Road Huntin...why not enjoy!

[7mm Bob]

got nothing against road hunting, even do it myself occasionally. But what really chaps my azz is the ATVs or vehicles behind supposedly locked gates! The area where I elk hunt is owned by a timber co. Behind the gates is a camp full of "security guards" all through hunting season. These priicks have screwed up many early morning hunts by driving past me an hour before daylight. I know it sounds like sour grapes but I hunted here when Weyerhauser owned the property and never had an incident. All of the other people who hunt here are more fed up than I am!

[steen]

I prefer to get out of the vehicle and walk to my hunting spot.  Hiking up the hills in eastern Wa is my favorite, if I hunt around home I want to at least walk out of sight of my truck.  My husband is an avid road hunter but I don't enjoy it.  Some day I won't be able to hike up those hills and will have to find alternative ways to get my deer.  This year we used an ATV to get to where we were hunting, on foot it would have been miles, this way I could get off and hike up the hills and he could putz around on the ATV and hunt.  This hunt was more for me to get away from 60 hour weeks feeding calves (500 of them) and doing haylage so we used someones cabin so we didn't have to pack a huge camp for only 3 days.  We did have to pack water from the Methow because the cabin was already winterized.  It was better than a motel and I could relax after a morning of hunting. Didn't get a deer but I thoughly enjoyed the hunt and the area with only  a few hunters.  I couldn't brag about my deer if I shot it a few feet from my truck, just me and my

[rasbo]

keen road hunters...http://youtu.be/xPB5s_6eqjY

[NWBREW]

The way I see if people want to road hunt that's fine by me. I won't run into them where and how I hunt. The more that stay out of the woods and on the roads the better. 

[Jayfire83]

Absolutely asinine! What skill exactly does road hunting tale for an able bodied person???     

[singleshot12]

   The poster had to of started this thread as a joke!   I hope

[jmx369]

Road hunting takes as much skills as it does to hike into the wilderness 5 miles?  What?  That is crazy!!  Anybody can drive a truck around and hope a buck runs out in front of them and stands around while you stumble around in your truck trying to get your gun loaded. 

Stumble around? What are you talking about? The gun is already loaded while I am road hunting. The skill comes in when driving while drinking a fifth of Jack Daniels and making sure the gun doesn't go off from the bumpy logging roads.

[NWBREW]

Absolutely asinine! What skill exactly does road hunting tale for an able bodied person??? 

Driving while not spilling their beverage. 

[runamuk]

Saw an amazing feat of skill today....dude left the dnr area must of realized his gun was still loaded he rolled the window down and unloaded the magazine out over some sagebrush as in repeated trigger pulls until empty ....then got out of his truck and put the gun in the back......it was strange enough to grab the attention of the 5 guys who had decided to pull up the piece of bank next to me to do some mid afternoon target shooting......
then there was the guy driving hell bent for leather who totally dusted us again leaving more looks of HUH  ..... after an hour or so they headed back to their camp...I went and retrieved my golf ball and the pop bottles I was using for targets and I headed down the road only to spot 2 trucks blocking it doors thrown open and some huge dudes with rifle up scoping a herd of elk cows on private land....man they were excited it was like they had never seen an elk  the cows were hauling ass.....and as I passed these guys after mentioning that its private and no hunting land I spotted a muley doe who looked irritated to have had her nap disrupted.... what an afternoon...the traffic in the woods was worse than rush hour in town 

[singleshot12]

Welcome to the rat race world of road hunting.. Sunday drivers 

[LincolnTWilliams]

I take it you are a road pounder and are trying to justify it    You're missin out dude!

oh yeah, and now the holier than thou crap begins! Let me ask you boys...do you wear shoes. Do you use a modern weapons...no that $600 compound bow ain't no primitve weapon...do you use binocs, camo, trail cams, warm hats and gloves, hell, for that matter, do you wear clothing at all?..Did you walk all the way to the mountain, do you slip back to that 28" 5th wheeler for a comfortable night's rest and a hot meal...need I go on?  Just don't go givin me this load of chit...you're no better than any other guy in the hills...you hunt your way, I'll hunt mine...who made you the judge...you're nothing more than a modern man using modern human tools and skills to hunt down and kill some deer. When I see you chase down some deer and bring him to the table with nothing but tooth and claw...then maybe I'll give you your dues!

Hahaha!!!! Agreed!

[blacktailer]

I just saw where the OP was from and suddenly it all became clear to me.

[tsimp1211]

I guess it depends on what you are out there for if you are there to b.s. with old buddies in the comfort of your truck with your bag of goodies, and a hot cup of coffee more power to you. 

It's funny you mention that.  My buddy and I were on a mountainside, around 5000' in elevation, an hour truck ride from any paved road, and a two hour hike without pack, from the trailhead, enjoying a hot cup of coffee made from a backpacker stove and Starbucks instant coffee when 5 mulie does appeared out of nowhere.  As a matter of fact, we had not only had a hot cup of coffee, but I had one pack of beef flavored top ramen left in my pack, and my buddy had one pack of garlic mashed potatoes so we ate lunch on that mountainside as well.  That was the best top ramen mashed potato muck I have ever eaten!  We were three days into a seven day trip that I will never forget.  If you think that riding around in a truck is hunting, try putting 60 pounds on your back, hike 3 miles into the mountains just to set up a spike camp.  Hunt for 7 days, and come back with nothing but the best memories you could ever make hunting.  I didn't shoot a deer this year, but it didn't matter to me.  Hunting is about so much more than harvesting an animal.

Those mountains were amazing and taught me a lot about myself.  Road hunting is BS........

[ICEMAN]

Road hunting does actually take alot of skill and patience.
 
First off you must be skilled at slowly driving the hills, avoiding the potholes, missing sharp rocks, picking the right gears, avoiding the hazardous edge of the hill, all while looking for game or sheds that others have missed. Take this year for instance, my buddy was driving to his favorite canyon to hike. On the way there, he noticed a buck laying under a tree at 200+ yards, a deer that probably ten other trucks drove by without noticing.
 
Secondly, you need to be very skilled at not getting lost, not creaming the side of your truck on a log protruding into the roadway, skilled at passing other vehicles, skilled at deciding where to pull off and use your binocular or spotting scope.
 
Roadhunters generally have to be very accepting of others, learn to smile and wave as others go by, learn to turn your truck around in a very narrow space, learn to use your 4WL to slow your vehicle on the steep roads, learn and demonstate exactly when to stop and ask directions.
 
Lastly patience. Road hunters must master the patience needed to continue to drive around the same areas again and again in search of game.
 
 
 
In all honesty, road hunting does have it's merits when you are totally exhausted, totally soaked, tired of your normal haunt and wish to see some new area during the hunt so that you can size up the amount of hunters in a given area during hunting season. Road hunting is also of value when you have small children who tire easily after a hike or two. Good nap break for them, while still allowing you to see some country.  I have hip surgey planned for 2012 and roadhunted alot this year. 

[singleshot12]

Sounds like you got a few miles under your belt Iceman    Hip surgery? well then you're justified! Go tear up them loggin roads.