EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Hey fellas just wanted some input from you guys on something.  Do you think a 4 wheeler or a utv like a polaris ranger be better for hunting off of with dogs.  i guess both have their advantages but what do you guys think.  I saw mattaggies mule with the custom bed on it and have really wanted one for a while but seems like a 4 wheeler is smaller and able to get into tighter places what are your thoughts.

We have a ranger and fourwheelers. We use the ranger to go around fire lanes and plantations. they have alot of room in the back and make it easy to haul dogs. But we use fourwheeler to go around small narrow trails down in the river bottoms.

I like to hunt off of horses the best though ;D

We Carry the dogs in the truck and one of the guys follows behind in a 6 wheel gator for hog retrival. MUCH easier. Once out of college I'm thinking a 6x6 Ranger with a box for catch dogs and rack on top of box for hog retrival and an old quail truck to haul the bay dogs in. If I hunted river bottoms more then a horse or ATV

As far as comfort and room, the UTV is the way to go. Matt and I hunt together every week and that mule comes in real handy hauling people,dogs and hogs.

But, a 4-wheeler is hard to beat when you need to go deep in the woods to haul hogs out.

I guess it's depends on the terrain you'll be hunting, we always have both available.

I have both and neither one was really the perfect solution for me.  My solution (and my work in-progress) was what I call my "buggy" that I built about a year ago and still make tweaks from time to time.  I started with an old flat bottom boat trailer and designed as I went.  It's got two compartments to haul dogs (actually the rear has folding doors that can be closed to make three compartments), seats two people and storage for collars, tracking system and such in a box that also serves as a backrest.  Dogs can also be loaded on top (several of my dogs have learned the command "get-on" to which they will jump on the seat then up to the top when I say and point)  When hogs are caught, I can easily unhook from the buggy drive the four wheeler closer to winch out the hog, then load the hog in the back.

It also allows me to take several dogs but only let a couple hunt at a time.  I think it also fires the young dogs up getting to watch the older ones go when they are held back sometimes.

(http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee138/bdavis1476/Dogs/dogs13.jpg)

(http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee138/bdavis1476/Dogs/dogs12.jpg)

Bryant i really like the idea of your trailer, how does the 4 wheeler handle pulling it around with all of your dogs equiptment and 2 people on it, and how about through trails and such.  do your dogs strike off of the rig or are the on the ground.  man i really like that setup the more i look at it. anymore pics?

i just use a 4 wheeler i was going to get a utv but i am just going to buy a little trailer for my 4 wheeler it only costs $200 and it could hold a dog and a few good size pigs. but bryant has the best idea build your own and have  it the way you want it.

I really like that trailer Bryant!  I have seen it before but I like it more everytime I see it.  I LOVE my mule but if I still had my four wheeler I would build a trailer just like yours.  I also like the fact that your bike does not get trashed from hauling people and dogs near as bad as if you you just had a rack on your quad.  How do you like that Polaris?

Matt

Its best to have both. We use the utv to haul the dogs and then go in the woods with the 4 wheeler and get the hogs out.

Clay, your Rhino can almost go anywhere the atvs can go can't it? It sure looked like it could anyway. I been wanting to get me a buggy for my fourwheeler to haul all these chilluns I been packing around with me! ;D

i  must admit, i have personally seen that Rhino of clay's go through some pretty tight, thick stuff. stuff you would think you could only get a 4-wheeler into. it will crawl through some stuff, and it's a comfortable vehicle.

sbrooks-  Send me your email address and I'll send you a few more pics.  I do have one dog that will rig and wind off the top. The guy I got the dog off of a while back used him as a rig dog, however he will hunt just as well on the ground.  The problem the guy had with him is that he won't bark when he winds.  He will only wimper which works out fine because the guys riding on the seat can hear him fine.  I usually don't hunt that way but Doc nearly always rides up there, and he has struck like that twice while we were moving.  Until recently I pulled it with a Honda Foreman 400 and had no problems.  I use it every time I hunt, and have pulled it all over the place.  It does get a little tricky in thick mud, and I have had to unhook...pull the four wheeler around and pull it out before.

Matt-  I like the Polaris so far.  I have had such good luck with my Honda that I might not should have changed, but I wanted the 800 and also got a smoking deal on a 2007 they wanted off the showroom floor.  Due to the independant rear suspension, I had to turn up the preload on my rear springs, and also ended up cutting the axle off the buggy and moving it forward to reduce the tongue weight.  It wasn't an issue with the straight axle Honda.  You can see from the pics above that before I made the changes it squatted the rear of the Polaris pretty good.

So Matt now that you have been using the mule would you go back to the wheeler or stay with the mule?  how do you think the mule would perform pulling the trailer rig of Bryan's.  Hope you guys dont get to tired of the questions but i was always told the only dumb question is the one you dont ask?

That is a tough one sbrooks, I would have to say that I am happier with my mule.  I would say that the overall comfort is much better and I have yet to find a spot that a four wheeler could go that I couldn't due to width.  I have a lift and tires which helps but this thing will eat through mud, I have hunted all day nearly with five people and two catch dogs on my mule in some pretty swampy situations without any problems, a four wheeler just isn't going to do that.  Tree limbs are my biggest enemy but I have always found a way around or through.  I have a roof on mine and that is handy when you need a little shade.  I always haul mine on a trailer but James (longshot) has a long wheel base truck and hauls his dogs and his mule in the back of his truck without a problem.  Cost is something that cannot go without mentioning and I feel that a trailer that you build yourself and good used ATV will come out a little cheaper so that is something you have to look at as well.  I bought a five year warranty with my mule that I hope I never have to use but it is there where if I need it which I was never going to get on a used ATV.  I could go on and on but at the end of the day the mule is nicer but costs a little more.  Hope I didn't muddy the waters too much.

Matt

i'm sold on the 6 wheel drive ..6-wheelers. They can go through more mud than my 4x4--650 kalasocki , I also aways take my 4x4 -4wheeler just in case the 6- wheeler wont make it but so far the 6-wheelers has found a way to get to the bay,,,THE 6- WHEELER RIDES REALSMOOTH, & carries lots of people & dogs & hogs. THEY ARE GREAT.I tried the trailer thang and it's so hard on your atv plulling a loaded trailer through and getting stuck all the time and for get pulling a trailer around a wet grain field, mud will clog the tires up and lock the wheels where they wont turn.too muddy in my country to pull a trailer.might work better in rocky country.

(http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/davisly0217/222404-R1-02-12_003-1.jpg)

(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s151/hoghuntermyass/REDNECKRANGER.jpg)

Dang I miss my Big Boss!!!!

one thing i forgot to mention is in the thick stuff the rhino weighs more and will go through more vines and break bigger trees than a wheeler. but if your hunting forest it could get a little tight. I have a 4 wheeler and a rhino. The wheeler dosnt even crank the battery is dead. Just to show how often i ride it. i would never leave home without the rhino forget the wheeler.

Same thing with the gator Clay the more dead bodies (Hogs, not people. The people count would break the gator in two ::) ;) ) The more nastier Gulf Cordgrass it can go over. Four Wheelers have a problem with the cordgrass of high centering

Nice Scott, very nice  ;D