bows and ATVs

[5deer]

cold and a bit of fog this morning,quiet.then a snap on my left,there he was a nice two by three.I'm waiting for him-seems like hours.he starts to come my way,the wind is in my face.he stops at 45 yds. and looks back at some thing-a bigger buck?.then I hear it,o no.ATV-in the woods coming our way.Gone -
the rider passes by,never saw me or the deer he spooked.    well I was only coyote hunting anyway,my late hunt starts on Nov.22 - is this what
bow hunting has become?  

[BOWMARKS]

Do not get down on all ATV;S in the woods it could be someone like myself who cannot walk !  
I hunt strictly from my ATV it is the only means i have to still enjoy my passion for archery hunting !

[5deer]

and for that I love ya and God bless ya  

[Joe Clark]

ATV's qualify for the 3% rule. Just like most things it's 3% of the people using them that screws it up for the other 97% of us. We use ATV on our lease but we are not allowed to take autos on to the lease. We all park in a community area and ride ATV in from there some have to go as far as 3-4 miles. Anyway we are all considerate and nobody joy rides around during hunting hours strictly business with the ATVs.

[Soilarch]

It's by pure luck only.  (Bad luck that is.)  That I've had more hunts ruined...em...I mean "altered" by people on foot than by ATVs or any other vehicle for that matter.

Only happened once but it was a guy on foot.

I won't share the whole story but I'll tell you the end:

.....and then he said, "Hey, did ya see all those does in the corner of the field?  There were 3 or 4 big ones!"

                   

[Jeremy]

I've had a lot of hunts, uh, altered by ATVs here... about every 3rd hunt for the past five years.  They are illegal on state lands.
Where legal I don't have an issue with them, but guys tearing up already stressed forests and not sticking to trails really get me going.  Even the nature preserve down the road has ruts all through it!

[Brian Krebs]

BOWMARKS - we can all live with your atv altering our hunt; its the 800 pound fat guy that is to stinkin lazy to walk ; or the guys that drive through where your hunting to get to another spot; and that drive off road; and that have absolutley no respect for others that make me angry.

 I think that most ATV hunters are afraid of the woods; and need the crutch of being able to get away from the darkness and the boogy monsters in it - in a fast way.

 Out here in Idaho; you can go see where the wagons that first came through Idaho left ruts in the ground. After all this time not being used; the ruts are still there ( Oregon Trail).

 Seems like when one ATV idiot drives off road and leaves ruts - all the others follow not knowing they are doing anything wrong. It may be 3%. It is a 3% that can ruin 97% of everyones hunts.

 And it needs to be controlled.

[Old York]

From Brian Krebs: "It is a 3% that can ruin 97% of everyones hunts. And it needs to be controlled."


AMEN!

[Dave2old]

Give licenses to those who are disabled (other than through their own longtime physical neglect or abuse) to ride ATVs in hunting country -- so long as they are not trespassing -- and let the rest of us walk ... so we can continue walking. I am making no value judgments re weight or anything else, but the fact is that in recent years ATV abusers and overusers have run me and most other "old fashioned" hunters I know out of all or most of our old-favorite public lands hunting spots here in the West. Hunting is about silence. Motors don't fit. No matter whether we love or hate ATVs, elk and other big game run away from them ... dozens of scientific studies confirm this if you haven't experienced it yourself. As Colorado's award-winning game warden here says publicly every chance he gets: "If we don't bring ATV abuse and over-use under control soon, it will be the end of hunting as we have known and loved it." Trying to be objective here -- no name-calling or blind hate ... they just don't fit with hunting, esp. on public lands. dave

[Don Thomas]

I second what Dave said. With the exception of special use situations for legitimately disabled hunters, ATV's bring nothing good to the table and a whole lot of bad. Don

[adkmountainken]

i am all for the disabled, aside from that i can't stand atvs. i'm sure many think they have their place in the woods but i don't see it that, had one when i was a teenager, do not want anything to do with them know. have saw waaaay to much land either ripped up or land owners angry over miss use. every is entitled to there opinion, this is mine.

[centaur]

My wife and I trail ride on established trails with our ATVs in the summer. I also use it to get to fishing holes in the summer. I don't hunt off of mine. Since I camp from my pickup camper, an ATV is much more convenient than breaking camp if I need to drive somewhere. There are boneheads in every pastime; too bad that ATV boneheads mar the land and give legimate users a bad name. My ATV goes on my elk hunts to get to where the hunting starts; on forest service roads, not even on ATV trails. You won't see me 'hunting' while riding. They have no place being used as a vehicle to 'hunt' from, disabled folks excepted, but even then, they shouldn't go where they will intrude on others. I do agree that a small percentage of idiots are the problem.

[upatree]

Timber company won't allow any trucks on the lease.  It is about a 3 mile hike and it's up and down small hills.  ATV is the only way to get deer out.  We only use them on the main roads.  Then walk into the woods to the stand locations.  I have not had a hunt ruined by an atv yet.
Sorry that some people will not walk to there stands.

[Kyle Lancaster]

Around here (VA & WVA) ATV's and hunters are linked. I don't own one and never will. I can't help but wonder what image Non-hunters minds conjure up when they see a "hunter" pulling an ATV?? Do they ride around shooting at animals? Park under their stands? In my opinion, ATVs and "hunters" do not present a good image to non-hunters.
Kyle

[Hattrick]

They have there place, when i used to hunt in Canada for spring bear religious we did are own bait runs an hunted on are own. We had 10-12 baits over about 35 miles of old timber roads, there was no way any body could do those bait runs on foot if they could i would gladly call them Sir. The funny thing  there was always talk about ATV thing at are hunting camps back in the states with the same group of guys, when we were Canada those hard core guys never complain a bit about those bikes. Funny how opinions can change day by day:) Those how have em just need to respectful!! THEY HAVE A PLACE

[MI_Bowhunter]

I agree that they have a place.  I have one and I use it where legal.   Like many other activities its always the "few" that ruin it for the many.  

I've had many more hunts ruined by other inconsiderate hunters on foot then by ATV's.

Also, I live 300+ miles from my primary hunting location.   Having an ATV lets me drive my more fuel efficient car to the cabin and then use the ATV to get to the hunting locations via seasonal roads that get pretty nasty in the fall/winter.

[Roadkill]

I went to our sttate senators and proposed they follow up with Dave's group.  they told me the lobby for that industry would pin cushion them.  So much for moral courage.

I propose that we go back to the 1996 DeLorme maps.  any "road" on that set of maps would be authorized-no other travel.  This si as good a compromise as anyone could hope for.  In this day of GPS only an idiot couldn't see when the old road ran out.

They do not belong anywhere but on roads.  Folks with an real handicap might be able to use them a little beyond.

One quad up a hill makes ruts-winter rain turns them into canyons.

There is a hill on my way home; there are no less than 7 trails to the top of a 200 feet high hill.  How many ways do we actually need?

[Cory Mattson]

I like ATV's a lot on private land - nothing comes close to streamlining chores - moving stands, blinds - and they are the best thing ever for getting game back to camp. I do keep them on a short leash though - not allowed to fire up before 9:00 AM - can use all over between 10:00 & 2:00 - then OK to pick up game in full dark. In general though hunters and ATV's ARE linked - in WV and Utah "bowhunters" DO ride around looking for a shot - and DO shoot off of em - maybe jumping off for the actual shot. WV is so rugged in many places this hasn't destroyed the hunting (Yet) --- in Utah we have had so many hunts ruined it is sickening - an ample number of bowhunters in Utah have NO regard for any sense of fair chase or reasonable land use. Public land is definitely a problem when adding ATV's because so many use them as a shortcut. If there was a way to limit them to bringing out game ONLY - like with a tag system - that could move towards proper use - and limited impact. And not singling out WV & UT in any other way except that we have had so much personal experience (BAD) in those states.
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[Jeff Strubberg]

ATV's on private land are the owners buisness.

ATV's on public land are not something I can support.  You simply have no idea whose hunt, picnic or backapcking trip you are ruining by riding on public ground.

[Don Stokes]

I have bad legs from polio when I was 4. I use my ATV to get within a couple hundred yards of my stand, and walk the rest of the way. Without my ATV, I wouldn't be able to retrieve a deer without help, so it's a real blessing to me. On the other hand, one of my hunts this year was interrupted by a "neighbor" riding his through our posted land, right at prime time. He stopped about 75 yards from me and started smoking something. I whistled and he left, but no deer used the trail that evening.

ATV's don't ruin hunting, slob riders do.