Any harm in riding your ATV/side by side into the woods?

Ski

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Put me in the bored camp. Pretty rare that I pull off an all day sit. Not only do I get bored, but I dont have a whole lot of stands that are good for an entire day. I also get up at random times if the wind shifts.
 

BSK

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When I was younger, I could sit for 5 hours. Now, even though I'm usually in a 2-person ladder stand where I can get up and stretch, absolutely not. To me, that's just not fun.
 

JCDEERMAN

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I HATE all day sits. I have done many of them, most all of them with no deer sightings after 10am. I have written them off. I'd have to be really hyped up to do it again. I'd much rather go back and hang out with the guys, eat a good lunch and watch football....then go back out that afternoon.
 

Mescalero

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Franklin TN
I'm with you guys. I've tried and can't sit all day. I get fidgety. Start moving around in the stand. Start paying more attention to my iPhone. 11am is my absolute cut off and by then I've been in the stand probably 5-6 hours, but probably no longer effective after 9-10am.
 

fairchaser

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The machines sound like an echo chamber at my place in the head of a deep hollow, and deer stay away. From my back porch I have a 400ft climb to reach the ridge top. Once there it's pretty easy hiking to any of my spots, but getting up there is a sweaty mess no matter the weather. I've tried taking my machines up but when I do, the deer are non-existent. I'm really considering an electric bike.
The electric bikes are awesome. My Honda ATV has sat idle for years now. They are quiet and capable of hauling stands in and deer out with a lightweight trailer. I'd never go back to an atv unless I had to navigate a lot of mud or water.
 

13pt

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Cookeville, TN
The electric bikes are awesome. My Honda ATV has sat idle for years now. They are quiet and capable of hauling stands in and deer out with a lightweight trailer. I'd never go back to an atv unless I had to navigate a lot of mud or water.
Ditto on the E-Bike! Absolutely a game changer! It's like where you been all my life.
 

DoubleRidge

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We walk in....other than food plot work or habitat improvement projects there isn't much activity on the property during the year....all day sit in a climbing stand? I've done it before....but not anymore....I've got one ladder stand with a zero gravity seat and back rest....I can sit in it all day if the wind and weather is right....but we have a couple of shooting houses in proven travel corridors and during the first two or three weeks of November and when I'm burning vacation days to hunt....I will absolutely sit all day...zero doubt... November is gold....try to walk in early way before daylight....and I'll sit till it's black dark before slipping out....but again...this practice is during the rut....as the season drags on...the all day sits become fewer and fewer.....as for big mature bucks moving in the midday...my experience has been similar to others....looking at my best 10 bucks two of them were midday...11:15am and 1:10pm....both were alone and cruising into thick bedding areas....and I can think of one or two other mature bucks I've seen midday but couldn't get it done... majority of mature bucks taken on the property are in the morning hours with a few later in the afternoon over the years.
 

JCDEERMAN

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The electric bikes are awesome. My Honda ATV has sat idle for years now. They are quiet and capable of hauling stands in and deer out with a lightweight trailer. I'd never go back to an atv unless I had to navigate a lot of mud or water.
Which bike to you have fairchaser?
 

fairchaser

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Which bike to you have fairchaser?
I have a Rambo bike. The 750 model is adequate for me. I'm going on 6 years now on the same bike.
 

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JCDEERMAN

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Which bike to you have fairchaser?
I have a Rambo bike. The 750 model is adequate for me. I'm going on 6 years now on the same bike.
Awesome rig! I keep trying to talk myself out of one :p , as I already have a golf cart. Which one of the Rambo's do you have - Savage, Colorado, Pursuit, etc...?
 

rem270

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I definitely agree; however, how often do you have this luxury? I've only had one time in 45 years of hunting (that I can remember) where I had this luxury, and I was able to take advantage of it almost all season. My brother hunted almost every time I did and he was a couple miles past where I broke off to my stand. It was about a 200 yard walk from the ATV trail, so he would drop me off quickly and keep on going. I could still hear him in the distance as I was climbing my tree. I also kept the last 100 yds raked free of any leaves or rocks, so I could hurry up and get in the tree under the diminishing noise of his ATV and not make a sound. Oh my does that work like a charm. To this day it's been about the best deer stand I've hunted taking 3 wall hangers over 2 years. The biggest came one morning when it was so dark it had to get within 15 yards before I could tell it was my target buck, and that couldn't have been but 15-20 minutes after my brother dropped me off. Yes sir that definitely works when it's available. Having said all that, about 10 years ago I took up the habit of keeping a trail raked out about 100 yards from my stands. I keep the rake in the woods and will touch it up in the middle of the day (when needed) coming out from the hunt. It's one of the best ideas I've ever had...that worked. Last year I took a 125" and 132" (at separate leases) with a bow, both which made the TN Deer Registry, and both stands I had a trail raked probably two weeks before taking either one. I also wear moccasins to my stands and then slip on boot blankets if needed. Between the moccasins and my raked trail, I can't even hear myself walking. The raked trail doesn't spoke the deer, and in fact many times deer walking through will turn and walk down the raked trail for a ways before moving along. The drawback is it gives away your hunting spot to other hunters, so you obviously wouldn't want to do this on public land.
My neighbor has mountain bike trails on his property and one of the trails is right on the property line. I have one stand that I like to walk his trail down (he knows this and doesn't care) and hop back over to my property and climb in the stand 50 yards away. A lot of times the deer walk his trails and can be hardly heard as well.
 

fairchaser

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Awesome rig! I keep trying to talk myself out of one :p , as I already have a golf cart. Which one of the Rambo's do you have - Savage, Colorado, Pursuit, etc...?
Not sure it had a name back then. I would look hard at the one with internal gears as the exposed derailuer is a flaw on mine. U you ou only want a fat tire back too.
 

Snake

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McMinn Co.Tennessee U.S.
I'm not one riding up to my stand but as my years creep on I do ride in as far as I don't think it will bother the deer . Remember one very cold day hunting in Giles Co. I rode my four wheeler in to the top of the ridge about 300 yards from where I was going to hunt . Didn't see jack and hadn't seen anything the day before but as I got to my four wheeler there was a doe sniffing the wheel. Go figure 🤔
 

TheLBLman

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Could I sit in a stand longer? Sure, but am I really hunting with attention or just trying to find ways to occupy my mind?
I admit to not being as attentive throughout the day as I am during the first 30 and last 30 minutes of light. Sometimes I even take a nap :)

Guess it's a good thing I'm a light sleeper. Also, with most setups, I'm hunting as much, maybe more, with my ears as my eyes.

Staying on stand all day actually gets easier the more you do it. Did you start enjoying black coffee or beer more and more the more you drank it? I really believe, just like black coffee or beer, you may not enjoy it the first few times, but the taste will grow on you.

Typically, I find an all day sit to be a relaxing day, not something to dread, but just a time I can sit in peace, all day, listening to Nature's Symphony. Seeing or killing a deer @ mid-day is just more icing on that cake.
 

DoubleRidge

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I admit to not being as attentive throughout the day as I am during the first 30 and last 30 minutes of light. Sometimes I even take a nap :)

Guess it's a good thing I'm a light sleeper. Also, with most setups, I'm hunting as much, maybe more, with my ears as my eyes.

Staying on stand all day actually gets easier the more you do it. Did you start enjoying black coffee or beer more and more the more you drank it? I really believe, just like black coffee or beer, you may not enjoy it the first few times, but the taste will grow on you.

Typically, I find an all day sit to be a relaxing day, not something to dread, but just a time I can sit in peace, all day, listening to Nature's Symphony. Seeing or killing a deer @ mid-day is just more icing on that cake.

Totally agree....this has been my experience....with busy work schedules and other responsibilities throughout the year during November I look forward to just sitting still....and it's gotten easier over time...but I'll admit I've taken many short naps in floor of shooting house.....30 minute nap does wonders :)
 

BSK

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Perhaps it is more about "why I hunt" now compared to earlier in my career. And if I were hunting alone, perhaps I would be more motivated to hunt longer. But currently, hunting for me has become more of a social thing. Deer season is when all of my family gather from across the country (and one member all the way from Sydney Australia) to hunt together. I'm far more entertained hanging out at the cabin, sitting on the porch telling old stories on each other (which always get better with age!). Hunting is just the excuse we use to get together. Some years, deer season is the one time of the year I get to see some family members.
 

Lost Lake

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Middle Tn
There are a few good hunts I go on during prime times when bucks are really moving, and those hunts are the ones where I stay in the woods all day. Usually hunting on the ground as well.

It's a long walk back in those spots, so I'll bring lunch and something to drink. About noon a nap is in the making. I sleep pretty good stretched out on the sunny side of a ridge.

I've been pinned down in my stand all day by deer before on some hunts, and literally had a hard time moving. Those are tough days.

It's boring at times, but worth it to me on those hunts.
 

TheLBLman

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But currently, hunting for me has become more of a social thing. Deer season is when all of my family gather from across the country (and one member all the way from Sydney Australia) to hunt together. I'm far more entertained hanging out at the cabin, sitting on the porch telling old stories on each other (which always get better with age!). Hunting is just the excuse we use to get together. Some years, deer season is the one time of the year I get to see some family members.
I can appreciate that, and have many similar days annually.

The way I usually handle this is
I go out very early, stay on stand until a little past 1:00 pm, then am simply "done" hunting for that day. This way I have the remainder of the afternoon & evening to socialize and "rest up" for the next day.

As an aside, I hate killing a deer at dusk, then having to deal with that until late at night. So I'd often rather give up the late afternoon hunt, exchanging hunting mid-day for late evening.

Post-rut, I often reverse this (for family & socializing), going to get on stand @ 1pm, forfeiting the morning hunt instead of the afternoon hunt. I can have a big breakfast and/or early lunch with family/friends, then be on stand by early afternoon.
 

BlackBelt

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SouthWest TN
I use one of those Benz Silencer mufflers on my Honda 450 Foreman. It is SO quiet you can hear the leaves crunching under the tires. Many times I have been slow rolling through the woods on tbe honda and have had startled deer jump up 30-40 feet away from me and take off.
I try to park about 100 yards away from wherever Im hunting just to keep them from scent spooking. However, one time I was climbing down the tree and I heard a deer blow an alarm snort from the direction of my 4-wheeler. I put everything down and got my rifle up figuring he might spook and run my way...which he did and I got to give him a ride in the back of my truck.
 

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