Riding an ATV to your stand

[JerryM]

Nonsensical arguments do not change the facts that driving an ATV to a stand and then hunting from that stand is neither hunting nor sporting. It is just shooting something.
But I have been convinced for years that few today know anything about hunting. Notice I said few not none.

Do you not desire to find where the game is using and what their patterns are, and stalk the game in its territory and terrain? I guess not. Accordingly, one who does not do that will never know the pleasure of hunting.
Have at it and make sure you brag about your skill and success.

Jerry

[ZeroJunk]

I guess it's difficult for one who knows everything there is to know about hunting to tolerate lesser men.

[KC Rob]

Shockingly, JerryM failed to answer the questions. Hmmm, it must be easier to criticize others methods than actually put your answers to the simple questions out there for others to judge. Yes, some of the questions were tongue in cheek, but the others were intended to determine where you, the self-professed arbiter of what is proper hunting, draw the line at what is sporting and what is not. I guess you decided not to enlighten us, or maybe you were too busy yelling at those kids to stay off your lawn.

[shortwave]

Simply put, get off your 'high-horse' JerryM.

You've got no right casting judgement on anyone here for their hunting tactics.

KC Rob,

If you wanna fly a Huey to your tree-stand, as long as its legal, have at it.

[buck460XVR]

Nonsensical arguments do not change the facts that driving an ATV to a stand and then hunting from that stand is neither hunting nor sporting. It is just shooting something.

Basically all forms of hunting is just shooting something. Whether you still hunt, spot and stalk or take a stand. I hunt in many varied terrains from big woods public land to small parcels of private land. Each takes a different form of hunting. Altho I prefer to still hunt or spot and stalk with a gun, on some of the small parcels(40 acres and less) I hunt it's impossible, so taking a stand and waiting is the only sensible method. On big parcels of public land with thousands of acres available to me, I love to sneak hunt and catch bucks in their beds. Over the last decade it has been with handguns....success rate is low, but satisfaction is high. Do the days I spend in a stand make me a lesser hunter? Bow hunting is all about sitting....and sitting for hours. Many don't have the patience it takes to do that....that's why they don't bow hunt. Are bow hunters lesser hunters than those wandering around aimlessly, accidentally spot their quarry at 700 yards and then shoot it with a high powered center-fire rifle? What is different about duck hunting over water with decoys as opposed to hunting deer over a food plot? Whats different about calling in a bull elk with a cow call as opposed to luring him in with artificial scents? It all comes down to getting something in your sights and shooting it........legally. Hunters are a minority in America and have plenty of opposition. For hunters to trash other hunters over ethics issues that are perfectly legal, humane and safe is stupid and immature. If you don't like a method, don't use it, but don't give ammo to the antis by openly trashin' a fellow hunter that uses legal tactics. Unsafe, inhumane and illegal practices are a different story. I don't use a 4wheeler and I don't hunt high fence ranches, but I don't feel a need to trash those that do. Seems there is always at least one of these self proclaimed "one shot Bwanas" that have never missed and/or never lost an animal and have only shot them after stalking them thru snake infested swamps for seven miles. That's the magic of the internet......

[KC Rob]

KC Rob,

If you wanna fly a Huey to your tree-stand, as long as its legal, have at it.

I don't, but thanks. I also don't really want to ride my ATV to my stand either, which is why I asked the question in the first place.

[FairWarning]

Originally Posted by SHNOMIDO

back in my day we STRANGLED DEER and we put them on our backs and ARMY CRAWLED all the way home and we took THE LONG WAY.

i find most people start with the easiest way they can bag a deer, and eventually get bored and end up bow hunting or using black powder for the challenge.

Im not saying this from an elitest point of view, quite the opposite. Ive havent yet had the opportunity hunt, and im quite ignorant about it. But dont think you should judge people because they use ATVs and stands.

I think Jerry made a good point. I don't believe it making it so easy that it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Baiting, stands, ultra overkill rifles, "guide" hunts that guarantee a kill, etc. It's distasteful. When people abuse that and kill far more than their limit, it's more than distasteful, it's stomach turning.

I haven't hunted in years, but I feel the need coming back. Next time I do, I wouldn't use an ATV unless it is truly a long hike. When I was a teenager, I used an ATV and if the morning hunt was unsuccessful, the rest of the day often devolved more into an ATV riding session---too much of a distraction, LOL. I like a more traditional approach----one hunter, one traditional rifle or shotgun (no ninja crap), watchful eyes and attentive ears and instincts, no gadgets. But that's just me...

[Major Dave (retired)]

I went on a hunt on a 5,000 acre ranch, and the stands (with corn-filled feeders) were a LONG way apart. Needless to say, we went to our stands in vehicles (mostly king cab pick-it-up trucks).

When the driver pulled off the "road" that passed within 20 yards of the back of my elevated box blind, I tried to get him to stop, but he ignored me. He then drove about half the distance from the blind to the feeder (only 60 yards from the blind), then executed a wide, sweeping U turn, and then pulled to within 10 feet of the blind and stopped.

I was unhappy that, as I saw it, the entire setup was contaminated with exhaust fume "stink", and I let the driver know it.

The driver told me I could hitch a ride with someone else if I didn't appreciate how he did things.

I did.

Was I right or wrong? Your input would be appreciated.

[chadk7]

I don't think you can stalk the deer here where I hunt. I have tried it and all i see is white tails. The woods around here are impossible to walk quietly in. Practically every step you take makes tons of noise with all the leaves and twigs laying around. I don't know maybe I am just doing it wrong.

It kind of irritates me that because I have to sit in a stand or ground blind some people think it isn't hunting. I hunt my on my grandpas 300 acre property and I put in more time in the woods than anyone I know. I haven't got a deer for the past 3 years after spending hundreds of hours in the woods. But it makes it that much more special when I do get one.
If I bagged the limit every year it would take some of the fun out of hunting.

Most of us hunt because it offers us a chance to get away from our busy lives, or hang out with hunting buddies, and maybe if we are lucky to get that big buck that has evaded you for the past few years. Why do we have to argue who's way of hunting is right or wrong? We are all hunting because its what we love and look forward to every year. Not to get the approval of people on an internet forum who may or may not approve of each others methods.

I have never hunted out west but remember what works for hunters out there simply is not possible in every part of this country. You have to do what works for you, but don't say that my way of hunting is not hunting.

[thallub]

I'm 72 years old and have no trouble walking to stands that are a couple miles away. Just never did like four wheelers. For a few years i was one of three guys on a 1500 acre lease who walked to their stands. Guys would come whizzing by; scaring the deer and hogs and disturbing us in our stands. All three of us quit that lease.

i own two four wheelers. The Yamaha sits in the far end of a 40 foot container behind two tractors and a couple disks. The other was found this year when i sold the hay from a barn on a place we bought: The son of the deceased owner said there was a four wheeler in that barn. It's some kind of Polaris diesel. A friend got it running; he will use it in CO elk season.

[Art Eatman]

If a rancher uses a pickup truck, deer are used to pickup trucks. If he patrols around the ranch on an ATV, deer are used to ATVs. A parked vehicle is of no interest to deer, generally, from what I've seen in watching deer. A deer's attention span is around twenty minutes, so a vehicle's passing has little effect on what happens later.

I've watched deer when a truck passes. They'll freeze or
pivot around a bush or a patch of brush, hiding from the noise, and then go back to nibbling goodies within a minute or so.

Some forty years back at a deer lease, one of the old-guy hunters used to park his car near a dirt stock tank and watch for young, tender stupid bucks. He was late for lunch one day, so we drove down to check on him. He was sound asleep in his car. The car was surrounded by turkey hens, with three or four on the hood and roof.

I dunno. I've killed deer from a tree stand. I've killed running deer while walking-hunting. I've killed deer when waking up from a "hunter's doze" on a hillside. I've killed deer from just sitting in my truck, watching to see what comes out of the woods near sundown. I've hunted in brush country, desert, and river-bottom jungle. I never worried about my ego in all this stuff. I figure that sitting in ambush is what most cougars do, which gives me a bit of the "So what?" when folks go to spouting off about their style of hunting.

[shortwave]

Your right Art.
As you and others have posted, it's what deer are used to.

My B-n-L and a friend were hunting property behind a prison in Southern Ohio. The dirt road they parked the truck on was often used by prison vehicles for perimeter searchs so the wildlife was used to seeing them.

They parked the truck just off the road. My B-n-L climbed a tree no more than 30yds from the truck while his friend laughed at him and hiked about 3 mile back into the deep woods.

B-n-L dropped a massive buck(scored mid 170's) no more than 20ft from the tailgate of the truck.

[Art Eatman]

Way back in the days when you could kill a deer without having to use a magnum , my uncle had a bench rest in the front yard, and a mound of dirt as a backstop at 100 yards. Behind the backstop some thirty yards were trees and brush.

Sitting at the bench, shooting, we could see that the does at the edge of the brush rarely got up from beddie-bye to whine about their nap being disturbed.

Not many places in the 48 states where deer haven't been exposed to vehicles of one sort or another, or some sort of strange noise...

Deer apparently have a sort of "comfort distance" about noise. I've watched does nibbling away while kids, dogs and chainsaws were audible at around 400 yards in a nearby subdivision. I've watched them ignore F-4s on after-burner at 2,000 feet above them. But these noises were regular in the area.

Way out in the boonies, there is much less disturbance. But as near as I can tell, a parked vehicle does not represent a threat.

[shortwave]

I've watched does nibbling away while kids, dogs and chainsaws were audible...

Just two weeks ago I'm in the yard on one side of the house cutting a fallen tree with a chainsaw. Ran out of gas, walked up to the garage , looked over not more than 40yds and two does were grazing in the yard. They just watched as I retrieved the gas and headed back down to where I was cutting.

That's not uncommon here as I live in the middle of the woods and often have the company of bedded deer no more than 20-30yds into the woods. They watch me cut grass, operate tractor,quad,truck, or in general, just work around the house/fields.

My wife will be the first to tell ya, "if you want to plant a hunting plot for the deer, just plant day-lilies".

The deer come up in the yard and tear her flower beds up. Doesn't matter if we're outside or not. She often has to get out of the pool and run them off in broad daylight.

[Major Dave (retired)]

any bucks after they shed their velvet. They can be aggressive toward people at that time of year, especially if the buck has one or more does with him.

I had a cousin who was killed by a "pet buck". Gored him so bad they had to have a closed casket funeral! Antlers as sharp as Bowie knives, and hooves sharp as razors.

Don't approach an antlered buck with does (or without does, for that matter) without carrying a weapon at the ready.

She got out of the pool to chase deer out of her flower bed!

[Wild Bill Bucks]

About 6 or 7 years ago, I was hunting some public property over around Little River in Southeastern Oklahoma. I had stopped for a minute to rest my knees, and was sitting next to a pipeline, under a cedar bush. I looked up to see two guys coming down the clear cut about 100 yards from me. All of a sudden they both started banging away with a couple of 30-30's into the thick brush beside the pipeline. They totally emptied both of the lever action rifles, and headed into the brush where they had been shooting. When they came out of the brush, they were about 20 yards from me, and I heard one of them say to the other one,"Must've been a squirrel"

I have been a stalk hunter most of my life, and with a lot of success, but after that day, I have been a tree climbing,ATV riding, corn feeding, stand hunter.
I take just as many deer, and with just as much success as I ever did on the ground. This keeps me up and away from the "Sound Shot takers" out there.

To each his own, the meat all tastes the same.

[ZeroJunk]

While we are telling these stories, have you guys ever seen a big chipper where the commercial loggers throw stuff in there as big around as you are and fill up a road trailer with chips? Big several hundred horsepower diesel monstrosity that will wake the dead within 1/2 a mile.

Anyhow, I have watched deer browsing within 100 yards of one while it was running.

[Willie Lowman]

driving an ATV to a stand and then hunting from that stand is neither hunting nor sporting. It is just shooting something.
But I have been convinced for years that few today know anything about hunting. Notice I said few not none.

Do you not desire to find where the game is using and what their patterns are, and stalk the game in its territory and terrain? I guess not. Accordingly, one who does not do that will never know the pleasure of hunting.
Have at it and make sure you brag about your skill and success.

Driving an ATV to (within 300 or so yards of) my stand where I sit in the rain, snow, and bitter cold isn't hunting. It's a means of transportation to the place that I hunt.

Stalk the game in it's territory and terrain? How does a man stalk something from a tree stand? Have you ever tried to stalk a buck through chest high green briers and hemlocks? I guess not, if you had you would know that it is impossible.

For some the "pleasure of hunting" is jacking around in the woods for weeks or months. For others the "pleasure of hunting" is the chance to hang the severed head of a dead animal on their wall. This is not the pleasure I take in hunting. I shoot deer so I can fill my freezer and have meat to feed my family. My pleasure is called venison.

As for the ATV, it is invaluable for getting a dead deer out of a creek bed that I would suffer a hernia trying to lift them out of. It is also invaluable for carrying a dead deer back to the barn to be skinned and butchered rather than dragging a carcass 1/2 mile through the woods.

[shortwave]

Have you ever tried to stalk a buck through chest high green briers and hemlocks? I guess not, if you had you would know that it is impossible.

Correct you are Willie.

That's why it pays to have some experience hunting outside your own backyard before you go casting stones at anothers hunting methods.

I've got some areas so thick with green briars that you better down the deer before it reachs them or you have to literally cut your way into them to retrieve the deer.

Guess where the deer like to bed?

[Lee McNelly]

what is the average here, does it bother the deer or are they use to noise will it aid in getting out w or wo deer if you have it use it

[kep150]

Lol. My stand is 5 miles from the camp. No way am I walking that. I guess I'd be better if I hiked in every morning??

If you're going to drive an atv there, then do it often, and do it spinning a road feeder. The deer will get used to that sound.

Now hunting would be a little different than rifle hunting. If gun hunting I park right at the blind. If you're bow hunting I'd park where the least deer traffic is coming out of.

[Keg]

It is funny how a couple..maybe 3..comment on what others hunting is not hunting and tend to have hypocritical views.... I like Art hunt in TX.....We have very diverse terrain here.....From west TX..the hill country..north TX..south TX..east TX.....I hunt a line from central to east TX.....I hunt all over the county I live in....The terrain is different each place and has to be hunted different each place.....Even one 850 acre place has creek bottom..then a couple very large fields..then the far end is hilly with deep sand and thick yaupon....
As far as 4 wheelers..I use one a lot.....I have changed my mind a lot about hunting since the early years....I hunt one place very often and ride a 4 wheeler across a large pasture til I get to a large wooded bottom.....I walk in from there....I used to think it would scare off deer....I was wrong....We have had a lot of success and the hunting is easier....If the indians had 4 wheelers..they would have used them....LOL

[Daekar]

I have no personal experience, but from hunting stories told among my family and friends, deer around here don't care or recognize ATVs. They may be spooked by the sound, but that's it.

[MOshooter65202]

From personal experience with deer around here on a ATV and seen by the deer?....You can bet you'll have a great view of their White Tail guaranteed!!

When they're running off LOL

[kilimanjaro]

Why pass up the opportunity for some good exercise? Take slow and hunt your way in, you might get that buck in the first 200 feet.