Favorite utility vehicle

[per]

I hate to differ Per but the only thing just as handy at working cows as a horse is another horse-two friends got buried trying to be quad cowboys last year and one will never feed himself again. Side by sides and quads are great for fencing and buzzing around having a look but it's best for all involved including the cows to not try and do more with them then they were intended for.

I guess it all depends on the operator NR.

You know I was taking the picture but the rest of that string was constructed with one side by side with my wife and dad who where Bud Williamsing them into a mile long string out of a section of hills and bush all the while visiting and drinking coffee. The wrong guy couldn't do that with a Ranger or a horse. For me it is about out thinking the cows and making them want to do what you want them to do. Not about the tools you use to do it.

This string my dad and I did just for fun. We strung them back to where they came from the next day.

This is the next day using a different route. Horses, quads, mini truck, sided by sides are just tools that can be used appropriately or abused.

 

[per]

Come to think of it I know of at least 2 people with broken backs from horse accidents.

 

[jigs]

I have a Kawasaki 4 wheeler and a yamaha Rhino....I will run cows all day long on the 4 wheeler, but the rhino just feels to flippy floppy. checking fence, burning pasture, or odd jobs...the rhino can not be beat.
we tried the mini truck deal....stay away!

 

[Faster horses]

Not to highjack the thread, but PER, those are some great photos!!

Stringing cows is beginning to be a lost art. That was neat to see.

 

[Hayguy]

why?

 

[bighead]

We have an old Kawasaki Mule, and I can't imagine being without it. We keep a chain saw, ladder, assorted hand tools, a shotgun and 22, some wire for fence repairs, and an ice chest for drinks in it all the time. It has never failed to go anyplace I'm not too chicken to try, and never gotten stuck in the mud. A piece of tin is attached with wire ties for a roof, and its all I need.

 

[katrina]

WE have two gators and a geo...I do want a calf catcher like peach's thou... It's in the works... I am such a wuss when it comes to tagging calves.. I know those ole cows can smell the fear in me...

 

[Northern Rancher]

Well I have three friends are dead-mechanical vehicles are fine for gathering a big field but have NO place sorting cattle. I've had to deal with enough quad spoiled cattle in my life. They have their place but it isn't every place.

 

[per]

Any form of transportation in the wrong hands is dangerous. As for the intent of the thread. A good friend of mine loves his Kubota, one neighbor loves his Rhino, I like my Rangers and the next door neighbor traded his ranger for one of those little trucks. They are all too expensive to keep running but none of them eat between use.

 

[Northern Rancher]

They don't lay down and have a replacement every spring and run on fuel the ranch produces-no use a cowboy and an iron junkie locking horns. You can get cattle handled on a quad just like you can pound a staple with a pipewrench or wipe your butt with a pine cone but they aren't the best tool for the job.

 

[George]

My son has had several polaris rangers - - - currently he has a 2009 with a canvas cab and a 2010 with top and winshield and they are very fast and reliable but I still prefer my S10 ZR2 1996 with 327,000 miles - - - the only thing that does not work is the air conditioner - - gets in the high teen to low 20s for milage and I can legaly drive to town and I carry 130 gal of diesel on a regular basis.

[/img]http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d40/George765/?action=view&current=S10front.jpg

With the 4X4 and a positive track rear end it will go almost anywhere the ranger will go and I feel more secure in it. ( and warm and dry in the winter )

Yes my wife hated when I painted it red / white / & blue but I have all my trucks like that and she will just have to get over it

 

[gcreekrch]

I sort cattle with my quad all the time, pairs, bulls, yearlings, whatever. 99% of the time at a pace that the cow never gets out of a walk. Last fall I pulled 4 drys and 3 bulls out of 250 pairs in a 700 acre pasture and drove them a mile to the corrals for loading the next day. The herd they came out of never really stopped grazing.

As Per said, it is not the mode of transportation, it is the difference between a stockman and otherwise.

I have seen the others handle cattle, I doubt very much if you mounted them on the best cowhorse available that they or their cattle would react any different than they do now. Those kind also seem to think that if they are on a motorized mount that everything should move faster.

It don't work that way. :wink:

 

[per]

They don't lay down and have a replacement every spring and run on fuel the ranch produces-no use a cowboy and an iron junkie locking horns. You can get cattle handled on a quad just like you can pound a staple with a pipewrench or wipe your butt with a pine cone but they aren't the best tool for the job.

Locking horns is mildly entertaining for us both. I don't think either of will win this argument though.

 

[Whitewing]

I bought this thing in 1995. It's been so dependable that I picked it up yesterday at my camp in Mississippi and plan to ship it to Venezuela.

 

[LCP]

I have a 1995 Jeep Cherokee with 245,000 mi. Just like the other guys said, its got air, heat, street legal, cost about 1/10 of a new UTV, and repairs are much much cheaper. I also have a 2004 Honda Rubicon, and that thing is way more expensive to operate than the jeep. Tires, oil, and gas are all many times cheaper to put on/in the jeep than on the 4 wheeler. I can see the attraction to UTV's, but for the price of some of the new UTV's you can buy a new 4 wheeler, an old jeep AND a good broke horse.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

I have a 1995 Jeep Cherokee with 245,000 mi. Just like the other guys said, its got air, heat, street legal, cost about 1/10 of a new UTV, and repairs are much much cheaper. I also have a 2004 Honda Rubicon, and that thing is way more expensive to operate than the jeep. Tires, oil, and gas are all many times cheaper to put on/in the jeep than on the 4 wheeler. I can see the attraction to UTV's, but for the price of some of the new UTV's you can buy a new 4 wheeler, an old jeep AND a good broke horse.

I had to buy a $98 dollar rear tire yesterday for my old Honda 300. :?

 

[LCP]

My last atv was a 2002 honda foreman. I was on my 3rd set of tires at 15,000 mi. and you're right, theyre not cheap.

 

[flyingS]

If I were to buy a ATV based on value I would say Honda wins hands down. I had taken a job on a camp and one of the pieces equipment I had was an 02 Honda Rubicon. The ATV had over 12,000 miles on it and ran like a top. I didn't use it much but it needed to have some work done on the front end so I took it to Chadron to have them fix it up. I was sitting out front waiting and the owner came out to tell me what they found. He asked when I serviced it last, I told him I had never serviced it and explained I had just started working for the outfit. He laughed and said that it had never been serviced. They had sold the ATV when it was new to the ranch and it still had the original oil filter on it. Even though it doesn't say much for the guys that hadn't taken care of the ATV, it says quite a bit about the quality of the machine. There are not many things built today that can take that kind of abuse.

 

[Silver]

The Honda's are good, but they don't have anything over the Yamaha's. Both are extremely well built machines and will last for many years with a minimum of maintenance.
I am really beginning to like my Ranger this year at calving time, it's a pleasure to check cows with, it's easy to get in and out of, for tagging it's hard to beat. You can lay the tags out on the dash, drive up alongside the calf, and the passenger can just step out and grab the calf. I'm discovering it's a very handy deal to have, but at this point I'll stick to the horses for moving pairs and herding cattle.

 

[Northern Rancher]

Heaven forbid but I was Gatoring at the Waldorf today-Ty rode the A'M check then left for Meadow lake to bring up saddle horses. I think his elapsed time to ride two miles and check 450 cows on a section was a bit less than ours lol. Lots of drifts and potholes to wander around-calves are starting to come have a dozen or so. My old sorrel mare foaled up north today-22 years old and still can paw all winter and spit out a good colt. I get Ty's big buckskin that he bought from BMR to ride till the Leachman horses get up here then it's a new toy every day. I misss home but loving the new experiences and chances to learn.