I’m about to build something to hang/ clean deer and hogs at my new home in Florida. I’m thinking of using two treated 6x6 posts with a beam across the top . Maybe a couple angle braces up top with a winch . What is an adequate height and width of posts ? I don’t want it any bigger than necessary but don’t want the deers feet dragging the ground either. Any pics would be helpful as well. Thanks

6’ wide x 8’ tall at minimum I’d say.

Wish i had one - no good location. Wish i had water at my lease

Stronger than you think you need?????? Wind block, lighting, drain, sloped (gravel-concrete), water hook up. Good luck as you build post pics. Hang ours from a tractor bucket.

6’ as a minimum width sounds good so you can work around the animal. 8’ high is probably ok but I might go 9’ or 10’ to make it more accessible when working on the shoulders. The HME hitch cleaning station deal has a couple of nice features. It has a groove at the top that the gambrel goes into to prevent the deer from rotating. I like that. The hand operated cable winch is nice too. Maybe incorporate those things

8 wide 10 tall. Water. Power for light cheap electric winch. Gamble. Shelf

Make it way taller than you think. Imagine working on skinning out the shoulder and neck region, then think how high the feet are, add gamble, add winch/hardware distance. You want to be working at a comfortable heigh, not hunched over. Maybe 12’ - 14’ high or so.

A method of chaining off one side of gamble so it doesn’t freaking rotate constantly

Ensure good drainage and rinse water access

Lights from at least two angles, or more

Make sure you can back up to or drive through it easily in the dark

Clean place to rest your tools and hang/set towels and such

If possible take a cold north wind into consideration when establishing against wind break

I'd build it taller than 8' in case you want to add a scale in between the pully and the single tree.

I really like M38scout's thoughts.

Yeah 8’ is nowhere near tall enough. Got to be over 12’ if you want to pick larger bucks off the ground. I built one that’s 10’ and my electric winch is at the very top. It’s not tall enough to get a big buck off the ground fully.

Mine at home is ten feet high and six wide. The rack we have at one club is 8'x8'. Another, it's 8' with about 4' arm.

The difference in height relates to the size containers you drop into. I like a full size garbage can with contractor bags. At the clubs it's a half barrel and no bag needed. The width may relate to whether you walk around or prefer to spin.

Skinning cradles and electric winches really help things along.

My place used to be a club camp so the skinning shed was built to accommodate multiple deer at one time. It’s roughly 10x12’ on a raised deck. 8’ ceiling under a tin roof. Deep two compartment sink with ample countertop and water hose from a faucet. 2 flood lights and two outdoor fluorescent bar lights front and back provide plenty of light. Electric winces to pulleys mounted under the roof on 4x4 beam. It’s wrapped on three sides with what I think is some sort of heavy felt. Faces ESE so wind isn’t a problem. The only thing I’d do differently is I’d rather the roof was two feet higher. A big buck will be touching toes on the roof and I’m still bent over working on the neck and shoulders.
I’ll add that we have a fire pit in front of and to the side of the skin shed. The covered area is handy for storing chairs, lighter, etc for the pit when not otherwise in use.

Yep. I got a harbor freight winch just waiting in the shed for my new spot