Hunting Clubs

[thermal]

Anyone got any ideas on how to solve this problem?
Hunting clubs lease the land and then keep everyone out so that they can kill the animals. They will not let bikes on the land even in none hunting months. I don't have a problem with hunters though.
Do you think I could join their clubs and then ride my bike during non hunting season?

 

[bwalker]

Lease some property of your own.;)

 

[Senior KX Rider]

moved to off-topic forum

 

[bwalker]

Look at it this way. If you leased property to ride on would you let people hunt on it? I wouldnt. Besides the land owner may prohibit riding because of the liability issues. My family has 600+ acres in MI that would be a great place for a track and it already has lots of trails, but i dont ride on it more than twice a year. The reason, its a hunting camp. Deer come in from the sourouding areas because they know they will not be disturbed on our property.Ridng on it before hunting season makes the place lose its attractivness as a sanctuary and the hunting will surely suffer.

 

[Offroadr]

We have rode for years on property that was hunted and the bikes never bothered the deer. They were not afraid of the bikes, especially if you moved through the area without stopping. They paid little attention. we seen them virtually every time we rode (just on weekends)

I tend to disagree Ben, and I have one on the wall from that area to prove it.

 

[WoodsRider]

The club I belong to owns property in the Adirondack Park. Surrounding property is owned/leased by deer hunters and we allow some deer hunters to use our land except on Sundays. The deer seem to find a safe haven on our land during hunting season. The bikes rarely bother them.

The club I belonged to in Chicago holds an enduro in Indiana. One 20-mile section was also ridden constantly by the land owners. They also had the largest trophy wall I have ever seen in my life and everything came from their property.

 

[thermal]

I agree, there is no way that dirt bikes disturb the wildlife. The turkey and deer just scoot off the trails. Do you think the hunting clubs would let me join and pay their dues if I am up front with them and let them know that I do not hunt and will only ride during non hunting season. In this area there is no hunting from may thru sept.

 

[bwalker]

Offroadr, I think our difference of opinion comes from the fact the we are in different states. Michigan has a lot more fallow land than Indiana or Illinois. It also has the highest number of deer hunters in the country. Our property is surrounded by state and small parcels of private land. When people start hunting small game and such in the early fall it cause two things to happen. It pushes deer into our property because they will not be disturbed there; it causes the deer that stay in the aforementioned area to become more nocturnal. I have observed this over many seasons. So I would say land use definantly effects deer movement and land utilization. I would agree with what your saying when applied to southern MI however, which is much like IL and IN in that the deer are way more accustomed to people, cars, noise, etc. In summation I would say in the case of our property riding would definantly have a negative effect on the deer hunting. That’s why we chose not o ride on the land from July through December.

 

[Offroadr]

OK Ben if you say so :)

 

[Okiewan]

When arriving at OT's, we have to take a slow lap or two to run the deer off... they are there everyday. Doesn't seem to keep them away.

 

[agitt73]

i ride the places i bow hunt
evan during dear season
the doe's follow my trails
which in turn gives me shooting lanes and the buck's follow the doe's

 

[Timr]

Originally posted by thermal
I agree, there is no way that dirt bikes disturb the wildlife. The turkey and deer just scoot off the trails. Do you think the hunting clubs would let me join and pay their dues if I am up front with them and let them know that I do not hunt and will only ride during non hunting season. In this area there is no hunting from may thru sept.

In Alabama, there are a number of Hunting/Dirt bike clubs. There's one where a group of dirt bikers became a "Hunting Club" because it was easier to lease the land that way. There's another Hunting club that was going to loose their land lease because they didn't have enough members/money. They opened up a limited number of memberships to dirt bikers. There were obviously rules about riding during hunting season, but it wasn't prohibited to ride during hunting season, it just had to be between certain hours.

The land managers seem to like the single track trails that the motorcyclists create. The Land managers used the single track trails to inspect certain areas of the property. The trails came in handy when a stand of trees became infested with Pine beattles. And, the hunters find them useful too. The key to success is good communication and cooperation amongst both groups.

 

[DENNY]

Hunters have just as hard of a time finding land as dirt bikers so I leased the land behind my house and then sub-least to a hunting club. As it turned out they only wanted it for deer season and we have it the rest of the time. You would be suprised how many people call me to join the hunting club. So when the land come open across the road I'm leasing it and I have total control for very little money.

 

[Dennis Meyers]

Hunting/Dirt Bike Club?
What a great idea! Now you've got my wheels turning, I'm going to have to get ahold of a couple of the local clubs. We already have a huge tract of private land we ride on, and it's also hunted heavily in the fall. No negetive effects on the Whitetail population. It's not unusual to ride within 30 yards of a group of does grazing, and we can shut off the bikes, sit there and talk and it doesn't seem to bother them at all, as long as we stay seated on the bikes. These woods have been ridden frequently for the last 20+ years, so it has become a very natural (or at least very common) thing for the deer to see/hear/smell. Now with all the hunting clubs, that could potentially open up a bunch of new riding areas, which would be nice because the "Peoples Republic of New York" doesn't have any "public" riding areas, at least that I'm aware of.