Re: Best way to cross river with guns/game?
40y is different game than 15m. You'd need some support in the middle.
If you can transport and store stuff at the river, it should be fairly easy to construct a raft from cheap materials. You can either design the draft so that it protects rifle etc. (stored in dry bags and attached to raft) or make some separate containers for gear (like PVC pipe, and stuff the dry bags inside).
If you have to haul the raft etc. with you every time, things get more complicated.
If you can use a permanent heavy duty rope across the river, it could help a lot. Other people, like kayakers, would have to be taken into account.
At least with the deer, I'd look into possibility to leave it on the other side and retrieve (pulling rope or something) after I've crossed with other gear.