atvs and deer hunting
 

I live in upstate ny . actually my backyard is the catskill mountains. What do you guys think of quads for deer hunting. I race quads and dont get me wrong i love them for fun and stuff. This year i went everyday after school with my grandfathers quad and i didnt see one animal. When i walk around i seen a couple deer. Do you think you should do the old walk and stalk or putting and on the quad and see one. Its got me puzzled cause im thinking bout trading my race quad for a 4x4. Well let me know what you think:)

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

My quad doesn't get unloaded until I have game on the ground.In this way it saves me a lot of time and work without interfering with my hunting.

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

same here but in il its not legal to hunt with atvs but we use to get the game out and to help track and get into the hard to reach stands

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

In NY state it is illegal to hunt off any motorized vehical including ATV's. Most hunter do exactly what the last few posters described. They either use there ATV's to get to far off or hard to reach stands then they throw and camoflage blanket over it and leave it parked for the day or until they are ready do go off to a new area. Either that or they use there ATV's to bring dead deer out of the woods, certainllybeats dragging a deer two miles. So if hunting off your ATV in NY your breaking the law.

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

Here many zones a quad can only be used to retrive game and no weapon is allowed on them for biggame hunting purposes. In certain zones a quad can only be used noon to midnight for transportation for hunting biggame. Other zones it can be used all day in this manner. In the zones that can use a quad as a means of transportation, the firearm/bow must be fully encased while riding. Personally my quad is mostly used to retrive but in some areas (ie: forest) it is the only way to access lands off the beaten path. When I use it in this manner I treat no different than my truck really, parking it and walking to my desired areas. I should mention in these same areas deer is not the main target but rather moose, elk or black bear.

Quads don't cause any problems in the areas I hunt, as I distance myself from the crowd. However some of the popular zones in a open Moose or Elk season I could see them causing some problems on public land and therefore would be more of an issue.

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

We still see them from the quads, obviously not as many as if we walked/stalked. As for hunting we usually go out on them super early in the morning or well ahead of times when we expect them to be moving thru. Couple years ago I crested a small rise in a pretty much wide open field and a group of does were standing there grazing and looking at me on the quad at about 60-70 yards. I really expected them to show me some tail but I dismounted, uncased, stuck one in, and took the biggest. I loaded her up, went back to the farm & dressed her out. Left the rest of the morning to get some work done in areas we weren't hunting.

But as far as scouting and looking for sheds, I do see enough. But it's probobly due to the fact that I rarely travel at more than a crawl, ever. I'm not one to go out and tear up the woods or trails. Didn't get on a quad for that, just hauling in and out and not having to walk so darn far on my ever worsening foot.

Uncle Matt (in IL)

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

I'm with stubblejumper. Mine doesn't leave the trailer until I have a deer down. The deer are used to our tractors and cars on the highway, but we don't use our atv's at all during deer season unless we need to haul a deer. I see so many deer walking, and none riding. Just my two cents. :)

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

I don't even load it up until I need it. If I'm hunting a spot way back off the raod I'll use it but only to get close to the area I'm hunting. The one area I'm thinking about I'll ride it in a 1.5 to 2 miles in and actually park it a half mile+ from my stand.

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

We hunt on private property. We ride in, walk a ways in more and hunt. If I was hunting public land, I would not use one for respect to the other hunters. Larry

RE: atvs and deer hunting
 

This has been beat around alot and you will get alot of opinions. myself i hunt private land and the deer are VERY used to atv's and tractors and they have no real effect on them in some areas.
I have some stands i will drive right up to the stand and have climbed in the stand countless times with deer starting right at me . as soon as i sit down they go right back to what they were doing. some i have that are a long way from my camp and i ride close but walk in to my stand. i don't want my atv close . would it really bother the deer? only the deer know and they ain't talking.
It also makes a difference how they are rode. i had a few i have had to say something to about what i would call wild riding. just take your time and no wide open throttle riding.
i have a guy with a yamaha that needs a muffler and he says he will have one by next year![:@]
And polaris is the loudest in the woods!!!

But i use them and will continue to .