Is anyone else tired of road hunters?

[SuperfluousMan]

Anyone else sick of road hunters on quads or side by sides littering our hunting units, destroying roads, not closing fences properly, riding right up to water and just making hunting less enjoyable for others? What can be done to stop this? Are there any units besides 10 that have large portions of land that are off limits to vehicles?

 

[ArizonaCoues]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-09 AT 08:22PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-09 AT 08:22?PM (MST)

LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-09 AT 08:21?PM (MST)

Superman,

Az is a road hunters paradise...that's for sure. I think this year I've read more than ever about what you describe. My advice is to pick a wilderness and start hunting in that environment. AZ has tons of wilderness areas and places where marchine & the beasts of ATV CANNOT roam. Sure it's going to be a trek in and out of the wilderness, but try a spike camp. Leave water out when you scout or bring a purifier. I've been hunting coues this way for a few years and it's soooo much more enjoyable than the drone of quads (getting into the field late) I might add , every day of a hunt.

What to do about it? That 's a greater question... I came home last weekend from a leisurly day scout with 1/2 bag of someone elses garbage. The reason unit 10 has limited access and lot of public still is people getting tired (namely ranchers) of cleaning up someone elses mess.

Don't give up , just look to the wilderness it will provide all you can imagine.

ArizonaCoues

 

[creed]

My daughter and I were once a mile deep in the Hummingbird Spring Wilderness and had a guy on a quad come riding up to us across country. I told him he was in wilderness and he gave a "so what?"

I saw where guys on ATV's drove around the wilderness signs in the Bighorn Wilderness during this year's deer hunt. They don't care.

I own a Rhino and would be pretty happy if they banned all of them. I don't know what was different this year but I have never seen anything like it during the general deer hunt. It was the worse quality hunt I've ever been on and I attribute it largely to ATV's.

 

[muleybull]

Naw.....those guys dont bother me as bad as the loud stinky diesel driving road hunters, or the guys in the rattletrap half ton pickups, or the whiney grinding jeeps and landcruisers....

WTF!! Roadhunters only drive atv's and side by sides? Ive seen more trucks traveling cross country than atv's, or am I the only one out there?

Is that ethical?

 

[LVhunter]

+1 on the trucks being as bad as the atvs, but they buy licenses, guns, ammo, camo, tags, and everything else that we do to help support wildlife. At least they are hunting and not donating all that money to anti-hunting groups. If I hunted water next to a road or set up a blind next to a road I would be worried about them nasty road hunters.

 

[SuperfluousMan]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-09 AT 11:07PM (MST)[p]The thing is in the units I hunt almost all water is accessible by vehicle. And no, it's not just atv's and side by sides, but where I hunt it's extremely rare to see trucks or Jeeps.

As far as them being a contributor to the outdoor economy -- the same can be said about poachers (with the exception of licenses and tags in most cases).

 

[geronimo]

I don't know much about Arizona, but New Mexico is riddled with these idiots. We lost a deer to these scum humans this year on my brother in laws first deer hunt. It sure gives a good impression on hunting when this happens. It amazes me what people will do. We were two miles from the nearest road and eating a snack during the hunt when two trucks came over the hill not five hundred yards from us with some broad in the bed with her gun rested on the roof. I am a firm believer that if they gat caught then there hunting priveleges should be banned for life. These people are a poor excuse for hunters and they are what gives us law abiding hunters a bad name, I dont care if they are buying/supporting wildlife, as in the end they are hurting hunting and the ranchers land they do this on.

 

[Lifetimehunter]

I read these post you guys are writing and I'm puzzled seems to me that if you are seeing all these road hunters then maybe your to close to the road.

 

[nonet]

The good is that I can always count on where, in some cases, most of the hunters will be in some units. I can use them to hunt small out of view from the road areas that hold lots of game after the first couple of days

The bad is some of them break alot of laws pertaining to trash,gates, and shooting from vehicles. I have turned some in to game and fish but nothing ever seems to happen. The best you can do is to talk to ranchers and keep some big trash bags in your truck and use them. I did that this year on a ranch for pigs. I got permission to hunt cause of a mutual friend but after I picked up some trash he opened the flood gates and now I have unlimited access and he told me about all the other good secrects the ranch has to offer. Now I have a spot that very few get to hunt in a unit that gets lots of pressure. NO ROAD HUNTERS!!!!!!!

 

[gleninaz]

Every state has road hunters and it was going on long before quads were around. The worst is the muley hunt in 12AW. I would think G&F could set up a spotter on a hill and a chase vehicle and write citations all of opening weekend up there. Problem is someone would jump out of a truck and shoot the spotter if he moved.

 

[OutdoorWriter]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-18-10 AT 08:04AM (MST)[p]Way back in the late 1960s, we were heading to Big Saddle on the highway between Jacob Lake and the North Rim.

We were driving through the meadow area where all the signs are that say, "DO NOT DRIVE ACROSS THE MEADOWS" or some such thing. There was a pickup 1/4 mile in front of me with two guys in the cab and two guys with lawn chairs in the bed.

Three does were grazing on the grass about 300 yards from the pavement in one meadow. NK tags back then were good for bucks or does, BUT...it was the the day before the season opened.

As soon as the guys in the truck spotted the deer, they drove off the road toward the deer. I slowed to see what would they were going to do. We heard one shot, and all the deer ran off unscathed. Within seconds, three G&F trucks appeared out of the trees to stop and surround the truck.

I imagine the citations were numerous and expensive.

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

 

[caterpillar]

It seems the game and fish are using this to their advantage to make some money, now you have to buy some kind of OHV sticker from the game and fish dept. Seems funny that you have to register any kind of vehicle with the AZGFD. A couple of years ago while elk hunting in 6B we found a truck in the so called quit area ( as the AZGFD puts it) that is off limits to motor vehicles, has road closed signs and gates at both end of the area. We called the AZGFD, and waited at camp, when they arrived we were told that they do not have any jurisdiction over the national forest service land, even though the truck was on state land. He said that if the truck got to the state land through forest service land that bordered it then there was nothing he could do. So many people probably know this and that is how they are getting into these areas, they are accessing state land from national forest which is legal as I was told by a AZGFD officer. If someone finds an old logging road that leads to where ever then they will probably not get in trouble, especially since the AZGFD is now making money off the road hunters atv. You could actually see the tire tracks from the truck that went around the gate and over all the rocks, logs, and evrything that has been put around the gate to prevent that, the game warden completely ignored the evidence, checked our licsenses and headed to town for doughnuts.



TRIGGER CONTROL = The skillfull manipulation of the trigger without disturbing sight alighnment or sight picture. One shot one kill.
Derrick

 

[OutdoorWriter]

>>It seems the game and fish are using this to their advantage to make some money, now you have to buy some kind of OHV sticker from the game and fish dept.<<

The AZ MVD sells the OHV decals.

http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/ohvFAQ.shtml#6


TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

 

[caterpillar]

Why is the new law needed?

OHV use in Arizona has exploded (347 percent increase since 1998), outpacing the existing funding to manage that growth, protect wildlife habitat, and help maintain recreational access. Revenues generated from the new OHV Decal user fee will be used to help ensure sustainable opportunities and natural resource protection by bolstering funding and grant programs that pay for trail maintenance, signage, maps, facility development, habitat damage mitigation, education, and enforcement.



The purpose of the Arizona Game and Fish Department's Off-Highway Vehicle Program is to promote safe, ethical and responsible OHV use while emphasizing protection of environmental resources. The Department recognizes the use of off-highway vehicles as a legitimate source of recreation, however, it is the Department's mission to recognize and minimize OHV impacts on wildlife and their habitat.

Nature Rules! Stay on roads and trails.








THIS FROM THE AZGFD WEBSITE, THEY CALL THEIR PROGRAM, SO MAYBE THEY DONT SELL IT OR MAYBE THEY DO, AS A THIRD PARTY, WHICH IS ALSO STATED ON THE AZGFD. PERSONALLY I DONT CARE ABOUT THE STICKER BECAUSE I DO NOT OWN AN OHV, I DO CARE THAT IF THEY ARE RECIEVING FUNDS FROM THIS STICKER THEN THEY SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE RIDING WHERE EVER THEY FEEL INSTEAD OF MAKING UP SOME REDICULOUS EXCUSE FOR WHY TJEY ARE TO LAZY TO GO AND ENFORCE A LAW. BOTTOM LINE IF YOUR IN LAW ENFORCEMENT OF ANY KIND AND SOME ONE IS BREAKING THE LAW, (SUCH AS DRIVING SOME PLACE THAT VEHICLES ARE NOT ALLOWED AND THIS PARTICULAR AREA IS EVEN MENTIONED IN THE HUNTING REGS AS OFF LIMITS TO VEHICLES)THEN YOU SHOULD DO YOUR JOB AND ADDRESS THE SITUATION. JUST MY OPINION. WHEN YOU LET ONE GUY GET AWAY WITH IT HOW ARE YOU GOING TO STOP THE NEVER ENDING TRAIL OF ROAD HUNTERS THAT WILL JUST FOLLOW THE PREVIOUS TRACKS KNOWING THEY ARE GOING INTO A PLACE THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE. MOST OF THE GUYS I TOLD THAT THEY WERE IN AN UNMOTORIZED AREA SAID GEE WIZZ BILLY BOB I JUST FOLLERD THEM THER TRACK FROM SUMMON ELSE SO I JUST THUNKED IT WAS OK.










TRIGGER CONTROL = The skillfull manipulation of the trigger without disturbing sight alighnment or sight picture. One shot one kill.
Derrick

 

[caterpillar]

(OHV) recreation in 1972 when legislation was passed that gave the Arizona Game and Fish Commission the authority to approve and expend funds to identify habitat damage, provide information and education, and provide law enforcement for OHV related activities. Although the authority to conduct these activities was approved, it was not until 1989 that funding was actually provided to administer these duties.

With this revenue, the Arizona Game and Fish Department funds personnel and resources to meet the Department's mission of conserving, enhancing, and restoring Arizona's diverse wildlife resources and habitats through aggressive protection and management programs, and to provide wildlife resources, safe watercraft and off-highway vehicle recreation for the enjoyment, appreciation, and use of present and future generations.



Friday, June 27, 2008 Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano signed into law SB1167. The rules and regulations of that bill will go into effect on January 1, 2009, thanks in large part to a joint effort between Arizona Sportsmen and Off-highway Vehicle (OHV) user groups.

The goal of the new regulations is to provide better OHV management and protection of natural resources while maintaining access. Funds generated from this program will be used to help ensure sustainable opportunities by bolstering grant programs that pay for maintenance, signage, mitigation, education, and enforcement. Remember to leave no trace and that Nature Rules! Stay on Roads and Trails.

Read an overview of Senate Bill 1167


I THINK IF THEY ACTUALLY ENFORCED THE RULES PEOPLE WOULD THINK TWICE ABOUT MAKING NEW ROADS. WAIT UNTIL THE SNOW MELTS HERE IN FLAG AND YOU WILL SEE ALOT OF NEW ROADS FROM THE SHED HUNTERS AND THE AZGFD TRUCKS WILL ALL BE PARKED AT THE AZGFD OFFICE. OR MAYBE SINCE THE ECONOMY IS IN THE SHITTER THEN THEY MAY ACTUALLY BE OUT GIVING TICKETS TO INCREASE THEIR REVENUE.

 

[knthartter]

This kind of thing happens in every state, as well as a ton of other unethical hunting practices. It all comes down to one thing, people (hunters) should follow the laws and hunt ethically without the LAW breathing down their necks. WTF vary few people in this country today have any morals, conscience, or respect for laws.

Where I hunt they quads, side by sides and motorcycles drive every where, most of these are not hunters. One area I hunt the BLM sent hundreds of thousands of dollars putting up fences to keep these riders on the designated trails. After the first weekend of rides thrashing the area about 80% of those fences were distroyed. now that area is closed to all MV traffic. this is a perfect case of people not respecting the rules and the enviorment.

 

[IAhunter]

Hey SuperfluousMan,

I hunted unit 10 on the late bull with guys two years straight. I think it was 2004 and 2005. Anyway, the one year was the year all that rain hit in late summer and it snowed hard during the season. Funny thing, the wet year all the pickup hunters bailed out the day after the storm, too muddy. The next year, the worst off-road offenders were in pickups, driving across the open grass areas at will. I'm pretty much done with that portion of unit 10 for elk, as units on the east side of the state have a bunch of areas where ehicles can't drive.

PS: My quad doesn't leave the road and I suggest you use a much narrower paintbrush.

 

[Blackknight]

The "More the Better" in some areas! I know it works in favor for a friend of ours who hunts near Jolly Sink. He has a stand set off in some deep canyon and the road hunters push the deer towards his stand every year. When it became a draw for the Archery Kaibab, the road hunting kind of slowed down some but they still get pushed right towards him. We usually see the deer looking over their shoulders when then reach the stand location and then put an arrow through them. Sometimes, you have to wait a little more for them to show up for a shot!!!