Personally ... I think it makes dragging deer harder. Particularly if you add the wear bars to the bottom. I wore through the bottom of my first JetSled in two seasons because it had no wear bars. My present sled has the bars and it's about a decade old and still fine. BUT, it's harder to drag because there's no side slip. The bars act like a rudder stuck in the center or amidships position. First you have to load the deer into it, which isn't as easy as it sounds, particularly with a big deer. Then they catch on saplings, vines and whatever if you're in any kind of thick stuff. They tip over surprisingly easily when going over limbs, bogs, or roots too. They'll keep your deer carcass free of mud if that means anything. I use mine constantly, but only to haul all my gear to my stand or blind, never to haul deer anymore.

 

Great idea with those wear bars, I got three jet sleds and they all have holes in them, mostly in the corners. What I did invest in is a plastic welding tool and that has really helped patch up these holes. Last thing you want is deer what a cavity full of blood leaking all over your vehicle

 

Ok good to know thanks for the reply.
I have added eye ring lashing points to mine and it came reinforced for pulling.
I like the small size as it fits nice in my suv but it may be to small for large deer.
I am sure it will be handy over all.

 

Hard, flat ground you are better off with a cart. Snow, sandy soil, jet sled is good. As Duke mantioned, wear bars make sliding a little easier on hard ground.

 

I use mine all the time. If the leaves are down helps a lot as does frosty mornings.

 

Now that is a nice buck !
He fills that sled do you know what size the sled is.

 

Ill measure it later, but its not the Jr.

 

Lip to lip 29 x 48

 

Ok thks
I have a feeling ill end up with a bigger sled in the future.

 

I recently visited the Northwoods store in Picconing MI and they had tall stacks of ever size.

Impressive i Jet Sled inventory

 

You can make your own wear strips out of PVC trim. It holds up pretty well too.

 

I've used them exclusively for decades, hauling out a couple hundred deer. The Jet Sled Jr is much thinner and NEEDS the wear bars! Get larger wear bars and run them all the way up under the lip. This stops roots/vines from catching on the front edge of the bars. Cut some relief slots with circular saw half the depth of the wear bars to allow them to bend around the sharp curve at the front. I also install a Glenns Deer Handle on each one, which makes them WAY easier to drag. Yes, I can drag and load 3 average sized deer at a time using the sled and modified folding dog ramp.

I carry both the junior and standard sleds with me. Anything up to an average doe gets the junior. For larger deer, doubles or triples I'll bring the standard Jet Sled.

 

Great tips thanks !

 

ice fisherman's trick for snow.

i like the cart for in the woods dry though.

 

I knew someone would put a lift kit on a sled!

 

I use mine to get the deer to the cart after killing it and then it's used to haul my gear. I do have the bars to. They work well in preventing wear to the bottom of the sled. The cart is my Summit Viper climbing deer stand using a cart kit from Sherpa Hunting. Unfortunately, Sherpa Hunting is no longer in business. Nice not having to drag a cart in as well as my deer stand. Works great.

 

Very creative utilization.

 

I use the 54" JetSled. Much easier to drag a deer with. I have had mine for 10 yrs or so without wear bars and still going strong. If I break it I'll just get another. I got my money's worth.

 

A couple things I have learned using the wear bars. If I am bringing it up a steep ridge and angling to the top, the wear bars stop it from sliding sideways downhill, acting as runners. And when dragging directly up a steep hill, the runners' sharp back edge bite and stop it from slipping back down, so you can pull it several feet and take a break. Without them the sled is always slipping back downhill.

 

When I installed my wear bars I heated them up with a hot air heat gun for the bend at the front. I took it one bolt at a time so the wear strip would stay in place. Worked very well.
Bill

 

I put a set of kayak wheels on the bottom of mine to make dragging across flat ground easier. Now, my drag is across wide open mowed fields, so it works for me. I used to put mine on a garden wagon like the one from harbor freight and drag that, but the wagon is heavy and it's a pain to get a loaded jet sled up in top of the wagon without dumping the deer or blowing your back out. The kayak wheels made it slightly harder to drag up my ramp with the winch, but it's still 1000x's easier than trying to lift.

 

I have a jet sled i use when I bear hunt. I have a narrow Tobaggan seems to work better for deer not as much friction dragging as the jet sled. Just my experience.