Polite complaint to some of you ATV guys (and SUVers)

[Sneeze]

What the hell is wrong with you... The regs are pretty clear that you have to be off your quad 1 hour before the sun rises. It seriously rattles a guy when some fools come putting into the basin I am trying to hunt at 7:30 with exhaust reverberating off the hills and cause every single bull in the valley to stop singing. Or how about the guys in Jeeps who dont have to comply with OHV restrictions putting around all morning scaring down every game animal for miles.

If you wanna hunt Elk... try staying outa the bottle the night before opening day and actually committing to the hunt rather then ruining what could have been a great hunt for others. Wouldn't hurt to actually use the expensive hunting boots you own either.

WMU 400 is turning into a zoo. I have been a ATV rider for years, and I hope they ban them there. The trails are all being destroyed, I am finding garbage in places no garbage should be... Trails are being cut everywhere... its getting outa hand.

Next year (If I dont get my elk draw) I am going to start Narcing on the late risers.

Just my 2 cents.

[honda450]

Dang I think your a little confused. Can't get a elk blame it on the quad users who drink all nite. hehehe Move to a different spot. Oh by the way how are you getting into those basins?

[moose6]

Honda dude I'm guessing he is WALKING, not too hard to do. I do like how you began your "polite" complaint with "what the hell is wrong with you", I feel your pain but had a chuckle,, thanks.

[wheatman]

amen

i was whitey hunting 2 years ago next to a dugout, two evening in a row saw two nice bulls, wayyyy over 350 come to lick the ice at dark. next day these gomers come rolling around on their quads, all through the woods, making tons of racket. one guy rolls right up to my blind and peaks in and says "oh, i didn't think anyone was in there". of course tells me his boy has drawn a coveted bull tag and asks me "if i had seen any around, they hadn't seen nothing all morning". i told them nope, but i heard there was a big herd over yonder ways in a canola field. i hunted the rest of the day and didn't see a thing... they totally ruined the spot. sad thing is if they would have walked 100 yds from where they parked and sat down they probably would have gotten a 380+ bull.... nope, thats too easy.

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by honda450

Can't get a elk blame it on the quad users who drink all nite.

No, the fact that I did not get an elk this weekend wasn't the reason for my complaint. OHV users who don't follow the law are.

Move to a different spot.

Sorry, do not think I should have to move to a different spot because people are breaking laws put in place to help with the "sport" of the hunt.

Oh by the way how are you getting into those basins?

I am quading in. Around 3:45 AM. Early enough that I can be off my quad and do some walking... My intention is to listen for ELK at the time they make noise when the days are 25 degrees.

Sorry bud if I come off confrontational... but I dont understand how you can justify that kinda behavior as ethical hunting... or polite to other hunters. I realize I do not "own" the basin... but I would like to think that good ettiqute should prevail in the field. If you are quadding past parked quads 15 minutes after sunrise... you are probably spoiling somebody's hunt.

[honda450]

Now that is a little more clear. But don't say quaders are destroying the trails and your using them. Ya see someone breaking the law report it.

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by honda450

But don't say quaders are destroying the trails and your using them.

I think there is a pretty clear difference between using the trails and destroying them.

I suppose I should have been more clear... WMU 400 is turning into a Maclean Creek. Lifted Jeeps, quads searching for muddy roads... and on opening day elk... there must have been 700 quads driving around. (This is not easy on the trails).

Not to mention, all the new roads that get cut every hunting season... long de-activated skid trails are turning into OHV freeways. Leaving the hunter with very very few area's of "wild" country.

I understand using an OHV to access the area you are trying to hunt... but I think allot of people treat "hunting" as an excuse to go quadding with a gun.

[TheClash]

Originally Posted by Sneeze

I think there is a pretty clear difference between using the trails and destroying them.

I suppose I should have been more clear... WMU 400 is turning into a Maclean Creek. Lifted Jeeps, quads searching for muddy roads... and on opening day elk... there must have been 700 quads driving around. (This is not easy on the trails).

Not to mention, all the new roads that get cut every hunting season... long de-activated skid trails are turning into OHV freeways. Leaving the hunter with very very few area's of "wild" country.

I understand using an OHV to access the area you are trying to hunt... but I think allot of people treat "hunting" as an excuse to go quadding with a gun.

or you are putting hunting before other activities.....just because you can hunt there doesn't mean all the quadders there are there to hunt....nor do they have to support hunting etc. so maybe many of them couldn't care less if it was opening day for elk...

i understand what you are saying...and somewhat agree...but you are all up on your soap box when all the other people that are there have the right to be there as well.....now breaking the law is another story althogether of course.

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by TheClash

just because you can hunt there doesn't mean all the quadders there are there to hunt..

Agree, the land isn't any more mine then it is yours. While my issue is with hunters on quads at daybreak (and less so at dusk)... I understand that not all quads are occupied by lazy hunters. However, for the sake of my argument... I find it hard to believe too many joy riders would be creeping into the upper reaches of 400 in the early morning hours of Thursday Sept 17.

[honda450]

Don't get me wrong Sneeze I know exactly what ya mean. And I know the area your huntin. Good luck man.

[TheClash]

i agree sneeze.....

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by honda450

Don't get me wrong Sneeze I know exactly what ya mean. And I know the area your huntin. Good luck man.

Haha, so you too have bounced between, Lost, Lynx, Goat, Carbondale... trying to find a spot not overrun? Haha, on Saturday I hunted the hills above Blairmore.... was the quietest place I could find.

[Walleyes]

Hunted that area for three years from 00-03 and got to tell you it was busier than heck then. Wasn't bad the first year but after that wow.. Didn't go on a rant about it or blame anybody just moved on and found some different country. You can't go to West Edmonton Mall and complain that there are to many people,, just my thoughts on it..

[honda450]

Dang don't say that online.

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by Walleyes

Didn't go on a rant about it or blame anybody just moved on and found some different country.

And when our grandchildren don't have a place to hunt anymore because their grandfathers abused the system... and the ones who didn't never stood up and said "WRONG"... what then? Maybe they will be able to hunt at west Edmonton Mall?

Give me a break... when I see people screwing it up for other people... darn rights I am gonna stand up against it. It doesn't end with me... what happens when the Biologists roll in next spring too find a hundred new trails (even tho there is a trail restriction)... or the greenies decide to go for a walk and find garbage strewn all over the campsites...
I think history has taught us pretty well what popular opinion can do to hunter access. (ie: Kaninaskis, Canmore Corridor)....

[mangler]

Are you sure that all 700 of those quads belong to hunters breaking the rules? Lot's of people enjoy recreational quadding, and probably have no clue that it's even hunting season.

I guess you could lobby to shut out the ATV's, but be careful what you ask for. I think the number of recreational ATV users is probably quite a bit larger than the number of hunters, and they might just launch a campaign of their own to shut down guys with guns running around the bush where they're camping and quadding.

It seems to be the same story every fall. Guys go out and spend hundreds of dollars on camo gear to become invisible in the bush, then come here and rant because an ATV rider ruined their hunt because he practically drove over them before he noticed that someone was hunting the area.

[Bushrat]

In a decade or so we won't have to worry about quads in a lot of these places. They will be restricted to a few areas where they will be free to rip and tear it all to pieces to their hearts content. Quadders are their own worst enemy and they are slowly digging their own grave.

[sonny]

Sneeze, its ok for yourself to quad into a hunting area at 3.45 am, you seem to think this is ok, it seems that you may be screwing someone else,s hunt who is walking in from trail head, at 4 to 430 am.
Its quaders like yourself that point a finger at everyone else for the problems we are having in the back country,
And your wishes may come true when Goverment pushes the East Slope Land Management Plan which is in planning stages as we speak.
I also am a hunter Have hunted 400, 402 , since1963 , I certanly do not want to lose what we presently have, But it does not look good

[altaberg]

Originally Posted by Bushrat

In a decade or so we won't have to worry about quads in a lot of these places. They will be restricted to a few areas where they will be free to rip and tear it all to pieces to their hearts content. Quadders are their own worst enemy and they are slowly digging their own grave.

x2, amen

and they won't have anybody else to blame

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by sonny

Its quaders like yourself that point a finger at everyone else for the problems we are having in the back country,

Hows that?

Not sure how riding in at a legal hours, riding along a designated trail & parking before the trail enters "sensitive" area's (muddy + most promising animal habitat) qualifies me as the problem.

My beef from the start was with
1) OHV'ers riding in after legal hours
2) OHV'ers cutting trails (when there is a trail restriction)
3) OHV'ers specifically going looking for sensitive areas to "mud bog" or play & leaving garbage all over the place.
4) SUV drivers -that get around OHV restrictions- (allowed to drive around in the morning) that are using their SUV as an OHV, riding around in morning hours and acessing country that others (those who woke up on time) are already hunting.

If you have issue with those points I would love to argue them.

[BigBuck$]

Why don't they make it illegal to ride a quad for the purpose of hunting before noon? It's like that in Saskatchewan in most Northern Forest Zones (or used to be anyways). It doesn't make alot of sence to start walking in on a trail at 5:00 am only to have a hunter on a quad go tearing by you at first light.

[elkhunter11]

We once had a couple of jealous hunters accuse us of breaking the law for carrying our guns on our quads before noon as we dragged a couple of elk to our truck.Then they wanted to argue when we informed them that we were on private land,and the restrictions only apply on public land.

However,I do feel the same way as you do when I walk a couple of miles to get into my hunting location on public land in the same wmu,only to have atvs with firearms running around all morning.

[Morbius131]

I can understand complaints about ATV'rs and "SUV'rs" but with that said each of those machines is supposed to have plates and if people are hunting they likely have binoculars. Why not record the plate numbers and report them. I have an ATV and I use it for recreational and hunting purposes. I use it properly and in accordance to the regulations, so when people start painting all ATV users with the same brush I get annoyed. There are idiots and abusers in ever aspect of life so it doesn't make sense to blame everyone.

We all get annoyed when poachers are called hunters and the same goes for ATV users and abusers. So rather than restricting everything, we all need to do our part and start reporting the violators and abusers rather than just sitting here complaining about it.

Morb

[beerhunter]

Well, I saw the same kind of thing this last week on opening day. I watch a truck drive by me on a old well site road in to a meadow I was sitting (they didn't see me) so I figured oh well just some road hunters. Well I leave my spot to go walk some other cut lines and stuff. I catch up with my buddy and he tells me these guys in a red dodge quad cab with dark tinted windows is sitting with some ramps off the tailgate. He was sitting in another meadow overlooking some coulees and he hears this quad cruising thru his area. He leaves, didn't take the license number which I gave him **** about and then he hears them coming down the cutline toward him and he slides in the bush and they cruise by with their guns and don't even notice him. Probably wouldn't have seen a deer or elk 20 ft in the bush either. Needless to say this happens everywhere and we have to take control and report these people. I wish I would have gotten the plate when they drove by I would have been on the phone. My guess some local boys with nothing better to do than break the law. By the way hunting in WMU 359 north west of Spirit River. Had a great weekend over all.

[altaberg]

Originally Posted by Morbius131

I can understand complaints about ATV'rs and "SUV'rs" but with that said each of those machines is supposed to have plates and if people are hunting they likely have binoculars. Why not record the plate numbers and report them. I have an ATV and I use it for recreational and hunting purposes. I use it properly and in accordance to the regulations, so when people start painting all ATV users with the same brush I get annoyed. There are idiots and abusers in ever aspect of life so it doesn't make sense to blame everyone.

We all get annoyed when poachers are called hunters and the same goes for ATV users and abusers. So rather than restricting everything, we all need to do our part and start reporting the violators and abusers rather than just sitting here complaining about it.

Morb

sorry to say but I have seen a fair number of OHVs without any plate and even some with purposely hidden or obscured IDs.
Most of the time I carry a digital camera now and I would have reported them. The ones with the purposely hidden plates really get my goat because they knew excatly that they were not supposed to be there (in a mountain cariboo refuge to be precise).

[Morbius131]

Yeah some of the people who know they are breaking the law are going to do what they have to do not to be caught but a lot of the time they just aren't smart enought to think of that.

I am not saying it isn't an annoyance or a pain in the @$$. Me and a couple buddies have left at 3am to get to a spot on our ATV's before we had to be off our ATV's only to have some morons go ripping by an hour or two after sunrise. But I think it is important to punish the idiots breaking the laws not the people following them. By banning ATV's you are only going to punish the people who are following the rules because those who are breaking them are going to continue to do so.

Morb

[Bushrat]

Originally Posted by Morbius131

Yeah some of the people who know they are breaking the law are going to do what they have to do not to be caught but a lot of the time they just aren't smart enought to think of that.

I am not saying it isn't an annoyance or a pain in the @$$. Me and a couple buddies have left at 3am to get to a spot on our ATV's before we had to be off our ATV's only to have some morons go ripping by an hour or two after sunrise. But I think it is important to punish the idiots breaking the laws not the people following them. By banning ATV's you are only going to punish the people who are following the rules because those who are breaking them are going to continue to do so.

Morb

Exactly, just like responsible hunters take matters into their own hands and report report poachers to maintain a modicum of order among the ranks of hunters to ensure we don't eventually get evicted from our sport, responsible quadders need to police their ranks and have the problem quadders removed or they will continually loose more ground to the anti quadders.

[mangler]

Originally Posted by Morbius131

Yeah some of the people who know they are breaking the law are going to do what they have to do not to be caught but a lot of the time they just aren't smart enought to think of that.

I am not saying it isn't an annoyance or a pain in the @$$. Me and a couple buddies have left at 3am to get to a spot on our ATV's before we had to be off our ATV's only to have some morons go ripping by an hour or two after sunrise. But I think it is important to punish the idiots breaking the laws not the people following them. By banning ATV's you are only going to punish the people who are following the rules because those who are breaking them are going to continue to do so.

Morb

Those who want to ban ATV's are no different from those who want to ban guns. Both groups focus on the object instead of its criminal use.

[albertadave]

Originally Posted by BigBuck$

Why don't they make it illegal to ride a quad for the purpose of hunting before noon?

It already is illegal, in most zones anyways. That was the point the OP was making.

[Mike Rae]

Sneeze,

Great post, super comments, well read, can definitely relate.