Game hangers in VA and NC

[Dennis Glazener]

A friend of mine is doing research on hand made/forged game hangers and is interested in information regarding their use in VA and/or NC. I don't remember ever hearing or seeing any evidence of their use in my area of VA or the south in general. Would be interested to hear others experience or photos of VA/NC made game hangers.
Dennis

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I don't have any info on VA or NC game hangers, but up here, we often cut a stout staff about 3" in dia and three feet long for moose.  I forget the name for the device.

[TN Longhunter]

Growing up in rural south, the only game hangers we had growing up were for rabbit/squirrel. One my uncle used was made from the bail of a bucket. Wood handle moved off center, long side bent 90 degrees and straightened , used the hook/bent opposite end to catch the long end. Picture it as a D shaped wire, the straight side's end sharped, the other end U shaped to hold the straight side and the old wooden handle moved to the middle of the curved section to hold it. Have seen forged ones made the same way. 

[Hungry Horse]

Are you guys talking about a gambrel? They can be as simple as a wooden pole the proper length, with sharpened ends, and a groove in the middle for a rope. This might be made as needed. I have not seen a blacksmith made one of any great age. It was quite common to use a single tree from ones wagon rig for this purpose.

  Hungry Horse

[Tim Crosby]

  Having hunted Central Virginia for Fifty+ years both on my own and with clubs a stick was used, as HH posted, while skinning, bucks by their antlers at times. One club had some bent rods with a sort of hook at both ends that went through the skin at the Achilles tendon and the leg bone.  As you know most of the time it was/is to warm to hang anything to age and all were field dressed as soon as shot.
Interesting.

  Tim
   

[iloco]

I may be wrong but I think game carrier would be another way to describe what Dennis is looking for information on.
  I have a couple that Joe Schell and Curt Lyles made for me.

[dogcatcher]

From remembering when my grandpa slaughtered hogs, he used an old wagon harness singletree.  The wagon singletree would have been available.  I would assume it might have been used as a game hanger, but I would bet it or something similar was used in the butcher shops.

[Dennis Glazener]

I may be wrong but I think game carrier would be another way to describe what Dennis is looking for information on.
  I have a couple that Joe Schell and Curt Lyles made for me.

Iloco,
That is close but I think the ones my friend is talking about would be fastened to your belt/bag in some fashion.
Have you seen either the type you show or the type I described used in your area of VA?
Dennis

[Dennis Glazener]

I had not thought of this but I have seen deer hanging on a single tree like device, probably the same ones farmers used to hang their hogs on at hog killing time.
Dennis

[iloco]

Dennis I have never seen hangers in my area of va like the ones I showed.
  When I was very young I used one of those big army pins to hang rabbits or small game on.

[Robby]

Not sure what your looking for Dennis, I wear the one on my knife belt when squirrel and rabbit hunting and the other for hanging deer, probably along the lines of a singletree.
Robby

[Dennis Glazener]

Robby,
The first one you posted a photo of is more like what we are trying to find out about. Have you seen an original similiar to yours? If so what area of the country?

Primarily my friend is trying to find out if hand forged (small) game carrier's were ever made or used in VA or NC. The ones he is familiar with came from PA.

I called my friend Jim Webb, knowing that if anyone had seen them in VA or NC it probably would be him. Jim told me that the only one he had ever seen was with a hunting bag from PA. He had never seen or heard of them being used in his area of VA (and nearby NC).

I also asked David Byrd of Unicoi TN (right on NC/TN line) and he said he never had seen/heard of one being used in his area.

Not sure why they would be used in PA but not in VA/NC, my first thought was cost but that probably wasn't the reason since it only take small pieces of scrap iron to make one.
Dennis

[Robby]

Dennis, I don't have any historical reference for them, its just one of those things I grew up with and took for granted, like Carhartt's for brush pants. Its the third one I've made in the last fifty years, they hold up pretty good.
Robin

[mark esterly]

most likely too easy to make out of a scrap of leather or cord to bother a blacksmith and add more weight to what you carry

[James Rogers]

Dennis,
Other than those little rings for birds like shown above, I don't know of any forged type hangers that are used as carriers at all until the late 20th century.

[WKevinD]

I can't remember where I first saw one but I copied it. Works well.




Kevin