ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I was thinking of buying an ATV for use in scouting areas and hunting. I was wondering do you guys feel that the fumes from the ATV would get on clothes and stick with you on your hunt?

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

Nope...I've even killed deer with my Honda parked a few yards away from my stand...When hunting fields especially, they are great because you leave no scent walking in...

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I wish there were a responsible solution to the atv issue.....

something like to retrieve game only.....or perhaps 1 day before season to get into camp, and out....

certainly against open freedom just cruising all over etc...


What if those electric carts were legal? quiet....get into camp only.....

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I don't think they affect deer all that much especially if they are used to go in and out to camp or to retrieve game. Do what you want on private land but open ATV use on pub land just rips it up and creates a nuisance. The sounds of a 4 wheeler does push elk away so the use out west needs to carefully done to not ruin the hunt for everyone.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

They dont effect deer as much as most people think. Ive sat on my gator with it running and had deer walk right out infront of me and stand theere nad walk away, last week we had a fawn walk right up to us on the gator, we could have reached out and pet it but we didnt want to get human scent on it.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

Depends on where you hunt. I hunt private land and one of the reasons I like it so much is to be away from them. I'm not afraid to walk..........

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I hunt private land and I use an electric golf cart. I don't really care for the ATV's!

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I hate them, but only because once gun season starts people are riding them all over at all times in areas where I am trying to hunt. Where I live there is simply no reason to be riding one unless you are retrieving a deer, and there is no way these people are killing this many deer. They are just too lazy to walk a quarter mile to their stand and stay there for any amount of time.

I have also had a hunting spot completely ruined during the off season because some people turned the small woods I was hunting into an off road track with a bunch of atv's. Completely tore it up and drove off nearly every living creature in it. I was beyond pissed. They were trespassing to boot.

Paul

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

A neighbor of a property that I hunt hasa golf cartand I see him go in and out of his stand. I'll tell you, those things are a heck of a lot quieter than a ATV. Granted it doesn't have any of the offroad power, but if there is no snow or very little, they seem to work fine. Seen him throw a deer on it and brought it out nicely. I like it because a stand that had produced in the last7 years on opening day (except for me) is near his trail into his stand so it helps not spooking the deer.

There is a 4 wheeler that is at our property as well, but it only comes out for pulling deer deep in the woods. There's just no reason to have all that noise in the woods during deer season. I think trying to get into the woods quietly is half the battle!

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

My sentiments exactly. Here in CO they are a huge problem on public lands during deer and elk seasons.
I go hunting to get away from traffic...not get into it.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

Mine has been priceless when its time to hang a stand. Getting the ladder & stand into the woods is so much easier with the ATV. During season it will be parked at the camp. I'll come and get it to get my deer out. I'll walk to my stand though.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

you all have your reasons as to why to use them and why not to use them, but when you have a diabled hunter like my father who had polio when he was a kid and can't walk hardly at all it is the only way for me to get him to his stand so he can do what he loves HUNT.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I always use ATVs while hunting. They work nicely out in Wyoming and Montana. It doesnt seem to spook deer. Most of the time they are curious about the noise

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I can see if a person has a disability and limited mobility possibly using one to get to and from a stand or remove game. I personally want to part of ATV or snow machine for hunting. They take away from the hunt the sense of sound, sight and smell. What are you in a big hurry to get from point A to point B for anyway? It's a big part of the hunt for me to get out and use my boots, legs and all the senses to their fulles, which you just can't do to the same extent on a machine. The same goes for Grouse hunting as big game.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

The landowners across the from my cabin always ride their atv's year-round.Come hunting season,I watch the deer from one of my stands stop and check out their property.The deer avoid that area and usuallyhead down by my stand

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I have used an ATV since about 1984. Does not seem to matter. Like others have posted, I have killed nice mature bucks with the ATV not 100 yards away.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

NO FOUR-WHEELER! Use those feet got gave you to scout.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

i'm glad no atv's are allowed in the public land area's i hunt. they are public access year around but you have to walk or ride a bicycle. this keeps out 90% of the "slob" hunters.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

Yea there are alot of atv tracks or off road trails where I hunt I thought that even riding a mountain bike to and from would probably be pretty quiet down a sandy trail plus if deer hear it they would probably have no idea what it was.

Also I have been in my stand for hours and then seen deer on several occassions from people riding dirtbikes and stirring up the bedded deer.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

There definitely would be less opportunity for Elk hunting on public (BLM) land out West (e.g. WY) if ATVs and other motorized vehicles were allow on that land. Elk herds andwhere they feed, bed, etc.are definitely affected by any significant motorized traffic and would be pushed further back into private and wilderness area.
It takes getting off the seat and onto your legs and putting miles betten roads and the mountain ridgelines and benchs where they spend much of their time.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: CamoCop

"i'm glad no atv's are allowed in the public land area's i hunt. they are public access year around but you have to walk or ride a bicycle. this keeps out 90% of the "slob" hunters."



+1

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I usually ride my atv around where i hunt alot and the deer still come around, the only time i dont use it is when im gonna hunt because the sound might spook the deer

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

No, not even to retrieve game. If you can't pack it in without an ATV, you don't need it. If you can't pack it out without an ATV, don't shoot it in the first place. Inot a horse lover, either, but it's relatively rare I see anyone hunting from atop a horse. I might think different of ATVs were it not for how many guys I've seen putt-putt-putting along road hunting. Just too hard to resist the temptation, I suppose? Sorry, too many days spent hiking in to an area to find some doofus on a four-wheeler beat me to it by going around the road-closure gate somewhere else ("those gatesare only for pickups, right?").

Disabled/handicapped (i.e. their mobility isimpaired by disease or injury, not by sloth) I canrespect andaccommodate.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

In Ohio, a deer carcass must be left intact (can be field dressed, of course), until it can be brought to a check in station. I can see why someone would use an ATV to transport 100lb+ of dead weight back to camp. Any other reason, except disability, no. That's why God gave usfeet and our fat butts need to use them.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I use mine some during hunting season, but don't hunt from it, since I see 10 times the game on foot as from any vehicle. We have allot of old roads that are closed to large vehicles but open to atv's, so I use it to access those areas, then hike from there. I also use my 4-wheeler for transportaion from camp to hunting spots to save on gas -vs- a larger vehicle, and also because of safer travel on snowcovered mountain roads. Many of our roads become all but impassible for pickups when they are snow covered and slick, so the 4-wheeler comes into play. But to tear off cross country would just be idiotic since you would just spook game, and in most of our area you would not be able to travel off roads anyways due to the terrain and vegetation.
If I come to a road that is closed to cars but open to 4-wheelers and a vehicle is parked at the gate, I go find another spot, just in case someone has walked out there to hunt,since it does piss a person off when you have walked a couple miles back in somewhere only to have a person on a 4-wheeler come blowing by you. On another note, there are a thousand places in our area where you can hike but can't take an atv, so to walk out a spot traveled by an atv, and then be pissed when you run into one, seems somewhat idiotic also.
I think it comes down to trying to maintain a balance between atv access, and protecting areas for those who go on foot, and in our area of Idaho the amount of ground you can access by atv is far less than what you can by foot. So to further restrict access doesn't seem to fair for those who have physical reasons for using their atv's, or just simply enjoy riding their atv. Chances are if you are walking in a spot that a 4-wheeler can go, then you are in too soft of terrain to hold a trophy big game animal.So get off the road and head cross country, that's what your feet are for, not for walking in gravel.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

Not on public land where you can unknowingly ruin others hunts. Course if you are a self centered jerk who does not care about anyone else, then go right ahead, but a pissed off hunter might have something to say about it.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

Mulies are some heavy suckers, and so are elk. If I were hunting whitetails in Texas I wouldn't care either way, but hunting the big boys in the mountains, I like to have our atv's.

We set up our camp about 20 minutes away (on atv's) from where we walk in to hunt. We park the atv's and walk in from there. Some times we are lucky, and bring the elk out whole on the atv, and some times we have to quarter it, and pack it to the atv. We sure prefer to bring them out whole. If you make an early kill, get to work, no one is coming on an atv until the morning hunt is over. By the time it's field dressed, help arrives.

Atv's used right can be a great plus for hunting. If there used wrong, it will screw your hunt and everyone else's. People that show up late, or ride around on them all stinking day, make my blood boil. It comes down to respect for your fellow hunter.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I'm quite well aware how heavy elk are, having packed a few of them out on my back. That's not quite the point I was making, though.

There doesn't really seem to be a lot of respect anymore between the motorized and non-motorized crowds. Considering that I'm among the motorized when it comes to snow, I've always felt a responsibility to stay as far away from the ski trails as I can - as a skier as well, I appreciate how irritating the noise can be. Yet, there's always some knucklehead who could care less and not only splits the air with his piped, 1000cc chainsaw on steroids, but tracks up the terrain I was hoping to enjoy.

Hunting's a bit different, since it's not quite as easy to "confine" the non-motorized hunters as it is skiers to their trailheads and a reasonable distance beyond. Ever consider that there might be hunters along that 20 minute ATV ride to where you walk in? On more than one occasion, I've had that happen to me. In my mind, using an ATV to "get farther back into the woods" isn't adequate justification for using an ATV, especially in areas like the ones I hunt where the Forest Service CLOSES most of the trails after the first snow. Not only do these guys not seem to mind that they're breaking the law by going around the gates(and can be fined), they often could care less that someone else might be hunting there, too.

Used to be that I'd share the snow on any given weekend with about 200 other snowmobilers. Now that everyone seems to have to have one, that number's around 600 in the same general areatoday. With the increased use has come increased abuse: riding in wilderness, tracking up the designated cross-country ski areas, more trash in the backcountry. The non-snowmobiling public's responded by supporting closures of more public lands to snowmobiling and often restricting snowmobiles to existing roads and trails, as opposed to the open country that used to be freely available. Definitely an image problem that we've created ourselves. The same thing is happening tothe ATVing community: complaints in the summer by non-motorized users,torn-up riparian areas and streams, dust, and noise.

So, what's reasonable?

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

i dont use atvs bcause i have yet to see one that was quet enough for my suitability they might b good for scouting but a big no no for hunting unless you stop a couple hundred yards away from your stand

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I do not ride right up to my stand, I park several hundred yards away and walk the rest of the way. I do hunt private leases, so there is not a lot of ATV traffic.
Except for "joy riding," I have never seen that an ATV passing by has bothered deer at all! In fact, I've seen deer several times right after someone has passed by on an ATV!

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: hunter5325

I fully agree. They are not allowed on public land here either, but we have a large population of fat, lazy, ignorant, self centered people who ignore those laws.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

In comparison to other outdoor enthusiasts like hikers, skiers and cyclists, hunters are by far in the worst shape. You won't find those XXXL garments and the 52" waist pants in the shops that cater to hikers and skiers like you will at Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop. Now hunters have ATV's that will probably add another 50lbs to their already wide lard butts! Hunting is supposed to be an activity that involves a little exertion and stamina. Those who need ATV's to take them the few hundred yards to their deer stands are nothing but a lazy excuse for a hunter. In most cases it takes MORE time unloading these things off pickups and firing them up than it would simply walking to the stand. They make absolutely NO sense in the majority of cases they are used for.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

Quads for hunting insertion - No

Quads for game retrieval - Sure

Quads for utility/recreational purposes - Yes

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

The only places I've been experiencing absolute silence interrupted only by an occasional Chick-a-Dee or woodpeck and the Elk cow that send a surge through you like a bolt out of the blue is 5-8 miles back off the nearest gravel road on BLM land out west in the mountains where it's no motorized vehicles period.
You don't realize how rare silence is, until you've experienced that.
Sometimes no sound at all is priceless.

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

i have a question
is it a good idea to ride my 4 wheeler out to my food plot where i will be hunting now?

RE: ATV's ? Yes or No?
 

I wonder if the shape of hunters has more to do with the average American waist line, than to say hunters are in bad shape. The other sports you mention discriminate on the basis that they require great physical shape in order to participate. The great thing about the hunting tradition in America is that it welcomes all shape, sizes, and ages, and discriminates against none.
To think that only skinny people should have access to our public grounds is not only a detriment to the sport, but is a one of many dangerous attitudes that could lead to the ending of our sport. If we as hunters stand divided, we don't have a chance against the anti hunting crowd, so we must be carefull when we pass judgment amongst ourselves. I can see your point of using an atv to go only a few hundred yards, but in our areas it is more like 10 to 20 miles, and I don't care how great of shape you are in, you are not going to cruse that off before daylight and then pack your game out on your back that night. I think a balance needs to be struck, and to limit access only to those who can afford horses, or are in iron man shape would cut the # of hunters by at least 3/4, which would lead to an overall ban on hunting.
I for one enjoy hunting on foot as stated before, but an atv is a tool that has its place, and just like any other tool it can be abused, but to make a sweeping judgment that atvs are all bad sounds allot like the anti-gun crowd stating all guns are bad, or rifle hunters saying that all skinny bow hunters are all self rightous snobs.;);););)