Hunting with a bicycle

[Rooster41]

Do any of you that hunt use a bicycle to get to your spot. I hunt a lot of public land here in MN. Most lands that I am aware of prohibit the use of motorized vehicles on the land, plus I don't have an ATV/UTV. I am considering a fat tire bike. I do a lot of my hunting during the week. I like to get out in the afternoons a couple of hours before people are getting off work and heading out to the woods. So I go back in deeper in hopes they will chase something to me. Its a long walk at times, not that I am complaining about walking a distance. Any of you that do, are there things you like about using a bike. I can imagine a few pros and cons but just curious what others think.

[Muskrat]

Guns and bikes...two of my favorite things. I don't hunt anymore, but I do a lot of riding, and a lot of shooting.

So for starters, what are you hunting? If it's deer, then you're going to need a trailer...doable but very limiting.

Second, are you already an avid bicyclist? Fat bikes are great, but they're a LOT of work to peddle, especially over terrain that requires those fat tires in the first place. If you're not already a cyclist you might be surprised at the effort involved.

What's the terrain? Are you on mostly level ground, or lots of hills? Single-track trails with logs to cross, or old logging roads that are basically clear? That will make a big difference as to whether a bike is any advantage. If it's old logging roads and mostly level ground, a bike will increase your range by ten-fold. If it's tight single-track trails and steep, it can be more of a hinderance than help.

Costs: A poor quality bike is worse than a poor quality gun. Bicycle stores don't sell 100-pax of cheap plastic coat hangars, and Walmart shouldn't sell bicycles.

Because of the lack of suspension fat-bikes are less expensive than mountain bikes, but figure between one and two thousand dollars for a bike worth owning. Even a good fat-bike weighs a fair amount. The Chinese ones are simply unbearable. The frame bags that make a bike so useful in the woods can add another $500. You don't have to have those, but they're sure nice.

If there's a good way to cary a long gun on a bike I've never figured it out. I've never wanted to permanently mount a gun case to any of my bikes, so a shoulder sling is as good as I've found, and it ain't very good. After many attempts I finally came to the conclusion that bicycles and handguns go together infinitely better than bicycles and long guns.



This picture is 28 miles from my truck...a good hard hump with a full loaded fat bike, but a multi-day trudge on foot. You pretty much get out of them what you're able to put into them.

good luck!

[Kenk]

Afternoon, a buddy of mine here in MN coyote hunts with a QuietKat Rover Mountain Bike. He really likes it, but they can get very expensive. I believe he paid $2,100, and that's a mid priced bike. Depending on the distance and terrain, a cart pulled behind the bike would likely work well for deer...or not 😀

Ken

[Graybeard]

The electric ones look pretty cool, although for a high end one you're getting into electric ATV price range. I think the OP was looking to a standard pedal powered bike to avoid motorized vehicle restrictions.

[Kenk]

Your likely right Graybeard, didn't even think about that

[Kenk]

Being battery powered, not sure any restrictions are in place in MN, for sure something to look into first. Good luck in your quest 😊

Ken

[sqlbullet]

The only add to Muskrat's excellent post is that you can encounter substantial savings in the used market...If you know what to look for.

Avoid the wal-mart specials, stick with well known name brands and look for their higher end models up to five years old.  I have picked up $1500 bikes for $250 in the classifieds this way.

[Kenk]

Absolutely the way to go when possible

[muzzlestuffer]

Do any of you that hunt use a bicycle to get to your spot. I hunt a lot of public land here in MN. Most lands that I am aware of prohibit the use of motorized vehicles on the land, plus I don't have an ATV/UTV. I am considering a fat tire bike. I do a lot of my hunting during the week. I like to get out in the afternoons a couple of hours before people are getting off work and heading out to the woods. So I go back in deeper in hopes they will chase something to me. Its a long walk at times, not that I am complaining about walking a distance. Any of you that do, are there things you like about using a bike. I can imagine a few pros and cons but just curious what others think.

I've done it back in the northeast what's real nice is the deer don't hear you driving in the area their not stupid and know when all the traffic and shooting starts that will start their nocturnal trigger just my opinion !

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

[Rooster41]

A lot of good info and lot to think about. Thanks all.

Muskrat, I love the picture. It will be used for deer hunting and off road biking. There are some areas in my area for this type of biking. Some hills and flat ground. Mostly man made trails with obstacles put in place. I'm sure there are more areas available and if I go this route I will check with the local bike shop.  I have a game cart that I thought I would try to rig up to be able to tow if need be, but I am not sure how well that will work.

I love riding my bike. I have a Specialized Dual Sport (?). For some reason I cannot remember the model but Crosstrail comes to mind. Its a cross between a road and mountain bike. I also have a Peloton I use, mostly in the winter. This is a great machine if anyone is thinking about the Peloton.

I was looking at mounts for bow rack or rifle scabbard but none I found had good reviews. I think I would just throw it over my shoulder. But I would most likely take it to Wyoming to get back farther. I would take mostly two track and walk in after finding a spot. If I got something, my hunting group would come with the ATV's to help haul it out.

The bikes I am looking at are the Framed Minnesota 2.0 or the Gravity Bullseye Monster (who thought of this name). Reviews I have read on both of these have been great. A buddy of mine has the Framed and he loves it. I would never think of buying a bike from Wal-Mart. If I really enjoyed the fat bike, which I think I will, I would upgrade after a couple of years, probably to a Specialized.

The Ebikes are no interest to me. I am not sure about if the qualify as a "motorized" vehicle or not under the trail bikes. I have a friend who is a Game Warden I will ask him just for curiosity. Ive been looking at the used market too. I'm being patient for now. Trying to make an well informed decision. I am going to ride my buddys Framed later this week to try it out.

Thanks again.

[Muskrat]

I agree with sqlbullet that used bikes can be a good deal. Pink Bike is a good resource. Also, just like with cars it's possible to find last years model, brand new, for huge discounts...you have to hunt around though.

Sulry and Salsa are two of the companies more invested in fat bikes than most. Regardless of brand, if you buy new it's worth buying from a local shop that will stand behind the purchase. The money saved on a on-line purchase is quickly eaten up with shop work that would be free if you'd just bought the bike there in the first place.

As a side note, fat bikes are MUCH less efficient than mountain bikes until the surface conditions require the high-flotation tires. In my experience that means sand and snow, and sometimes mud, though mud stops any tire pretty quickly. While I got into fatbiking for desert sand, most of my fatbiking is now snow-biking. Studded snow tires are amazing things...both to use and to pay for.

[Rooster41]

On May 7 I purchased a Framed Wolftrax online. I went with this after the recommendation of three friends who have Framed Bikes. I watched some videos and read some reviews and I know I made the right choice. Although I doubt any of the parts are made in Minnesota, let alone the US, Framed Bikes is based in St. Paul. So I decided to "Shop Local".

When I ordered it I knew the shipping time would be delayed because of Covid and high volume of orders. Today it arrived. It came 90% assembled and was super easy to finish. When I got to the part to install the pedals I discovered there were none in the box. I called Framed and the service rep I talked to stated those bikes do not come with pedals and it was noted in the spec section of the sales page. I went and looked and sure enough, it says no pedals. The service rep said most people prefer to put their own pedals on. He offered to sell/ship me some, but I told him there were two bike shops in town and I would go there so I can use the bike today. I choose Bontrager pedals at the recommendation of the bike sales person at Scheels.

I almost think there was a change in the parts. When I ordered the bike the parts said it would be Shimano Mechanical brakes. SRAM Hydraulic brakes is what was installed on the one I received. Which is fine by me. One of the things I read was to upgrade the brakes from mechanical to hydraulic. I added a rack to the seat post and am looking into bags to carry essential items if I am going to use this for hunting. I think instead of a scabbard or bow rack I may look into an external frame back pack specifically designed for hunting.

I got it put together and rode it for a couple of miles around home to get the feel for it. Tomorrow I do plan on hitting the trail.

I did find some really good deals on Facebook marketplace on Salsa, Diamondback and Specialized but was never fast enough with the "I'll take it". 


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[gnappi]

On a bicycle, I'd worry that some big city idiot would mistake the handlebars for horns :-)

Seriously if your terrain is steep, a mountain bike is the ticket. If you're on a tight budget Craig's list has some GR8 deals.

I no longer hunt but I do fish in South Florida all the time with my bicycle. Its very low gears allow me to keep going in sugar sand and mud as well. Since this pic was taken, I added a rear rack and bag... just in time too, I needed the tire repair kit some 12 miles from home!



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[gadabout]

Well what to do what to do. It's like 90 in the shade but the humidity will kill you long before the heat. Ha Ha. I could get used to this but never the cold. ANYWAY was so bored I went to work on an old Schwinn varsity I got for free and it needed tires, tubes etc. Got it all working and thought of the guy with the post of hunting with a bike. I just thought I would climb a tree near where the critters were tie a rope to the bike, haul it up in the tree and wait until the critter of choice came along then just drop the bike on it. Case closed. Craig

Well that's the way I would hunt with a bike!!!  Craig