# Is 4x4 Atv necessary, or will a 2x4 do?



## RipperIII

I'm on a very tight budget, but I am looking for an atv for my hunting lease.
We have logging roads which are in pretty good shape, except for some heavy rains, then my truck cant get through.
I would use the atv primarily for game retrieval and light plot work/trail cutting.
Will a 2x4 suffice?


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## hawgrider1200

Not in the heavy rains, u might b ok with a winch to pull ur self out of the mud when u get stuck. unless u hunt a sand bed.


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## ellaville hunter

i use to have a 4x2 then i got 4x4. 4x4 is the best thing they ever made i would not go back to a 4x2


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## letsemwalk

4x4 makes a big difference when crossing logs or going through and pulling out of ditches and pulling steep hills. even more so when you have a deer on the back of it. and if your gonna be pulling a harrow for the foodplots, that right there would say to me i need the 4x4.


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## Havana Dude

These guys are pretty much right. I get by with 2x2's , but I don't do plots with one. My Dad has a big 4x4 Bombarier(sp?), and it will do most anything within reason. I've heard also that light plowing requires at least a 450, but again, the guys that do it can tell ya better.


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## copenhagen cowboy

if you are plowing for food plots go with the 4x4


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## Rip Steele

I do all my discing and plowing with a yamaha big bear 400 4x4 and that is the smallest I would go, and get a 4x4 for sure not just because you need it but for comfort of knowing you got it also.


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## mrclean7705

the difference between 2 wheel drive ATV and 4 wheel
drive is about 15 feet in the mud


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## Glassman

mrclean7705 said:


> the difference between 2 wheel drive ATV and 4 wheel
> drive is about 15 feet in the mud




X 2.   I used a 225 yamaha 2wd for years. It pulled a set of King Kutters just fine. Hauled out deer with me and my son on it. Did everything I asked it to. 

4wd is nice, but not necessary.


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## hawgrider1200

*2wd vs 4wd*

high country up thar ain't it? ur little yamaha 2wd might have been fine for well drained slightly rocky terrain. Bring it to these swamps and we'll see if it does everything u ask it to.


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## Glassman

You know come to think of it, we have a swamp or two up here too. I do recall being in quite a few areas that were rather low lying not rocky or well drained at all. All kinds of mud, soupy, sticky, deep as well as the lovely red clay logging roads.

I feel confident that I could take my "little" Yamaha anywhere and it would still do what I wanted it to.


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## Robert 31320

I used a 4x2 for years hunting in SE Georgia SWAMPS.  Did I ever get stuck, you better believe it.  Did it serve my needs, yes it did.  I wore that ol' Suzuki 300 out in the MUD.

I just bought a brand new 2007 Suzuki Vinson 500 4x4 for "well below" the original sticker.  Look for an older new 4x4 and you can get a very good deal on it.

My new hoopty:


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## msdins

RipperIII said:


> I'm on a very tight budget, but I am looking for an atv for my hunting lease.
> We have logging roads which are in pretty good shape, except for some heavy rains, then my truck cant get through.
> I would use the atv primarily for game retrieval and light plot work/trail cutting.
> Will a 2x4 suffice?



The last time I went riding I was the only person in the group with 4wd and there wasn't one single person in the group that I did not have to either push or pull out. And this was on a trail that they normally don't have a problem on but because of the heavy rain they couldn't make it out. 

I will say its like having 4wd in your truck...you may not always need it but it sure is nice to have when you do.


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## dixieoffroad86

i have taken a kawasaki bayou 220 all over the south ga swamps and the mud pits up here where 4wd trucks wont go through. i have had to pull 4x4 4wheelers out of the mudhole then gone through the hole behind them. ill put my 2wd wheeler against a 4x4 atv anyday of the week. (btw it helps that i got GBC gators on the back them things will dig to china if ya let em) and i have pulled a small set of disc harrows with it for small food plots with no problems.


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## ellaville hunter

dixieoffroad86 said:


> i have taken a kawasaki bayou 220 all over the south ga swamps and the mud pits up here where 4wd trucks wont go through. i have had to pull 4x4 4wheelers out of the mudhole then gone through the hole behind them. ill put my 2wd wheeler against a 4x4 atv anyday of the week. (btw it helps that i got GBC gators on the back them things will dig to china if ya let em and i have pulled a small set of disc harrows with it for small food plots with no problems.



i will take that bet any day any time


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## dixieoffroad86

its all about driving skill. if ya know how to drive a 2wd is just as good. ill admit its gotten stuck but everywhere its been stuck friends with a 4x4 try to go behind me and cant make it as far as i did.


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## germag

If you know how to use it, a 2wd ATV is all you need for hunting. 4x4 is nice, but it's not necessary. If you're going to use it to pull implements for working food plots, etc., then 4x4 becomes a little more important....but for that displacement is really the most important thing (and liquid cooling). Nothing is free, though....with 4x4 you give up some turning radius. I actually prefer a 2wd ATV no bigger than 500cc for riding in the woods and pulling deer out and stuff like that because it's much more nimble and maneuverable.


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## ellaville hunter

once i lock the 4x4 and then lock the diff it will move or break


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## redneckcp03

dixieoffroad86 said:


> i have taken a kawasaki bayou 220 all over the south ga swamps and the mud pits up here where 4wd trucks wont go through. i have had to pull 4x4 4wheelers out of the mudhole then gone through the hole behind them. ill put my 2wd wheeler against a 4x4 atv anyday of the week. (btw it helps that i got GBC gators on the back them things will dig to china if ya let em) and i have pulled a small set of disc harrows with it for small food plots with no problems.



there is nothing you cant do with a bayou 220. imo probably one of the toughest four wheelers ever made


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## 93f1fiddy

My honda 200 has gone thru swamps, hills, mud and if it cant go anymore the winch will pull it, and the winch is less than 4wd. Put a good set of tires on the rear and it will go. And its easier to get unstuck than a 4wd.


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## Sterlo58

For foodplot work 4WD makes a huge difference. Yeah 2WD may get it done bit it puts a heck of a strain on the powerplant. I know this from experience.


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## olchevy

I used to pull deer out with my dirt bike...lol 

If your buying one, wait till you find a good deal ona 4x4, the older they get the less price difference it will make....the only thing is that with 4x4 comes a lot more maintance cost....I used to work at a Polaris dealership...Man what I would do for one of those 800 MV's we used to have completley guarded in metal front and rear metal racks with spots for air lift/ drop, dual winches one front one back, extra fuel tank....Oh I can dream..


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## doublelungdriller

4x4 4 sure!!!


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## letsemwalk

ok...look at it this way....you don`t have to have a 4 wheeler at all to hunt but a 2x4 beats walking and dragging all day long. 4x4 will out do a 2x4 in bad places and for food plot work any day.


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