4 wheelers and hunting
 

I am new to using 4 wheelers , and was just wondering if using them going in to the stand in the mornings spooked them? Do you take them all the way to the stand, or part way and then walk the rest of the way? Just wondering what some of you guys that have used them think. Thanks

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I ride mine all the way past the stand and then walk back but I am not going anywhere that I can bump deer on the way in. I also go in earlier so when its shooting time it has been over an hour since the noise of my 4 wheeler has been heard and things have settled down. If you think you would bump any deer on the way in then park it and walk the rest of the way.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I walk in and if I take a deer, I go back to the truck and get the atv to drag it out. ATV's can be very useful, but there are way too many idiots riding them through the woods at peak hunting times, shooting from them, which is illegal just about everywhere, and ruining everyone elses' chances. If everyone would respect other hunters while using them, I have no problem with atv's, but you've always got those idiots that don't know what the word "respect" is!!!

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

Around here people use them to chase and shoot from them.Eventually they will get caught.If using them to go to the stand it is ok or fragging the deer out

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I do use an ATV on occassion although I prefer to walk in. I've got a couple of stands that are quite a distance from camp. If I ride in, I tend to stop well before my stand and walk in from there. Usually about a qtr mile.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

Here we are not alowwed to us atv's before noon while hunting. So its usually drive part way with the truck and walk in, or walk right from home. In the evenings i always leave the quad a good 1/4 mile away from the stand or my blind and run it back into the bush someplace hidden.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I get as close as possible. All the four wheeler trails here are on the top of the hills and I usually have my stand on the side of the hills so I have to walk a little ways, not much though. The deer here are used to them, they walk on the side of the hills and usually can't be seen from the four wheel trails.
If I were you I would get to the stand at least 30 minutes early and drive as close as possible and you should be fine.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

No disrespect to those who use them wisely and sensibly but I don't use one. Walking to me is part of the hunt and the outdoor experience. It's also good excercise and keeps me warm on frosty mornings. Walking quietly and softly will also offer the chance to come upon a deer - not going to happen on an ATV. gg.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

deer know what a truck door closing is, they know what 4-wheelers are, i leave mine a good distance from the stand, i use mine more for a tool, draggin out deer, working or whatever, but some people just get on them and ride, right by my stand at 8:30 a.m.[:@], seperates the hunters from the killers, if you know what i mean. the killer wants to go get the easy animal, the hunter will spend all day on the stand for the animal he's looking for. my better deer taken have been miday 9-2:30 and later in the season. anyway back to the main question used properly they can be another useful tool, used improperly, those people need to stay at home.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

unless your stand is over 1 mile from where you park your truck, why not leave it in the truck until you actually need it to haul something out of the woods; i think half the hunters in illinois drag their atv's (behind their trucks) all over hell just to drive them less than 1/4 mile to get to their stands makes no sense to me.

and no matter what anyone says the noise and smell of your atv is going to have some sort of impact on your hunt.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

Where I hunt we ambush the deer as they come out of the deep river breaks in Western SD. 99 percent of the time we can drive to them with a four wheel drive or even a two wheel drive pick-up. In the case where they are shot down in those deep canyons I carry 1000 feet Of rope on a couple of those reels made for garden hoses. There have been cases where I used all the rope and wished for more. We set down behind some cedar trees a couple hundred yard from the side draw where they come up. The chalenge comes from quessing where they will come out and when. You really can't hunt them in the breaks very easy unless you have some driver to get them moving. The cedar trees are so thick that in most places you have to crawl through them on your hands and knees. It a bit hard to see them there and even harder to get a shot. Hunting is different every where. I have one draw on my place that is suitable for using a tree stand or ground blind. Its so deep that you cant take a position about 1/2 way up and see the bottom in enough places to get a good shot. Then you better have the rope. Or a good horse.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I used to always walk the last quarter mile to my stands. But I'm starting to change my habits after watching my uncle and cousins kill alot more deer and much nicer ones than me with their atv's parked right beside them. My cousin for example is afraid of the hogs and parks his so that he can step off of it and onto his climber without ever touching the ground. He has killed several nice deer this way icluding one in the 170 class range that wasn't more than 10 yards from the bottom of his tree/atv. My uncle and cousin both have killed other nice bucks including another in the 170 class out of a box with their atv's parked about 10 yards behind them.

You talk about dishearting. I'm the first the leave in the moringings and the last one to return to camp, I park and walk farther than anyone else and actually hunt in the rain. Yet when it comes to seeing nice bucks let alone killing one I'm always the one coming up short. So what I've done is to start hunting like them. Leave when they do, sleep in when it rains and ride my atv as close as I can and guess what? The last two years I've killed two nice bucks. Not in the class of the ones they've been killing but hey I'm just a beginner to this style of hunting.

Although, I still prefer to park and walk as far as possible I believe it depends on the amount of atv traffic in an area as to how the deer respond. I've had hunters blast atv's for ruining hunting while riding at Windrock, yet later that same day I counted 6 nice rubs along the main road with the heaviest amount of traffic on it. If the deer are used to hearing, seeing and smelling atv's in an area I thing you'll be okay parking close to where you're hunting. Think about the deer you see along the interstate, they're as wild as any other deer away from the highway but they're used the the cars going by and are not bothered by them. If anything lots of traffic in an area may push the deer to move more at night. But on the otherhand, my dad used to talk about the big ones only moving at night except during the rut long before atv's were ever invented.

So who really knows, for every person who says they're bad for hunting you can find another with examples of how they don't hurt anything. So I say try it both ways and in a couple of years let us know which side of the fence you land on.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I think it depends on the type of area you hunt. If you hunt a cattle ranch or farm or around oil rigs then the deer are accustomed to machinery. Ever notice how a deer can stand on the side of a busy highway unaffected but bolt if you tried to walk up on it?

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I usually park mine 4 or 500 yards from my stand and walk the rest of the way! I know of people who ride them pretty much right up to their stands with no harm doen to the hunting! I guess it just depends on where you are hunting, if you get there 45 minutes before hunting time, the deer will have forgotten about the ATV, especially if you don't have to ride right through the deer trails.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I think that 4 wheelers have their place in hunting. Unfortunately, people abuse them way too much during hunting season. I will be using a 4 wheeler for deer hunting for the first time this year. In the past, I have just parked the truck and walked everywhere, including down two-track roads and jeep trails. This year I had a kidney transplant, and just do not have the strength to walk as much as I could in years past, so I will use the 4 wheeler to get me as far back as possible, and then walk to where I want to hunt from there. If I get a deer down, I will get as close to it as possible to make my work as easy as possible. I have had hunts ruined because people on 4 wheelers a lot of times just do not care, and will run offroad, not paying attention to where anyone is, and having no respect for other hunters. It makes me sick, but not much you can do until they change the laws, which are being worked out right now, at least here in Nevada, to address those issues.

RE: 4 wheelers and hunting
 

I have a quad, but I won't use it to get to and from my stands with. My farthest stand away from camp on my lease is maybe a mile. I plan on using my mountain bike this year to get to the stands that are on the separate piece of land. I noticed last year while driving onto the property with the truck, that I was spooking a lot of deer going in. Hopefully the bike will get me in there a little unnoticed.
I'll use the quad to drag or carry the deer out though.