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montezuma

36 Cl.
Joined
Jun 3, 2023
Messages
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Location
Colorado
So I am in my hunting spot the other night on a closed road with 4 does about 30 yards in front of me. Been waiting several days for this buck I've been seeing to get within range. After sunset an atv comes down the closed road and stops at an angle as if to get a shot for the passenger. Something to my right goes bounding through the woods which I hope isn't the buck I've been waiting for. So I jump up waiving my arms not being sure if they were going to shoot as I was almost in the line of fire. The deer take off and the side by side with four people in look at me kinda dumb and just drive off like no big deal. Aggravating to say the least. I am not against atv's but if a road is closed stay off of it. Anyway just had to vent.
 
See my post in the “ weird elk hunt “ post. I also can’t stand it when ATV riders ignore the signs and go wherever the hell they feel like. I’m sort of a libertarian but in these cases I think the penalty should be confiscation of the ATV. Same with shooting deer from vehicles at night, confiscate the vehicle and firearms.
 
I imagine a giant mesa here in AZ, about a half hour from me. There’s cliffs all around the mesa where you would have to climb up there to get to it, on top is a veritable oasis of wildlife and a trout stream burbling over the edge into a giant waterful. A fiction of course, but just as sure as it actually existed, either 1. I wouldn’t be allowed to hunt on it. 2. They’d fly big groups of tourists all over and land in it and give hiking tours.

I guess what I’m saying is, it’s your hunt not theirs that was ruined. Your hunt will have its ups and downs. Get in more hunts and you’ll have more opportunity for ups. Also, you’ll know the place where no one ever goes and you’ll have it just to yourself.
 
So I am in my hunting spot the other night on a closed road with 4 does about 30 yards in front of me. Been waiting several days for this buck I've been seeing to get within range. After sunset an atv comes down the closed road and stops at an angle as if to get a shot for the passenger. Something to my right goes bounding through the woods which I hope isn't the buck I've been waiting for. So I jump up waiving my arms not being sure if they were going to shoot as I was almost in the line of fire. The deer take off and the side by side with four people in look at me kinda dumb and just drive off like no big deal. Aggravating to say the least. I am not against atv's but if a road is closed stay off of it. Anyway just had to vent.
People have a crappy way of ruining things for others no matter what it is.
 
I imagine a giant mesa here in AZ, about a half hour from me. There’s cliffs all around the mesa where you would have to climb up there to get to it, on top is a veritable oasis of wildlife and a trout stream burbling over the edge into a giant waterful. A fiction of course, but just as sure as it actually existed, either 1. I wouldn’t be allowed to hunt on it. 2. They’d fly big groups of tourists all over and land in it and give hiking tours.

I guess what I’m saying is, it’s your hunt not theirs that was ruined. Your hunt will have its ups and downs. Get in more hunts and you’ll have more opportunity for ups. Also, you’ll know the place where no one ever goes and you’ll have it just to yourself.
I hear ya. I'm already thinking about another area for next year. I know things aren't perfect but I guess I'll just adapt.
 
So I am in my hunting spot the other night on a closed road with 4 does about 30 yards in front of me. Been waiting several days for this buck I've been seeing to get within range. After sunset an atv comes down the closed road and stops at an angle as if to get a shot for the passenger. Something to my right goes bounding through the woods which I hope isn't the buck I've been waiting for. So I jump up waiving my arms not being sure if they were going to shoot as I was almost in the line of fire. The deer take off and the side by side with four people in look at me kinda dumb and just drive off like no big deal. Aggravating to say the least. I am not against atv's but if a road is closed stay off of it. Anyway just had to vent.
Would that not have been "shooting from a motor vehicle"?
 
Until 2 years ago, we had one pickup truck a day go past our farm. Then, one of the county commissioners sponsored a "poker run" or similar gig. Put out maps leading to the creek that runs through our farm via a gravel ford. The most we counted in one day was a Trump Road Rally - over 200 RTV/ATV's. Every weekend ...vroom..putt-putt...Metallica at 150 db..bark bark bark. Argh.

Sorta illegal to drive on public roads. No enforcement interest until predictable accidents/collisions. Poachers love 'em. My dogs hate 'em. Apparently electric mountain bikes are becoming the next big thing. At least they don't come with loud exhausts and boom boxes.
 
So I am in my hunting spot the other night on a closed road with 4 does about 30 yards in front of me. Been waiting several days for this buck I've been seeing to get within range. After sunset an atv comes down the closed road and stops at an angle as if to get a shot for the passenger. Something to my right goes bounding through the woods which I hope isn't the buck I've been waiting for. So I jump up waiving my arms not being sure if they were going to shoot as I was almost in the line of fire. The deer take off and the side by side with four people in look at me kinda dumb and just drive off like no big deal. Aggravating to say the least. I am not against atv's but if a road is closed stay off of it. Anyway just had to vent.
People doing what they want to do. Selfish pricks... I guess that's me venting.
 
So I am in my hunting spot the other night on a closed road with 4 does about 30 yards in front of me. Been waiting several days for this buck I've been seeing to get within range. After sunset an atv comes down the closed road and stops at an angle as if to get a shot for the passenger. Something to my right goes bounding through the woods which I hope isn't the buck I've been waiting for. So I jump up waiving my arms not being sure if they were going to shoot as I was almost in the line of fire. The deer take off and the side by side with four people in look at me kinda dumb and just drive off like no big deal. Aggravating to say the least. I am not against atv's but if a road is closed stay off of it. Anyway just had to vent.
I've had issues with ATV A**Holes also. I think most avid hunters have. Male Karens who just don't give a crap about others. Semper Fi.
 
I've had issues with ATV A**Holes also. I think most avid hunters have. Male Karens who just don't give a manure about others. Semper Fi.
Those D-bags wreck stuff for everybody. I can't tell you how many public access points to woods and creeks that have been closed around here due to those folks. I despise them. There is a piece of private property across the road from my place that some out of state guys lease every year for deer season. This year I've been hearing the ATV crowd over in those woods almost nightly. I wonder how that is going to impact those guys trying to hunt here in a couple months. I don't like those hunters either but, if they lease a spot, they should be able to hunt it without interference I reckon. The D-bags best keep it on that side of the road though...
 
I use an ATV to go up designated ATV roads/trails to the trailhead beyond which point you're walking. A short wheel base like a jeep may make it too, but much safer in an ATV with a 1000' drop 2' from the passenger door.

Putting out maps is nothing. Onx and Onx Offroad are what's happened. Now property lines, accesses, migration routs, and you name it are right on your GPS enabled phone. I had no service for 2 weeks in the Rockies, and my position and all the data were right on my phone, which I turned on and checked at least once a day. We recorded our track and everywhere we hunted across the Raggeds and the Snomass Wilderness Area. It's even more valuable around private property to keep you legal.

There's not going to be any "secret" hunting spots that aren't private going forward. It's either hunting and ML is dying, or there's too many damn hunters! Take your pick.
 
BHA used to have a bumper sticker that read, "Use the quads God gave you!" I really liked it.

Then I went and bought an ATV this year to use up at our place. I'm nothing if not a fat hypocrite sometimes.

I've been really giving some thought to taking it on my late season hunt on public land. Mind, you this would only get me as far as the trailhead into a wilderness area and no further. Cutting 3 miles of dirt road off my hike out is mighty attractive, especially with the injuries I've picked up recently.
 
I use an ATV to get to remote hunting areas on designated trails, then hunt on foot. We go back 20 miles then hunt moose on foot. Maximum 1.5 miles from the trail as it takes about 8-9 hours to carry a moose out that far. We are a big country here so people are pretty spread out and after August most of the ATV riders are done and it's just hunters left. If we didn't use an ATV to get in and out there's no way I could hunt that area. Once we get back that far we're rid of all the truck road hunters too. Also here we are not allowed to use our ATV's from midnight until noon the next day so you always have the morning hunt undisturbed.
 
I’ve got a piece of posted land I have exclusive hunting rights to. Couple years ago I saw ATV tracks leading right up to where my ladder stand used to be, *******s stole it. Also had someone ride an ATV up to one of my coyote sets and steal whatever was in the trap and had trap. I could see where they used the ATV to pull the trap stake. Last year I saw ATV tracks going into my hunting area and followed them right to where my trail camera used to be. *******s stole that too !!
I try to get as far off the road as possible so my gear doesn’t get stolen but these ATVs can and do go anywhere.
 
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