ATV for hunting

Funny how this thread went. I think I was the first to buck the big quad trend, saying how my 350 Yamaha was big enough, etc. I even stuck my neck out and suggested a 300 to 350 would be just right for him.
Now we find out there are lots of people out there with the same idea. I mentioned the advantage of getting through the bush with a smaller one, but some one mentioned the much greater ease of hauling them. I even found a canopy for my Cummins Dodge, that will allow the 350 Big Bear to be loaded in. It has made at least five trips to Arizona in the winter in that canopy, and wife and I have ridden over a great deal of back trails, dry washes and anywhere else we could go, down there, including the great sand dunes of California. Arizona is really a fabulous place for back country quading.
 
I disagree on independent rear suspension being better.

With IRS (independent rear suspension) the more weight you have on the ATV, or on a trailer will make the bike "squat" down and feel really "squishy" over bumps ect. You can adjust the preload setting in the rear suspension but I find with heavy loads even on #5 (maxed out) it's still really squishy for a work quad. If your just trail riding/mudin' no doubt IRS is better, but for work, no way. SRA (sold rear axle) on the other hand won't squat down with extra weight on the bike, or with a trailer hooked up. Yes the body will sit lower with weight on a SRA quad, but it wont effect ground clearance like a IRS quad, and you dont get that squishy feeling. I sold my last work quad for this very reason and went to a SRA as a work bike. My "fun" bike has IRS.

Something else nobody has talked about is cooling system. IMO a oil with backup fan cooler is better then any liquid cooled bike out there:p. I've yet to see a oil/fan cooled bike overheated on the side of a trail because a little mud blocked the cooling in system :p. Last weekend my brother and I managed to overheat 2 liquid cooled bikes:redface:

Also 4x4 usually means 3/half wheel drive. Sometimes the 1/2 power to a front wheel means your getting stuck, where a true 4 wheel drive would have powered threw. Kawi, suzuki, yamaha, honda all use to make good work bikes with AWD. Harder to steer though. Polaris has AWD, reviewes are mixed about reliability. Mine is a 07 with about 1500mi and no issues. My brother's polaris has a electrical issue fixed under warranty, no other problems and about 2500mi.

Now i'll wait for the s**t storm :D
 
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Also forgot to say i've had nothing but bad luck with warn winch!! Have a warn on my polaris, it works sometimes. The cheap china 2500# one on my bigbear has been used a lot more, in tougher situations and is flawless for half the price.
 
I have a larger quad ('05 Suzuki King Quad 700) and my father has a Yamaha Big Bear 350 from the late 90s, and for most situations where you would be hauling a moose out of the bush I would take the smaller Yammy any day. However, cruising logging roads is another case. Both have Warn winches, and they work well. The only thing I would recommend, is the first chance you get, upgrade your tires if you are going to be in moose country. I find most stock tires to be inadequate when it comes to traction in muddy/soft/snowy situations. The difference is like night and day.
 
Jimbobob08 said:
I disagree on independent rear suspension being better.

With IRS (independent rear suspension) the more weight you have on the ATV, or on a trailer will make the bike "squat" down and feel really "squishy" over bumps ect. You can adjust the preload setting in the rear suspension but I find with heavy loads even on #5 (maxed out) it's still really squishy for a work quad. If your just trail riding/mudin' no doubt IRS is better, but for work, no way. SRA (sold rear axle) on the other hand won't squat down with extra weight on the bike, or with a trailer hooked up. Yes the body will sit lower with weight on a SRA quad, but it wont effect ground clearance like a IRS quad, and you dont get that squishy feeling. I sold my last work quad for this very reason and went to a SRA as a work bike. My "fun" bike has IRS.

Something else nobody has talked about is cooling system. IMO a oil with backup fan cooler is better then any liquid cooled bike out there:p. I've yet to see a oil/fan cooled bike overheated on the side of a trail because a little mud blocked the cooling in system :p. Last weekend my brother and I managed to overheat 2 liquid cooled bikes:redface:

Also 4x4 usually means 3/half wheel drive. Sometimes the 1/2 power to a front wheel means your getting stuck, where a true 4 wheel drive would have powered threw. Kawi, suzuki, yamaha, honda all use to make good work bikes with AWD. Harder to steer though. Polaris has AWD, reviewes are mixed about reliability. Mine is a 07 with about 1500mi and no issues. My brother's polaris has a electrical issue fixed under warranty, no other problems and about 2500mi.

Now i'll wait for the s**t storm :D
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IRS : If you're buying a bike to work with, a solid rear axel is the way to go. IF you're just hunting, trail riding, snow plowing...IRS is very nice. Comfy.

I have a 660 Grizzly and it'll pull a 1000lb bull moose through the swamp like it's free!!

Cooling. Oil probably is better. I haven't had too many problems with the liquid cooling system in the grizzly, but it has on rare occasion heated up. (Generally in extreme conditions in 28+ degree weather.) But for the most part, it works pretty good.

4x4. There's lots of good systems out there, pending your application. I ove the CanAm 800...but I don't like the Visco-lok system. I don't like "auto-sensing AWD systems". I like 4x4 that when I shift the levers, I know what's going to happen!

2wd mode - both rears spin (exactly the same time)
4x4 engages the front axels.
Diff Lock - Locks it up. All 4's turn exactly the same time. (Making it nearly impossible to steer....really....you shouldnt be steering much with your diff's locked anyway!)
A lot of manufacturers have power steering now, which makes it easier to turn with locked diffs, and it also gets rid of "handle bar whip"...If you don't know what that is....you will!! ;)
 
H4831 said:
I have an older Yamaha Big Bear, 350 cc engine. I once went on quite a major early moose hunt, any bull legal, with friend with older Honda 300.
We cut trail for over quarter of a mile, and one trip hauled out a larger than average, by quite a bit, bull moose.
There is a lot of advantages to smaller, four wheel drive quads. For starters, they will squeeze between trees better than the larger machines. And when you are working your way through the bush it is surprising how many trees are just that distance apart.
I would look for a smaller used one. I still would hate to say which is the best make, but they are all tremendous machines, and will last for many years, with just common sense operation and minimal maintanence. There are oodles of old ones out there in great shape, in the $3,000 and up a bit class.
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I have the same machine. It's quite capable of pulling a moose on it's own, if it's hitched properly, and well ballasted.
We've pulled a number of moose with a 300 Honda as well.
Be aware that with any size ATV, pulling a moose can be a chore, if the terrain is not forgiving. you might have to get creative in a few spots, or use two machines. It's serious work for the machine, and not a time for high speed, or stunts. The weight of a moose can turn your machine over with ease, if you are not careful.
 
yes, when I said we took out the big moose, it was four quarters I was referring to.
Much nicer on the meat to butcher it on the spot and take out the quarters. Old time meat hunters would never move wild meat until it was cold and set.
 
Jimbobob08 said:
Also forgot to say i've had nothing but bad luck with warn winch!! Have a warn on my polaris, it works sometimes. The cheap china 2500# one on my bigbear has been used a lot more, in tougher situations and is flawless for half the price.
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X2, they are not what they should be for the $$. You are probably better off buying 2 cheap ones and keep the spare one in your tool box. The biggest problem I see with the Warn is the lack of proper seals. Nothing to keep the dirt and water out...

FWIW I drive a Sportsman 500 EFI and I'll never own anything bigger. No need. If you can't do it with a 400 or 500, you're in trouble...:D
 
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I use my wifes Yamaha Kodiak 350 4x4 and it works great. You could go bigger (500 I recommend) but this machine hauls my 275lbs a$$ around just fine. :D
 
i just picked up a grizzly 700 with power steering a few weeks ago and this thing is a tank. sure its bigger than i need but its funny seeing the reactions when i do a catwalk on such a big machine.:D the power steering is awesome for rugged terrain as your arms dont get jerked around like a non EPS atv. 4 wheel disc brakes stop you a little too quickly....

ITP mud lites are a great tire. i have been stuck 2 times so far. once in a hole where a tree uprooted. no quad would make it out of that and im an idiot for trying. the second time was mud that was like really thick gravy and it was almost to the headlights. im always the leader no matter who i go with. if i cant make it...nobody else will;)


there are so many options out there you will have a hard time picking one
 
There are many different opinions on the locking method of the front diff. I've got the Visco-lok as mentioned on my 800. It is basically a hydraulic pump, as one wheel starts spinning faster than the other, the oil gets pumped, locking up the front diff. Its hands free and kicks in while you are still moving although does not lock 100% like a cable locker which unfortunately you must come to a complete stop to activate, hopefully not getting you stuck.
It really depends on what you are going to use it for, if its only for hunting a couple weeks a year, you could just rent one.
 
We quarter in camp, if possible, and we have a 4" steel pipe we can hang a moose on if the temps permit.
We also have taken moose out in quarters. The big guys like to fall down in bad places some times. Quartering while standing in freezing cold water is a memory that will stick with you.
Last year one of the guys built a low trailer, long and skinny, with a walking beam axle setup. We've not tried it on anything huge, but an average Ontario Bull came out easily winched up on this rig.
 
blargon said:
You are probably better off buying 2 cheap ones and keep the spare one in your tool box.
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a cheap winch is something you want to stay away from. my buddy bought one at royal that was on sale and it wouldnt even pull his kodiak 400 out of a stream that he was barely stuck in. my warn pulled my grizzly 700 through 3ft of slop that i couldnt even walk through...actually used that cheap winch to haul myself out:D

even if the warn only lasts a few years its still worth spending the extra $$$ on something that can really pull.


a winch anchor is something you should also consider buying or making. never know when you will get buried where theres no trees around.

anyone ever made one?
 
canadian hunter312 said:
a cheap winch is something you want to stay away from. my buddy bought one at royal that was on sale and it wouldnt even pull his kodiak 400 out of a stream that he was barely stuck in. my warn pulled my grizzly 700 through 3ft of slop that i couldnt even walk through...actually used that cheap winch to haul myself out:D

even if the warn only lasts a few years its still worth spending the extra $$$ on something that can really pull.


a winch anchor is something you should also consider buying or making. never know when you will get buried where theres no trees around.

anyone ever made one?
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Thats what the axe is for ;)
 
Check out Viper winches if you don't want to pay for warn. They are getting really good reviews on all the ATV websites.
motoalliance. com
 
Boomer I used to hunt from a canoe alot here in BC there is a chain of lakes just north of Prince George that have small creeks with beaver dams running between them.

We would hunt the creeks between the lakes everyone else road hunted or just stayed in the main lake and most of them went home without game we limited out every time.

The best time was a group of 4 guys had been in their camp for about 2 weeks and had not seen a moose, we arrived put the boat in that afternoon headed down to the end of the main lake unloaded the canoe and shot the first moose about 25 minutes later only 400 yards up the creek.

After getting it packed into the canoe we got back to camp after dark so they didn't see the moose hanging until the next morning.

Two days later we shot another one oh man those guys hated us...

We were successful because we had a canoe along, this was about 20 years ago and I have been using ATV's ever since I'm thinking I need to dig the old canoe out and hunt in the quiet solitude that it provides again...
 
The wife finally let me buy a quad after four years of whinning, so I picked me up a 2008 Arctic Cat 400. This will definately get lots of use aslong I can can be home and not away for a hunting season.
 
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