By MadCityKen on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I am entering into my fifth year as a disabled American. I bought a Max II to allow me to get into the woods and on the ice again. My Max allows me to sit in a natural position, provides shelter from the elements, and when driven slowly, doesn’t cause any problems with my back condition. I have a permit that allows me to shoot from a stationary vehicle.

I would love to hear from other handicap sportsmen and/or women that use their machines to do the same.
Right now I am getting ready to battle the state to be able to use my machine, which is not an ATV by Wisconsin law, on state public hunting lands. Without the Max, I can’t hunt. Since I am not the owner of an “ATV” by Wisconsin law, I refer to my max as an “HAV” Handicap Access Vehicle. Any comment welcome.

Ken

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Go get 'em Ken. More power to you but you'll have a heck of a fight on your hands.
Good Luck
Russ

By Alfred Cushman on Unrecorded Date: Edit

For more information on "HAV'S" go to;

www.bigbearcountree.com

By jeff dewitte on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I am entering my 2nd yr as a disabled American.
I just bought a max 4 for hunting. I also have a permit for a standing vehicle. Hows your battle going? what can i do to help I'm a quadripelegic?
How do I check what the law is in my state MI?
jeff

By mike martindale (Wetsu) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

jeff,you could start with Mi.dept.wildlife and parks,for the hunting rules for disabled sportsman.then go to your congressman to see if he would support you in your endever.i'm not disabled but i do hunt.and down here in the "governors country"of the great,free,and highly taxed state of kansas.they are pretty leinyent towards D.A.,s when it comes to hunting,or fishing.in what we call zone 1 they have several handicapped access areas.MI.should have a website,you could probably get from your local wal-mart,sporting goods dept.
hope this helps.i guess sometimes it does help to have friends that own lots of land.

By Tim O'Keefe on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I am Paralyzed too and have an argo bigfoot! I love it. I go out on it all the time! I was just out on it today! Make sure you have a winch and a cell phone though if you go out alone! I got stuck a bunch of times and my wife had to rescue me! It's a great feeling to be out in the woods again! Check out Dave Berger's video's, I'm on most of them! The 2003 spring fling is just out, you should get it! I'm the guy going over the log with the Bigfoot! The video is only 15 bucks!

By Tim O'Keefe on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I am Paralyzed too and have an argo bigfoot! I love it. I go out on it all the time! I was just out on it today! Make sure you have a winch and a cell phone though if you go out alone! I got stuck a bunch of times and my wife had to rescue me! It's a great feeling to be out in the woods again! Check out Dave Berger's video's, I'm on most of them!

By David Johnston on Unrecorded Date: Edit

This is a message I just sent to the BLM. It ended up at the ARGO office. Hope it opens some eyes at the BLM and may give ARGO a direction to head to improve sales.............
My wife is a 100% disabled Air Force veteran. (VA and Social Security.) She can not walk into remote areas. She can not ride a dirt bike, nor can she ride a four-wheel ATV. Both require far more coordination than she can muster. While we can drive into some areas with a standard 4x4 vehicle such as a Jeep, many areas would be damaged by that type of vehicle, so are closed, as they should be. We have found an answer, which I would like to promote with the various agencies involved in preservation of our resources. Six and eight-wheel ATVs.
I believe the BLM and Nevada Department of Wildlife should take a serious look at the ALL the different types of ATVs available before making a blanket ban on them. In particular, serious thought should be given to leaving areas OPEN to 6- and 8-wheel drive ATVs for access by the handicapped. For example, I refer you to www.argoatv.com which is the web site for the ARGO ATVs.
These vehicles are VERY environmental friendly compared to dirt bikes and 4-wheel ATVs. First of all, each can carry 4 to 6 people, so you have ONE machine Vs 4 to 6 machines moving over the same terrain. More people can enjoy the environment with fewer machines. Secondly, because of the number of tires, they only have a 2-3 psi foot print, so do not leave grooves in the terrain. Thirdly, top speed is only 20-25 mph and that is on a paved or good gravel road. Usually in rough terrain, they are driven in low range, with a top speed less than 10 mph. Because they have some tire contract all the time, wheel slippage is rare, so they do not form "moguls" on the hill side. Fourth, unlike Jeeps, dirt bikes and four wheelers, they are NOT forced to stop with a flat tire as a single flat does NOT consitute an immediate problem. Many times, they get a flat and it is not even noticed until the next stop. Because of this, they can usually be moved to a safer area to repair the tire. Fifth, because they are not designed for speed, more emphasis is put into the exhaust/muffler system, with the exhaust port higher and further away from dry grass and tinder, not to mention they are much quieter than the usual ATV. Lastly, it is a group activity to see the sights, not just to blast through the country side. These machines are perfect for the handicapped and an exception to total ATV bans would be appreciated, by ALL disabled veterans......Perhaps everyone should hit up their local services for making an exception for the handicapped.

By mark harding (Promoza) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I'm sorry to hear about your wife i was left slightly disabled from a stroke at a young age so I'm not ready to sit around doing nothing we have some very nice trails here in Ohio down south the only thing is a 6x6 or 8x8 they say are to wide big deal my maxIV is a hole 1" to wide but you do have a very good idea now only if are states rep will really listen for some it mite be way over there head

By Bubba Hunt on Unrecorded Date: Edit

David,it forever chaffs my butt to see those environmental wackos setting around trying to lock every inch of land they can.No one is more conserned about the woods as we are.I admit that motorcycles and 4-wheelers have chewed up a hillside or two. Even at that , there still should be some hilly land set aside so they too can play.Not every one wants to sit at home on their butts and watch the tube.
We still have a lot of places up here that we can go on our atvs, but the wackos are always coming up with petitions and Bills to shut us off too.It is an never ending battle . Every election we fight these ButtHeads.
There is an old saying,"all it takes for EVIL to prevail is for good men to do nothing"
Another is" if we don't hang together, we will surely hang separately". The wackos don't care if you are disabled or not. They just push their ajendas in hope of locking up every speck of land they can.
Maybe it's time to speak with one voice, and let our state reps know how we feel. If they don't respond, there is always another election.
We are lucky up here to have elected officials who take care of these jerks.Even at that it is still a battle.Let us all HOWL together!!
Bubba

By mike martindale (Wetsu) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

BUBBA,i'm with you.i am proud to be politically incorrect,white,straight,pro-life,christian,and of the opinion,that the spotted owl tastes like chicken. but as a member of PETA,"People.Eating.Tasty.Animals."i believe their are several in the legislature that do not share our interest's.so they must be awakened to the needs and wants of ALL atver's,and if they don't want to listen......then it is time for them to go.QUICK,FAST,AND IN A HURRY.

By Dave Johnston on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Good points...and by the way...your first quote is from the Babylonian Talmud. The Second quote is from Ben Franklin.... Both true.

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Wetsu
Isn't it funny that we are considered politically incorrect even though we have a Republican controlled government.
Just a thought from a life long pollitically incorrect, elected REPUBLICAN party member.
Just because we play hard in the woods doesn't mean we don't care about the environment, it means we care more. We appreciate it and understand more than most what it would be like to live without it.
MMMM it does taste like chicken.

Russ

By Bubba Hunt on Unrecorded Date: Edit

All, I don'tell the wackos they can't eat carrots, yet they do their best to make "LAWS"to keep me from hunting anything!I've never been able to figure them out.A few years ago I came upon a traffic jam along an Alaskan road.A bunch of those idiots were taking pictures of a nice "legal" bull moose that was feeding leasurily along a meadow.I waited until they were all done and asked to be sure, then I pulled my old 375Mag out of the truck and sent the moose to moose heaven.I almost had to use my old 375 for self-defence purposes.They called the Troopers, Fish and Game to get me busted, which they couldn't do.
I don't have a problem with them taking all the pictures they want.I do have a problem with them making LAWS to keep me from hunting or using my atv in the back country. They have already done much to shut us out!It's the "little" rules that get us.Soon there's a bunch of "rules", then too many "rules and restrictions".If we don't raise heck about it, we can get rid of our atv's and sit at home with the rest of those jerks.Let's not just drop this issue.It's time to raise some cane and stir up those jerks. I have tried real hard to keep the urge of using bad words in this posting.It's almost unbearible!
Bubba

By mike martindale (Wetsu) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

russ,
it only stands to reason,most of the republicans i have voted for were outdoorsman.and that is why i voted for them.
bubba,i have already started sending e:mails to my kansas congressman/woman.to have them start working on a plan and places for us,down here in "the free,independent,and overly taxed state of kansas".

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Wetsu
If you think Kansas is over taxed you should try the East coast. I think that from Mass to Virginia I have heard about complints from folks ranging from income tax to property tax.
Anyway Wetsu, I hope to see you at Haspin.
Russ

By mike martindale (Wetsu) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

russ, i think you will if the bigfoot don't get sold. as far as the tax thing....7.35 % sales tax just for starters.property tax climbing each year.example; a 90k house will cost you about 7k + a year.but thats not why we're here now is it.
i'll be looking for you at haspin
mike