BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

[moderator]

Full Story:
Hunting on Horseback: The Original ATV

Please use this area to post comments or questions about this feature article.

[bitmasher]

I enjoyed this article. For some reason I had never really considered a horse for hunting.

I just figured horses would hate the gun fire, I was surprised to learn that horses could be trained to get used to gun fire. I figured the blood from the game animal would make them skiddish... just goes to show you I don't know much about horses. :smile:

[chechatonga]

Horses = problems, IMO, the ATV is the way to go unless your a horse person, in which case you add your hobbies together on your outing. They are just chock full of problems, feed, water, tack, shelter if weather bad, the heck with horses, ATV, gas, and if you want fancy a tarp to cover it.

[expatriate]

I'm a little torn on the issue. I tend to agree that I really like the idea of parking the ATV and forgetting it until I need it again. I'd lose interest in the ATV pretty quick if I had to go out there constantly and pump gas into it, wash it, hire a mechanic to come out and tweak it all the time, etc. But then, I raised cattle and hogs and in my opinion horses require way too much maintenance as a species.

But then again, an ATV doesn't have a horse's personality (is that good or bad?), and with today's restrictions you can take a horse a lot more places than you can ever take an ATV. I gotta admit there's been times when I've trudged a long way through snow on an elk hunt and come across hunters on horses, sitting up high and comfortable like George Washington. Gave me an idea of what it must've been like at Valley Forge.

I just don't know if it'd be worth the expense and effort. You've got to have the horse because you like horses as a hobby, and not simply as hunting transportation.

[bitmasher]

Quote:
I gotta admit there's been times when I've trudged a long way through snow on an elk hunt and come across hunters on horses, sitting up high and comfortable like George Washington. Gave me an idea of what it must've been like at Valley Forge.


You have more noble thoughts than I. Usually their are a few practical things going through my head in this situation:

- Damn this elk is heavy, should have brought a !%*^* atv or horse.

- Damn my feet are beat, that horse would be mighty fine!

Either way, I think a horse could help you get into terrain that only your feet and determination would otherwise. 4 wheel drive (on a truck or atv) is great but it does have its limits.

All this is theoretical for me, I have never used a horse for a hunt or an atv for that matter...

[Lever-action-lover]

I would think that going on an ATV would scare away game..... Maybe not but...

[expatriate]

If vehicles scared away game you wouldn't see as many road hunters as you do.

A lot of it no doubt boils down to what the game is seeing throughout the year. Game animals are smart, and don't inherently fear mechanical things. Go to Yellowstone and you'll see this exhibited in a big way by all kinds of animals paying no attention to gawking tourists. Over time they learn to associate things with threats. I'd wager that if deer see ATVs year 'round but horses only during hunting season, a horse will spook them more than an ATV.

[gunslinger338]

My daughter and I just got back from our late season elk hunt. We both were able to get a cow. We used horses; and of course there were horse problems, minor. But without the use of them we would not have elk hanging in the shop. First it was a walk in unit, and even if it wasn't I don't think an ATV could cover the terrain we were riding in with the deep snow. There is no perfect hunting rig. Tall mountains, deep snow, and notched tags what more could one want :smile:

[Keepitsimple]

ATV's disturb other hunters, I know they disturb me. They're noisy as hell and leave permanent scares on the landscape. If you can't walk, buy a horse if you can't afford the upkeep of the horse walk. If you can't do either stick to the roads, lord knows there are enough of them carving up the land.

[gunslinger338]

I'm with you all the way !!!!!

[ult-predator]

There has to be room for both ATV's and the Horses /mules etc. We will always find people that dont like either of em, but they both have their good sides. I love my horses, and have many times admired them and thanked them for getting me into and out of places I could not hunt without them. Many years and nearly twenty elk have I taken out on my back, wondering all the time how a beast of burden would be in that situation. Now I have a meager 10 years of horse experience. I am no cowboy or "horse person" ,but they do bring a measure of something different to the table in a back-country hunt. Yes, they need tending, water, feed, training and can be jerks. Often I would love to back on only my backpack etc, but the flip side is when I "cowboyed" down a narrow elk trail on my horse, over a rock outcropping and returned the same way all packed up with my 6x bull the rush wouldn't be near the same with out them. My mare will stand all fours on a stretched, bloody elk hide and not freak out...some definetly will. There's good ones and trouble ones thats for sure. If I knew of plenty of public land accesable by atv I would own one of them too! The ATV hunters dont offend me, they have the right to choose the same as me...as long as they are not trespasing on land closed to motor traffic. Just thought I would jump in.........

[Keepitsimple]

Your point is well made and given the clarification about not trespassing on closed land well validated. I did not start out being opposed to people using ATV's to access hunting land. Too me they are no different than a vehicle with the exception of size. However, given the ease of mobility it wasn't long before ATV's were infringing on non-vehicle land. There use now is abhorrent, I like to hunt big marshes, primarily because their access is limited to those willing to make the hike. Hunting pressure is usually very low. Last year some jerk drove his four wheeler out into this marsh about 1 mile. Would you believe that the evidence...ie his tracks can still be seen clearly as they crushed the cranberry bog. Fortunately a few of our local game wardens share my distaste and have put out notice that anyone caught off a designated trail will be fined heavily. It's too bad there arn't more of them. I've decided that should I see my buddy or any other for that matter out in the marsh on his 4 wheeler I'll do whatever I can to make getting the four wheeler back out more difficult than getting it in.

[chechatonga]

If it was me and a person was seen fussing with my ATV (maliciously), he would have a harder time getting back out.

[Keepitsimple]

Keep it on the trail and it won't be an issue.

[expatriate]

Now that sounds like classic eco-terrorism. For some reason, modern-day luddites are under the impression that if they don't agree with my choice of recreation, they're entitled to vandalize it.

Something has changed in the left wing -- Gandhi or Martin Luther King would never have condoned sabotage, but for some reason today's environmentalists seem to think their moral belief places them above the law and entitles them to inflict justice on behalf of the Earth Mother. In my book this places them in the same category as the Klan, Nazis, Aryan Nations, Hamas, Al Qaeda, and every other organization that uses some political agenda to justify hate-based destruction.

I'll admit lawbreakers need to be punished. But nobody appointed you judge, jury, and executioner. Did it occur to you that by disabling somebody's ATV you could be stranding him in the wild and perhaps endangering his life? If he winds up lost or injured, are you going to reimburse the search and rescue forces that have to save him?

I'm all for turning the guy in if he's breaking the law. But you have no more right to touch that ATV than I do to slash somebody's tires because I don't like their PETA bumper sticker. Vandalism and childish behavior just marginalizes your cause.

Forgive me for sounding harsh, but this kind of thing gets under my skin. I may disagree with the left on a lot of issues, but I keep my hands off their stuff.

[ This Message was edited by: expatriate on 2003-03-11 21:14 ]