I’ve owned an ATV of some sort since I was 18 years old. Back in the early 90’s, I purchased a mostly worn out 3 wheeler, which worked for a couple years. A while after that, I upgraded to a brand new Honda 4 wheeler, which served as my pride and joy for many years in the deer woods.
I found that having an ATV was extremely valuable when deer hunting, especially when hunting solo. Below are the main reasons a deer hunter needs an ATV.
1. Hauling Deer
Looking back, it’s hard to imagine how far I dragged some of those bucks I killed before I owned a quad. I remember the first long distance deer recovery our hunting group ever made using an “atv”. We used an old go-cart to passenger a deer down a closed gated road. As dumb as it looked, that sure beat the hell out of dragging a deer 1/2 a mile!
An ATV of any kind is a godsend when you kill a buck that far off the road. That’s assuming, of course, that you hunt in an area that allows ATV use.
Especially when hunting alone, an ATV speeds up a deer recovery, and gets you back home to your family quicker.
Down South, a quick recovery is especially important when the temps are soaring, particularly during early bow season.
2. Traveling To And From Remote Areas
One of the biggest advantages of having an ATV for hunting is being able to travel to far off stands and hunting areas.
Remote areas may not even be accessible at all to cars and trucks. Many times an all terrain vehicle opens up those otherwise inaccessible places to you.
With the cost of vehicles these days, most deer hunters I know don’t want to scratch up their $40,000 to $50,000 truck and get it all muddy. An ATV allows you to leave your vehicle safely back at camp.
Another benefit to having a 4 wheeler is not having to walk quite as far to the deer stand. A shorter walk often saves you from getting drenched in sweat. A long walk also becomes more and more difficult as you age.
3. Speeds Up Scouting
Before I owned an off road vehicle myself, I hunted with guys that did have one. I saw first hand what a huge time savings it was when scouting huge swaths of land. So much more ground can be covered quickly with a little help from a motorized vehicle.
4. Food Plot Discing
There are several styles of ATV discs to match different sized ATV’s. I’m a believer in one style in particular, the Groundhog Max. These little discs, as seen below, allow you to fly around a food plot with ATV’s as small as a Honda 300. You would be amazed at how well they work. The faster you go, the better they work.
5. Spraying Chemicals
Another great benefit to an ATV or a UTV is the ability to spray chemicals on your food plots. Many deer hunters use a sprayer attached to their quad in order to put out glyphosate ahead of planting for the year. For very small plots, you can get away with a backpack sprayer, but the closer to an acre you get, the more you’ll want the quad’s help.
6. Spreading Fertilizer, Seed And Lime
Another very common use of an ATV by deer hunters is for spreading things, whether that be food plot seed, fertilizer, or lime. A 4-wheeler is often much more convenient than dealing with a tractor. ATV’s really excel at spreading things on small plots under an acre.
7. Entertain Kids
I have fond memories of riding 3 wheelers at deer camp when I was a little kid. ATV’s, used in a safe manner, are great memory making machines for kids.
There is nothing wrong with joy riding on your quad, or even a little mud riding every now and then. Just try not to completely bury it!
The more fun activities you can involve your kids in at deer camp, the more likely they’ll want to come back.
8. Hauling Deer Stands
Another huge benefit to owning an ATV is for the ease of transportation of deer stands. In an ideal world, we would be able to drive our trucks right to where we want to erect a deer stand. That’s just not the reality I have lived with.
Without an off road vehicle, it really limits your deer stand placement options. Even climbing stands get really heavy on very long walks.
Conclusion
There are certainly a few hassles that come along with owning any motorized vehicle. ATV’s are no exception to this. You’ll have the up-front costs, as well as ongoing expenses, such as insurance and maintenance. Don’t forget that you have to have some way to load it, whether that be with a set of ATV ramps or a trailer.
As demonstrated in the list above, I think an ATV or UTV is an invaluable resource to a deer hunter. Buy a quality quad and it will last you for many years. My Honda has served me well for over 20 years now! In my opinion they are well worth the expense.
If you decide to purchase an ATV and are wondering about the best way to load and transport it, check out my post about that here.
Have a great deer season!
Augustus Clay
