Would you walk or ride?

[infoman jr.]

I'm hunting these two stands tomorrow (AM & PM), and I'm trying to decide if I should walk to the AM spot or just ride the 4 wheeler to the gate. I'm not allergic to walking, but the the spirit of laziness efficiency, I thought I might ride. Usually, people are hunting the back of the farm, so if someone hunts that plot, they get dropped off. I have the farm to myself tomorrow, so I thought it might help to be a little sneakier.

What say ye?

The AM walk is about a mile.

 

[Kingston]

Deer used to wheelers?

 

[Hunter 257W]

I walk about a mile to my stand most days but the negative to that is sweating and the scent that comes with it. A 4 Wheeler will eliminate that. If I had one, I might use it. In this hot weather you are almost certainly going to sweat walking a mile.

 

[7wsm]

hunt smarter not harder

 

[catman529]

if it's a clear trail I would ride my bike. but I have also walked in that far

 

[Urban_Hunter]

Walk. Use the wheeler to get the monster out after the kill! Old bruiser may not hear you walking in. I have a guy that checks his mail every saturday about 300 yards down the hill from me and if the deer are around when he fires that thing up they all get nervous, sometimes they even high tail it into the thicket!

 

[EastTNHunter]

I would walk/stalk between the 2. It looks as if you have quite a bit of terrain/cover/food differentiation between the 2, so you might see something in between.

 

[Kimber45]

Have killed most of mine with a wheeler sitting within 50 yds of my stand or deer house. They are SO use to 4wheelers and equipment where we hunt that its a non issue for the most part

 

[Todd Bell]

i would drive. looks like you may push deer further back into the property. may work to your advantage

 

[Scioto]

Like others have said, should the deer be used to the sound of an atv?

Plus, what's the terrain? Is this a steep hike or a gentle stroll? Most people walk at around 3.5 mph, but I doubt you will be moving that fast. When trying to figure out when I need to set out from camp/parking lot to get to a stand by a particular time, I estimate I'll walk 2 mph, terrain, weather, etc. dependent. It always takes longer than I planned - stop to cool down, stop to catch my breath, stop because I heard a deer, etc. (maybe it's really 1 mph). So, the time factor enters into this.

I don't have an atv, but if I did I'd probably drive it to the gate and walk from there.

I've got a 2 mile hike from camp to my stand. I will ride my bike for an afternoon hunt, but I'm not comfortable enough yet knowing where the big rocks and ruts are in the logging road to ride the bike in the a.m. So, I think I'm going to drive my truck in for the first mile and walk from there.

 

[348Winchester]

Hell, just land a helicopter in there. Surely deer are used to the sound of aircraft. Then you can just shoot one from the cockpit!

Be a hunter and use your feet!

 

[Winchester]

I would walk if I had the farm to myself, just seems to create opportunities, especially if your the only one on the whole farm!

 

[Nealmeally]

Walk, always walk.. I have some long walks to a few stands myself. I enjoy the walks. Usually drive truck in to get deer out and that's the only time anything is drove in other than hauling stands in .. No 4 wheelers ..

 

[muddyboots]

ID walk

 

[Mike Belt]

One of the advantages of walking in versus riding in is that if you don't kill anything you can always scout back to your wheeler. You can always leave your gear there and ride back in and pick it up when done and deer movement has probably ceased.

 

[infoman jr.]

It's still up in the air at this point. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a helicopter.

The road follows a ridgetop through the middle of the property and is fairly easy walking. I don't know if the deer are bothered by 4wheelers or not. The farm is gated unless we're there.

 

[in the dog house]

I would walk for sure. If others ride often, then no doubt about it I would WALK.

 

[longnosedoe]

Definately walk.

 

[infoman jr.]

I walked. You wouldn't believe all of the turkeys gobbling and purring. Hopefully the sound came through on video.

 

[xtremedeerman]

sorry about the late post but if you go early you can do either

 

[Coach]

I didn't for years but about 6 years ago I started riding my four wheeler fight to my rifle stand...no problems. I do not do it during bow season

 

[Appleman]

Walk

 

[TNGunhunter]

My stand is 2 miles from where I park, so I ride in most of the way, spray down with the no scent stuff again, and walk the last 500 yards to the stand. Has worked so far...still killing deer.