ATV tracks vs snowmobiles for liion hunting?

[colobbcat]

culverz

You are absolutly right. For covering country you cant beat a sled. I have found out that most people can see a track at 20-30mph, but not me...I guess I can if they are all alone in untouched snow but in my part of the world you are constantly sorting out cat tracks in hundreds of elk tracks. I know I have found more sign by utilizing my tracked machine because a guy is forced to slow down and this affords you more time to look and concentrate on those conspicuos details, were on my sled, I feel like I am overlooking alot of country just because i cant wait to haul butt over to that saddle to see if he crossed there. For the impatient type of person tracks make you slow down and therfore allow you to take it all in.

As far as types of tracks as in the original question. I run TJDs there are a lot of guys running tracks in my kneck of the woods and there isn't a preferd brand they all seem to work well as long as they are installed correctly and are adjusted right. (Dodge, Ford, Chevy if you know what I mean) Other than there has been some people talk about the older style prospector tracks having problems with loosing the boggie wheels when they are in rough country. I just helped a guy install a 2010 set of prospector II's tonight and they seem to have adressed this issue by locking the wheels on with a reinforced bearing cap. All in all I was impressed with the ruggedness of these new tracks. I offered to try them out on my machine first but we ran out of beer before I could talk him into the swap.

My advise.....buy the tracks and keep one sled around for back up or for the occasional need of the agility of a sled. I am confident you wont be disapointed.

[catdogs]

I can't add much, I've been running both tracked atv's, utv's and sleds for the last 6 years. I still prefer sleds when possible, but come spring time when there is a mix of dirt and snow, you can't beat tracks. One other thing I haven't seen mentioned, is that a tracked 4-wheeler is much colder to ride than a sled. In the right snow, those tracks throw it everywhere. Go to www.atvtracks.net there is a ton of info, tips, vid clips on there also.

[savage]

I have been using sleds for the last 10years and last year I put tracks on my rhino(tatou 4s). We were so impressed by the tracks we put a set on my father in laws grizzly last night. These things are perfect for lion hunting here in Nv. I have ran my rhino in 4' of snow with 7 dogs and 2 guys and havnt got stuck yet.(we have been close to stuck, but not stuck )
Where I hunt you can start in dirt and end up in a blown in bowl with 4' of snow or more and then on a blown off rocky ridge. The sleds will work in these conditions but it results in alot of repairs, belts, trailing arms, ect.
That being said, I will not be getting rid of my sleds cause they make a good backup plan if my rhino breaks.

[FullCryHounds]

Running three types now. Can't see much difference in performance. All the newer ones can be run in the dirt so that old issue is taken care of. Still run sleds here but only because there are a ton of roads in the N.F. that are closed to all quads (even with tracks) but open to sleds.

[tman308]

Anyone looked into or bought those "J-Wheelz"? they bolt onto your ATV tires and cost half as much as tracks.

[rockman]

I have a rhino 660 with tracks and two 700 sleds, and with my tracks I was in 4 foot of snow with 4 dogs and a hunter with me. Yes sleds are faster but you cant haul shit with them so if you can afford sleds and utvs with tracks you have the best of both worlds. keep in mind that the tracks take away a lot of the horsepower from the machine, I added a chip and a aftermarket clutch, I think this year I am going to put a new cam in it. The tracks are definately hard on it. If you can only afford one or the other I would go with just a sled. Just my 2 cents, but what do I know! Hope this helps some of you guys thats on the fence.

Sonny