only had one kayak paddle and the boy could not get anywhere with the little plastic canoe paddle. Get your wife one so she can paddle with you and then borrow it.
Ten foot might be a bit short, I have a 14 footer that works well getting hogs out from the back parts of the area I hunt, simply drag them to the creek and then kayak out, much easier to get back to truck. Getting the game totally in the yak would be advisable. Two trips might be needed, one with game, number two with hunting equipment. My spot makes getting everything up the bank and fun experience. I lash the yak and then tie a long rope to hog and after a quick pray haul the beast up the bank. This end process makes shot selection key, the bigger the hog the harder the haul.
Yes Keith.....and this application would be best be executed by a canoe no doubt.
Easier in and out of the truck is way secondary in effort than getting a deer out.
I have never hauled game out with a canoe, but I used to run rivers and do some canoe racing as a younger guy. You can put a lot of stuff in a canoe, and it will still handle easily. Just keep the weight balanced out in the canoe. My only experience with a kayak is some white water fun on some of the North Georgia rivers, but I just don't think the kayak is the best platform for hunting. Granted, I have not used any of the newer style kayaks. However, I have had my butt dunked in some mighty cold water, so I would vote for increased stability every time.