4X4s & atvs?

[MNbogboy]

sp6x6,
I sure didn't mean to ruffle feathers in my post.....It would be foolish to say I could out hike an ATV.....What I meant to say is "Where I have hunted there is no place that an ATV can go that I haven't walked to".....We also have thousands of miles of trails set aside for ATV and snowmobiles for recreational use........If these trails were not there and you didn't have a horse then I guess the only way you could get in there would be to walk.....

I also was thinking reasonable time in my statement.....There are not many places left here and not what I saw in WY or MT that are not totally roadless.....I mean without access 20 miles or so without some kind of road that can be legally driven on unless the area is designated as wilderness.....If a person has to we walk 1 or 2 or even 5 miles in some cases one way to reach or destination then so be it....10 miles is pushing it (we then pack in our camping gear).... In WY where we walked 6 days in a row 5 miles one way in the predawn and back after dark and we didn't think it was out of line....But also we didn't run across any ATVs there, only a couple of other groups with horses and I certainly have no gripe with that.....I was only inferring to users leaving the roads that were legal on for hunting purposes....seems like some feel they can make their own roads and once they do others follow....

I know they can't get into a lot of places I have been but they often try to.....We don't have outfitters here in MN that post roads like happened to you in MT we have just the opposite, ATVers that take down the posted signs.....In MT we camped at a USFS trail head with a snowmobiles only sign leaving the camp....2000 feet down...2000 feet up the other side.....a good workout.....here comes a pick-up truck all chained up while we are on our way down.....next day a ATV.....We scored a bull elk there two days later and packed it out on our backs in two trips...Luckily we were only a couple miles from the trail head....

Sorry for the confusion in my post,
Randy

 

[sp6x6]

MT and ID are rampant with violaters behind gates and cutting gates open.A spot I was at this year had about four gates illegal open.Caught a guy behind a gate with his kids grouse hunting, truck driver that had a key, I TOLD HIM WHERE I just jumped some grouse into a tree, but I also told him, if you had a bull inthe back of your truck I WOULD TURN YOU IN. H e could loose his job over it. It also so happened was looking for a 8x8 bull in that area. Told my son I found so many open gates that Im going to bring my own lock and lock em up and throw away the key.

 

[SBruce]

I am a landowner in Wyoming. I allow Deer and Antelope hunting on my property. I do not allow hunters to bring or use ATV's.........an exception might be someone who is truly handicapped.

I keep the property posted and patrol it to keep out trespassers. I Have the Sheriff and Game and Fish channels on my 2-way radio.

I have set up and maintain wildlife habitat CRP's.........Livestock is not allowed into them.

I leave water on and maintain it in stock tanks and ponds during the dry summer months just for the wildlife........even if no livestock is in that pasture.

Hunters can use a 4X4 pickup or suv and stay on the two track ranch roads with them. Most of the remaining area can be accessed by foot relatively easily. Some of the guys who hunt here repeately use a game cart to get their game out. Others contact me and I will gladly help them get their game out via my Pickup or ATV or Game Cart.

We too have had bad experiences due to people using ATV's to hunt on. I once tried allowing it for game retrieval only..................didn't work. I saw those same people driving them up and down the ravines and off the trails in places where they were obviously not retrieving game...................post season had ATV tracks everywhere!! This ruins it for the guys who are trying to do it on foot.

I believe that foot hunting is the most effective method anyway. When we're out on an ATV or in a vehicle, the game can see and hear us long before we see them usually. Very hard to sneak up on something in an ATV!

Here in Wyoming, driving any type of vehicle off of the established trails/roads is illegal on public land. It's left up to the landowner on private land. ATV's used on the established roads/trails on public land need to be liscensed, insured, or specialty tagged, or all of the above. Harrasing or chasing any game animal with any type of vehicle is illegal here also.

I personally wouldn't have any problem with people using an ATV to get their camps or themselves back into remote areas where roads have been washed out or caved in. Nor would I have a problem with people using that same ATV to retrieve game. IMO, the problem comes when people start using them to "hunt from" or when they chase game with them................it's the few that ruin it for the many!!

 

[sp6x6]

I have hunted at a ranch in MT, that is in front of forest service, for 12 yrs. IT IS almosy 4 miles to the timber, makes for long days hiking and then the elk are up the mountain. But when you get one down the land owner will let you retrieve, which is a big help, thats when my jeep gets to play

 

[MNbogboy]

SBruce,
You are right on...I agree with you totally...I wish everybody could see it that way or at least have consideration for others when using their ATVs...
Randy