Ultimate hunting vehicle--Samurai??

The Duke

The Duke

New member
Does any body here have a Samurai they hunt out of?

I am 6'5" and worried If I go this route I am going to be cramped to much.

If I don't go this route then I will go the Polaris Ranger route. I think the ranger might be better off road ride but the Samurai can be street legal.
 
It's all about how much area you plan on hunting, and the obvious 6'5"...I have a crew 900 Ranger and it will go more places than a "Stocker" Suzuki samurai...but the street legal part is huge too. If you don't mind trailering the ranger, I'm sure you would get to much better ground to hunt with the ranger than the Suzuki..and won't have as much of an issue with height, even if u put a top on it...I'm 6'1" and have plenty of room. I would add, if it's an older carbureted model Samurai, you could have issues with hills and most were stick not auto as the ranger, plus no problems with hills with the EFI on the Polaris, just my $.02
 
Originally Posted By: tripod3I have a friend that has a Suzuki. He says the wheel base is so short you only feel a bump once.

But ya really feel it!
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Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: hm1996Originally Posted By: tripod3I have a friend that has a Suzuki. He says the wheel base is so short you only feel a bump once.

But ya really feel it!
lol.gif


Regards,
hm
^^^this is so true. i bought one the first year they came out. roughest riding little rig i ever rode in. did not keep it very long.
 
We have had two Samurai Rigs. They are cool, but they were a little cramped. Tried several UTVs. Ended up with this handy, little Honda P500. I drive. At 6' 235lbs I find it very comfortable. Not sure it would be right for 6'5" though.





For our deal less is more. LOL


To be honest a good half ton PU is ideal for most of the calling we do.
 
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This is a pic of my wifes Polaris ranger, works well with the bench seat, but the crew works the best due to the room of 2 bench seats...unfortunately I don't have a pic of that one, it's in Utah...

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This is my everyday hunt vehicle and works great with many mods on it for off roading. street legal and goes almost every where? I carry 2 spares, high-lift jack, shovels and some equipment in the rear, and is hidden from the elements. Plus I can stand on the rear bed top for an advantage point.

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I use the 83' CJ for a little more rugged terrain, but the ride sucks, and is cramped with very little room for equipment...

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And this CJ I must trailer because it is not street legal, but really gets me to the back country, and very little stops me where I NEED TO GO!!!...lol I have gun racks for the top, and it's very easy to post from!! just my $.02...I would go the Jeep way! Or Polaris!
 
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Four wheelers are not allowed on the ranches I hunt. No experience w/Samurai but a Wrangler rag top is handy hunting rig. Have 4" lift kit on this TJ. Not sure about 6'5" w/top on, though as I'm only 5'8" (but long waisted). The Wrangler w/top on is a bit tough to get into back seat, but ideal for two hunters.

Hunted w/4 WD Silverado for years and that is OK; main advantage of the jeep is light weight (have yet to stick it) and short wheelbase makes it much easier to maneuver & hide in the brush.





Friend had a Samurai and loved it, but parts were a bit more difficult to get than jeep parts.

Regards,
hm
 
Yes, it is fixed height, it swivels 360*. We use it primarily for night hunting predators.

Regards,
hm
 
I went with the GEO tracker, since i live in an area that has lots of rain, snow, and heat. I've had two and both were wagons, get one with an automatic trans it has plenty of power but not enough to spin the tires which means you don't get stuck. (i never had to use low range with either of them)

This one is used in the mountains and sometimes deep snow, simply air the tires down if it can be driven over with tires the tracker will do it. I did finally stick it on purpose on a 3' high rotten snow bank to see what it would take to get it out, i got the 1/4 ton come along out and after cleaning the snow out from the high center it took 5 minutes to free it. It's nice to have a heater that makes you roll down the windows and an a/c that lets you roll up the windows as well.

The one thing you must remember with trackers is that they have 5:38 gear sets in them from the factory, if you drive them down the freeway at 70mph they won't last long. At 6'5" you may need to move the seat tracks back. When looking at what i wanted to use off road the fact that in this area you can get a nice tracker for around $3,500 and a decent side by side is $10,000 that tipped it in favor of the tracker.
 
^^^^with all do respect, the lowest gear ratio from the factory on any Geo tracker was 5:12...that includes any generations. Don't mean any disrespect! Maybe an option? But not factory. Most factory models were 4:88...pls don't take this correction the wrong way..thnx
 
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You are right, i needed to look in the shop manual instead of the memory. The results are the same though if you run them down the freeways around here at 70-80mph, they won't last long. Great off road rigs, just not geared for high speed.
 
^^^^yes they are great rigs, but who really goes 70 mph off road trying to hunt....lol, my 78' CJ runs 6:88 gears...that beast is screaming "I'm gonna blow" at 50 mph...haha
 
Originally Posted By: Dropadoglv...but who really goes 70 mph off road trying to hunt....lol...

Me?
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Okay, 70 on dirt, not too often but sometimes. 60 on dirt, frequently. More to the point I guess is doing 85 on the interstate getting there almost always.

But to me the ultimate coyote rig is a built Tacoma. Since a rig just for coyote hunting isn't realistic and I already have a full size pickup which I need for other things, I have a built Jeep that is my main hunting rig and which also gets used year round for non hunting offroading. Maybe not the ultimate but it serves my purposes extremely well.

I guess if money were truly not a factor my ultimate would actually be a Hemi AEV Brute : D.

- DAA
 
I guess you didn't see the word "freeway". You do know what a freeway is, right? Some people need to travel on one to get to their off road area. How about we get back to the o.p's question.
 
Before getting into predator Hunting I used to drive a 74 Bronco (fully modified) and do a lot of rock crawling.

For the price of a Sammy, you could get it, take the body off and make some minor upgrades and could then bend up some steel and sheet it somewhere between the sami and a Ranger style, and be able to go into more places. Save money on tires buying some 28" mudders vs those UTV tires. More clearance, and if you are 6-5" you can set the seat as far back as you want.

I would trailer either of them. Then if something happens you have a back-up.

There are a shockingly large array of aftermarket parts for a sammy that will gear it better and make it silent, and more capable of getting in and out of somewhere than any ranger, for a lot less than a ranger.
 
Originally Posted By: Dropadoglv who really goes 70 mph off road trying to hunt....lol

Lots of dirt roads I drive on I go 60+ mph inbetween sets.
 


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