Polaris Ranger

We purchased a new 2007 Polaris Ranger 500 to replace a 2000 Polaris Sportsmen 500 because of it's versatility in that we use this equipment all year long. Thus far it has exceeded my expectations on the tasks accomplished to date. We had been told to stay away from the 500 because it would lack the necessary power to accomplish larger tasks.

Don't let anyone fool you into this way of thinking. With better than 25 loads of green firewood (we also put stake racks on to haul wood) it has more than enough power to do any job. If you decide to load her up good and high, you will need to unload so much before the dump box can do it's job.

The only problem I have encountered thus far is being able to try out the 4-wheel drive. 99% of the time the machine is in the one wheel drive selection and is going places we have to use the 4-wheel drive on our four-wheelers. I did have to carry the chainsaw with me the first time on our four wheeler trails to widen the corners because of a larger turning radius. On the straight away...it did great.

The other issue is the need for a windshield.  Here in NY, you can't register the machine but can go where ever you please as long as you have a slow moving sign on the back of the machine. With speeds in high range in excess of 50 mph...you need to keep you mouth closed and have some form of eye protection from the bugs smacking you in the face.

There are a lot of options available for this unit and can either be purchased through your dealer or on-line such as eBay. My brother-in-law bought the 2008 at the same time and had it equipped with the front or rear mounted winch. My hat goes off to Polaris on this one.

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An Update: Well its been a year now and with close to 223 hours on the machine I can now say with confidence...you really can't go wrong here on buying this machine. The thing you really need to take into consideration before going out and buying is what are you really going to use it for.

I wanted something that could carry at least three hunters (carries six when using the tailgate) in the front seat, so I wanted a bench seat. The only two that cater to this crowd last year was Kawasaki and Polaris. I also wanted a machine that could easily haul my ladder stands and do firewood in the off season....this machine performed great.

Gerber Blood Tracking Light

Thumbs down to the Gerber Blood Tracking light. We have had the chance to try it on three separate occasions of trying to find the blood trail. In each trial, (we bought two of these) we were able to see the blood better with the regular light verses the special beam to track with. Maybe we are doing something wrong especially after reading all the great reviews on the light. If your looking on my take...I now own a very expensive flash-light

We had a chance this year to try out a number of products made and sold by Rocky. First was the thermal long underwear, brown in color and also had scent eliminator designed into the garment. After purchasing the first pair and trying it for a week, ended up going out and getting two more sets.

They are sold separately where you have to buy the top and bottoms. I think they would actually do better with combining the sets to make one. Each top and bottom cost 16.95 each and worth every cent.

We also tried the around the waist hand warmers with a zipper pouch on the front. It exceeded my expectations and allowed me to carry extra toilet paper and my game calls for easy access.