Hunting with ATV

KodiakHntr said:
Should Huntsville, Parry Sound, Kearny, mean something to me? (Serious question.)
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Three hours north of toronto. Huntsville is where toronto vacations. Kearney is where the rednecks from toronto vacation another 20 minutes north :). It's basically the southern ontario's answer to the outdoor wilderness/rough terrain/canadian shield.
 
Like any tool, I think different ATVs can be better suited to different tasks. I have done a lot of 4 wheeling for work that takes me through hundreds of kms of muskeg, open marshes, and fens. In these situations I have often favoured a little Honda 350 (or any really light four wheeler) with bog tires. A light quad with good floatation far trumps weight and HP in this situation. This same set up is brutal when maneuvering through tight forests or really bumpy terrain. Argos also come to mind.....
 
KodiakHntr said:
Should Huntsville, Parry Sound, Kearny, mean something to me? (Serious question.)

I've owned every atv Yamaha has brought to the table, have a pair of Honda's in my shop right now, along with a Yamaha 450, and a Can Am 1000, (not to mention one or two behind the shop) and the one thing I can say for absolute certain, that in tough ground, nothing beats a lot of weight with independant suspension and a lot of horsepower under your thumb. It's always better to have power and torque available and not need it, than it is to need it and not have it. That's one thing the big machines do have going for them, lots of weight will keep your tires planted on the ground. Tires on the ground mean traction.

Sure it can be tough to sneak around the trees with a big atv, but if you are prepared for that, it isn't an issue. I've yet to find a trail I can't get through with the big bike, but I've certainly found trails that the smaller machines have a tough time with.

That said, big machines aren't the answer for everyone.
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Sorry I should have said the Seguin Trail system of those places.
 
:cheers:
KodiakHntr said:
Yeah, I live in Northern BC.... Still wouldn't mean much to me, and "trail system" has an ENTIRELY different meaning here......
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I am originally from Newfoundland and have ridden on every type of terrain you can imagine, from trails to making my own trails. Now I live in Hamilton Ontario and have to take what I can get. We do ride a lot of Groomed trails but we look for the trails least traveled. There still are a lot of technical/mud trail with rocks the size of your bikes and such you need to ride through/over etc. Mud that would swallow trucks. Now unfortunately I have to avoid a lot of this because of a ruptured L5 disc in my back but I still get out and enjoy a ride from time to time.
I see some vids on U tube from BC atv rides and it looks awesome. Would love a trip out there with the honda`s and give my winches a work out. LOL
 
arcticcathonda said:
Like any tool, I think different ATVs can be better suited to different tasks. I have done a lot of 4 wheeling for work that takes me through hundreds of kms of muskeg, open marshes, and fens. In these situations I have often favoured a little Honda 350 (or any really light four wheeler) with bog tires. A light quad with good floatation far trumps weight and HP in this situation. This same set up is brutal when maneuvering through tight forests or really bumpy terrain. Argos also come to mind.....
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arcticcathonda, good point the tires..... is there a good compromise for tires that you have tried ?
BB
 
I set my Grizz up with TPS Mud lite2's
Incredible tires and they wear very well. From bog/mud to bashin over logs and stumps in cutblocks.... Love these tires

I also got the "1 size bigger than factory" tires and a slight lift.
I've got some killer clearance and outstanding, go anywhere traction.

When I bought my grizzly, I traded in the stock tires and fancy rims for the mud lites and steel rims. I thought it was a pretty good deal when my dealer offered the trade option.
Wish I could get mud lites for my jeep LOL the tires simply kick ass when the trail gets crazy.

Next thing I'm gonna try was something I saw on TV, strapping 4 large prawn trap buoys to each corner of the quad for water crossings. They support 1200LBS and the mud lite tires will act as paddles with their big lugs :D
 
Neat idea. I never cared much for the mudlites, I found them a little squirrelly on gravel roads. Good tires in the nasty stuff though. My favourite quad tire to date has been GBC Dirt Tamers. They're another Maxxis Bighorn knockoff in a bias ply tire. Incredibly tough no matter what I put the Grizz through. They churn through deep mud very well without digging badly like aggressive mud tires. They're awesome on nasty, technical trails and got me through everything.
 
arcticcathonda said:
Like any tool, I think different ATVs can be better suited to different tasks. I have done a lot of 4 wheeling for work that takes me through hundreds of kms of muskeg, open marshes, and fens. In these situations I have often favoured a little Honda 350 (or any really light four wheeler) with bog tires. A light quad with good floatation far trumps weight and HP in this situation. This same set up is brutal when maneuvering through tight forests or really bumpy terrain. Argos also come to mind.....
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Rokon there are a ball buster and there no ware near as fast as a quad but you can't stop them i had mine in two feet swamp
Walk threw mud or bush go where I don't want to walk best of all I get about 8hr of hard riding on a tank of gas
 
Ya, those Rokons blew my mind CarverK. Never met a 2 wheel drive motor cycle before. Losing the rear tire chain drive and watching you continue on with power to the front wheel.... Priceless.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Grizzly 700 is narrower, lighter, and more maneuverable than a Polaris 500 and outperforms comparable machines in the tight stuff...


Many times a guy on an ATV will appear to be wasting his time flinging mud and rocking in a hole, but more often than not they're just looking for a solid bottom to gain traction. You sound like my dad who drives AROUND the mud holes :D That's one of the nice thing's with a light Grizzly...when it's stuck simply lift the front or rear over. When the Polaris guys in our crew get stuck we just pull the winches without even considering a lift most times.
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I got to throw the BS flag on that.
 
Having owned many many ATV's of every size and brand, from the honda 80cc three wheelers to BRP's 1000 renegade, the only two I kept when I stopped needing them for work was my '86 Honda 350 Fourtrax and my Yamaha Grizzly. Haven't found anything that is more reliable or better in the bush.

The old honda just won't quit, and the grizzly just can't be beat for size and features. I put ITP 589's on the grizzly and studded them, and have pulled moose out of some bad spots with that bike, never a problem, well, except for one broken axle last year. Even then it still pulled out two bull moose with 3 wheel drive. Wet logs mean nothing with studded tires lol.
 
I got mud lights one size up with 1 inch lift on my rubicon 500. Not getting them again. Put the factory 500 wheels on my 400 4 trax and they work great for that machine. The mud lights are way to loose on hard pack and I find they dig to much in the softer mud. I did see a bear paw style of tire that seemed to perform pretty good in all terrain. Any thoughts?
 
I bought a 2013 Sportsman 400 and so far it's great. I wasn't prepared to spend 10k on a toy I'll be using 6-7 times per year and the trail into my hunt camp is god awful and many of the old guys in my group ditched their straight axeled bikes as they were just too rough to ride enjoyably. I plan on doing my regular maintenance and not beating the sh*t out of this bike so should last a very long time. The smaller/older bikes are awful riding on anything other than smooth trails and I would rather walk than rupture a disk rattling into my hunt camp. Do yourself a favour and buy something you'll enjoy riding.

Patrick
 
The very best all terrain tires I've ever used are Maxxis Bighorn and knock-offs. Most tire mfrs make a version of it now. I've yet to find a tire that does so well in every situation. The only time my Grizz ever got stuck with 27" GBC Dirt Tamers was when it was high centered. They even did better than the old 28" Mudzillas I had before that. Damn those things were heavy. The 28x12 rears weighed more than the 33" BFG M/Ts off my truck. The GBCs were much lighter and still had a thick, tough bias carcass. Those tires were the s**t.

hondaryder said:
I got mud lights one size up with 1 inch lift on my rubicon 500. Not getting them again. Put the factory 500 wheels on my 400 4 trax and they work great for that machine. The mud lights are way to loose on hard pack and I find they dig to much in the softer mud. I did see a bear paw style of tire that seemed to perform pretty good in all terrain. Any thoughts?
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skypilot said:
I got to throw the BS flag on that.
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I also have a Grzzly 700 and absolutely love it. They are the lightest of the big bikes. Similar models of the Polaris are something like 200lbs heavier. Lots of the smaller machines are just as capable in the trails. You don't need all the power in the trails but there are times that it is nice to have. I don't fins the larger framed grizzly to big. It takes me pretty much anywhere I need to go. Being taller it is a little better fit for me also.
 
skypilot said:
I got to throw the BS flag on that.
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Seeing as I've personally witnessed and been involved with every point I made in my post dozens and dozens of times, I'm really curious about your BS comment ;)




Tires really are the most important thing on an ATV and the Mud Lite XTR radial tires wear like iron and do very well as an all terrain tire while providing a very smooth ride. The nice thing about these tires is you can run them almost flat and they don't even look flat where 6 ply typically have weak sidewalls and will pop the bead if run flat. After 5000 kms it appears that mine are about halfway through their life. Maxxis Zillas are a very popular all terrain tire as they do very good in the mud and are very light, but they have weak sidewalls and minimal rim protection meaning they suck for trail blazers.

Highlifter Outlaws are THE tire if you're into serious mudding. They aren't very good for all terrain use and are heavy, but man those thing's pull in the mud like no other and 2wd is usually all that's needed while others with even quality all terrains are using 4x4.

Pitbull Growler Ubers are another excellent tire that does great on all terrains, but weight and price are a big factor for many.
 
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