Mountain bikes and hunting.

[bernie]

Okay, here is the deal. I hunt on some private property that I own at the end of about 1/2 mile dirt road from where I park. That can get to be a long walk. The gate where I park is mine, and I can open it and drive my truck in, but that is noisy and I do not like to drive in except A) to set stands before deer season, B) to recover deer (1/2 mile drags are not fun) and C) to remove said stands at the end of the season.

Is there a way to mount a bow (or rifle) Securely to the handlebars so that it will not rattle or bang around. The road is wide enough that it will not catch on brush.

Also, does anyone make a trailer that you can pull behind a mountain bike to pull things such as climbing deer stands, etc.

Before anyone recommends an atv, I do not like them, and am constantly battling trespassers that use them, so I do not wish to encourage their use by them seeing atv tracks going into my property and then having them thinking "hey, someone has been in there, lets ignore the posted signs because it is probably a cool ride!"

Thanks in advance.

[impact]

In the National Forest around here that the best way to get around. Plus no motorized vehicles in the National Forest. I see people who put carts on the back of there mountain bikes. That is the best way! But take care in how you transport your gun. My Winchester has battle scars just from riding on the mountain bike. And the scope! My gun will not shoot dime size groups anymore. I think the scope is bad from the rides on the mountain bike.

But let me tell you about ATVs. I was really down on using ATVs to hunt. I thought they scared the deer away. I'm not so sure they do! Two weekends ago I saw two doe walk right past my ATV and didn't even give the ATV a second look. I parked my ATV under a big tree on the edge of a feild. The deer just not seam to care. Before that I had five doe within 50 yards of my ATV and it was no big deal. I saw little four point bucks get close to my ATV and no big deal. I think I'm going to put a nice 8 point rack on the front of my ATV. Maybe I can use my ATV as a decoy

[Foxman]

Chain and lock the gate, the atv is the best option and you can always improve the silencing. I have used a trail bike in the past which was ok and made a small pull trailer for it, but +1 on the rifle battlescars. At least with the atv you can get a proper rifle scabbard which doesnt interfere with your control of the machine.

[22-rimfire]

Half mile walk isn't much; you can do it in 10 minutes easy. After you get a deer, drag it to an accessible point and walk out for your car or truck. Pretty simple to me. Unless you're going miles, I see no need for either a ATV or non-motorized mountain bike.

[Art Eatman]

Yeah, 22-rimfire, I was thinking that same thing last night. thought I'd wait and see if somebody else thought the same way. I didn't want to appear hostile, but I spent many years doing ten- to fifteen-mile days in walking hunting. (Yeah, three or four was easier. )

Walking hunting is maybe two miles an hour, in open country. If you're just travelling and the terrain isn't rough, three miles an hour is easy.

Several years back, late summer, I was towing a camper-trailer to my back-country hunt camp. I had brake lock-up problems with the truck and had to walk back to my house. Eight miles. Three hours. Got home at 8PM and the thermometer said it was 90F. Sure, I took a couple of rest stops. Frustration: I could see my rooftop, and I still had five miles to go. Slow trip, really, but what the heck. I was only sixty years old, back then...

, Art

[FirstFreedom]

but I spent many years doing ten- to fifteen-mile days in walking hunting

and it was in the snow, uphill - both ways, right?

Seriously, go to a bicycle store, and they can likely show you all sorts of accessory goodies such as racks, carts..... maybe one of those little carts for pulling your munchkin along behind your bike would work for a tree stand or rifle, but I dunno how they'd do over a rough road.

[Art Eatman]

Naw, only once in the snow. It's Long Path's fault; he came out and brought the norther in.

Hunt up "Solitario formation" and go to one of the topo map programs. Or, go to

http://www.google.com/maps?q=terling...2802&t=k&hl=en

for a view of the area around my house. Telringua Creek is to the west of my house. Two houses show; mine's on the left. You can tell by the way my driveway winds that it's not flat country.

You go northeast from my house, and there's some that's as up-and-down as you'd ever want. Add in cactus, lecheguilla ("it'll gitcha") and rolling rocks.

, Art

[Ursus horribilis]

Dear Bernie,
I would recommend a biathlon-type rig for transporting a rifle biking. I’ve used such a setup both biking and riding the motorized variant. For transporting more cumbersome items like a treestand, try a frame from a high quality backpack. It’s amazing what you can load up on a good frame and still carry it relatively comfortably.
Best Regards,
Ursus

Edit: For Biathlon type rig, see: http://www.baggen.se/jakt/dubbelvapenrem.htm
Unfortunatly in swedish but i you (or anyone else) would like to order just send an e-mail to them. if you have any problems just let me (or some other scandinavian TFLer) know. NOTE! No affiliation with this company.

[Leif]

I would recommend a biathlon-type rig for transporting a rifle biking.

+1. Bernie, I'm not sure why you couldn't just sling the rifle on your back for transportation. You also could get a soft case with a sling attached to it - that should protect your rifle sufficiently and muffle any rattling.

[Clayfish]

Half a mile is nothing. We as hunters really need to be in better shape. A heart attack in the woods is no laughing matter. I spend 3 months before deer season getting in shape by riding my bike and walking. I usually walk around 3-5 miles everytime I hunt. I walk to my stand and when I get out I always walk access roads and fire breaks. I have seen alot of deer on foot. Get in shape and walk it out. If equipment is a hastle to get out of the woods I don't carry it in. Only carry what you need. And get help dragging deer out of the woods. It's a hard job to do solo.

[mtnbkr]

About 14-15 years ago, a mountain bike company called Reflex (I think...) made a bike for hunting. The aluminum frame was anodized in camo and it came equipped with a rack on the front for your gun. It was only offered for one year and I've only seen one in person. The guy who owned it said he used it to travel from tree stand to tree stand.

Chris

[siotwo]

For towing a tree stand, you might try to find a surfboard-bike trailer.

good luck 'braaugh'

[20cows]

Hunt up "Solitario formation" and go to one of the topo map programs.

Art ain't kidding. In that country it IS uphill in both directions. That country is rugged beyond belief. And in that desert, snow would be a blessing!

It is also beautiful beyond belief.

[FirstFreedom]

Art, do you ever hunt in Big Bend NP? Or is that even allowed? Sounds like you got to be one tough mother to hunt down there, what with the cacti, terrain, and all...

[20cows]

Art, do you ever hunt in Big Bend NP? Or is that even allowed?

It is a national park (not nat'l forrest) and the signs prohibit "loaded" firearms within the park.

No hunting. (Unless you are a mountain lion or bear).

[tube_ee]

For carrying your rifle on the bike, you'll need to fabricate some sort of scabbard. I'd try to build something that runs diagonally from behing the saddle down to the downtube. Your bike's downtube waterbottle boss would provide a convenient attachment point. I'd also go down the non-drive side of the bike. With the stock end behind the saddle, your legs will only need to clear the thickness of the barrel and the scabbard itself. There are a number of mini-pumps that stick out to the side of either the seat or downtubes, and I've never heard anyone complain about their legs hitting.

I wouldn't try to carry a rifle on the handlebars. In addition to making your bars wider, with all of the consequences that could have in close terrain, that much weight on the bars will do some really weird things to the handling of your bike. Shimmy, slow steering, lots of nastiness. Avoid.

As for trailers, for a mountain bike, the best option is the BOB Ibex:

http://www.bobtrailers.com/trailers/ibex.php

A bit pricey, but very well built, in the USA, by folks who get paid what their work is worth. I saw a lot of trailers when I was a shop monkey, and I'd only buy a BOB.

Hope this helps,
--Shannon

[chance_livewire]

I Use A 18 Speed And Travel Down A Farm Road 2 Miles In And Out, I Have Permission To Hunt But Landowner Wants No Vehicles. On His Land. And I Devised A Very Cheap Trailer To Pull With The Bike. Hauls Deer And Stands In And Out Just Fine. I Take My 6 Foot Fold Up 4 Wheeler Ramps. And Attach A 2 Inch Oak Plank With L Brackets On Ends. And Attached 20 Inch Bicycle Tires To It. All I Have To Do Is Use 1/2 In Wide Zip Ties To Attach Axle. Quik And Simple. And The Little Cable Thingy Slips Around My Seat Post. Quiet, Light, And A Huge Help.

[Art Eatman]

FirstFreedom, like 20cows said, you can't hunt in a National Park.

Nothing sez you can't jerk a Park Ranger's chain, though.

I was driving through the western side of the Park one late afternoon, and spotted a really nice mule deer buck. So, I stopped to watch him. After a while a Park Ranger stopped to see if I had car trouble.

"No, no problem. I was just watching that buck, over there. He looks like his horns would fit my living room wall real well."

"You can't hunt in the Park!"

"Well, no; no, not while anybody's lookin', anyhow...I'd bet that buck would eat pretty good, ya know?"

"BUT YOU CAN'T HUNT IN THE PARK!" (Getting red-faced by now.)

"Aw, I know that. I'm not huntin'; I'm just lookin'. Ain't he purty? Season opens next week."

And by this time our poor innocent Ranger is realizing he's a one-legged fella, 'cause I've pulled a leg off and crumpled his Smokey Bear hat with it...

But for some reason, when the first really good cold, cold norther blows in, bucks boil up out of the Park into the south side of the Christmas Mountains--which ain't in the Park.

Art

[impact]

Art you are funny! You sound like a Texas boy!

[impact]

I left my ATV at the house the last time I went to the lease. I took my GPS just for the heck of it. My stand is 7 tenths of a mile from the bunk house. On a afternoon hunt I went to a different stand and there was way to many cows. So I went to a different stand. That night I walked back to the bunk house. I walked 2.2 miles. I had no Idea it was that far.

We have one guy that drives his ATV about 75 yards from the bunk house and then parks the ATV and then walks about 75 yards to the stand . Hell the motor does not even get warm before he turn off the ATV and starts walking

[Art Eatman]

For flat or gently rolling country: Cross-country hunting walking in open country is about two miles an hour. "Just travelling" walking is around three miles an hour.

Many a day I've left camp around sunup and gotten back around dark. Commonly, I'd drive to some place in a pasture and make a two-hour or three-hour loop, sometimes finding Bambi, sometimes not. Go back to camp, grab a bite of lunch and go do it again.

You can sorta figure how I look at the idea of "wheeling" for a half-mile or so...

, Art

[WhitSpurzon]

I did some experiementing with various ways to carry a rifle on a bike, Vertically on rear rack, vertically on front rack, along the top tube and across the bars. I ended up going with slung across my back.

Since I don't actually hunt on my bike, I just use it to get beyond the crowds I'm thinking about getting a breakdown rifle in a hunting caliber and stowing it inside my pack.

My last day of hunting this year I used a handgun with the bike. Perfect combo. I didn't see anything I could put a tag on but I was in range of several other deer.

A few years back I saw two guys cart a bear back to camp on their bikes lashed together. They said it worked pretty well. My plan for deer was to field dress, postion the deer like it was sitting on the rear rack, saddle inside the abdominal cavity legs and head lashed to the bike and roll it back to camp that way.

[Boe]

I have yet to try it, but next fall, I plan to bring my mtn bike on one of my favorite hunts. Its gated road that runs parralell with some killer state land. Anyways, its a minimum maintanence road, and the more ground you can cover, the better the odds. Next fall I am going to hop on the trek and give it a whirl. I plan to keep the gun in a slinged case and rock and roll.

cheers

-boe

[Art Eatman]

Boe, I've always done better when I either figure out where Bambi is sleeping and go there and kick him out of bed, or sit quietly and wait along a travel path area.

I've watched deer behavior when they hear vehicles. It's not the motor noise, it's the tire noise. They hear the sorta crackly sound, and levitate behind some sort of brush or big shrub. As the vehicle goes by, they pivot around the bush and keep it in line with the Bad Thing. So, folks go by and never see a thing.

I imagine that bicycle tires are quieter, but there is still the problem of visible motion, which is ungruntling to most deer...

, Art

[mtnbkr]

I imagine that bicycle tires are quieter, but there is still the problem of visible motion, which is ungruntling to most deer...

I've been a mountain biker for nearly 20 years. I've almost had to push them out of the way they're so curious or nonplussed by bikes. I think it's mainly because they understand bikers aren't usually a threat. I've also gotten pretty close to bears while on a bike. That's a bit more nerve wracking though.

If my favorite hunting areas weren't so bike unfriendly, I'd give it a try. Put the 357mag in a holster and run the deer down in the forest.

Chris