4-wheeler

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chubacabra

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Sep 19, 2013
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sullivan county, tennessee
I have troubled myself to death trying to decide on driving my 4-wheeler to the top of a ridge on Sat. morning for muzzleloader. My wife is hunting a stand location below a saddle in a holler that I had much activity last year about this time into rifle season. I have not hunted it a single time this year but have taken the 4-wheeler up the access road several times in the last few months. Does anyone think it would be a bad idea?
 
I/m gonna go against the grain here and say ride! 1) work smarter not harder. 2) if you don't ride in, someone else will. 3) with all the orange in the woods Saturday the deer will be moving regardless of how you enter your set up
 
I always walk in if I can help it, even if that means getting up an hour and a half early. You can hear a 4 wheeler for miles, so you know the deer can.
 
Merrick said:
if you don't ride in, someone else will.
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That is the craziest excuse to ride a 4 wheeler I have ever heard!!!! Does that mean he should shoot the first deer he sees in case someone else does too?? I do not let others dictate how I hunt? You can walk much quieter than an ATV.
 
I'm gonna go against conventional wisdom here and say drive the ATV. I believe you CAN spook more deer walking in than you will driving ATV depending on the area you hunt. My experience, deer will just stand, watch ATV go by and go back to normal activity. But, spook one when walking in - they are blowing and running off.

I have killed mature bucks driving my ATV within a couple hundred yards of my stand numerous times. I have parked my ATV within 75 yards - in sight of stand - and had all kinds of deer walk right in between me and the ATV.

I have places I walk a long way for one reason or another, and then I have places I drive ATV/UTV into. I have never found ATV/UTV to have a negative affect on my hunting.

I'd rather drive in, stay dry, not spread my scent on the ground, get in early and hunt. That's just me.
 
ATV's can be great and deer will definitely learn to ignore them if they are conditioned to do so. What I mean is, to condition the deer to have no fear from them, they can never have caused them any harm or associate them with danger. One bad experience related to an ATV and that deer will flee as soon as they hear one coming.
I used to hunt a 600 acre farm and it was only accessible from one side. Several rode 4 wheelers to access stands and the deer ignored them and would watch them drive by. Some started hunting close to the 4 wheelers, even parking them in the weeds and hunting right from the 4 wheelers. Wasn't long until the first sound of a 4 wheeler would send the deer fleeing for cover immediately.
Its all in what the deer are conditioned to.
 
Winchester said:
ATV's can be great and deer will definitely learn to ignore them if they are conditioned to do so. What I mean is, to condition the deer to have no fear from them, they can never have caused them any harm or associate them with danger. One bad experience related to an ATV and that deer will flee as soon as they hear one coming.
I used to hunt a 600 acre farm and it was only accessible from one side. Several rode 4 wheelers to access stands and the deer ignored them and would watch them drive by. Some started hunting close to the 4 wheelers, even parking them in the weeds and hunting right from the 4 wheelers. Wasn't long until the first sound of a 4 wheeler would send the deer fleeing for cover immediately.
Its all in what the deer are conditioned to.
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Great point!
 
Wow! Sounds like "Hillbilly Hunter" has had people ruin his hunt with their 4 wheeler riding haha.. Didn't mean to hit a nerve there sir. Maybe I should clarify? That was just a IMO statement. The area I hunt is also private. Where I hunt atv's trucks and tractors are very common. When I said "if you don't someone else will" what I meant was, not everyone is going to or can walk to their stand Saturday morning. Not everyone has the luxury of hunting a place where atv's are allowed, but you don't see all those trucks w/ 4 wheelers on the back of them just for looks on opening morning! Chubacabra in the end its really up to you my friend, if you think the atv is going to alert and push your deer off your spot, don't do it. Either way Best wishes opening day!
 
Merrick said:
Wow! Sounds like "Hillbilly Hunter" has had people ruin his hunt with their 4 wheeler riding haha.. Didn't mean to hit a nerve there sir. Maybe I should clarify? That was just a IMO statement. The area I hunt is also private. Where I hunt atv's trucks and tractors are very common. When I said "if you don't someone else will" what I meant was, not everyone is going to or can walk to their stand Saturday morning. Not everyone has the luxury of hunting a place where atv's are allowed, but you don't see all those trucks w/ 4 wheelers on the back of them just for looks on opening morning! Chubacabra in the end its really up to you my friend, if you think the atv is going to alert and push your deer off your spot, don't do it. Either way Best wishes opening day!
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No nerve hit at all. I use a 4 wheeler to get deer out with, but other wise it stays in the truck. I have seen deer get conditioned to avoid them, so I don't use them for transportation. I could likely get away with it on my farm because I use a 4 wheeler as a work vehicle all the time, but IU don't feel like the risk is worth it. It predawn during the winter you can heasr an ATV climbing a hill from, literally, a mile a way.
 
Our deer are use to ATV's as we use them and tractors year round. Many times I choose to get close to stand by riding instead of walking, really just depends on stand setup for me.
 
How long of a walk? I know most here walk in, use an atv to get one out. If you ride the area and it doesn't appear to bother them, then I'd ride in if the walk was one where I'd sweat to death and scent the place up.
 
It would seem to me that you would know your situation better than anyone else. All any of us could do is guess what you should do. No disrepect meant to anyone. Good luck whatever you choose.
 

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