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snowwolfe
11-06-2016, 10:24 PM
I just made a "meat pole". It is composed of a pressure treated 2x8 bolted between two live oak trees. It is bolted to the tree using 2, 5 inch long 5/16 lag screws on each end. The 2x8 is "sideways" meaning the wide portion is what is bolted to the tree. There is about 5.5 feet of board between the trees.
Will I have any weight issues with a 200 pound deer hanging while I skin and bone it out?
smokeywolf
11-06-2016, 10:31 PM
As long as you pre-drilled your board with a drill close to 5/16 and used a fender washer under each lag bolt head. If you didn't pre-drill your board, in a couple of years when the board has dried out it may split where the bolts were driven through.
Hogtamer
11-06-2016, 10:37 PM
no problems supporting 200 lb.
lightman
11-06-2016, 10:45 PM
Would not expect any problem. You probably could do a pull-up on that.
snowwolfe
11-06-2016, 10:53 PM
I predrilled the holes for the lag screws and used 2 washers under each head to help distribute the pressure.
smoked turkey
11-06-2016, 11:01 PM
Sounds like a mighty fine meat pole to me. I hope you get a lot of use out of it.
osteodoc08
11-06-2016, 11:18 PM
A 2x8 was plenty
starmac
11-06-2016, 11:35 PM
You can lay a 2x8 flat and throw it over a 10 foot span then walk across it with no worries about breaking it. It will give some but not break, turned on edge wit 5.5 foot span, I would not be suprised if you could lift the front of your car with it.
Plate plinker
11-07-2016, 12:22 AM
Yep you could probably hang a elk off of that.
jonp
11-07-2016, 05:18 AM
I'd have put it on edge and used a 2x6
Wayne Smith
11-07-2016, 08:15 AM
Like me, you tend to over engineer. Nothing wrong with that, while you couldn't hang an elephant from it you probably could a grizzly bear!
reddog81
11-07-2016, 08:41 AM
A 2x4 might work but wouldn't be the most stable. 2x6 would probably be sufficient. A 2x8 will be fine.
snowwolfe
11-07-2016, 10:37 AM
We were caught with our pants down on Saturday. It was the first day of muzzle loading season and wife shot a nice 6 point at 8 am and we didn't have a place to hang it (first season at new house). We quickly discovered none of the big oak trees around us had any forks. I hate skinning and quartering any animal on the ground so built the "pole". The bottom of the 2x8 is 10 feet up and I looped a snatch block around it. The snatch block is overkill but it allowed me to use some 1/2 braided nylon rope that was laying around. Thick rope is easier to pull on than thin. I will just put an overhand knot in it and use the atv winch to pull up the deer
shooterg
11-07-2016, 11:46 AM
Not a bad idea to "slot" the holes, gives the trees some room to sway w/o trying to split your board. But you could probably pull a motor from it anyway !
44man
11-07-2016, 11:53 AM
No problem at all. I hang at the barn to cool and get in the garage to skin and butcher. A big "O" ring screwed into a 2X6 joist through the drywall holds all. All the deer and my weight to skin has not hurt. I use a Cabela's hoist.
waksupi
11-07-2016, 05:10 PM
It'll work. Sometimes I use three lodgepoles, about 2.5" diameter, tied into a tripod. I can spread the tripod, attach the deer, and then walk in one pole at a time to get them to whatever level I want to work.

In my meat shed, the hanging pole is just over three inches in diameter, and I have hung four elk quarters from it for decades, no problem.
sparky45
11-07-2016, 05:30 PM
It'll work. Sometimes I use three lodgepoles, about 2.5" diameter, tied into a tripod. I can spread the tripod, attach the deer, and then walk in one pole at a time to get them to whatever level I want to work.

In my meat shed, the hanging pole is just over three inches in diameter, and I have hung four elk quarters from it for decades, no problem.

Wouldn't that stuff be a tad bit tough to chew by now. :mrgreen:
Plate plinker
11-07-2016, 09:40 PM
Guess he is making jerky. I would like some.
waksupi
11-07-2016, 09:45 PM
Wouldn't that stuff be a tad bit tough to chew by now. :mrgreen:
I just keep forgetting where I put it.....
44man
11-08-2016, 11:21 AM
What I want is to use my winch to peel the skin off. It sits in a box in the garage since I junked my old Toyota truck. I had it in the bed to pull deer into the truck on a board.
Once we tied a ball in neck skin and drove the hide off with a truck. Funny to see a deer pull straight out and swing like mad when the skin is off. I hate skinning like nothing else.