Hunting With All-Terrain Vehicles

All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) are special-purpose vehicles that require safety education, protective clothing, responsible handling, and good judgment.

They’re useful for traveling into back country, but they can damage the environment if used recklessly. They also require training and practice to handle them safely on rough terrain.

Prepare yourself and your family by becoming certified with a state-approved safety education course (see sidebar).

Studies show that many ATV accidents occur when the rider unexpectedly encounters an obstacle, such as a rock or a ditch. Maintaining a safe speed is critical.

Before hunting with ATVs on private land, be sure to get the landowner’s permission.

Always follow the rules for safe and ethical operation.

• Wear a helmet approved by the Department of Transportation.
• Wear protective clothing, including goggles, gloves, and boots.
• Carry firearms unloaded, cased, and on a proper gun rack.
• When using the plastic scabbard mounted on an ATV, clear the inside of the scabbard of debris and check your firearm’s muzzle for obstructions.
• Stay on the main roads and trails.
• Pick your route carefully to minimize terrain damage.
• Don’t drive over crops or planted fields.
• Don’t shoot from an ATV.
• Use ATVs only to get to the hunting area or to haul an animal from the woods.

Considerations When Hunting With All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)

• In many states, it is illegal to hunt from any motorized vehicle, including ATVs; this includes molesting, stirring up, or driving any game animals or game birds with a motorized vehicle.
• It is illegal in some states to operate an ATV off the trail, or there may be trails specifically closed to ATV use.
• In many states, it is prohibited to operate an ATV off roads or trails in a manner that damages or disturbs the land, wildlife, or vegetation.
• Some states require that ATVs be equipped with approved and operating spark-arresting mufflers and comply with sound regulations.

Shooting from vehicles is unsafe, unethical, and in many instances illegal.