Riding an ATV to your stand

All and all I have been more surprised by how little deer pay attention to such things than how much.

Now, an old buck may be a different story.
 
What's a stand?
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That's where East Coast practice the art of "deer waiting"

They are actually allowed to plant and bait deer to come close so they do not have to walk more than a few yards

Hiking in for a few miles to get to your spike camp from whence you will hike even more up and down high canyons in PURSUIT (aka HUNTING) is not applicable in the East

HTH explaining it to you
 
I am almost persuaded that no one today, at least under age of 45, knows how to hunt.
Ride an ATV to the stand, sit in the stand, shoot a deer. Then carry him out on the ATV. That is not hunting, but just shooting without much effort or skill.

Jerry
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I am almost persuaded that no one today, at least on the internet, has any manners. I am sure that you stalk around in a loin cloth and moccasins and take all your deer with an atlatl, so this discussion is not for you.

Somebody asked where I am hunting and what I am using. I will be hunting Western MO along the Missouri river and I will be hunting rifle and muzzle loader seasons. I didn't get a chance to get my tuned for this year, so archery will have to wait until next season.

It is 100 Acres, 4 guys on the lease, but sometimes guests or children are brought along so as many as 6 people will be hunting at any time. My stand is set up along a power line easement and there is a public road and a very busy railroad track bordering the property. Over the years some industrial equipment has been dumped on the property, there is a Bobcat, a Bulldozer, several trailers and cars scattered about. I have a feeling that the Deer may not be too spooked by noise or vehicles. I have no problem hiking to a stand, my only concern was that there is a significant uphill climb. I really don't want to have to sit in my stand all sweaty from exertion hiking to my stand, but I also have never ridden an ATV to my stand before so I was just looking for some experience from others as to the impact this might have.
 
The guy that got me into bow hunting 25 years ago was a Vietnam vet that had been shot and paralyzed from the waist down. We couldn't bait so you had to scout and learn where the deer were traveling. We would set his battery powered stand which would go up a rail system about 12 or 15 foot up where he could get to it. He would ride his ATV up to the stand and get in and cover his ATV with a camo net and up the stand he would go. He always got a couple deer every year.
 
I wouldn't worry about it Rob. I've hunted all over the U.S. and Canada about any way you can think of to do it. The area you are hunting dictates how you go about it. I have walked three miles a day just about every day since 2001. It's because I like to hunt the Montana mountains and you have to be in good shape. I'm certainly not going to walk three miles to shoot a deer just so I can say I did it the hard way or some such silliness.
 
not making this up

A former coworker would just drive his pick up out to the edge of a field he had a spot where some brush would partially hide the truck and he could see down a long sendero. When he saw a deer he rolled the window down and took the shot. Then, you guessed it he then starts the engine and drives down to where the deer is and loads it up. He was older and couldn't walk the long distances any more and he got about as many deer as other hunters on that property.
bb
 
I had a very bad hip for the past couple years. Total hip replacement last June, but still walking through the fields, and woods in not an easy, or safe thing for me to do. I ride my atv to my stand, and cover it with a cheap camo atv cover I got at Caballa's. Don't see a problem
I guess the guys that say that isn't hunting think I should just be left out on the ice for the polar bears to eat!
 
Using an ATV is a personal choice, just like what rifle you choose or whether or not you choose to deck yourself out in head to toe camo.

I hunt mostly public land, so ATV's are out for me.

I get invited a time or two a season to a friend's club where they all have ATV's and most ride in to their stands, there seems to be no correlation between success rates of those who do and those who don't.

I walk in to my stand, but if I can get my Jeep or an ATV to a downed animal, I'm certainly not going to drag that rascal out by hand, unless I just have to.

I personally believe deer are by frightened people and not by equipment, I've driven cars within a few yards of deer on my lawn and other places, but step out of the car and let them see a human form, and they are gone.
 
Too many successful reduced mobility hunters using the ATV handlebars as a rifle rest to worry about commuting to a stand on one...

I will say that the guy who rides ATV on their place all year for fun will have even less ATV spooky deer...;)

Brent
 
I now understand why people use four wheelers:o

After some long ( hell, I'm not that old ) talks with myself, I took off on my hike. From my truck, the hike was six miles straight up hill. During this hike several people drove by and asked if I wanted a ride? Nope, not this former Marine! I found out the hard way what a few years of football and Marine Corps will do to your knees and back. Just not the young after all.

After a few cups of coffee this morning ( more like a few gallons, ) I started looking for one of those four wheelers myself.
 
I've always chuckled at my nephew,,,

He does all of the odor control stuff,,,
Then drives to his stand on an ancient 2-stroke motorcycle.

Just doesn't make any sense to me,,,
But he harvests 2-3 deer each year that way.

Can't argue with success I always say.

Aarond
 
a guy on an atv doesnt seem to register as a major threat in south texas where I hunt. I have seen ATVs go by and the fair chase deer duck into minimal cover and wait for them to pass, then step out and go about their business. A guy walking to his stand registers as a threat and will spook deer more than an ATV. You also dont leave a predator scent trail on an ATV. If you are walking to your stand you are going to pass by deer whether you see them or not. You have to hope they forgot you walked by and believe the threat has passed before they go about their business as usual.
 
JerryM said:
I am almost persuaded that no one today, at least under age of 45, knows how to hunt.
Ride an ATV to the stand, sit in the stand, shoot a deer. Then carry him out on the ATV. That is not hunting, but just shooting without much effort or skill.
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Jerry, it really depends on what part of the country you are in.

Most of the East Coast, much of the South, and some parts of the Midwest essentially require you to still hunt (stand, blind, whatever). The plots of land have gotten so small, and availability of land open to hunting, so rare; that there isn't enough land to actually hunt the animals. Ambush tactics have to be used, while the deer are given a chance to wander through the forest/fields/whatever.


You, and I live in a different world. We have large tracts of private land open to the public (sometimes, with trespass fees), massive amounts of public land, National Forests with very few restrictions, and terrain that requires us to pursue and hunt the animals.

I grew up out West. Hunting (real, pursuit hunting) was what I knew. When I lived back East, I tried hunting.... It didn't work. To have a chance at bagging a deer, I had to still hunt (I sat in the bushes or my truck, since I couldn't afford a stand or blind)... and waited for the animals to come to me.

I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. ...but that doesn't make it any less valid. I took some of my (hated) experience back East, and rolled it into the methods I learned as a child. By getting a taste of both worlds, I feel like I'm a better hunter, now.

Now, rather than constantly pursuing my prey, I often use a hybrid method:
Scout the area. (Field glasses, eyeballs, and old-fashioned leg work.)
Locate the animals. (Same as above.)
Predict their path/destination. (Experience and scouting.)
Get in position for an ambush. (Walk/hike/climb, and find a place to sit, lay, crouch, or stand (rare, but happens).)
Wait for the shot. (Sometimes, the prediction was wrong... or the wind changed.)

It's not a method unique to myself. There are plenty of people that do the same. But... If I hadn't been forced to use the "deer waiting" methods back East, I never would have given the "Scout, Predict, and Ambush" method a shot out West. I'd still be relentlessly chasing the animals up the mountains, and across the desert.
 
I hunt on over 800 acres here in MO. and always hunt the deepest and farthest from roads,trails,and camp.
I always walk in to my stand and like to take my time walking in not to disturb the game or over heat in my hunting clothes,I also don't want the exhaust fumes or gas smells on my hunting clothes or near my deer stand.The only time I use a ATV is to set up my tripod stands before season and to bring my game out of the woods and fields without cutting ruts on the property we hunt.
 
JerryM said:
I am almost persuaded that no one today, at least under age of 45, knows how to hunt. Ride an ATV to the stand, sit in the stand, shoot a deer. Then carry him out on the ATV. That is not hunting, but just shooting without much effort or skill.
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As much as I enjoy a good woods walk, stalking through the underbrush, taking my time and doing it right, I must confess that several years ago I built my first deer blind. It's been up for three years, and taking a lesson from my Army days, I've continued to "improve the position" ever since. Comfortable chairs, sliding windows, a feeder at a measured 100 yards. I even have a heater in there. I admit that it's an ambush site, but when the weather is bone-cracking cold and the rain is coming down, I climb up in the blind and I'm warm and snug.

It's also good for breaking-in grandkids who are too young or fidgety to hunt alone. Once we're in the bliind, I don't care how much they fidget. The deer are very accustomed to the blind and don't pay any attention to it.

I also have a parking place for my Kawa Mule, about 50 yards from the blind. I hunt in an active oilfield and the deer pay no attention to motors running. There's always a motor running out there.
 
To the detractors of "deer waiting" as it is derisively being called, a very valid point was made in that the layout of the land in the east (I hunted for many years in No. VA) and the midwest (I now hunt in Western MO) does not allow for "stalking" deer over miles of open country. For one, the terrain is much more dense and you would not be able to sit and glass for an animal. Secondly, to the point made by FrankenMauser, the plots of land are much smaller and there are no huge public areas to hunt like there were when I hunted in Colorado. In VA I hunted small plots, sometimes as small as 10 or 15 acres. Extensive scouting in the preseason to determine where the deer were crossing my hunting property were essential. I didn't just hang a stand and wait, hoping to get lucky. Hunting over bait is illegal, so I didn't sit over a pile of corn waiting for a big buck to come in for a snack. Also, scent control is essential when stand hunting on small plots. When you are glassing animals from hundreds of yards away you can stink all you want, when you are within a few yards of a deer, you need to have made every effort to eliminate or mitigate your human odor. Also, don't kid yourselves that you are somehow a more honorable or more skilled hunter. I have hunted Elk and Antelope before, and that is often as much "ambushing" as stand hunting is. What is the difference between spotting an animal, moving into position to head him off, waiting for him to move to your position, and "ambushing" him when he comes into your shooting lane versus scouting an animal preseason and setting up an ambush position to catch him once the season begins? I just did the spotting and stalking ahead of time, thats all. Many times, I have been hunting out of a stand, seen an animal, not had an opportunity for a shot, then waited for the animal to pass by, got down, stalked the animal and successfully tagged it. There is no one "right" way to hunt, and attempting to belittle others doesn't pump you up or elevate you in anyway, except maybe in your own eyes.
 
Well said KC

A former coworker would just drive his pick up out to the edge of a field he had a spot where some brush would partially hide the truck and he could see down a long sendero. When he saw a deer he rolled the window down and took the shot. Then, you guessed it he then starts the engine and drives down to where the deer is and loads it up. He was older and couldn't walk the long distances any more and he got about as many deer as other hunters on that property.
bb
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He would be hauled away by the wardens if he did that in Wisconsin. No uncased, loaded firearms in or "on" any type of vehicle which of course means no shooting from any type of vehicle. They'll take your gun also. I've seen it happen. I was hunting on a friends marshy land and he had one of those amphibious boat things that go on land and water. We were way out in the field loading up to come back to camp and I put my rifle back in my case. Others just put their loaded guns in the vehicle and when we got back to camp there were the wardens who had been watching us with binoculars. I was the only one that didn't get a citation or have my rifle taken away. They did bring the rifles back later that day.
 
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I am glad I live in Idaho and have access to a fairly large amount of land to hunt on. Just under 350 acres. While Its small compared to many other places out here it does have 3 very promising things that being in the deer and elk.

The first one is that I planted lots of apple trees and I plant about 3 acres of corn every year, both attract the deer and elk There is all so a lot of trees and brush for them to hide in

Next there is a small stream which has a source of water and lots of brush near the water to hide in.

Last I don't let any thing happen on my land that scares away the deer/elk, That means no shooting and no dogs.

Many years there is only 1 shot fired on my land and that is from my back porch shooting a deer at 50-100 yards. then I let the deer have an entire year to get over it. We are only allowed one deer a year and I don't all ways draw for elk.

I do bow hunt a little more because that is less disturbing to the deer.
 
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