Elk hunting with atv’s

[nwihunter]

Is this a thing any of you do? I don’t mean just running up and down trails with your atv, but using them to get further than you could with your truck. Providing its legal to do so. I was thinking about maybe a future hunt where I might load my quad with all my camping and hunting gear and go in deep. Possibly camp by the atv and head out from there. I’m not looking for an easy way out. On the 2 elk hunts I’ve gone on I would hike up to 10 miles a day so I’m not afraid putting on the miles to get in deeper . I know this a general question. Just wandering if anyone uses this style of hunting. I’m really new to all of this.

 

[Pelican]

I don't hunt like you are proposing, but some folks certainly do just that in Colorado. Some trails have a 50'' max vehicle width, so motorcycles and atv's only. You would be able to avoid those of us with full sized vehilces, but atv's are so ubiquitous these days, I think you will still have lots of company.

 

[Fremont15]

With my last three bulls I’ve killed, my side x side was necessary to get to the place from which I hiked. They are an excellent tool

 

[LuketheDog]

ATVs are great, they keep most of the knuckleheads on the trails and out of the hunting spots...

 

[LCH]

Sometimes I wish I had one. I packed my elk last year 2.5 miles, although there was a road less than 1 mile from the kill site, because it was wet and I didn't think I could get the truck in and out on the muddy 2-track. The only truck I saw drive it was a lifted Tacoma, and it had plenty of mud caked into the fenders.

 

[Middleagedbalding]

In the current cycle of the internet backcountry hunter, even admitting that you thought about using an atv is a huge no no. Please repent before any further posts.

 

[Cerebral Stalker]

Four-wheelers are great to get in farther before you start your hiking/hunting. If you don't use four-wheelers and others do, you're limiting yourself. Of course you can still be successful, but why not give yourself more options. Rather have 'em and not need 'em than the other way around. I wouldn't hesitate to take camp in on a four-wheeler and head out from there.

 

[brockel]

Good tool to get to the trail head faster and not beat the hell out of your pickup

 

[marshman]

Personally I wish they were banned from most everywhere off established roads during open hunting seasons. ATVs - or the people that ride them have caused me much consternation over the years.
I do not care for the environmental damage they cause either.

 

[Pagosa]

I personally use them to avoid tearing up my truck, and I obey the rules. They do save a lot of time on rough 4WD roads. We utilize a utv and truck to hunt through remote canyons by shuttling via access points.

 

[Nameless Range]

Yes.

atv's and elk hunting

As much as I would like one at times around the ranch or for game retreval,I have had too many run ins with idiots on them miles from the nearest atv rt in recent years. Warning! I am going back to my disable & report tactics now......

www.hunttalk.com

 

[brockel]

Can also use it like I do while running trapline. Drop 4wheeler off at a certain point and drive to another so I can hike my way back to the 4wheeler and not backtrack

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

nothing wrong with using them where allowed,,follow the rules,stay on the proper roads and trails,be considerate to others,,they are a good tool and way to get around the rough roads.

 

[Ajax2744]

I think it's required to use an ATV during Colorado muzzleloader hunts...I could be wrong though

 

[SAJ-99]

I am for them in the case of game retrieval. People using them to "go deep" is often the reason they have to go deep. Around me, the traffic from ATV's on BLM lands is the primary reason elk find private land in the first 72 hours of the bow season.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

I wouldn't mind owning one as they're certainly useful in a lot of situations.

But guys definitely abuse the rules on em and it really chaps my ass.

 

[Walkathon]

I find them useful for driving on legal roads/trails and not destroying my truck. Like others have said, it sucks when people don't follow the rules and drive them wherever they feel like driving.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Their utility obviously depends on access opportunities and Motor Vehicle Use restrictions on federal land, which vary by Forest/Field Office. Some places they'd come in real handy, some places they're close to useless.

 

[BDH]

The main reason I use my quad is that I rather tear my quad up instead of tearing my tuck up. It is a lot easier to get my 2004 big bear unstuck than a 2014 taco.

RLTW

 

[nwihunter]

Four-wheelers are great to get in farther before you start your hiking/hunting. If you don't use four-wheelers and others do, you're limiting yourself. Of course you can still be successful, but why not give yourself more options. Rather have 'em and not need 'em than the other way around. I wouldn't hesitate to take camp in on a four-wheeler and head out from there.

That’s kinda my way of thinking. On my first Colorado hunt we would hike in on a 50” and under trail a few miles from the trail head, only to have atv’s pass us up. I was just thinking if I was already that deep in and hiking back in deeper we could have been more productive. It seemed like we wasted a lot of time walking the trail in and out.