Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Atv vs walking

The ranch I hunt is about 2,600 acres. There’s no way to cover that kind of ground on foot. Patches of it, yes. But for the most part we use either our pickups or an atv/utv to get around. There’s also regular maintenance done by others on a site within the property boundaries as well. So the deer are pretty much used to the traffic and not particularly spooky. Bigger bucks will most often step into the brush and watch us drive by - stop and they won’t stay long.

Elk on the other hand are transient and even if we’re quite some distance away, will almost always take off.....

At 68 and bum knees, I use my atv as often as possible to realistically cut down on my having to walk unnecessarily. That means riding close enough to still slip into my hunt area or place it somewhere down the hill out of my hunt area to get back to the truck or other start area.

Game retrieval is a biggie for all of us. Very few fall close to the road and your not going to drive a pickup or Jeep in this black sticky country if there’s even a hint of moisture. Almost all of my elk get dressed gutless and bagged to come out on the quad. Many of the deer, too. It just makes sense..... we don’t want to create ruts and trash the terrain, so the light foot print of the atv’s is a huge advantage.

Most of the guys I meet that hate atv’s, don’t own one. Their reasoning being based on poor riding habits by others - often illegal riding that spoils their chances at game. No one is happy when you’ve toiled up a closed trail or road in the predawn darkness, only to have some A-Hole drive by on a quad to your hunting location.......we’ve all had it happen I suspect. Still others are simply jealous and A-Holes themselves.......
My 2019 Blacktail hitching a ride.