Polaris Ranger EV?

deer patch

Well-Known Member
For those that have a Ranger EV, how well do they do on hilly terrain, battery life per charge and have you had any issues with them. Any experiences that you have had good or bad? Any additional info you have would be appreciated also.
 
Great on hills. battery range is highly variable. It depends on temperature, hills etc. however in 40-50 degree weather I don’t think you would ever have a problem going all day. It’s when it gets really cold that range is decreased. I would suggest plugging in every day. It causes no harm and is better for the batteries. It is as good as any gas side by side out there and rides much better than most. Great suspension. I clean the tops of the batteries twice a year with baking soda and a rag and top off the water once a year. Never have had a battery issue. The downfall of these units is the price. I just looked over the new models and you’re looking at like $13000. Yikes but, they sure are nice. If you’re worried about performance maybe you could talk the dealer into a weekend to test drive the unit and see how you like it.
 
Check out the Polaris Forum. I believe that’s where I read about some hacks that you can do to get better performance out of the Ranger EV. I wouldn’t do it before the warranty was out but I would after. There are always guys that figure out how to improve on anything. I’m not one of them ! :)
 
My across the street neighbor has one. It is ok for just riding around and light work. Compare it to a 570 ranger with 44 hp compared to 30, gas ranger more work capable - and in mud and soft ground - the EV weighs 1750 dry weight - the 570 about 1050 dry weight. If you are just using to ride around on decent ground and carry a few corn bags - cant be beat. If you are using it to access your duck blind in the swamp and pulling trailers into the woods loaded with 1000 lbs fertilizer - probably not.
 
Hmmmnn.....that’s exactly why I have a cart for slipping through the woods and a Can Am Defender for the real work. :)
 
Thanks guys for all the responses. If I was to get one I would use it for hunting and hauling out deer. I have plenty of equipment to use when I need to do some heavy hauling.

I have used a 4 wheeler many times to slip up on deer and turkey just easing around on it but I get tired of the noise and wonder if going electric would help my hunting or is the noise issue just in my head? I like the ideal of an electric bike but there's not an easy way to haul deer out.

I have been checking prices and there are some decent deals out there but I will have to travel to get one. These prices on a new won are steep and I don't know if I want to justify the price just for stealth at this moment.

So do you guys think the quietness has helped with hunting enough to justify the price of an electric unit?
 
Other than trying to slip up on game and kill it, I dont think there is a real advantage. We kill some hogs at night off an EV that probably would not be killed from a gas burner. I have a feeder and the deer dont leave it when I drive by on my gas ranger, my JD 65 hp tractor, or my truck. If I stop in plain sight - they run - same as they do when we are on my neighbor’s EV.
 
Thanks guys for all the responses. If I was to get one I would use it for hunting and hauling out deer. I have plenty of equipment to use when I need to do some heavy hauling.

I have used a 4 wheeler many times to slip up on deer and turkey just easing around on it but I get tired of the noise and wonder if going electric would help my hunting or is the noise issue just in my head? I like the ideal of an electric bike but there's not an easy way to haul deer out.

I have been checking prices and there are some decent deals out there but I will have to travel to get one. These prices on a new won are steep and I don't know if I want to justify the price just for stealth at this moment.

So do you guys think the quietness has helped with hunting enough to justify the price of an electric unit?

I think they are worth the bother depending on your situation. To hunt hogs anywhere, or deer on small acreage, and coyotes anywhere they will definitely help IMO. When I hog hunted at night on the place I sold, I drove mine straight to the stand and parked within 15 feet of the stand. It was thick low brush and animals couldn’t see the cart. My thinking was it’s easier (and better) to slip in quickly vs. walking the 300 yards or so from the top of the hill to my stand. I’ve killed hogs literally in thirty minutes after getting in the stand. Less scent in a couple minutes vs. the slow walk in the dark necessary if you don’t want to make a misstep and tumble down the hill. I never used a light unless it was very dark.

Coyote hunting involves lots of moving. If you walk, you leave lots of scent, no telling where coyotes are layed up, if you travel fast and quiet, less scent is dispersed. You use a gasoline vehicle most of them can hear it, and that ain’t good. Starting the vehicle, opening and closing doors, etc., even if you’re careful will make noises that will sound very loud in the predawn or early morning when it’s cold and still.

The downside is that e-vehicles are prone to electrical problems. You really have to maintain those batteries and cables like you mean it. And, the batteries are expensive if you get good ones, and you do want good batteries. Be aware that a loose cable will burn the post off one of those expensive batteries in a heartbeat. If you maintain them as directed, you can avoid the lesson that I learned the hard way.
 
I think if you are one of those who avoid activity on your land as much as possible, an EV would be an advantage as long as you had other equipment to work with. If you are someone like me - hand spreading corn or rice bran every other day, bush hogging, disking, cutting firewood, repairing trails daily - riding a UTV around the whole property almost daily, hog hunting at night, coon and squirrel hunting with a dog - I just dont believe my fairly quiet ranger bothers them much. In fact, my hogs are ten times as wary as my deer. I have through the scope video tonight of a whole herd of hogs turning and running at the sound of a AR 10 safety click. Ten deer in the same food plot never even stopped eating.
 
I agree Swamp. Two yrs ago I had to ride my noisy atv to stands most times. More often than not after riding to within 40 yds I’d have to wait for deer to finish w their acorns before accessing my stand. But like you my atv is around the property a lot thruout the year. I do think riding leaves less scent actually but I sometimes wish for electric JST for my own mental peace. Deer are gonna hear anything coming no matter how quite our ears think we are.


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In my rather long post I forgot to add that one morning I drove to my stand at gray light, got into it, opened my front windows to see six hogs in the East part of my wheat plot. About 75 yards from my stand. Five left, one stayed until I dragged him off. That would never have happened even if I had parked my Ranger 300 yards away on the hill. I have game camera proof of that more than once. That’s what prompted me to buy my first lifted golf cart.
 
In my rather long post I forgot to add that one morning I drove to my stand at gray light, got into it, opened my front windows to see six hogs in the East part of my wheat plot. About 75 yards from my stand. Five left, one stayed until I dragged him off. That would never have happened even if I had parked my Ranger 300 yards away on the hill. I have game camera proof of that more than once. That’s what prompted me to buy my first lifted golf cart.

every place is different. Last week I was planting an eight acre food plot. I got down there on the tractor and six hogs in the west end of food plot. I started planting the east end of food plot. But I never got closer to the hogs than 150 yards - me in plain sight the whole time. After about ten minutes of that, I texted a friend to come down there and shoot them. He made it down - on a gas burner polaris ranger ten minutes later and killed one. Now, fast forward two days. I was in that same food plot - but at midnight with an AR 10, .308 and night vision. I was peeking around a tree - eighty yards from a group of about 15 hogs, looking through the night vision scope - deciding which one I was going to shoot. They were calmly feeding on wild pecans, in total darkness. After deciding which one was going to stay, I activated the video, got the chosen target in the cross hairs, flipped the safety - and at the sound of the safety from 75 yards - the whole bunch bolted. Got all this on video. Just goes to show you never know - but I do shoot quite a few hogs from my gas burning polaris ranger and rzr.
 
I think it depends a lot on if the sound of an ATV is a regular sound on your hunting property or if it only is there when your there to hunt.

Growing up on the farm back in Pa we had mini bikes and motor bikes. Some 3-wheelers and eventually quads. Tractors were normal as were pickup trucks.

Deer didn’t care and still don’t to some degree. One year back hunting with my Brother a Doe walked down the road we drove his small sxs on to the stand and lay down 15 yards away from it.

On my lease 6 hours away the only time they hear it is when we are there. I have noticed that when I sneak in and walk to the stand close to Camp I see deer that night. When the SIL shows up and is not as quiet as I try to be coming in the deer disappear from that stand.

I’m hoping with the new feeders I can train them to associate the sound of the ATV to Food and they will become more tolerant of it.
 
Thanks guys....You have given me a lot to think about. While I only ride the atv about every two weeks during the spring and summer, I do ride it during hunting season. I was riding to and from the stand Saturday and I was listening to all the noise it was making from the tires rolling down the road. Interesting enough I rode up on two bucks eating acorns near the edge of the road on my way out.

Sounds like most that use an electric vehicle have hog issues where it seems to stand out for use in sneaking in quietly.

I'll have to decide what's the best option in a few months. I'm not ready to pull the trigger just yet. Still thinking about an e-bike also.
 
On one place I hunt, I have a secluded 3/4 acre plot that’s very close to a dirt road that lots of pickups and ATVs go down before daylight, late morning, early afternoon, etc., normal travel times for deer hunters. I live over two hours away, so I often bring a lunch and sit all day. Since nobody else has food plots on our 2500 acres, my plot has deer going and coming at all hours of the day. I’ve had multiple opportunities to observe these deer when someone travels that road. They hear the vehicle about the same time I do, the little ones pay very little attention, the older ones lift their heads and follow the sound (although they can’t see it) until it’s obviously fading from hearing range, then resume eating. There are two choices for the travelers on this road. One is to go on by at a steady pace, the other is to turn, and go through a gate to a different property. When folks pause to go through that gate, the oldest does will invariably stop eating, swivel their ears back and forth, and sometimes take a few steps in the opposite direction. As soon as the vehicle goes through the gate and the sounds fade, all go back to eating. Another thing I’ve noticed, is that before good daylight I often have deer feeding in that plot. Sounds from ATVs and UTVs carry a long way in the early morning but I don’t see the deer being visibly upset when they are several hundred yards away and I’m usually glassing this plot as soon as I can see through binos.

Hogs, on the other hand, will hit the woods as the sounds get fairly close. I’m not saying hogs are smarter than deer, but they are certainly more paranoid and have zero curiosity. Most of my hog encounters have been from an electric cart, unless there was a fairly large group feeding or rooting. They are noisy when in a family group and that can cover the noise of a gas vehicle at times.
 
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