Driving yesterday to Detroit through WI and IL, my family and I saw seven different hunters on the highway with nice racks on the backs of their trucks and small trailers, with the gutted and bloody deer fully exposed and laying so the gut cut was facing out........in my Bowhunters Safety Course I was taught to wrap the body in a tarp at least as to not offend people or freak out small kids, causing parents to have to explain what it is. I personally would leave the head and rack exposed and tarp the body. Who on here does the full out bloody ride and who wraps the deer ? Am I off about this being proper to do or have I gone soft and mushy with the rest of the world....?
Lol being from MI I have to admit driving home with your kill is one of the greatest parts every year. I generally have mine in the bed of a truck with hopes of the rack just peaking out, but last year a buddy and I both had our deer on a hitch rack and we just strapped them down with no tarp. Our deer were hanging long enough for the blood to run dry. I dont see anything wrong with how I transport deer, just too many sallys on the road.
That's what deer hunters do (right or wrong) in deer hunting states. You'll see that big time up in the mountains of Pa, it's part of it.
I think its all in the area. Some areas hunting is a way of life. People wear orange when they do yard work. I live in a suburban area that is unfamiliar with dead deer except for on the side of roads. I don't attract any unnecessary attention to myself.
I think it has a lot to do with where your at. A place that has good hunting heritage prob don't matter, if your going through an area with a bunch of non hunting types I'd probably cover the whole thing.
Non hunting types....haha, I like that. Can you imagine living that way....I mean what do those people do with themselves all day????? I shudder at the thought.....thank god it's not me
Saw a guy drive past our farm when I was leaving the driveway the last day of slug this year. A wide open 7x14 open trailer and they had the deer's head propped up and strapped to the railing on the side so that the rack actually stuck out the side of the trailer for everyone to see. I knew who it was and it did not surprise me one bit, sadly.
Personally I don't care if folks get offended. I do place my deer in the bed of the truck, but things have gone too far. I just watched a news story where the town is distraught over Christmas Vacation being removed from the school calendar because 1 of 4000 people were offended. 1 of 4000!
I don't see the problem, If I shoot a deer in deer season who cares who sees it? If you're a vegan, thats not my fault...
Like everybody said it just depends on where you're from. What's the difference in riding home with it than people posting with it on facebook?
Mine goes in the truck bed until I either get to the processor or get it home. I never thought to wrap the deer. Anytime a kid has seen one of my deer they are always inquisitive. I think parents over react and that causes more problems than just letting the kid experience things. "Political correctness" is ruining this country in my opinion.
I keep mine in the bed of my truck, if it's a nice deer I prop the head up. Before I MATURED I would see how many people I could offend on the 3 hour ride home.
I'm with you String Puller. I feel like the people who do such things are either craving attention, or are trying to prove a point. Plus why expose all the meat directly to the exhaust coming out the tail pipe? I like my meat smoked, just not with tail pipe exhaust.
IMO it's simply poor taste to try and offend people by how much gore you can show when hauling your deer home after a successful hunt. The "I don't care if it offends you" mentality really does nothing to progress the hunting agenda in any way so what's the point? Deer strapped to the roof of a car with blood running down the windows isn't exactly the best way to get non-hunters on board with what we do. I'm not saying you should hide your kill from sight in order to avoid offending people. Just try to be respectful in the way you transport it. A dead deer in the back of a pickup is one thing. 6 deer piled on top of each other with their tongues hanging out and rib cages propped open and blood splattered all over your trailer, ATV, and hunting gear is another.
I don't think this is appropriate to intentionally present your deer for all to see. At the same time it's not a big deal in rural Kansas. Kind of to be expected. I didn't even get my foot out of the truck last year at the gas station when the first person came over to take a peak in the back of my truck and the deer was barley visible. When I returned to my vehicle a small crowd had gathered.
I know where Im from in the sticks of Fulton county we find it offensive if you haul the deer in the back of the truck without propping the head up so everyone can see the rack.
I drive a small SUV so the only way I have to haul my deer home is with a hitch hauler. Usually I will have the deer quartered and in a cooler by the time I have to drive home but if I need to take it to the taxidermist it has to be on the hitch hauler. I live in WI its a pretty common.
