UTV Guns

Face mask on, I poked my mug over the 24″ barreled Marlin .30-30 well-rested on the dirtbank. The antelope buck was mine at minus 125 yards. Then a roaring ATV sped cross country at the oblique as the buck bolted away in a cloud of alkaline dust. The on-board hunter never pulled his rifle from his scabbard. He didn’t even know he had passed within handgun range of a trophy pronghorn. Bloody machines! I’d not own one, I told myself. But this all changed one day.

I’d walked 2.5 topographical miles just to get to the jumping-off point of my backpack hunt. There sat a Utility Task Vehicle. The hunter had followed an established 2-track, while I had a 5-mile round-trip hike I could have buggy-ridden. Maybe I would buy one of “them thar” scooters after all. I did. Disdain turned to admiration — my Commander runs almost every day. To the USFS burn pit with pinecones/needles, local landfill, town for loaf of bread, post office, scouting game, winter wood search, joy rides — and, of course, hunting.

Guns for my UTV were essential. But which ones? Choice is dictated by circumstance of course, so if you’re deer hunting take a deer rifle. However, my daily UTV battery was set in stone: A rifle, shotgun and pistol, with the entire focus on one word — opportunity. Taking advantage of a quick chance on a varmint or an at-the-moment decision to do a walkabout for birds or small game. I have never spent more time in consideration, and it was worth it. Other specific guns are fine, but the rifle/shotgun/handgun trio is basic.

I do know it can be easy to over-think things here. How much ammo is enough? Do I need an AR15 type rifle? What about a deer-type rifle? Just equip for the season and for your job at hand. For the most part (at least in my case) I wanted to be able to respond to the basic things I encounter daily. My personal carry pistols can handle defense, while the long guns handle the small game I hunt regularly — and could do double-duty for defense if needed.

Here’s what I came up with for my needs.

Rifle

After much long thought, I decided on a Savage Model A22 .22 Magnum. I was not surprised to find the A22 accurate — it seems all Savage rifles are — but also designed perfectly for my UTV. The rifle is tough-built with a never-fail function and a slick fit for the overhead rack.

The array of ammunition in this never-forgotten caliber covers all bets within its domain. I laid in a get-started A22 rifle supply from Federal: 30-grain V-Shok TNT at 2,200 fps for up to coyote, Champion 40-grain full metal jacket at 1,880 fps for small game of any stripe (plus mountain birds), Game-Shok 50-grain HP at 1,530 fps for javelina and maybe wild hog over bait. Maybe. I also had good luck with the special A22 ammo designed around the rifle. Add a box of CCI’s .22 WMR shot cartridges in the glovebox as a super-close, one-way ticket to Small Pest Valhalla, where bullets are not appropriate.

I’ve plunked peccary with the .22 Magnum successfully. A silent stalk results in a 25-yard shot on these “pigs” with their Mr. Magoo eyesight.

Should follow-up shots be required, the semi-auto attitude of the A22 is lightning fast. Want to cook the little musk hog? Then don’t fall for the nonsense about cutting the musk sac out, which invariably gets scent on the meat. The sac comes off fully intact with the hide. See Javelina Creole and Javelina Orange recipes in The Completed Guide to Game Care & Cookery 4th Edition.

Remember the signal word: opportunity. You’re putt-putting along in coyote country. Dismount. Park your iron pony; hike a bit; take a sitting position with plenty of concealment brush behind you, and wail away with barks and howls, plus screams of an unfortunate rabbit, then wait. One behind-the-shoulder-bullet and the song dog is toast. Ride to Farmer Jones’ field for stalks on woodchuck, or ask Rancher Smith about his rockchucks.

Shotgun

I chose the TriStar .410 over/under. It’s small and well-fitted to the overhead gun rack of my UTV. While some mountain birds in my home state of Wyoming are rifle-legal, others are not, such as sage hens. I had a near perfect record shooting a single-shot .410 on this big, slow-flying, soft-feathered bird. I also learned to cook thin breast slices “mighty toothsome” with a special marinade. Ride the UTV to the general habitat of shotgun-only upland birds, dismount and hunt. The over/under TriStar with interchangeable choke tubes makes for two fast shots for wingshooters willing to stick to minus-30 yard pokes.

Informal Star patterning at 30 long strides delivered gratifying kill-zone results. Install Skeet/Improved Cylinder tubes for small-shot patterns on quail. My favorite mountain blue and dusky grouse, aka “fool hens,” are normally easy-bag for bow and .22 handgun, but not always. These wonderful feasts can provide plenty of challenge close-jumped with wings whirring into space. I opt for the Modified/Improved Modified choke tubes on grouse and huns.

The TriStar .410 over/under seems custom-built to fit my physical frame. Well, not really. But it does fly to my shoulder like a hawk on a dove. The gun only weighs 5.7 pounds with its 28″ chrome-lined, vent rib, choke-tube-ready barrels. I found the Tri-Star .410 at Cheaper Than Dirt Company for $542.07, about 6.5 tanks of diesel fuel for my one-ton Ford. Considering the self-adjusting locking bolt and top tang selector safety, a terrific buy, especially for a gun with walnut stock sporting reasonable cut checkering and engraved nickel receiver. Choke tubes are: Full, Improved Modified, Modified, Improved Cylinder and Skeet.

Pushing the modest payload successfully means embracing a mental picture of the shot string, emphasis on string, not cloud of pellets. If the front end of the string flies in front of the target, middle to end may connect. If the front of the string flies behind the target it’s bye bye birdie. Since the .410 lacks the pellet count enjoyed by larger bores, I began an enjoyable practice regimen walking the forest with pitched-in-the air pinecones. Two good-patterning shells for this shooting were Estate 2 ½” half-ounce 7 ½, and with the Winchester AA Target Load 2 ½”, ½-ounce of No. 9 shot. Either also works for quail.

Pistol Pick

My UTV gun rack secures rifle and shotgun while the pistol goes legally concealed. I am not paranoid. I am practical. While as rare as finding a 2-ounce gold nugget under your pillow when you wake in the morning, those splendid odds are of absolutely no comfort if bad luck strikes. I recall an afternoon at road’s end where I was enjoying a peaceful respite shooting a few different guns into a high bluff. I could hear them coming from afar. Motorcyclists of the black outfit brand. The group circled me, raising dust. One of the cooler heads took notice of the Marlin half-magazine .32 Special 336 I happened to be holding, plus the pistol on my hip, and at his signal the gang made off to have fun elsewhere.

On the advice of a police captain, I purchased a SIG P-938 for concealment. I ran it through hells’ half acre to prove reliability. Not to damage of course, but to challenge. I could not make it not shoot. Cleanliness is next to, well, you know the rest of it. I shot the SIG dirty and it kept cycling. I mixed ammo and it kept cycling. Of course, it will be clean and well-lubed for carry. Since my day-by-day carry sidearms are Springfield Armory Range Officer 9mm’s, I was pleased the SIG handled familiarly.

My UTV

The ATV (4-wheeler or “Quad” as some call it) is a grand vehicle, but I chose the UTV side-by-side because I like the way long guns are secured above my head. Slip the Velcro strap loose and in seconds shotgun or rifle is free to serve. I also appreciate passenger accommodations, and while the ATV is essentially motorcycle-open, the UTV offers a modicum of shelter. Another UTV plus is cargo space. My sister-in-law bagged a big elk high on a steep hill that my Commander climbed like a Sherpa. (Always check to see if driving off-trail is legal before retrieving game by motorized vehicle.) Meanwhile, the dump bed accommodates deer/antelope, quartered elk/moose, along with plenty of room for gear.

Employed within the corral of the rules, ATV’s and UTV’s do no damage to the land. As for taking unfair advantage of game, the law handles that one. When I was hunting regularly with the late John Kane, horses were our main mode of transportation, and John, being the cowboy he was, as well as government hunter and licensed big-game guide, had horses you could shoot off of without being pitched into the turf. No one was upset about horseback hunters letting fly from the saddle. But where I hunt it is illegal to fire from a “motor vehicle” of any type, unless the hunter holds a handicap license.

So outfit your UTV with proper guns and ride off merrily into the early morning sunrise with great expectations. 

Subscribe To GUNS Magazine