Best Deer Carts for Hauling Game Out of the Woods

Best deer cart overall (rough ground)

Amazon: about $215, in stock · Capacity: 500 lb (Hawk) · Cart weight: 45 lb · Wheels: 4 foam-filled

The Hawk Crawler is the cart most people mean when they search for one right now. "Hawk crawler deer cart" was a Breakout search on Google this month, and on October 30 the Crawler sat at #2 in Amazon's Hunting Game Carts best-seller list with more than 1,000 ratings at 4.3 stars.

Instead of two big wheels and a ladder frame, the Crawler rides on four 14-inch wheels on two pivoting axles that swivel 360 degrees, with the deer lying in a Textilene DuraMesh sling instead of on bare rails. Hawk says the four wheels spread the load and keep the cart from tipping. The tires are filled with microcellular polyurethane foam, so there's nothing to go flat. Hawk rates it for 500 pounds, and it folds to 42 by 31 inches.

Owner feedback lines up with the design. Amazon's review summary says buyers find it sturdy and well made, easy to push or pull, and good at crawling over rocks and logs. The complaints are worth knowing before you buy: turning gets mixed reviews (some owners find it very hard to steer), and several report missing parts in the box, like carriage bolts and handle hardware. Inventory the box before the season.

The other trade-off is weight. At 45 pounds it's one of the heaviest carts here, and at $214.99 for the Flat Dark Earth version it's the priciest. It earns that on rocky ridges and blowdowns; on logging roads and fields, a lighter two-wheel cart will do.

Check price on Amazon →

Best folding cart (top-rated at Sportsman's)

Amazon: about $142, sold by Amazon · Sportsman's Warehouse: about $140, store pickup · Capacity: 300 lb · Weight: 29 lb

The Rivers Edge RE790 is the cart we'd point most whitetail hunters to if they don't need the Crawler's four-wheel setup. It had the best owner rating of any cart at Sportsman's Warehouse on October 30, 4.6 stars from 24 reviews, and it sat at #5 in Amazon's Hunting Game Carts list with "100+ bought in past month."

Its trick is the tri-fold frame. Rivers Edge says it unfolds with no tools, and one owner wrote that it fits in a Jeep Compass without folding the rear seats. The wheels are steel with solid rubber tires that won't go flat, and Rivers Edge rates it for 300 pounds. At a listed 29 pounds, it's about 16 pounds lighter than the Hawk Crawler.

Owners describe hauling deer up a steep wooded ridge and coast elk quarters two miles down a rough logging road. The recurring gripes: you handle small pins and hardware to fold and unfold it, one found his stand too wide for the wheels, and one called it too small for big game. Amazon's summary also flags a wheel coming off for at least one buyer on first use.

On October 30, Amazon sold and shipped it for $141.95. Sportsman's listed it at $139.99 and in stock, but not eligible to ship home to the ZIP code we checked, so plan on store pickup there: see it at Sportsman's Warehouse.

Check price on Amazon →

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best budget deer cart

Amazon: about $80, sold by The Sportsman's Guide · Capacity: 300 lb · Weight: 28.2 lb · Wheels: 16 in solid rubber

If you want the most proven cheap cart, this is it. The Guide Gear Deluxe had 1,066 Amazon ratings at 4.4 stars on October 30, more than any other cart in this guide, plus "200+ bought in past month" and a #4 spot in Hunting Game Carts.

The design is the classic deer cart: a folding steel ladder frame on two 16-inch solid-rubber spoked wheels, with the weight centered over the axle so you're not lifting much of the deer as you pull. Guide Gear includes three lashing straps, rates it for 300 pounds and lists it at 28.2 pounds.

Amazon's review summary says owners find it good value, easy to assemble and sturdy for hauling deer. It also says durability is the concern: multiple owners report pins popping off and the cart coming apart on first use, and some say the hard wheels hang up on small objects. Swapping the stock pins for cotter pins or bolts is cheap insurance.

Check price on Amazon →

Best balanced 2-wheel cart

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $190, free ship-to-home · Amazon: about $115 (third-party seller) · Capacity: 300 lb · Weight: 29 lb

The Muddy Mule is the most-reviewed game cart at Sportsman's Warehouse (24 reviews, 4.3 stars) and a familiar name to anyone who already hunts from Muddy stands. It's a solid steel cart, 16 inches wide and 40 inches long, on 16-inch hardened rubber wheels. Muddy rates it for 300 pounds at 29 pounds of cart, and it folds flat.

What owners like most is balance. Muddy calls it a "zero-gravity" rubber-coated handle, and owners describe the weight sitting over the axle so it pulls easily. Reviewers have hauled two deer and a bear in a season, two elk quarters at a time, and decoys.

The complaints are specific. Two owners bent the axle (one rolling a quartered deer down a hill, one going over stumps), and Muddy doesn't sell a replacement axle, per one of them. Several say the wheel lock pins can fall out, and their fix was cotter pins or duct tape. Others mention wheels rubbing on an off-center load and rusting bearings.

Price check: Sportsman's had it for $189.99 with free shipping on October 30. The same cart (model MGC400) was $114.88 on Amazon from a third-party seller. That's a big gap, so check both.

See it at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Check price on Amazon →

Best for elk and heavy loads

Amazon: about $200, in stock · Capacity: 750 lb · Weight: 47 lb · Wheels: 20 in solid rubber

The Kill Shot 750 is for hunters who move more than one whitetail at a time: elk quarters, a big hog, a bear or a full load of stand, blind and gear. It has the highest rating in this guide, 750 pounds, and the biggest wheels, two 20-inch solid rubber tires that the listing says roll over roots, mud and muck without going flat. The handle adjusts for height.

The listing describes a brown powder-coated steel frame that folds flat, and Kill Shot backs it with a 1-year warranty. It had 206 Amazon ratings at 4.4 stars on October 30 and was listed at #9 in Hunting Game Carts. Amazon's review summary says owners find it well built and worth the money, including in snow and over fallen limbs. The split opinion is weight: at 47 pounds, it's the heaviest cart here, and some owners say so.

Check price on Amazon →

Lightest cart for its rating

Amazon: about $84, in stock · Capacity: 500 lb · Weight: 25.4 lb · Wheels: 17 in solid

On paper, the VINGLI gives you the most rated capacity for the least cart. VINGLI rates it for 500 pounds at 25.4 pounds, which works out to nearly 20 pounds of capacity per pound of cart, the best ratio in our chart. It rolls on two 17-inch solid wheels, folds for the trunk and has a longer handle.

It was #6 in Amazon's Hunting Game Carts list on October 30 with "100+ bought in past month" and 109 ratings at 4.3 stars. Amazon's summary says owners call it a great hauler for deer, easy to assemble and well built for the money. One quoted owner says the fold pins make it rattle loudly as you pull it to your stand, which matters if you plan to roll it in before daylight.

Treat the 500-pound figure as the maker's number; this value brand lacks the track record of the Guide Gear or Muddy.

Check price on Amazon →

Best drag sled (snow and packability)

Amazon: about $40 for two · Size: 73 x 22.8 in each · Rated: 500 lb each (seller)

In snow or thick brush where wheels bog down, a drag sled can work better, and it rolls up small. The Firegowin 2-pack was the hottest seller in this whole guide on October 30: #3 in Amazon's Hunting Game Carts list and "400+ bought in past month."

You get two 600D PVC mats, each 73 by 22.8 inches when open, that roll down to 5.5 by 22.8 inches. Ropes and handles are included. Firegowin rates each mat for 500 pounds, but that's a seller claim on a flexible mat, so treat it as "big enough for a large deer" rather than a tested number.

It's new, with 36 ratings at 4.3 stars and no Amazon review summary yet. That's the trade-off for the price.

Check price on Amazon →

Cheapest way to drag a deer

Amazon: about $18 · Size: 9.5 in handle · Alternative: Allen Deluxe Deer Drag, about $17 at Sportsman's

If your deer usually falls within a few hundred yards of a road, you may not need a cart at all. The Hawk Cinch is a 9.5-inch handle with two cinch cables that loop around the deer's head and front legs. Hawk says lifting the head and neck off the ground reduces drag by 40% (a maker claim).

It had 432 Amazon ratings at 4.6 stars and "100+ bought in past month" on October 30, though stock was low (13 left). Amazon's summary says owners find it makes dragging much easier, and one says it's strong enough to lift the animal into a truck bed. Some find the smooth plastic handle hard to grip, especially with gloves.

Prefer a harness that puts the pull on your shoulders? The Allen Deluxe Deer Drag was $16.99 and in stock at Sportsman's Warehouse the same day, with a dual shoulder harness, a steel D-ring, 2-inch webbing and a tow rope.

Check price on Amazon →

Allen drag at Sportsman's Warehouse →