This is a better picture of the cart I made out of a ladder stand and lawn mower wheels. It really shines on trails but works OK on tough going too . It can handle heavy loads better than I can. I have hauled many beaver long distances and firewood around the yard as well with it. It can also be hooked to the back of my bicycle for light loads. I have multiple bungee straps on it for securing almost anything.

Pack frame works good, I always like the old army ones for packing quarters of meat out, or multiple beaver at a time. If you don't have one of those or you don't plan on packing out more than a beaver or two at a time start checking out the thrift stores. You can find external frame packs for around $5, you want the old style flap top style where it is all one big compartment. Just drop the beaver in from the top and throw it on your back. Fast, easy and no strapping down involved, also a great way to pack traps in. Warning; you put three or four decent size beaver in one though and you can have problems. I broke a couple of the aluminum frames right in half trying to pack too many beaver at once out with them. I would 75-80 pounds max on them, maybe a hundred if you aren't having to crawl over logs or other obstacles. I know with 120-150 pounds in them I would go to sling my leg over a log, the beavers in the packsack would flop from one side to the other and try and fling me to the ground, and if that was unsuccessful they would strain the aluminum tube frame and eventually it would break.

I tried gutting a bunch of beaver once. For my money after skinning a dozen floppy, gutless beaver; I'll rough skin them if I'm trying to lose weight that bad.

For my money after skinning a dozen floppy, gutless beaver; I'll rough skin them if I'm trying to lose weight that bad.[/quote]

X2, Back in the day, as a younger man, the only way to get beaver out of the Bush were I trapped them was by rough skinning and packing out the hides and glands. Some choice meat was packed out occasionally too.

I will keep the wheeled devices in mind as I plow through to my sixties. I bet, like portage wheels for boats, the bigger the wheels the better it handles the woods.

The beaver not fitting in a bucket is a great photo. The beaver on the 3 wheeled baby buggy is hilarious and would probably offend 99% of modern parents.

I have carried out a pile of beavers sticking out of a pack basket or across a pack basket. I much prefer a sled at a minimum or better yet a 4 wheeler or side by side.

At my aga (74) if I can’t get near the set with my 4 wheeler I leave the beav for seed.
lol

I hate the idea of hauling In a cart or even a sled when you might be checking empty traps. And you just can't leave It at one location if your trapping different areas.
Hang em In tree and case skin em.

When i trap to far in i skin them on the bank , and keep pelt and castor
Beats packing the whole thing out . Imo

Today I floated a big one down the river to the bridge where my truck was parked. I will never pack another one from upstream of the truck again if the river is shallow enough to wade.

Had a few places i used to use a wheel barrel.

That mess up the oval when you open it up and board it after?

MnMan,

Do you feel that if you would be able to put the wheels (axle) further forward say a foot or so that more of the weight could be put on the axle and not forward to make hauling out easier?

Bryce

Find some wheel chair solid wheels and no blown inner-tubes with your carts.

Yes, that would have helped a lot but I just cobbled together what I could out of an old ladder stand and was not thinking clearly. It does work well if I keep most of the weight as far back toward the axle as I can. Those are solid wheels so no flats.

Why not just rough skin it?

Well in my case, the buyer wants the carcasses too.

And, in my case and many other Canadian trappers the carcass is desired for bait. Beaver is generally consider the best all around bait for many furbearers.

A lot of people eat fresh beaver here also.
It only takes a half a minute to gut them and remove the glands.
I give lots of beaver meat away to the elders,I cut them in half after gutting then freeze.