Winch for dressing critters - what to use?

[bison]

Hi all -

I'd like to improve the setup I use to skin critters on my ranch and could use some tips. It's raw land without power or structures. What I currently do is toss a rope over a branch of an oak tree and use to that hang a pulley/gambrel set I got from Cabelas. I then use the pulleys to lift the critters for skinning.

The problem I'm having is that the pulley system I use is pretty wimpy for the 250+ lb hogs I frequently shoot. Pulling them up by myself ain't easy to say the least. I've searched for a better hoist but haven't had any luck.

I've thought of somehow attaching a hand operated cable winch to the tree, but haven't figured out how that would work.

I drive an SUV so Im not sure if the hitch mounted ones work. One that I was looking at on Amazon looks ok but the comments make it seem marginal for 250+ lb animals.

thoughts?

thx

 

[Patocazador]

I have one that was welded up for me with a 2-stage boat winch. It mounts in the receiver of my truck's hitch. It rotates but can be locked down with a simple L-handled bolt that can engage the upper piece. It cost me $200 to have it done but it was worth it to me. You can find them cheaper but maybe not with the 2-stage winch.



This one is from Walmart and claims to handle 300 lb.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kill-Sho...MI_eG36eTX3wIVy8DACh0LUQhuEAQYAiABEgIcZ_D_BwE

 

[Art Eatman]

Do your usual skinning around the neck to then use a rock to make a lump to tie a rope onto. Tie the other end of the rope to the trailer hitch and drive away.

For a pulley rig, check Tractor Supply or go Gurgle for a couple of two-roller sheaves, with fifty feet of 3/8" nylon rope. Easily can lift over a half-ton.

 

[Patocazador]

Do your usual skinning around the neck to then use a rock to make a lump to tie a rope onto. Tie the other end of the rope to the trailer hitch and drive away.

A golf ball works well too.

 

[Flintknapper]

I have a hand operated boat winch that I welded to a piece of 2" tubing that fits into the receiver of my vehicle. I used it for awhile to hoist Deer and Hogs up in order to skin them when I don't feel like taking them back to the shop.

But in the end I found it easier to just throw a rope over a tree limb, tie off to the recovery hooks on my SUV and back up...hoisting the critter up. So that is pretty much my standard procedure for 'hoisting' one. As long as you have trees nearby...its all you need.

If not... then something like what @Patocazador posted would work well.

 

[MCgunner]

I bought a winch that is supposed to have a 1000 lb capacity. I bolted it to the rack on my ATV to use if I get it stuck. I stuck it once already and used a cheap hand come along to get out. It's positrack, but 2WD. It's so light, though, it does take a lot to get it stuck. This winch was about 25 bucks at Harbor Freight.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-capacity-hand-winch-62592.html

 

[MCgunner]

I shot a pig some time back last fall that was too heavy for me to lift with my gambrel/block and tackle. I tried, but I ain't the man I used to be. I tied the rope to the rack on my ATV, dropped it in low range, and pulled that pig up. I held the thing up while I untied the rope from my rack and wrapped it around the trunk of a tree. God has handicapped my body with age, but my brain can still find work arounds.

 

[Armored farmer]

My friend is a hog farmer. He has an A frame with an electric winch over a floor anchor. He can skin a critter quick.

 

[MCgunner]

Most farm pigs get scraped rather than skinned. Still gotta lift 'em, though.

 

[crestoncowboy]

I use my atv or jeep winch. I have a chain hooked between two trees horizontally. I hook a snatch block in a link then winch up one leg. I then hook the other leg to a link with a snap hook. Then my winch is free to hang another. I can get 4 deer hanging at a time that way.
The sorriest winch in the world should lift a deer/ hog. My 3500lb atv winch can lift a cow this way. I can't imagine that the reciever mount wouldn't handle any game easily. If it will budge a vehicle marred in mud, lifting game would be nothing.

 

[MikeInOr]

You just need a compound pulley... I.e. "Block and Tackle". Every extra set of lines you add between the pulleys will cut the weight you a lifting in half. With this block and tackle you would only need 35 lbs of force to lift that 250lb hog (My 10 year old daughter could get the hog off the ground easily). Since the force is divided by the number of lines between the pulley you can also use a MUCH smaller diameter rope.

https://www.ebay.com/p/2-Ton-Poly-R...Tools/1262222343?iid=270827174455#UserReviews

 

[MCgunner]

View attachment 819681

You just need a compound pulley... I.e. "Block and Tackle". Every extra set of lines you add between the pulleys will cut the weight you a lifting in half. With this block and tackle you would only need 35 lbs of force to lift that 250lb hog (My 10 year old daughter could get the hog off the ground easily). Since the force is divided by the number of lines between the pulley you can also use a MUCH smaller diameter rope.

https://www.ebay.com/p/2-Ton-Poly-R...Tools/1262222343?iid=270827174455#UserReviews

Of course, you have to travel 4 times farther to get the thing lifted. Fifth grade math.

 

[MCgunner]

Do your usual skinning around the neck to then use a rock to make a lump to tie a rope onto. Tie the other end of the rope to the trailer hitch and drive away.

For a pulley rig, check Tractor Supply or go Gurgle for a couple of two-roller sheaves, with fifty feet of 3/8" nylon rope. Easily can lift over a half-ton.

Actually, hog skin is tough and I can't pull it down, has to be skinned all the way down with a knife. I'm not sure the rock/tennis ball thing would work on one. One problem is the gristle shield, it's often THICK.

 

[MikeInOr]

Of course, you have to travel 4 times farther to get the thing lifted. Fifth grade math.

I really tried to stay away from asking if I was the only one to pass the 5th grade??? ...of course I was 15yo at the time.

 

[buck460XVR]

View attachment 819681

You just need a compound pulley... I.e. "Block and Tackle".

Yep, and some of 'em are pretty compact, as shown in the link. My dad was a lineman all his life and I have a coupla block and tackles he used to have on his belt for hauling up crossarms and transformers before the days of lift trucks(and in areas inaccessible to trucks). Larger, but the bigger diameter rope is easier on your hands. One is hanging from the rafters in the garage where I always do my skinning. At the cabin, we just use the bucket on the tractor.

Iffin' I was going to always skin my animals in the field and wanted to do it easily, I would seriously look into something like what Patocazador posted or something like this.....https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Shot-DR...=B00PTW9OT2&psc=1&refRID=FAZRGABG6KD74SXSN373

 

[Flintknapper]

Actually, hog skin is tough and I can't pull it down, has to be skinned all the way down with a knife. I'm not sure the rock/tennis ball thing would work on one. One problem is the gristle shield, it's often THICK.

Some day I will get around to making a short video on hog skinning. You are certainly correct, you won't pull the hide off a mature pig, especially a Boar with a shield. The trick to getting the hide off the larger hogs is to take it off in strips.

Hang the hog head up, start the skinning process as per normal (skin out the legs and belly, then make a shallow ring around the neck just behind the ears.)

Take a common Razor Knife and make one continuous cut right down the spine (always in the direction of the hair). Then make another cut about 4" over from that (about the width of your hand). Now go back up top, start the strip by skinning a few inches, take a vice grip and clamp onto it, pull down hard. If you've done it right a nice strip of the hide will peel right down. Repeat until the hog is skinned.

IF you are not interested in keeping any fat on the carcass....you can just make your cuts deeper and then skin the strips down with your skinning knife, it goes very quickly this way and simply breaks the hide down into more manageable pieces.

Easier to understand the process if you see it, rather than understand the written directions.

 

[MCgunner]

Why not use a chain fall come along? OK, if you don't already have one. Can be a little costly, but heck, I've lifted the butt of a VW off the ground with one. Heck, every redneck with a pick up should have one. LOL

 

[crestoncowboy]

"Every redneck with a pickup truck" should already have a winch out front though, right?

 

[Armored farmer]

"Every redneck with a pickup truck" should already have a winch out front though, right?

Or a loader tractor.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Maybe I live in the lower class redneck area but only a few of us with farms have a decent tractor... or 4. But everyone has 33 inch mud terrains and a winch. (My Rubicon has 35s and a 10k warn btw) an alarming amount drive a ton diesel with nary a hitch, bumper nor fifth wheel.

We have used the trackhoe to hang cattle however

 

[jmorris]

I am a FEL guy myself, I use battery straps and bar stock with two holes drilled in if for a gambrel.

If you have a tree branch, rope and something to pull the rope with, your set too.

For hogs, just cut down the spine from the top, get the back straps out and get ready for some coyote hunting...

 

[WestKentucky]

Last block and tackle I used was made out of steel plates and scrap lawn mower decks. It was too heavy to do much with, so it stayed in the top of Grandaddys garage. It became a part of that garage, and when the garage rotted away and had to be torn down it was still there.

I have a “portable” winch that has a master lock sticker on it but it’s a china winch that was sold under a bunch of names. It’s on my mower trailer, but I believe that a combination of that 500lb lifting capacity winch and a cheap and/or homemade block and tackle would greatly ease things to the point of pushing a button. It’s extreme low voltage too so you could probably run it off of a modified setup for trailer brakes if you have that capability. I think those winches are like $80 at harbor freight, so if you have 12v easily adaptable it might be worth trying.

The other option that seems easiest though is a geared chain hoist. A 1000lb engine block hoist is cheap and common. A couple feet of chain to secure it to the overhead limb would be easy enough. Only problem
Is that they are usually carbon steel so blood would be really hard on it, unless you have a hose where you could spray it off when you got done.

 

[der Teufel]

Some day I will get around to making a short video on hog skinning. You are certainly correct, you won't pull the hide off a mature pig, especially a Boar with a shield. The trick to getting the hide off the larger hogs is to take it off in strips.

Hang the hog head up, start the skinning process as per normal (skin out the legs and belly, then make a shallow ring around the neck just behind the ears.)

Take a common Razor Knife and make one continuous cut right down the spine (always in the direction of the hair). Then make another cut about 4" over from that (about the width of your hand). Now go back up top, start the strip by skinning a few inches, take a vice grip and clamp onto it, pull down hard. If you've done it right a nice strip of the hide will peel right down. Repeat until the hog is skinned.

IF you are not interested in keeping any fat on the carcass....you can just make your cuts deeper and then skin the strips down with your skinning knife, it goes very quickly this way and simply breaks the hide down into more manageable pieces.

Easier to understand the process if you see it, rather than understand the written directions.

This is the method to which I progressed, having tried a lot of different techniques including the golf ball tucked in the neck skin trick. I actually made that work on a few occasions, but generally I was successful less than 20% of the time.
The idea of cutting the hide into strips with a gut hook or a box cutter and pulling it off with vice grips is the best method for skinning I've found. For cutting the strips, I used a gut hook with replaceable box cutter blades similar to THIS.

But, these days I don't skin hogs at all. I just cut off the leg quarters and remove the back straps. Glen Guess posted a VIDEO that describes this very well. This is exactly what I do. It wastes a little bit of meat, but there are plenty of hogs around, so we just go shoot another one if we need more meat.

 

[bison]

Thanks all - I just ordered one of the receiver hitch mounted hitches like this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...4df-15aac5223b10&pf_rd_r=DJ1XYJASQ3J7SD9NTVDE
Good reviews and price. Should do the trick!

 

[jmorris]

The barstock and strap gambrels even work for lions, if you ate them you would be stuffed...or just full of it.