How many ATV trappers out there?

For me, load the ATV in the truck and hit the road.

I use a side by side for my trapping. I made a plywood box that has drawers for baits and lures. Another drawer for all the tools, cutouts for 5 gallon buckets of waxed sand and trays on top for traps. Winches on front and back, carrier on front for critters and made a folding anchor to winch myself out if stuck. Most of my landowners won't allow pickups in their pastures.

I trailer my side by side to location, unload and roll. Way better for land trapping in the country I trap than a four wheeler.

Never trapped an ATV before. MB 550 just want hold one! LoL

I use a Polaris sportsman 570 on the farms around my house land trapping. Not so much for my water trapping most of that is pull up spots and trekking through with waders or boots

20 yr old Suzuki King Kuad 350 here.
Easy to maneuver through Timberland when needed as well, even with 10’ drowning rods on board.

I have two ATV's, a 2005 and 2012 Yamaha Big Bear 400 4WD that I use in my feral wild hog trapping operations. Both are the geared transmission models and are real work horses for heavy pulling of loaded trailers, dragging big steel live traps cross country, carrying out hogs, etc. The ATVs can get back into the bad stuff where I cannot go with my 4WD truck. I sometimes have to make two trips in/out with the atv and trailer.

That hog trapping looks like a lot of heavy work on a good day

One loop we have to use our side by side, or load the wheeler in the pickup.
Do it because it is a good area.

Yes it is some heavy, muddy, nasty work. Sometimes I get a stress test several times a week. At 71 I am not sure how much longer I can do this but dread the day I have to give it up.

Dave

Brings back memories from hunting Green Swamp WMA in center of state

At 71 a lot of guys would b wishing they could do it still.

I trap my own property and abutting neighbors so I don't have to haul my wheeler around. 2016 Yamaha Kodiak 700. Notice that tote on the front rack, GB?

I have caught alot of big dog wrecking boar hogs from Green Swamp over the years. Those were some fun hunts, but the dogs paid a heavy price for those quests. I still have one YBMC cow dog that I use sparingly when needed.

Dave

I run a 2003 Kawasaki prairie 360 and pull a small homemade trailer that has atv wheels on it so I can haul critters and gear better. Would sure like one of those 26,000 dollar side by sides with cab and heater but the wife would kill me.

That’s my right before retirement goal. Get me a Pioneer or Ranger with all my trapping gear already loaded and drop the gate and go. Using a truck right now, but would be much easier with an UTV.

Best purchase Ive made. Haul it to property on utility trailer. This machine is made for trapping. Added carrier on rear for critters...keeps blood and odors out of bed and off equipment.

Keeps my truck out of the mess., especially those rainy, muddy days.

Here is my setup:




I put my critter rack on the front so I am not slinging mud on them. I also took the plastic bed off and threw it away. Built a new one out of marine grade plywood so I can fasten things to the bed. Near impossible to do that with that hollow shell plastic bed. I also made the new bed wider but still inside the overall width of the cab. I was not happy with the front rack and changed it. The current version is the second picture. It was too short before. It is totally removable with 4 pins so the radiator can be serviced.

Also added removable racks to carry drowning rods when needed. The last pic was before I reworked the front rack and redid the bed but was the best one to show the rod rack.

My Subaru mini truck has the best of both worlds for me. 4x4, enclosed cab with heat and a radio, decent mileage and a large box with sides that fold down for easy loading/unloading. Can buy them for much less than a UTV.

I been using 4 wheelers for trapping since they have been invented.In fact I used 3 wheelers to trap before 4 wheel bikes were invented.

I just don’t see that making it down South. I like it, but a little too big.

This winter I use a atv checking from home and my two feet at another place. Not much snow here yet. If they call for snow will have to put the tracks on to get around though.

Not a big fan of the side by sides. Lots of places they can't go. I prefer to run lean and mean on a Reg ATV. I'll stick with my Honda foreman.

I tried trapping one once, bent my trap all up.

I ha e 4,500 miles on my Polaris Ranger on rough country down here in Texas. It ain’t sexy, but it is reliable.

Hern, are those whistle pigs ?? I just use my .220 Swift on them

Crows, yote's and Hawks clean up the mess.

I got the same thing. Is that an 08 700? I don’t have all the boxes, but as a cat trapper I don’t need much room. Spot for my bag, milk crate from my drags and cables, and a pile of traps in the bed. With a 1,000lbs payload capacity, it’s more than enough for a trapper.

I use a 23 year old Honda 300 with a couple boxes I have made for front and back. I pull mine with a trailer. This is the first year I have run a 2-3 dozen canine line using a 4-wheeler, so I have a lot to change, modify and improve, but it sure did help me get to places I have not trapped much on my permissions. We have so much land that gets liquid manure and then chisel plowed and then it gets rough to travel on. Not much value trying too much before crops are off with early coons worth nothing and foxes below $10. As I age I can see myself doing more drive up type canine and coon trapping as it is a whole lot easier on the body and with our type of fur there is no real money in any of what we catch at the current time.

Bryce

I am 71 and have thought about buying a side by side/UTV because after climbing on/off my ATVs during a long day of trap work makes my hips hurt. It is the lifting and throwing your leg over the seat to mount and lifting the leg, pivoting your hips to dismount numerous times each day that seems to work and hurt my hips. It looks like a side by side would be much easier and more comfortable to ride/drive but I am wondering if the side by side/UTVs has the brute pulling power of the geared manual transmission Yamaha 4WD ATVs. I think all of the side by side/UTV transmissions of Honda, Polaris, etc. are driven with a fan belt. I can't believe that would be as strong, durable, and/or as powerful as a geared transmission drive line. The side by side/UTVs are wider, probably heavier and more stable, but they don't look like they have alot of ground clearance which may/would limit its usability where I trap and hunt.

Yes.
Ground Grizzlies

Do not know about other brands but Honda ATVs and Side by Sides are NOT belt driven. They are gear driven. My sxs is rated to haul and tow over 1/2 ton. It will pull!

Thanks for telling him. I was gonna, but ya beat me to it.
My 2014 Pioneer still shifts smooth as butter. 3 speed auto.
Driveshafts, no stinkin belts.

I use an old John deere gator 2wd with locking differential. It meets my needs and I prefer it over the 500 Polaris. Easier on and off as well as a rack is no substitute for a bed.

My old Suzuki King Quad 300 is shaft driven, with Hi,Lo,Super Lo and Differential lock. No belts on it either

Looks like a Suzuki Eiger?

Limited usage for me. Last year was my first year running larger area. This year more and for about two weeks. I have a 1997 Honda 300 that works very well for me. I have made two large boxes , one for the front and a larger one for the back. I pull it with my truck and a 5 by 8.5 foot trailer. Allows me to cover more of the acres on the permissions I have.

Bryce

Hondas-a 300 and a 420.

300 Honda's ! !

I have not owned a sxs but in my estimation,with the longer wheelbase,in the rough country cut trails I sometimes navigate, I would be hung up/high centerd in a lot of places.
Not to mention I would have to cut a lot of my trails wider to accommodate a sxs.

Some guys here used the 6x6 bikes and swore by them for trapping.

Last years bobcat season

I agree Boco, back in the mountains my side by side just cannot get back into the coyote and cat territory. Always hung up or spend half the day crawling through spots you would just zip through on a wheeler, I've since gone back to a wheeler. Trapping in farmland, the side by side cannot be beat though.

I'll be putting a new canam 570 to the test this year.

The last decade, we've been trapping more ADC than fur line, so have used UTV's extensively. They have become "my office" although the Kawasaki is a much better back end to work out of than the previous Polaris. Runs more dependable also.

I use the 22-250. Instant light out.

Wore out 2 Honda ATV"s now I use a king quad. Pretty awesome machines as the utv"s can't fit many places here but with a bad hip at times the u
tv might be nice.

We use Honda and Yamaha, four wheelers. We put wooden boxes on front and rear racks and a gun rack. We also pull a small trailer. Easy to get around in.

Can't beat Wheeler trapping

Honda Pioneer is shaft driven.

Anybody use old honda 3 wheelers. I recently bought an old 1986 honda utility 3 wheeler for 50$. Things full of water an
but hey, it still rolls over when i kick it so it can be fixed🤷

We built our camp and hunted for years with an old big red three wheeler. Gets the job done but cannot count how many times i ran over my foot when it started to tip and i would put my leg down to steady it. Theres a market for them if they are running.

The first atv I used for trapping was a Honda Big Red 250 3 wheeler. It saved time over walking long distances. Shaft drive, reverse, and super low 1st gear. Ran like new - sold it a year ago.
Later a 1991 Honda 300 4x4. Big improvement. Still runs and looks great! Shaft drive!
Then a Yamaha 350 4x4. Big improvement. Still runs great!
Later a Mule 4x4 sxs. Huge Improvement! (It is for sale in the Trap Shed.)
This year a Honda Pioneer 1000 SE. 6 peed automatic and manual transmission. One, two locked, and 3 or 4 wheel locked. Speed, power, and luxury! Shaft drive!

QBD - That bed and other mods are GREAT! What size?

early 90s honda quads till they drop....have a 2005 now and its nice....had a polaris 6x6 big boss with a 2 cycle engine and it was a great rig but fuel consumption was about 5 miles per gallon...it crashed through the lake ice, was recovered weeks latter but the electrical and plastics suffered and it finally died...had a 2000 ish canam that skipped a timing chain and it still lays abandon miles and miles in the back woods at the bottom of a ravine...someday...grizzly bit up a tire last year so its almost an artifact now...

My Pioneer is a 700 with one seat. The windshield and roof are aftermarket accessories. All of the bed and rack mods are custom fabricated.

I use a 2001 AC 250
J

Fiske - your machine looks wicked good! Did you notice much power loss when you added the tracks? It looks unstoppable! Did fuel use change with the tracks?

Boco - as always, I am impressed by the efficiency and great design of your rigs. The canoe rack is fantastic. I have one for our Honda that is not as nice as yours. A guy in Maine was making them long ago. It is comprised of 3 modular sections so it can be easily removed to hang on the wall. A front vertical section and rear vertical section that slip into receiver bases mounted on the front and rear racks. Then pins go through to hold the sections in place. The top horizontal section slips over sections on the front and rear. 4 bolts secure everything. I added some gussets and widened the top rack.

Maybe you guys who are ATV, UTV, SXS minded may know of sources for some accessories? I am willing to go custom if I cannot find accessories are not suitable for my specific serious use.

I would like to find:
A headache rack made securely enough to mount 2 Kolpin gun boots alternated crosswise that would not prevent the bed from dumping.
A rack to span the full length of the machine with upright supports between the cab and bed.
A cap for the bed similar to a truck bed cap to keep tools dry - it will be used for work too.
Or a replacement tool / work bed.
Or a box and rack to mount in the bed to create a second level.

How is a person supposed to attach anything to that plastic bed? My Mule has a steel bed with a solid frame.

A guy above is using a Rancher or Foreman. I always wanted one of those extra rugged machines!

This SxS came from the factory with all of the accessories installed - front bumper / brush guard, windshield, top, winch, auxiliary fused switch panel, LED lighting, panoramic rear view mirror, Maxis radial tires, all 4 A arm skid plates, complete underbelly skid plates, and high performance tunable Fox suspension.

On these rigs I attach a hitch carrier as a “stink rack” for odiferous animals.

Best wishes!

Willy, my search for accessories for my Pioneer did not turn up much in the way of racks and nothing to replace that worthless hollow plastic bed. That is why all my mods are custom. Not inexpensive but now I have a very functional machine for land or water trapping. And everything maintained the serviceability of the machine. The bed still dumps as well. My drowning rod rack does block the passenger side door when hauling rods but the entire rod carrying system is removable when not needed. I have some in process pics I have not posted of the bed mods if you are interested in seeing them.

98 big bear 350 (paid $300 for it)

I have a John Deere gator 4x4 side by side with cab and heat. I tow it behind my Ford ranger 4x4. Once I get to the area I'm trapping I can use the Ranger or the gator just by unhooking the gator. Takes about a minute and I don't have a trailer to deal with. Been doing it this way for close to 10 years now. I stick to the gravels roads when towing and haven't had any issues.

This is my 17 year old Yamaha Bruin. I order a Can Am utv in September and hope
to have it by Thanksgiving.

Hornady Reloader -
Your ATV looks similar to my 20 year old Yamaha Wolverine 350. Yamaha and Honda certainly made/make good quality machines.

Hopefully your new UTV will arrive that soon. Have they been completing and shipping them to dealers? Can Am machines have a good reputation, but no dealer anywhere near my area.

Our Honda was on order for 9 months. Apparently electronic parts were unavailable. We had finally decided to cancel and the dealer called to notify its arrival. They are shipping only a trickle.

I use a Polaris 570 for trapping and when the snow gets deep the tracks come out. Good investment. Thought about a snowmobile but that just takes up more floor space and one more motor to worry about.

I am currently adding baskets, milk crates and other homemade attachments to a couple of ATVs. Now that more neighbors are asking me and the boy to trap their places, I need something other than my pickup for access.

The ATVs are starting to look very Road Warrior.

Mine is a 350. They are hoping to get the utv in November. I had to settle for blue in color because if I went for black or camo it wouldn't be here till February or March.

I ordered my Polaris in August they told me November....I called back a couple weeks ago and they told me March!

Swamp Wolf, what make?
Thanks

Mac