Using motorcycle to hunt

[TheGDog]

No place left to ride legally in So Ca.

THIS!!! You think hunting is restricted? Sheeeeeit... wait til you try looking for places to ride.

 

[Bankrunner]

Or just take the truck.
For large game hunting and camping, a bike from home base would never work for me.

 

[Tech]

This is why I opened this thread to get ideas what I have not thought of. Look like it's more pain than I can deal with currently.
Down the road I may get a truck. Again, thanks for the input.

 

[Planetcat]

I archery hunted using my Kawasaki KLX 250S dual sport once. I had the bow on my back using a primos bow sling and a small pack bungee corded to the back of the seat. While in theory, it was a good idea, here's how it was less than ideal:
1. You are limited in the amount of gear you can take vs. an ATV.
2. Even though I don't road hunt, if I needed to jump off my bike quickly to get a shot off, it wouldn't happen (with either rifle or bow) without throwing your bike down.
3. A one-wheel drive dirt bike doesn't climb tough hills slowly like an ATV/UTV in 4wd.
4. Hauling out game is very difficult.
5. Absolutely beat at the end of the day. Requires focused concentration and more physical energy than a quad or SxS.
6. I was nervous riding it without a helmet.

A motorcycle gets better gas mileage than an ATV/UTV, so distance is increased on a tank. My dual sport bike was quieter than my quad or utv. Fit in back of my truck with all our gear no problem.

 

[wedgy]

The Gdog has it right, no on the DR and XR 650's they are hogs. The DR is closer to 400lbs than what their site lists, that's the weight of a sport bike AKA Ninja. If you ride a dirt bikethen climb on one of those you will realize it’s NOT a dirtbike. You can also look at the Yamaha WR400 & WR450 same with the HondaCRF450(I forget what they call the trail version of the motocross bike), closerto 250lbs, there are some plated bikes around. I would haul it on abumper carrier or in the back of a truck from home to the hunting area, thenbreak it out once you get there. It’s a lot of money to spend so I would get astreet plated bike(as opposed to a green sticker) so you can ride it aroundtown if you choose.

 

[Brnsvllyjohn]

I have hunted off of a motorcyle a few times but eventually changed to a quad. As far as the motorcycle goes I never had one capable of riding it to a hunting area then go on OHV trails. I always took it in my truck. I carried my rifle in a Kolpin case and I can tell you you are probably going to go down a few times in really rough country. Thats why I had a full gun case. We hunted deer and our system was to put half the deer on the front rack and half on the back. Not sure you an get a whole animal on just the back seat. You will get run over in the bay area driving on the hiway with a dead animal on the bike with you. I would bone it out and bag it.
There are a handful of OHV trails in the Sierras that are OK for deer hunting but I am not aware of any areas that have decent hog populations where OHV trails do you any good.

 

[OPAH]

I have a little Goat 4X4 ZR2 a Quad could roll right up my roll bars and still have space for gear for a base camp.
I do admit if I could use a quad where I hunt I would, but then hell there a perfectly good roads that are closed
do to the lack of money they say.
Well to Easy too many, too hard get your ass in shape, or slow it down who is racing any how ?

 

[TheGDog]

If I was gonna do it... and didn't need to use it for much freeway commuting. I think I'd probably try to go with a Yamaha WR250R Dual-sport. I've seen 'em in action with dudes rippin' it up on them. It's Fuel Injected so no hassle with altitude changes. A teeny bit lighter than a DRZ. It's stock exhuast is WAY quiet.

Id work off the premise that you're essentially back-pack hunting... but just using the bike to take advantage of trails they might not allow cars on. Don't assume you can tie very much of anything to the bike.

If it's in SoCal... you'd still have to worry about locking it to something whenever you get off it... if you're going to walk away out of line of sight with it. Especially in Angeles. And if the animals see it... with all those petroleum smells on it... they'll likely leave the area.

Oh... before I forget... you'd definitely wanna get some bark-busters for it if that's your intended use. Metal hand-guards. that attach to handlbar and wrap around and in-front of your hands and insert into the handlebar ends.

And you'd have to take time to make sure you have a tool kit that has most of the tools you'd need on the trail. Carry a extra Master link for the chain. Either MtnBike hand-air-pump or CO2 canister inflation system. Run Slime in the tubes if going with air-filled inner tubes. You'd probably want a Kifaru Gun-bearer to hold the gun on your pack... that way it would not stick up past your head and run the risk of yankin' ya off the bike if snags a tree branch somewhere.

Don't you DARE ride the dang thing without a Helmet!!! Even at low speed you'd be AMAZED at how bad you can get EFF'd up from a simple fall. Just TRUST ME on that one. Besides you're going to need that Visor.

 

[TheGDog]

Me personally... I'd want the WR250R because it's more serious for offroad'ing at a decent speed and I know myself and how I like to push it on a bike.

But...for hunting... the Honda CRF250L they now have.... they even have one setup Rallye/Adventure bike style with a small windscreen too. Those have a significantly lower seat height on 'em and that would probably be very helpful out there, especially since you're talking more slow going anyway. I got to thinking about it... and if you were packing out meat... you'd DEFINITELY want a lower seat height especially in slow going... as you'd be much less likely to be riding standing up on the pegs once ya got 100+ Lbs in your pack. And that weight in the pack has a pendulum affect. So like if you're like me and short of leg (I have 30" inseam) when you come to a stop on a regular height dirtbike... ya have to extend one leg down and partially rotate your hips to one side of the seat.

I could TOTALLY see the act of doing that... when you're totally exhausted... having the weight of that pack-out wanting to yank ya off balance when your hips rotate and coupled with your fatigue makin' ya have an oopsie and falling over due to the unexpected swing of all that mass on your back.

 

[TheGDog]

Also know this... with the extra weight in the pack while riding... it would be murder on your triceps while braking a lot... such as when riding down a long downhill. Especially if it's tight technical and slow-going trail with a lotta riding the front brake action. Oh yeah... that isht kills your triceps!

 

[TheGDog]

Also... if you don't already know how to... you're going to need to practice and learn how to get off and walk beside the bike while still operating it from the handlebars while it is still running and be able to operate the controls so the bike can propel itself beside you walking up a gnarly uphill that you just can't quite make while seated on the bike... like when it wants to dig in from the weight 'cause you're on soft stuff.

While I'm thinking about it... you also need to know this... if the bike is electric start only.... it can be easier than you think to have a simple crash jack-up the keyed ignition switch. Make sure you study a schematic of it and know how to cut and splice those wires if you ever had to to bypass it. Best is to have both push-button start (aka magic button) AND a kickstarter.

Also.. because a crash *can* take-out your headlight. I'd invest in an upgraded hiking headlamp with high lumens, just in case ya ever had to rely on it to guide you back out in the dark while riding.

 

[Tech]

TheGDog, I cannot thanks you enough for the info. There are a lot of thing I have not thought of.
Like I said, I am going for a truck when I can afford one. A Tacoma is what I want.

 

[JustGuy]

Definitely doable, great idea.

 

[JustGuy]

And this one is a real "Dual Purpose"

 

[Bankrunner]

So here's another bigge in regards to a bike vs and ATV. On a bike your eyes are always on the ground in front of you as your moving/riding, won't see many pigs or deer if your looking at the ground. If your riding and ATV you still have to look at the ground but not nearly as much, you can use your eyes to skan the landscape for critters.
But again, it's not for me unless needed to cover big country from a hunting basecamp and in that case it would be an ATV or my 84 4runner (forest roads/trails would dictate).

 

[TheGDog]

TheGDog, I cannot thanks you enough for the info. There are a lot of thing I have not thought of.
Like I said, I am going for a truck when I can afford one. A Tacoma is what I want.

No worries man... was just trying to think back and remember all of the gotchas I could think of that a n00b might not consider.


Remember how I was talking about Leatherman Multitool and Cholla Cactus?

Yeah... was bombin' along out in Victorville down a trail.. and you know.. to go fast on trails when blasting thru the Desert... ya gotta hug the edges of the trail where the whoops have not built-up deep yet. Well... while you're doing that.. all the time you have lil branches of desert brush over-hanging into the trail that you're whacking thru occasionally with your knees or elbows... you know.. no big deal, just kinda something you're used to occasionally.

Well... this one time... there must have been a Cholla branch just on the other side of your typical Greasewood!!! A segment of that Cholla got stuck in deep in the soft flesh behind my knee!!! Mother Bleep Me!!! Have to gingerly pull over and put down the other leg. My StepDad eventually turns around and comes back.. pulls out some needle-nose pliers... and I have to first pull that segment out.. Fahrveknugen!!! Then pull out multiple spines/quils with tenacious barbs left behind!!!

Duuuude... you have no idea how heinous those are! I could not believe it, but like I said I found a couple of those quils pierce thru entire knobbies on my front tire, and it was a 6-ply rated Metzler for desert terrain. If you know how stiff those are to mount on a rim... man... I could not BELIEVE those quils were that strong!

Oh BTW... just thought of another thing you might not think about. If you're riding after or during times where there might be significant mud where you're going. You need to consider either getting a set of Goggles outfitted with a Roll-offs system... or having a couple Tear-offs to tape to your helmet over your Goggles, So when mud splats onto your Goggles significantly enough to obscure your vision... you can reach up and either yank a tear-off... or... pull on the retractabel rip-cord on the RollOffs system to advance the roll of clear film across your Goggles from the reservoir canister over into the canister which receives the used dirty incoming roll. I suppose for leave-no-trace consideration the Roll-Offs system would be the way to go.

Also... I saw over on OpticsPlanet they now have Goggles that are more intended for Military operators... but check this out!.. That have a small battery pack and they've got exhaust fans in them above your eyes to constantly be expelling the water vapor! You know.. like when you're wearing them and exerting heavily. When you're huffin' and puffin' and having to work harder when riding during some slow-going techical sections... you can sometimes run into issues where your Goggles might want to kinda fog up on ya because you're sweating soo profusely and creating soo much heat that tons of water vapor are emanating off your skin. So when I saw that set of Goggles with the fans, I was jazzed about that! That is soo cool! And it's suposed to have like 8hrs runtime.

Let's see.. speaking about Goggles, it's a lot better with the molding on todays helmets.. but.. for extra insurance that you don't lose them... slap a piece of Duct Tape over the band of your Goggles in the back of your helmet... so that way when you come to a stop.. if you lift em up and over your Visor you don't run the risk of having them inadvertantly popping off in the back and having them fall down a hillside. But like I said typically not a problem anymore because now that nold in a ridge in the back of helmet purposefully to help prevent that strap from slipping off upwardly.

When you're looking for an Enduro jacket... choose wisely... the one I bought many years ago is really cool. Has removable inner warm layer that you can zipper out.. bunch of vents that are easy to open when you're riding for when the day warms up on ya. And the pockets in front are such that you can run a water bladder in them and route the hose up and out of a grommeted exit hole on the pocket so you don't even have to stop to rehydrate.

 

[Brnsvllyjohn]

So here's another bigge in regards to a bike vs and ATV. On a bike your eyes are always on the ground in front of you as your moving/riding, won't see many pigs or deer if your looking at the ground. If your riding and ATV you still have to look at the ground but not nearly as much, you can use your eyes to skan the landscape for critters.
But again, it's not for me unless needed to cover big country from a hunting basecamp and in that case it would be an ATV or my 84 4runner (forest roads/trails would dictate).

I have used both ATVs and a motorcycle and successfuly "Road Hunting" from either is almost impossible. They get you into a hunting area and back but cruising and hunting from one has never worked for me. They do make it way easier for an old fart to get game out. Seeing a game animal run across the road and then getting on it is something I have never done succcessfully. I have however crashed a motorcycle trying to get off in a bad spot to get a shot.

 

[Bankrunner]

One of the best options would be to employ the help of pack goats to carry your gear from basecamp. Then your eyes might really be able to see.

 

[Bankrunner]

I have used both ATVs and a motorcycle and successfuly "Road Hunting" from either is almost impossible. They get you into a hunting area and back but cruising and hunting from one has never worked for me. They do make it way easier for an old fart to get game out. Seeing a game animal run across the road and then getting on it is something I have never done succcessfully. I have however crashed a motorcycle trying to get off in a bad spot to get a shot.

Was riding an atv fast on the way back to camp and caught movement on my right in the pinyon pines. I looked over and running parallel to me was a deer (maybe 8 to 10 yds away). I slowed the machine and the deer slowed down and pretty much matched my speed. I stopped and lost the deers movement. We were in small open space and on his side there was a small pinyon next to me with thicker pinyons just beyond. Sitting on the atv and looking i see nothing. I did not see the deer exit and think it's still close. With the machine still running i slowly get my camera out of my back and turn it on. I slowly stand on the foot pegs and see nothing, i then grab the bars and move my feet to the seat of the atv and slowly stand. looking at me from behind the pinyon pine was a good old rocky mountain mule deer buck. I take a couple pics and eventually the buck runs off. I left the machine running and slowly walked after the buck but quartered away to the right. At about 50 yds in i see him standing broadside looking at me maybe 70 yds away. He let me take a few more pics before taking off again. This happened in a ca Xzone during the open season and sorry to say say i did not have a deer tag. My Shotgun was loaded for birds.

 

[Bigbadboar]

I did it last year and i might do it again. Strapped my rifle case across my chest with 2 small bungees attached to my backpack straps on each shoulder. That worked. I wiped out once and things got sketchy, but i made it out alive. Didnt see anything or fill any tags but got to explore country that i either couldnt or didnt want to take my truck to.