When I was a poor starving college student who subsisted largely on fish and game I drove a Ford Pinto with a 1600 CC engine. Talk about a lemon... but it was cheap and I could work on it myself. It would also go anywhere. If it got stuck a buddy and I could get out and lift a bumper and "walk" it out. Many was the "finger" lifted in my direction as I easily went past big pick ups with mud tires who were stuck soundly in the red Georgia clay. Guns rode easily in thier cases in the trunk and the ocassional beagle or birddog rode in the back seat. Game animals of larger size were fit into, across and onto the Pinto in various ways. Yes, it even had a trailer hitch!

I hear Fords are easier to push?

Chevy 1500 4wd 5spd manual, got stuck once in a tractor rut, used the tractor to pull it out, best farm/hunting truck out there.

If you want to go hunting, you do what you got to do! Prior to my eighteenth birthday,(1966) my father and I hunted out of our family car. We had to, no 4WD. When my Xterra was in the shop, I used our Camry to go duck and goose hunting. I like the Xterra. While a little short on room it has high clearance, a sturdy suspension, and I still have managed to cram three men, all our gear and three dogs for a day of chuckar hunting. It's small size also makes it easier to get in and out of tight spaces. So, who cares what you use as long as it gets you out in the field AND BACK AGAIN!

In the early 90's my hunting ride was a Celebrity wagon with 4 cylinder motor and front wheel drive. It would go better than a 2 wheel drive pickup in the woods and had lots of rrom. That old white wagon looked kind of cool with 2 nice bucks on the roof rack.
Nowdays I love my 07 4 door Tundra. There was plenty of room for Beekeeper, Dan, Billy, yours truly, Jill, Buck, and a pile of guns and gear to drive 400 miles on a Pheasant hunt in comfort.

on the flip-side, my Tundra double cab is the daily commuter with two carseats in the back. just today at lunch I had to manuever a rifle around from front seat to back floorboard (again, the carseats were in place) in order for a co-worker to get in the truck to go to the local sporting goods store. wouldn't change it for the world!

Plus you can run over cars in the parent drop off lane at school.

4x4 diesel Ford Excursion. Go anywhere, pull anything, tons of room for people and gear.

I once brought a doe home wrapped around the back of a '95 Dodge Neon. It was homecoming weekend at Penn State, and I was a one-car parade float on I-80...musta had my picture taken five times. Good times!

For a while I hunted and fished out of a 1992 Buick Roadmaster, complete with wood panels. I even put a deer or two in the back, not mention all the wet clothes, dirty wading boots and hunting clothes.

i am on my first 4wd vehicle as well. i have used everything from a dodge omni to a '73 dodge club cab flatbed truck to my ex hot rod, a 73 dodge charger w/ a 440 six pack. most, were just regular old 2wd cars. of varying sizes. most of us have to use whatever it is that we use for a daily driver for hunting. a select few have the luxury of haveing a special vehicle to use, but that is not the norm. sometimes though, out of necessity, folks have a "special hunting vehicle" that they leave right at deer camp. it never sees the likes of pavement, with the exception of an occaisional "beer run". my late uncles freind had such a vehicle. an army surplus jeep (wwII) that he bought for someting like $300.00 including spare tires. it usually took the better 1/2 of a day to get it up and running every fall, but once the fire was lit in that old beasts heart (named "sarge"), it would start almost as well as anything that was driven up there. i certainly wouldnt call it a luxury vehicle, but when it came to bringing a deer back to camp, it was a cadillac compared to dragging a deer by hand!

Ford pickups have hauled every deer I've ever shot home.

like i tell people around here im not going to own a vehicle and not hunt out of it. every vehicle i have owned has seen a deer in the back of it. like i tell them you can give me a brand new lamborghini and i will go hunting in it and if i kill one there will be a deer in the passenger seat

I used a '99 ford windstar the last 2 years! It was great! I took out the seats, and it was almost just like having a truck with a topper. But i just blew out the transmission, so its to the junkyard for the windstar. A downside to a van was the bloodstains in the back. But i got a Ford Ranger 4x4 now, and i love it

That Jeep Liberty, might want to add a few more inches to the lift!

I wish I still had my 1980 International Scout II, 3 inch left and 11x15's, perfect for New Mexico!

Yes, I admit it. I used four different minivans. Only problems was the low ground clearance that either limited access or damaged the chassis. A 4x4 slightly lifted GMC G-van would be a great hunting truck. Still a little wide for some access points, though.

It still amazes me what some people will use to access hunting and fishing areas. I have been in locked 4-wheel drive on difficult two tracks only to come up on beat up Pontiac Sunfires and Chevy Celebrities going the other direction. Always more than one person on board - pushers, pullers, and packers I suspect.

One of my old fishing and hunting buddys had an '80-something GMC 3/4 ton cargo van with a 350 V-8 that would pull a big fishing boat and/or haul 2 wet Labrador Retrievers, guns, decoys, and dead ducks in style. Another duck hunting partner has an AWD Astro that could haul all the gear and you could sleep in it in a pinch. Not the most comfortable ride for a long trip, but it would git 'er done!

03 Dodge Ram 1500, to make it more lady like I added a topper and it works great. Momma doesn't have to worry about deer blood getting on the carpet in her minivan, it's all hers!

My bad...called you Dave...forgive me. Too much carbon monoxide, right?

Blue

Borrowed my parents taures wagon for a while, when my truck got sideswiped. The only complaint is that it didn't have the ground clearance I needed to get to my favorite spots. But it did hold my gear my buddies gear and two deer at one point. But I will stick to my f 150 Fx4, and about 10 years from now it will be replaced by another Fx4.

I do more hunting and fishing than most folks. Like westy, I have been driving the Chevy Astro AWD for the last 12 years or so and it can't be beat. Goes anywhere and will hold anything, including multiple deer, propane tanks, 2 or 3 buddies, you name it! Too bad they stopped making it. Prior to that I drove VW vans since around 1958. They were perfect for anything that I wanted to do. I can't imagine what the problem some guys have with driving a van. Some kind of imaginary challenge to their manhood? Van's are the ONLY way to go. All the rest are just inferior junk.

Tom

I had recently graduated from school and our only vehicle was a fairly new Honda Odyssey. I set up and hunted ducks all opening morning. About noon I decided to check out a wildlife area a few miles from where I had hundted. As I pulled through the parking area other hunters were milling about. I drove by a pick up with hunters hanging around and thought about stopping to ask how the morning went. Before I did, I heard a low comment, not meant for my ears: "a minivan? You have got to be kidding me." I kept on driving and promptly returned home. I bought a Yukon shortly thereafter.

I wish I had one of those old Daimler-Benz 4x4 military style trucks, that would be an excellent hunting truck. They were small enough to get anywhere, ultra high clearance and you could even put a 3 pt hitch on them to work up a food plot. Can't recall the name of them, just how they were so utilitarian.

WAM, never would have remembered that vehicle without the "nein, danke" reference!

I had a 94 Chevy Astro AWD van would get me anywhere I needed to go (and back). I live in Oswego, NY where 3 feet of snow is common, so that's saying a lot.It would pull the Bass boat, haul gear and could easily fit 7 grown men. I gave it to my brother who still uses it for his daily driver/work van for his construction business. Way past 200,000 and still going.

I recently sold my Trailblazer to a friend and bought a minivan. It is great. Haul the kids one day, haul all my hunting gear the next. Help a friend get a couch, not a problem. They are the most practical vehicles made in my opinion.

I agree with that, but the best hunting vehicle i've used is my 2002 Ford Excursion with the 7.3 diesel. it is huge with plenty of space for gear, 4 wheel drive, seats 7, and you can tow pretty much anything with it.

During high school I had a 1957 Ford Station Wagon, great for dates and hunting, only problem was getting the beagle smell out before picking up my date.

It is just about impossible to get a minivan into the places that I hunt. You need, at minimum, eight inches of clearance, and four wheel drive is strongly recommended, and that's just for the more easily reached areas. Otherwise, high centering or ripping your underside out on rocks is a definite possibility. Hell, my Explorer has come close to not making it out more than once. A full sized pickup or a jeep works best; the extra clearance really helps.

One of the truck-based vans might work, though.

sgaredneck?

What? Who, me? 60256 said you'd get more +1's if you say "Ford", so I thought I'd say something nice about Fords.

Hey FARMBOY

We're having another 'gator fry over in Atlanta next December. Ya'll come.

ROLL, TIDE, ROLL!

WMH

Phil, your so full of piss & vinegar. There's no way the minivan pic is your wife's car, lol!

vans my hold a lot of stuff but there are few things worse than being stuck up to your frame in muck on a cold morning when you are trying to go hunting.

Whatever gets you there and back. When I was a teenager I lusted for the old Toyota Landcruiser. (they resembled a British LandRover) During the late 70's my goose hunting buddies and I spent a cold night in a full size Ford Van so we would be first in line at the San Bernard Wildlife Reguge. One time, the only vehicle available to me for a duck hunt was a 1976 Datsun 260Z sportscar. I had to park on the paved road and walk in to the pothole. Don't ask me how I got my gear, two dozen inflatable decoys, and a lab in that two seater hot rod.
I have often thought a 4 wheel drive van would be the perfect hunting vehicle, especially if it had fold up bunks attached to the inside.

Beauty is sin deep, but the old tried and proven stuff wworkls yet. A chp came in out camp late one evening , day befoe season opened. He carried a small bedroll, pack, etc and a beat up old taped grip Rem 700 in 06. He un rolled his bedroll, un folded his sleeping bad, gt his little coffee pot, flled with some water and coffee, placed near the fie stones around the cire circe. Bid us all good night and soon as gone. Next Am, s other smart Assed huntrs arose about l hr before sun lite and the older man had drunk his coffee and was gone. About 10 minutes after sunlite ( light enough to see horns) Bang. In about 30-45 minuts, the old guy came ito camp, ask the man in charge of the pack string, if he could bowwor one of his mules for about 30 minutes. Of coursee he dd. So in about 30 o so min. the old man and his mule and his now dead 6 x 6 came stroling ito camp and thanked the guy for the loan of his mule. All were dumfounded.Old man said I apoligize f I woke any you guys early, but got to get up and out to get a nice Elk. All the huntes keep their mouth shut. He was only successfujl guy in camp for 3 days, however he did lots of camp chores and helped the wrangles with the stock but never ate indors,cooked his Elk on a stick over the fire/tatos in foil h stck in coals and our mouths hanging open. Will never forget that expeience, hopefully can be repeated soon.O, never leave home with out a roll of Elec.tape for your cracked old gun.Odd how habits ocure, my day pack has a roll as well as a short piece of bailing wire and small pliers, a old Hickory Kitchen Knife that had been sharpene almost to the last . Guys it's not the equiptment or the $ it cost, but how to use what we have and learn how to hunt. One last itme, cary a couple of fish hooks and some string in a 35 mm film box, as you may get hungary if you sleep too late. One last campfie truth, I knw guy who had a trusty 30-30 and was going der hntng alone, carrid a piece of plastic, small pot/coffee and only 2 rounds of ammo, ask why so few, he saud ws all he had and was to far to the local store l0 miles by foot,so he figued with 2 rounds he was ok. It was and had a spare if needed for at days end a Smokey Mtn Black Bear if crossed his trail. I pity the Bear.Guys you ain;t unted till yu unt the Smokey mountain with Russian wild Boars running you up a tree and your gun on the ground. I bet next time the hunter caries his 44 mag in a god holster.Will get off and out of your hair for tonight, got many such stories I could share with you if was needed

1990 ford fiest with ONE seat, the drivers of course. It is hell in mud, almost impossible to get "stuck" but very possible to get high centered

I have hunted, fished and four wheeled out of a 88 blazer,73 blazer, 93 jeep wrangler, 94 cherokee, 89 caprice, 73 landcruiser, 99 Silverado, 01 Dodge diesel and a 03 Subaru. The Land Cruiser and Subaru where the toughest and also the cheapest to operate. Unfortunalty Detroit Steel doesnt hold up as well in day in, day out use on the unpaved roads in NW Colorado.

Of course, I love it! The space and fuel economy. I have the heavy-duty version: '83 E-350 with 4.9l, C-6, and 4WD from a '83 Ford military one-ton truck with 4.10 gears (love that number). Positraction in the rear and independent front suspension, lifted 7". It will go through mud and snow up hills. It also pulls my hunting camp. A '68 Airstream Sovereign Land Yacht. Just right for the Labs and the Model 97.

I have since got rid of the Cadillac Brougham, (Left it in Europe because of a leak in the rearSEAL COULD NOT GET FIXED OVER THERE)! Now have a 2005 FWD S-10 Crew Cam that works just fine with up to 3 deer in the bed. +3 people and gear in the cab.

Last year, I had a couple of buddies giving me crap where we hunt for whitetails because I drove out my old 2wd 99 ranger with a hard, lockable fiberglass cover. They were driving a new Yukon. Well, we got three deer. Guess what those deer rode back to my butcher shop in?

WaMtn are you taunting the Ford folks again?LOL

My dad, brother and I hunted in an old caravan, and then an oldsmobile until i was 14. They were not exactly all terrain vehicles but we got where we needed to be, but we did get stuck a few times.

Mini-vans are great because they kill a full-size pick-up or any SUV on MPG (by a hefty margin) and still carry everything you need. You can set them up to carry whatever. They are simply the cheapest, easiest, most comfortable way to move a lot of anything. That said, they suck if the dog gets skunked or you need to go off road.

I inherited my wife's old Toyota Sienna when she got a new car. I called it the APV, "all purpose vehicle". Although my hunting club buddies laughed at me at the club, I laughed at them at the gas pump. It really is very versatile. Pulls my boat too! Alas, southern manhood being what it is I finally bought a Duramax Diesel Pick Up. Now my youngest son is sporting around the University of Florida in it and he says the girls love it! Go Gators!

I traded in my 170K Ford Explorer for a 98 Civic. The 60 mile round trip to hunt with pals is much easier on the pocket book. True, I look odd with my sedan packed full of treestands and hunting gear, but all my buddies have pick-ups, so i transfer my gear to their vehicle.

The joke by asking if my Civic is AWD, or 4WD, but I am comfortable with myself to the point where I don't need a big truck to be cool with my cronies. And, they respect that.

Besides, in the end, it's all about the mighty dollar.

Oh - I want to cry! I have reluctantly hunted out of my Ford Windstar for a some time. Feeling a bit intimidated and jealous of every jacked up/polished truck until this year...I stand comfortably under the hatch and out of the rain. I loaded gear/kennel/totes/extras Sept 1 - and just kept it there. And can still get 4 kids to and from school. It's awesome - and fortunately tinted!

I've been a Ford p/u guy since day one. I've been driving 30 years and have had nothing but.

I have however owned a few minivans which I thought was a requirement when you had 3 kids. I can't recall a single time I've subjected my gun or bow to the pleasure of riding in one.

Growing up
All our hunting and most of the camping was done out of a station wagon or VW bus. 4x4's were rare in the 60's and 70's. I can remember loading all our gear in the back of my dad's pontiac and throwing the canoe on top for a weekend at the lake.

I have used mini-vans for hunting and camping since the 80's. I slept many night in a Ford Aerostar. They are comfortable and roomy. Actually more practical than a pickup if you have a hitch-hauler and don't have to go off the two-track.

Hunted all last season out of a Honda Odyssey minivan, charcoal gray. On opening weekend of Alabama gun season I hauled four dead deer out of the woods in it. After that the other guys in the club started referring to it as "the hearse". With the middle seats removed and the rear seats folded into the floor, it was kinda like flying a Huey.

BUT... I did have to replace two of the motor mounts recently.

(BTW, the Honda Ridgeline "truck" is basically an Odyssey chassis.)

This year I'm hunting on much more mountainous terrain with difficult roads, and I'm doing it in a 2004 Toyota Tacoma (the last year before it morphed into a mid-size) and I love it. Don't have to scrub the deer blood out of the wife's carpet.

mercury Grand Marquis, 4 people weekend supplies and anywhere from 1 to 8 deer, don't complain people.

nothing beats a '97 two door, manual, dodge neon with 300,000 miles on it to haul deer and pheasants. It outworked our truck that weekend!

I've seen ford festivas converted into trucks before, that may be the best hunting vehicle ever!