A True Confession

Boy...... What a discussion...... I can see most conceivable sides.....
horses.....mules..... motorcycles..... atv,s.....bicycles....
Only fair way I see is.... "BY Foot Only".......
Another subject,along the same lines..... Are drones legal to hunt with....????
 
Sorry was typing off of my phone without my reading glasses.
"Jim put your Go Pro On and see how far and what kind of road you are on"
Boy...... What a discussion...... I can see most conceivable sides.....
horses.....mules..... motorcycles..... atv,s.....bicycles....
Only fair way I see is.... "BY Foot Only".......
Another subject,along the same lines..... Are drones legal to hunt with....????
Private land - Public Land a lot of hunters have their own rules.
I know of PUBLIC Land where some hunters have hunted it for years and now they think that it is their Property and try to make it Private.

I can see some cases where some type of vehicle should be allowed. We hunted Newfoundland and don't know how we would have gotten our Moose out of the woods without a Four Wheeler. Could barely walk the terrain.

Only Drones allowed are the ones with built in rifles so you can shoot your prey!
 
I would have assumed this community would support extending the hunting years for our seniors: we all will be there one day if we are fortunate.

In my opinion, E Bikes should be Regulated just like handicap tags on a car & let the elders get another few years out of it.

I thought this was a shooting & hunting community that supported decent folks participating in this great lifestyle.
 
I run the backou storm with watt wagons 2300w motor and rohloff hub. I use it coyote hunting or running around town.. actually comes in handy a lot more for things i didn't expect and a lot less for things i bought it for lol
That is some serious torque!
 
Not only that but it's somebody's mode of transportation and you have zero knowledge of the physical health of the person who rode it there. It may have been someone with a physical ailment you stranded out in the middle of nowhere.
For the record I am not the one who rendered the illegally parked e-bike unridable deep in the backcountry. But I don't see a problem with that. If someone thinks the rules don't apply to them because they are special they can be wolf food. USFS and FWP don't have time to police it all but there are plenty of volunteers who will do it for them.
 
if its a no motorized vehicle area ,ebikes are motor vehicles , then no deal ... walk ,or feed a horse all year

the no motorized vehicle zones give some protection to their habitats

getting to that habitat without help of a ride , is part of the hunt

ebikes would add such an advantage , the populations would suffer

id be cool with laws against it , with huge fines and forfeiture of all property including transporting vehicles to trail heads
 
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I work in the bike industry for brands that make bikes and e-bikes (disclaimer).

Firstly on the forum request: I think this is a great idea. People are hunting with e-bikes and will continue to do so. Why not aggregate good information about what's working and what's not? Also a good opportunity to educate e-bike people on what is legal and not as better light is shed on what arguably has been a Wild West mentality.

Secondly on the activity. I'm in the industry, I'm an avid cyclist, own e-bikes and yet don't hunt with them. I've considered it in several areas but they just don't work for the majority of places I hunt, backpacks and boots are the only things that can get into these spots. I see a lot of parallels between the hunting access e-bike conversation and the 90s and early 2000s conversations between mtn bikers and hikers. There wasn't an immediate understanding of the trail impact of mtn biking or the difficulties and dangers of true multi-use single track. The fact is, even a bicycle without a motor causes significantly more trail erosion than walking, also trails that are "good" hike trails don't necessarily make "good" bike trails and vice versa. Since then the bike community has gotten a lot better about proactive trail designation and right of way, these two communities are getting along much better as a result. I do believe e-bikes have a place in hunting and I'd much rather see them (or hear them) than a swarm of atvs. That being said our community needs a lot more work around responsible trail designation to make this work well. Some areas are really easy and straight forward: Wilderness areas will never have wheels of any sort, nor should they. Many areas however are unfortunately gray. A lot of those gray areas require individual hunters and riders to work together and create clarity and designations trail by trail. Creating clarity reduces friction and helps manage expectations. At the end of the day I think there is a middle ground where some areas are accessible with them and many are not. I think there is a responsible middle ground that can be established to cover this "newer" method of access between atv and boot.

I fundamentally do not think there is any argument around special access regarding age or disability. It's frankly the wrong tool for that. I think horse and utv/atv are far better tools depending on the individual disability and circumstance. I firmly believe designation for use should be assigned to trails not to individuals or the system will be abused. What percentage of individuals do you witness leveraging a household handicap plate for convenience when getting groceries vs someone who has a struggle. I don't even bat 50% on handicap spots and that's with a full audience of peers witnessing and judging. With no one looking in a wilderness scenario those percentages will go way up. I think a better way to help those folks in need are special seasons some states afford or special hunts when pressure on animals are reduced.
 
Glad I live Texas and hunt private ranches where I don't have to care what you all think about my e-bike 🤣 If I had any feelings they would probably be hurt reading some of this crap. This forum seems to turning into a bunch of old bitter people that turn everything into a negative. Sure is entertaining though!
 
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