ATV vs UTV or Golf Cart To Access Your Stand

[thale51]

Hello all,

This may better off posted in the ATV section, but I thought more people might see it here. I just got access to a new property to hunt which has somewhere around 125 acres, most of it being fields, but there are a few big timber sections as well. The landowner lives in the middle of the property, and has a driveway running about a half mile or so from the road to his house. There is no real good access from the road, so to access his land I would have to turn down his driveway and pull off on a field drive to park the truck/trailer. I am in the market for a used ATV/golf cart, and was wondering your opinion on which would be a better purchase for this property. I know the ATV would be better for muddy situations, or going over obstacles in the woods, but the golf cart (electric) would be silent or dang near silent, and doesn't put off a gasoline odor, so it would be less likely to spook deer. I would love to have a Mule or Ranger or some other kind of UTV, but even used those things are still pretty expensive. My budget would be somewhere around $3,000 probably. It will probably be just myself hunting about 75% of the time, and the other times I would be taking my wife or my father-in-law, so it would be nice to have a way to carry two people, gear, and a deer. Opinions? Thanks for your help!

Thomas

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

The answer is simple, you walk.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

If you drive around in "muddy situations " , you will not have a place to hunt. Landowners and tire ruts do not mix.

 

[Stu]

I know deer are spool easy to human scent but due to an injury i drive my wheeler all but the last 100 yards to my stand. Luckily it never seems to bother them. Ive had 160 inch buck walk right past my atv and not give it a second look. If i could walk the hill i would but so far it doesnt seem to bother the deer. Also it is almost always parked downwind of where they come from.

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[catman529]

So there are cars going down the driveway every day but a gasoline odor would spook deer? I wouldn't worry about gasoline odor myself.

I think driving anything up to your stand will spook the deer more than anything. If you do it once in a while, and change stand locations, probably won't matter as much. If you hunt a lot, deer will catch on to that.

Just walk to your stand and use a 4 wheeler to retrieve dead deer. That's how I would do it... 125 acres is very manageable on foot if you're not dragging anything dead.

 

[TNCanoer]

I always walk to my stands. I walk back to my truck and get my four wheeler only to retrieve a deer after he's down.

 

[csi-tech]

I have walked to my stand for decades. I usually walked a mile in full insulation, got into my climber and when I finally sat down the sweat was rolling. I'm hunting 300 acres and while I have a stand 100 yards behind my camper I just don't care to walk that mile anymore. I bought a brand new 2018 Cub Cadet 550 Challenger last week. I will load up and drive to different staging areas on the property but never right up to the stand. I'll park it in the brush and walk in 100 yards or so.

The value of a UTV/ATV etc. cannot be overstated when you are moving stands, pruning and doing regular land management. As nice as my UTV is, it is still less than half the price of a Harley Ultra Classic and far more useful.

 

[hitek7]

Parked our golf cart within 20 yds of our stand Sunday morning. We saw 16 deer including 3 different bucks. Alot of it depends on the land and travel routes. We have had more luck driving the electric cart into certain areas and leaving our foot traffic and smell to a minimum. May not work for everyone but it seems to work well for our property. Plus I am in a cast at the moment and it helps BUNCHES! :)

 

[Urban_Hunter]

125 acres... I'd walk unless a disability prevented me. I'd save the machine for the retrieve.

 

[jard]

I've cared less and less about the 4 wheeler scaring deer the last 3 seasons. It's hasn't spooked a deer yet. Last year parked 25 yards from my ladder stand. Had 3 does circle the quad and smell it, literally right on it like smelling the seat. They jumped and ran around like little kids and then went right back to eating right beside it. Killed a nice 8 pt 2 years ago. Quad in sight, I shot him at 15 yards and he ran 25 yards and fell dead with 10 ft of the 4 wheeler. I drive directly to the tree and then drop off all my gear and then drive back away so I can walk in empty and light.

I have a used Honda foreman or even a rancher is hard to beat. Got a little trailer for it that I can tow kids or gear in. I ain't walkin unless they make me!!!


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[Jmed]

Use my ATV as little as possible, try to use a light as little as possible, try to stay as quiet as possible. common sense type stuff. I will say one of my lease mates has an all electric bad boy buggy and we have driven straight up on deer undetected before. Id like to have one but they are expensive and heavy

 

[FTG-05]

For my deer shack I just emplaced this week, I don't have a lot of choice in the matter. With my knees, there is no way I'm walking the 200 yards down my hill, never the mind the walk back up. So driving my noisy, smelly Kubota RTV down the hill and parking it next to the TMU is a given. Did it last year and got two doe the first couple hours of opening day, so should work out OK this time.

I am however, thinking of doing what one person suggested here and making a cover on the TMU vertical supports to try and hide the RTV a bit. Only gotta a couple weeks though!