Switchback_XT

Chuck is right,
For the guy with a hunting lease and a place in the city, the big ATV would be the way to go.
They have implements for all three, but only a tractor is made for working. A ATV is made to run at a certain speed and discs and harrows will operate at slower speeds. You may have to stop and let it cool before you can finish the task. I don't know how much you are planning on doing.

My advise is keep an eye out for a used gas burning tractor. Diesel tractors will cost more and a good one will not be on the used market. But a used Gas burning Utility tractor comes up for sale all the time. They will work well for what you are needing and wont cost more than a Utility ATV. Some where between 5k and 10k.
If you go new stay away from the Big three unless you want to pay top price. about 10-20k more usually. They usually sell to the Full Time Farmers who could really use the extra performance.
For this a good Kubota is plenty of tractor. A dealer near me is selling older model low hours (like under 100 hours) 30-50 hp tractors for about $1500 to $2400. Of course you get 3 implements thrown in plus a FEL as well as the trailer they are loaded on in the deal as well.
It works out to a good deal and you don't have to go hunting around for attachments and crap just to get a basic kit together.

backwoodsz71

i actually just did 2 small plots with my riding mower, pulled a 5ft disc just fine, used a broadcast spreader for the seed, then a yard roller to pack it. ( post pics later) but i was using a quad but its too difficult to hold a slow consistant speed which is why i opted for the tractor, but for bigger plots 1-2+ acres, tractor would be the way to go...

falcon

There are thousands of smaller diesel tractors out there for sale at any given time. You can often pick up a nice low hour gray market tractor for less than $5,000. Yanmar built most of the smaller John Deere tractors for years. You can have a worn out John Deere at one end of a tractor lot and a pristine equivalent model Yanmar at the other end. The John Deere will bring a lot more money because of that green paint job.

http://www.hoyetractor.com/yanmar-tractors.htm

This Mitsubishi D1600 was bought by me in 2003 for $3,000. This little tractor does a great job on game plots.

Chuck R.

If you do go with a small tractor, try to get one with a loader. I’m glad I did because now my days of dragging and lifting deer are over!
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Load em in the bucket, hang with the bucket to dress, and use loader to hang in the barn

Chuck

Switchback_XT

I didn't realize that Falcon. Thanks!!

Switchback_XT

Neat Chuck,
I got a winch thing out of cabelas. you just attach it up in on the tree limb and hit the "up" button!

Chuck R.

You probably saved about 24K too!

Chuck

Ben / PA

A tractor will whip an atv in this category, but it can be done with an atv. I have done quite well with my 500cc Suzuki Vinson. I have a fabricated one bottom plow, an antique grape mini 3 bottom plow, a set of 5 foot wide spring tooth harrows, and a 15 gallon sprayer with a boom. I plant nearly ten acres with the largest being a 2.5 acre plot. Would I love a compact tractor? Hell yes, can afford one? Not without giving up my quad. I use it way more than I would a tractor throughout the year so I put up with having to engineer a few things and a little more time on the planting.

buckinbowhunter

I would really like to see your one bottom plow. I just bought an Arctic Cat Prowler and have discs and just about everything else I need except for plows and would like to get some ideas, thanks.

GTOHunter

We have used ATV's to get into logging roads and area's way back off the beaten path a Tractor would have much difficulty getting to for planting some food plots.We rented a ATV disc from Hunters Specialties that had ballon tires and you ratcheted the disc's up or down and we put some weight onto the disc to dig in a little deeper,we also used the same ATV for spreading fertilizer,lime,seed and then dragging section of fence wire for covering up the seed.Now when it came to plowing and disc-ing up a large field the Tractor was the best piece of equipment available...if your doing small food plots an ATV would work just fine as long as it has plenty of horse power and like several mentioned to watch so it doesn't get hot on you.Then You can use the ATV for fun or hauling wood or your Deer out of the Woods.


I was thinking about getting an ATV or even a UTV for work and planting but with the high prices ranging from around $5000.00 up into over $12,000.00 for a nicely equiped UTV with a dump bed,roof and windshield I can buy a decent Tractor for $6,500.00 (Farm Trac) up to around $14,000.00 (Kioti) with hydrostatic trans and a front-end loader.