borealboy

Thanks for all the advice and opinions on ATVs from my last post.
Now I'm wondering whether I should bother getting a winch on the front. It is a major expense and I figure I can hitch a deer or moose to the back and drag it out with the ATV. How often do you actually use your winch?

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Crowpecker

I use mine for lots of things. As in the previous post, it's great when you get stuck. I also use the winch to raise and lower my snowplow I attach in the winter. My Yamaha Grizzly 600 plows snow like no tomorrow. Another use is to tighten and pull fences. Before you buy an ATV, look for manufacturer or dealer incentive packages that offer a winch or other attachment as an incentive when you buy a new machine. You can save a lot of money on a new machine if you buy last years model if the dealer still has any left. That's what I did and saved a bundle.

WV Hunter

My brother in law has a kodiak 400 with a winch. He's only used the winch a couple times in 8 years. Personal choice I guess. He got it free when he bought it. Yamaha offers that deal pretty much all the time it seems.
And after reading the other post, it seems alot of folks are partial to Honda's. I think they are great bikes also, but I think there are alot of good bike out there other than hondas. My friend who is a farmer has a Suzuki Quad 250 with over 18,000 miles on it and has never had it in the shop!! That's getting your money's worth! It's up to you what you want to get.

IL_BOW_MAN

I put a winch on my Rubicon. It has saved me a few times and saved a couple of other machines at the same time. I have used it to pull another atv out of 3 feet of mud, pull cars out of snow banks, raise and lower my snow plow & hoist deer into a tree for skinning. I do a lot of mudding so the winch is a neccisity, but it sure makes the snowblade a lot easier to raise up and down. And like it was already said, they can move snow like no tomorrow.

Always adding Deer Cam picts. Check often.
www.geocities.com/hfpmad

bruce_smith60

YES! Aand you can use it to hang that deer up.

Buck Magnet

Yep, get the winch. About the time that you don't have it, you will get stuck in the middle of knowhere and wish that you did have it. They are a great tool and they are WELL worth the expensive price. If this is going to be your hunting toy, why not make it the best da%n hunting toy out there?<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Good Luck This Season: Buck Magnet
P.S. Only Chuck Adams can sit at home and see deer so get into the woods. =;^)

boltman

I'd spring the money and buy a winch. I rate as &quot;almost&quot; a necessity. I use mine a lot, not too often for being stuck but for a lot of other things. For instance, last year I shot a doe that did her death run right into a 40' deep gully. We snaked the winch down to her from the top and winched her up. Two people trying to get her out would have danged near killed ourselves without that winch. As mentioned before they're great for hanging deer. I also use it to hang feeders full of corn from trees. It also gives you the confidence to go places when you're riding alone that you might get stuck in. I might not tackle some places that look iffy on getting stuck knowing that I've got to walk two miles out if I do get stuck. With the winch it's not an issue, I'll go on through and if I do get stuck it doesn't ruin my day.

There are a few things I rate as a necessity for my hunting ATV. It's got to have Honda written on it, it's got to be a 4x4, and it's got to have plenty of racks. After that, the winch would be the next thing on my list.

deerslayer still

I agree with Crowpecker. I bought my machine and before I even drove it I brought it to the neighborhood dealer and had them throw a winch on. If you are spending the money already to buy one a winch isn't that much more of an expense...especially if you get a dealer incentive package. I would never venture out anywhere without a winch on my machine or without another machine that had one. You would be surprised at some of the mud holes you can end up in or how much trouble it is to get out without a winch. My personal feelings. If I were you I would get a winch immediately, and a good one. maybe a warn. I've seen some Superwinch's burn up. but there must be other brands to check into.

Trophydeer

I have a winch and have pulled elk and deer out of holes with it. Though I dont use it often When I use it ,I really need it I have sometimes tried to get stuck to see if my winch would work and them machines are so dang hard to get stuck, So if you get stuck yes, you will need this piece of equipment.