Stand to ATV Distance

[RUGER]

Sat and watched from about 300 yards a doe walk right by @CBU93 four wheeler that was parked in the edge of a field.
Watched her walk right by his stand about 50 yards from the wheeler.
Then watched him drop her.
I don't think it matters much, depending on how often deer encounter them.

 

[megalomaniac]

We killed 2 nice bucks this year off the back of my Gator parked smack dab in the middle of a wide open field. Rifle was on top of the cab. My kids thought it was hilarious I was taking them on a 'hiding in plain sight' hunt.

My son killed 5 or 6 does this year from a parked truck in the middle of fields. When it's cold, he sits in the cab. When deer come out, he opens the door, slips out to the ground where he already has his rifle set up to shoot prone on a shooting mat, bipod, and rear bag. All of his does were between 200 and 350 yards, all perfect shots requiring no followups.

Don't be afraid to think outside the box, defy conventional wisdom, and to try stuff you think wouldn't work. You will become a more successful hunter.

All the deer I've hunted simply don't spook from stationary vehicles or atvs as long as they don't smell you or see you move. Sure, they will freeze and stare at it... which is exactly what I want them to do before I shoot.

 

[BigAl]

Sometimes I think the scent dropped from walking is more intrusive to a deer than the 4 wheeler. I think when possible, approach to the stand is important. But in som case, there is no way not to walk through the area you're hunting. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I ride, but when I ride I still usually park a couple of hundred yards from the stand.

 

[megalomaniac]

As far as when I am hunting in a stand.... how close I drive to the stand depends on whether I feel confident I can get to the stand on foot without spooking deer or not. Those locations I can sneak into undetected, I usually walk 400 to 500y. The locations I know I will bump deer on the way in, I usually drive right to the stand and park directly under it. I would MUCH rather bump a deer with a moving vehicle than have a deer see me walking.

 

[backyardtndeer]

My 4 wheeler doesn't seem to bother them….

View attachment 209334

It's the tractor they show concerns for…

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Your bucks get any bigger and you are going to need a bigger bucket.

I use my tractor to retrieve deer as well, also orange and it doesn't really seem to bother the deer until I stop and get off the tractor.

 

[BSK]

As far as when I am hunting in a stand.... how close I drive to the stand depends on whether I feel confident I can get to the stand on foot without spooking deer or not. Those locations I can sneak into undetected, I usually walk 400 to 500y. The locations I know I will bump deer on the way in, I usually drive right to the stand and park directly under it. I would MUCH rather bump a deer with a moving vehicle than have a deer see me walking.

THIS!

Because of the terrain, we have to drive part way to stands. We end up walking between 200 yards and a half mile to stands, but we still drive a side-by-side part way there. Does it spook deer? Yup. But they go back to doing what they were doing not long after it passes. Plus, once it's parked, deer pay it no attention, often walk right past it.

 

[double browtine]

I have ridden up a lot closer to deer in the woods on my 4 wheeler than I have ever been able to while I was walking through the woods. Especially during the early season when all the leaves are still green and on the trees. Years ago I was riding horses with my family and we rode within 25 yards of a doe and 2 fawns and they never even spooked till one of the horses snorted at them.

 

[BSK]

Sometimes I think the scent dropped from walking is more intrusive to a deer than the 4 wheeler. I think when possible, approach to the stand is important. But in som case, there is no way not to walk through the area you're hunting. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I ride, but when I ride I still usually park a couple of hundred yards from the stand.

From my experiences, it isn't "sometimes," it's all the time! Back when I used to walk to my cameras, it would only take one or two visits before pictures from that camera started to decline. Now that I only ride right to my cameras on an ATV, I can leave some cameras in place for three or more months and still keep getting the same number of pictures at the end as the beginning. I'm so serious about riding an ATV to cameras that if I can't get an ATV to a spot, I don't put a camera there.

 

[BSK]

Sat and watched from about 300 yards a doe walk right by @CBU93 four wheeler that was parked in the edge of a field.
Watched her walk right by his stand about 50 yards from the wheeler.
Then watched him drop her.
I don't think it matters much, depending on how often deer encounter them.

I think this is key. I intentionally ride my ATV all over my place all year round, including way back into the woods. Considering 99% of deer' contact with my ATV causes no harm, they ignore it. However, the side-by-side gets used much less frequently. We use it for food plot work and moving stands, but primarily it gets used to transport hunters during hunting season. Deer show much more aversion to the side-by-side, as I suspect they have learned to associate it with hunters.

 

[BigAl]

I think this is key. I intentionally ride my ATV all over my place all year round, including way back into the woods. Considering 99% of deer' contact with my ATV causes no harm, they ignore it. However, the side-by-side gets used much less frequently. We use it for food plot work and moving stands, but primarily it gets used to transport hunters during hunting season. Deer show much more aversion to the side-by-side, as I suspect they have learned to associate it with hunters.

So how close are you willing to get to a stand/park when hunting?

 

[BSK]

So how close are you willing to get to a stand/park when hunting?

I generally give myself at least a 200-yard walk to the stand from the side-by-side, but I've had it close enough I could see it. And I've watched deer walk right past it. They show no aversion to the parked vehicle, but quite a bit of aversion to it when its being driven.

 

[CliffordN]

I'm lucky enough to ride an electric golf cart to 20 yards from one of my blinds. I conceal it between three cedar trees and deer never pay attention to it. I believe this approach cuts my scent trail as well...

Good point. When we started using electric carts versus walking all over the property, our deer hunting got a lot better... If you ride a four wheeler on a place every day, deer seem to get used to them. If not, they pay a good bit of attention to them...

 

[BSK]

Good point. When we started using electric carts versus walking all over the property, our deer hunting got a lot better... If you ride a four wheeler on a place every day, deer seem to get used to them. If not, they pay a good bit of attention to them...

Agree completely.

 

[JJ3]

I walk into my stands — typically 0.5 - 0.75 miles. I only get the ATV off the trailer to retrieve a deer.

 

[PalsPal]

Hmm, I'm guessing the SxS is maybe 80 yds away just over the hill from me on the logging road on the side of the hill.

Dad insists on hunting the ladder stand at the end of this log road. At 82, I can no longer in good conscience let him go in and climb it without my being there. So I drive him right to it, help him get in, then drive it back, drop my stuff off, go park it, and make the short walk back to my stand which is just 10 yds below the road.

We've both seen deer every sit this year and he killed a buck last time we came.

Do we scare some? Probably, but as long as we still see deer, we don't care as that's the way we hunt.

 

[Big Pop]

When you turn 70 you can drive your four wheeler or truck right to the stand. Bucked out this year and on both had my vehicle parked within 15 yards of my stand.

 

[megalomaniac]

My view this morn. This pipeline parallels a major 2 lane highway 75 y away. Almost hit a mid 120s shooter (actually a giant for south MS) with my 4runner on the way in, and crossed th road into this 5yo cutover.

I WANT him to come into the pipeline and SEE my vehicle. So he stops long enough for me to get a shot off

But I have to think outside the box at my lease. My first hunt here was yesterday, and so far looking at the sign in sheets, we are up to over 250 hunts by the members. Not a single deer killed. But they stick to their pretty little green patches with corn feeders.

 

[Biggun4214]

Watch how deer react when you drive down the road. Most of the time, unless they have been harassed or shot at, they pay the vehicle no attention.
Several years ago I read an article about an outfitter in Canada that took his clients to the ladders on an ATV. He did this to minimize human scent. Except for his scouting trips and hanging stands this was the only human contact the deer had throughout the year.

 

[TNCharlie]

6-10 feet. Drive the sxs up to my blind/shooting house, step out of the sxs and into my blind, kill deer.

 

[cecil30-30]

What would be more harmful to a deer scent wise? Smelling your human scent on the trail you walked in on or smelling rubber/atv scent that you rode in on but no human scent? I've been thinking alot about this. I've always refrained from atv use on my property during deer season. Except for deer retrieval. But I think it would probably be less determential than what we think. Human scent vs atv scent? I think human scent affects deer mor negatively than atv.