ATV use

Tennessee Deer Sporting & Deer Hunting Community Forum

Help Support TNDeer | Tennessee Deer:

Appalachian American

Appalachian American

Well-Known Member
Bronze Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2009
Messages
1,842
City & State/Province
Up a tree in Middle TN
Well here we go. I'm sure this has been debated time and time again but...

On a large tract I'm hunting it takes an 18minute 4wheeler ride and a 15 minute walk to my stand.

Am I starting at a disadvantage with using an ATV?

Thanks!
 
Sorry-speed reading gets the best of me sometimes. :eek:

My neighbor parks his wheeler under his buddy stand or shootin house but has the spots brushed in. The deer are used to some riding here. But I wouldn't think it helps any letting all the deer know you are headed that way unless they are accustomed to wheelers cruising regularly.
 
Poser said:
I have seen ATVs bump herds of deer on Presidents Island like its the great migration.
Click to expand...


Animated-SOLDIERFIRING363.gif
 
Buk-n-d0eHntn said:
Am I starting at a disadvantage with using an ATV?
Click to expand...
It depends on whether the deer in your area associate four wheelers with danger. If you are careful not to harass them or shoot at them from the atv, they probably won't be affected.
 
I will say this...Since banning the use of fourwheelers or anything with a motor on my property from September- end of deer season, I have seen increases in mature bucks using the property in daylight hours. In this area, if a buck hears a motor vehicle, that means danger, if a buck is spotted from a vehicle it is going to be shot at,pretty much any time of the year, season or not.
 
At one of my farms there is a neighbor who hunts (on his farm) and rides an atv up the hill every morning he hunts. It always pushes deer my way... however if there are any mature bucks or even mature does, then they are on Level 10 Alert. The deer at this farm even pause when a car drives down the road, even though they are hundreds of yards from the road and not in sight of the road. They are very on edge when they hear an engine or movement.

Granted, another farm I hunt is within sight of the interstate... these deer don't care whats going on around them. Between the traffic and cows and trespassers going muddin in the power line etc, they don't even pause to wonder, just go about their day.
 
I'm glad this topic came back up; I am genuinely interested in the responses. Much has been debated about entry/exit to hunting areas and leaving latent scent. Countless times, I've had deer watch me (not even rising from their beds) as I drove by on the tractor. Of course out at the farm the vast majority of the time they see me on a tractor or ATV is a non-hunting season and I'm working and not paying them any attention...they're used to it. Running cameras during the summer I pull right up to them on the tractor or ATV, do my thing, and am out of there in minutes. Then again, it's during the summer and deer seem to be way more tolerant of human activity (especially on a working farm).

I recall as my grandaddy aged and couldn't get around so well, he built a box-blind on the back of the tractor and would just pull right up where he wanted to hunt, climb into the box, and hunt. He killed countless deer in his last few years to include some straight-up bruisers. Looking back on it I wonder if he was unknowingly overcoming the scent issue. No boot or latent scent, a "cover scent" of diesel, and a "blind" that the deer were accustomed to regardless of where it popped up. They never even paid it any attention...might as well have been a round bale to'em.

I have actually wondered if it is LESS impactful to take an ATV into a stand area rather than walk (especially for long walks in). To this day I still hoof it but have definitely thought about a whether another approach makes more sense.
 
I use a fourwheeler to get to some of my stands, just take it easy and don't hot rod. I also get there early in the mornings.
 
Our stands are nearly 2 miles in. Planning on easing the ATV's in the first 1.5 miles very early, and walking the last .5 to the stand...thoughts?
 
BDH Which ever you decide to do should be fine. You will find that your atv is going to be your best friend on this lease! You just have to use it wisely. Never drive too close and walk as much as you can!

Good luck Saturday! I heard you met a legend for these parts the other day. Tom knows deer.....and that lease! I will be hunting close enough to hear you shoot!
 
We use fourwheelers year round on our lease and it doesnt seem to bother them much. I think they kind of get use to it. Its just that exhaust smell I dont like about them.
 
Timberdoodle said:
BDH Which ever you decide to do should be fine. You will find that your atv is going to be your best friend on this lease! You just have to use it wisely. Never drive too close and walk as much as you can!

Good luck Saturday! I heard you met a legend for these parts the other day. Tom knows deer.....and that lease! I will be hunting close enough to hear you shoot!
Click to expand...

I figured you may pick up on this. It was good meeting Tom and since he isn't on here I'll brag on him a little. ;) It was pretty cool seeing his application of a lot of knowledge. Things I've picked up in the last few years but have had difficulty putting into practice.

If you don't mind. Send some deer over in my direction. :D

Thanks for the input & good luck Saturday! Stay low and shoot straight.
 
Deer quickly learn to avoid things (sights, sounds, smells) that are associated with danger. They just as quickly learn to ignore sights, sounds and smells that are not associated with danger. If they associate the sight, sound and smell of an ATV with human predators, they will avoid the area. If not, they won't. However, considering you are walking 15 minutes away from the ATV, I would think that is far enough away from the ATV to minimize impact.
 
We use ATV's year round to work the farm but we do not use them to get to hunting areas. We discovered that they shut down the bucks we want to harvest or push them out. The only transportation we use now is electric golf carts we lifted, camoed, and put ATV tires on. They go pretty much everywhere a two wheel drive ATV goes, and there is no exhaust or gas to deal with. Our deer never get used to the ATV's no matter how much we use them.
 
i use mine, walk last 30 min. i cover my stand with a tarp and wear old coveralls over my hunting clothes to keep exhaust fumes off
 

Latest posts

Back
Top