Should I shoot an ATV

[the nikster]

Now that you're here you should know that ,NO!, you should not shoot ATV's, but...
Many times I have seen ATV's off-road, hidden in areas closed to ATV's.
I have wanted to shoot them or otherwise render them useless.
Ethics won't allow me to damage someone else's stuff so I've thought about letting the air out of a couple of tires. I would have damaged nothing. Should the felonious owner move his illegally parked vehicle accross closed land, he may damage his own tires-this really saddens me-heh heh heh!
or am I just being an ass?
What would you do?

 

[Elkhunter]

My ethics would not let me do anything to it. I think the more responsible thing to do is to report them and let it be dealt with. If more & more people report the violations, more would be done to enforce the laws, and from what I have seen on here, more and more states are just doing that. I have seen boards full of nails on the trails also, that really pisses me off and would piss me off even more if I didn't see it and stepped on it or if my horse stepped on it. They may be wrong for bringing an ATV into a closed area, but two wrongs will never make a right.

 

[T Bone]

I've tried the reporting to the proper authorities. The response I received was that enforcement personell staffing was too low to respond to such calls.

Maybe a fresh turd on the seat and/or instrument panel may be more appropriate than disabling the vehicle?

 

[noharleyyet]

Ditto on the reporting T-Bone...same response I recieved. Am with Elkhunter also on the 2 wrongs...etc.

 

[krshunter]

I turned a guy in that had driven his four wheeler past the National Forest Service boundary. I was a couple of miles in with a pack on my back when I started seeing trees cut down and tracks on the ground. I followed for about another 1/2 mile when I saw that he cut through the fence so he could get through. Found his four wheeler and camp set up on a remote hill top miles in where vehicles had never been. I wanted to slash the tires and pour his gas on his camp and set it a blaze. But like you guys my ethics wouldn't allow me to do so. I took his camp location with my gps, got on my cell phone and turned his location over to the dispatcher. Next day while back at camp for mid morning coffee and snack, two Forest Service trucks came out, one with him and his gear in it and the other with his four wheeler in the back. That's was the best thing that could have happened.

 

[Elkhunter]

I think that the more preasure hunters, or whoever, puts on the FS, they will begin to take it more serious. It will sooner or latter become a priority to them. If we all think that they will do nothing and ignore it, nothing will ever happen,

 

[krshunter]

Elkhunter,

I've seen plenty of people use them responsibly and I have had an occassion or two to use them to get up a two track that was too skinny for the truck to get an animal out. But the majority that I've run across have been using them irresponsibly. Two weeks ago I was having mof a canyon and push it toward the top knowing that there are always deer in it and most people were too lazy to walk it. We had seen and passed up three 4 point bucks in it two days earlier. WE got about half way along the ridge and began to glass to see if we could see some deer bedding or feeding. What we saw was two 4 wheelers in the bottom running deer out to three 4 wheelers on top who were running the ridges where there were no roads trying to cut deer of and shoot at them. I had two of the bucks 50 yards in front of me and 500 yds from the hunters and they still shot with me in plain site. I turned them in but nothing could be done because they weren't caught by the "law". What I can tell you is here in WY the G&F is actively working to have ATV's banned during hunting season. Don't know if that is good or bad but I sure hate seeing our land and animals abused by them.

 

[B-Killin]

Rather than taking it out on there four wheeler, why don't ya get some balls and wait for them to come back and chew there ass!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think not only is it unethical to shoot someones bike, but it is being a pussy. If someone is doing something wrong or illegal jump there ass!!! what ever happended to the days when people called you on your shit. When I was young if somebody had a problem with what you were doing they told you so. Nowadays people are freakin' scared to get some back bone and stand up for what they believe in. If there hunting in your area and there riding ATV's where they shouldn't be and it is really pissing you off, don't come home and ask everybody at hunttalk what to do. Go back there, sit on there freakin bike and wait 'till the sorry SOB's come back and make it right!!. That's my two cents!

 

[the nikster]

Damn, that last one hurt!
Probably cuz it's good sound Western advice.
My only retort would be that I don't want to waste my day waitin on the guy who just might kick my ass-you see I walked up there while he conserved energy by riding up-outsmarted again!
I have not done anything to an ATV and probably never will. probably
Damn, it still stings! just walk right up to her and chew her ass! Damn!

 

[noharleyyet]

Damn B-Killin, what time do the bars close in Boise? Just kidding but when you've hiked 3 1/2 hours and encounter illegal quads at your destination coordinates, I'm guessing they don't give a shit about the law...mix anger, the unknown, with 300 mags plus the occasional sidearms some of us carry...if it's ok with you I think I'll report it & come back and talk about it on hunttalk.

 

[danr55]

You pull a plug wire and leave a note saying that the plug wire will be waiting for them are the last place where the ATV was legal. They have a hike, no real harm done and they are aware of the fact that someone is unhappy that they illegally crossed someone's land.

 

[B-Killin]

All I have to say is that if they get back to there bike and they are going to beat my ass that had better pack a big ass lunch. All B.S. aside. I happen to be one of those guys who if i was coming off the mountain and saw something that really pissed me off, why wait to get home to tell everyone on hunttalk about it. If it bothers you that much go gettrdun. Talk to fish cops, pull a plug, jump there ass. Whatever it is at least do something. Thats all i'm saying. Stop being soft!

 

[krshunter]

B-Killin. I don't think the guy that asked the question was actually waiting on us for a reply so he could go do something about it. If he is, well.........there are other issues there. That being said, as much as it pisses me off to see something like that I'd rather let the local law enforcement take care of it mainly because, like noharleyyet said, if they have that much disregard for the law to begin with they aren't really going to give a damn about what I have to think. The local law can and in most cases will take possession of their equipment to and that is exactly what they deserve. They are more than likely to take notice if their 4-wheeler is taken by the law than if I chew them out on the mountain. They'll probably tell me to go to hell or mind my own business and keep on a going. Case in point, about four years ago my father-in-law approached three hunters that had cut a barbed wire fence so they could get their 4-wheelers up a hillside and closer to where they wanted to hunt. He was pissed but approached them without trying to make too much fuss because he was alone. What he got was two pistols pulled on him and told to make his way off the hill and mind is own business. Not much accomplished by trying to take care of it himself.

 

[Roadtrip]

Dan,

Love the response by leaving the plug wire where it was last legal. Effective, and definitely would teach someone a lesson.

Thats why I hunt wilderness and roadless, I got no use for ATVs and never have liked seeing them in Elk Country. Not meaning to start an ATV war mind you.....just my taste.

Cheers
Roadtrip

 

[Tom]

You've got to have a law first, then the next step is to enforce it. The more complaints, the more attention to enforcing it.

The story reminded me of hunting in Idaho, sweating, carrying a day pack, up a ways then around. I hear the noise way off and it gets closer and closer, then two ATVs come around the corner from where I am headed. The guys are sitting on pillows and have hot coffee thermos's strapped to the ATVs. I don't know what happened to them, but they could have fell off and rolled down the mountain and died for all I cared. I had a good hunt, but it makes you not want to go back to a place like that.

Lots of people here think public hunting totally sucks, because of stuff like that. On private land here, that kind of thing is put a stop ASAP, i.e. that day. If they don't comply ASAP, they are encouraged to leave and never come back. Its simple, follow the rules or go somewhere else now, and it happens that way.

Its harder to enforce on big expanses of public land, but there are at least the big expanses of public land there to hunt, that's the other side of coin there.

 

[B-Killin]

hey the plug wire idea is great, but wouldn't it be better if you were standing there holding it at the boundary!!!!!!!!! Then you could kick the shit out of them, and teach them a lesson in ethics at the same time!!!
JUST A THOUGHT!!