First off, I'm not a hunter of any kind, grew up in the UK and was not exposed to it as a kid. I live in the foothills of the Cascades (Oregon) and have an off road motorcycle (WR250R) that I use to explore the dirt roads in my neighborhood - some accessible by car, some not. Today, at 1 pm we met a couple of bow hunters on a remote gravel road who seemed somewhat unhappy to see us - my riding buddies & I have relatively quiet bikes and don't tear things up. I believe they may have been hunting elk (based on a a neighbor who bow hunts) and were walking back to their rig, which was parked at least 5 miles away behind a locked gate. We came in from a different direction through an open gate...... I usually ride between 10am and 4 pm and based on my limited knowledge of deer/elk hunting figured that was when folks weren't hunting so much - I used to kayak on the Deschutes and never had a prob with fishermen as they fished dawn & dusk and I boated during the day........ I try not to let my fun interfere with other people's fun, within reason - do you guys have any advice for riding forest gravel roads during deer/elk season ? Thanks
Inthesticks, you sound like a good guy. You are doing all the right things, no stress. After it is all said and done, the trails and public land are open to everyone, even during hunting season. Have fun and safe riding.
if its public land and you are in the proper standing of the law to ride those bikes then i see no problem. it is VERY kind of you to post this thread asking what you can do. the fact you care means a alot.
Just be careful....There are crazy ppl out there!Boobie traps and thin wire at neck level,Ya just never know what ppl r capable of.....I had the ''cable'' thing happen to me with a quad yrs ago.Luckily I was going slow and stopped in time. It is nice that u do care enough to ask! Good ppl r hard to come across in this wacky world.....Ride safe my friend,ride safe!!!!
Wish there was more folks like you. Speaking of boobie traps. Remember that incident in Wisconson or Minnesota few years back when that one guy was killing other hunters with his SKS. Takes all kinds.
Thanks for the kind replies everyone, certainly reinforces my desire to have a minimum impact on the hunters in my area. A point of clarification, the fact we were on "public lands" is debatable, the road in question is about 6 miles long, and is a checkerboard of State and private logging parcels. Up until 15 years ago, it was totally open, then a locked gate was installed on the southern access - no private signs, just signs stating the gate might be locked at any time. The road is totally open from the north side, though this side is remote and infrequently traveled. The bow hunters came in from the south and figured there was no motorized access, we came in from the north and knew different. Normally, if I catch up with hunters on a road (private or public) I just turn around and go elsewhere. In this case we were at the end of a 3 hour loop and had neither the gas nor energy to backtrack. So, I see both sides...........................
If they were smart they would set up off the trails and have you push the deer towards them .........lol. While your here can we interest ya into Bow Hunting ? .........:D
The reason they werent happy to see you was because deer, elk, most animals tend to get uneasy when off roaring is going on. I hunt in an area that's popular with 4 wheelers. Luckily, they mostly stay off my property, but not all the time.
