Chapter 5: Outdoor Safety
Hunting With All-Terrain Vehicles

All-Terrain Vehicles or ATVs are special-purpose vehicles that require careful, 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 in rough terrain.
• Studies show that the majority of ATV accidents occur when the rider unexpectedly encounters an obstacle, such as a rock or a ditch. Maintaining a safe speed is critical.
• If you use ATVs to hunt, prepare yourself and your family by attending an approved ATV course.
• 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.
  • Carry firearms unloaded and cased, or on a proper gun rack.
  • 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.
• Many states prohibit hunting from any motorized vehicle, including ATVs; this includes disturbing, 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 trail; in other places, 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.

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