Never owned a 4 wheeler

But will soon. I hunt a mostly sandy, dry river bed. The bottom is packed hard, and where there is water it's no more than 8-12" deep. What water clearance can I expect from a NON-Modified say,,,, Yamaha Grizzly?

Grizzly 700 or 660 can go about 2.5 feet before it hits the air intake.

Most will be able to forge pretty deep waters. My old 2004 Honda Foremans would have water coming over the front rack and fenders and still be running without issue due to the location of the intake.

8-12 inches of water won’t be a problem for any of them, but the front wheel bearings will be the weak link on all of them since they don’t come sealed from the factory. Cheap fix, but water and sand will eat them pretty quickly. Also drum breaks can become an issue with constant water crossings.

I never shied away from a water crossing, but I never looked for the deepest water either. That being said, a quad with good tires and deep tread can damn near float with the right amount of throttle

I agree. I use to own a Honda and slapped some bigger tire on it, and that little thing got me through anything at the lease. I just eventually sold because daughter wanted to start hunting with me and I have another little one that will down the road, so I moved up to a Ranger crew size

Get front and rear racks, and you need a winch.

Sounds like pretty much any decent ATV will do what you need.
The big 4 Japanese (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha) will cost more initially but will be the most reliable.
The technology crossover from cars to race bikes to water craft to ATVs to UTV in these is hard to beat.
Polaris is getting better but can't stand up to the bazillions the Japanese spent on research.

2x4 vs 4x4 will be dictated by your use but water crossings can get slippery so you will probably be better served by 4x4.

Resist the temptation to put monster tires and lift kits on your ATV.
You can quickly turn a nice docile ATV into a bump-steering, ill-handling toad if you are not careful.
Try it stock, since you haven't owned one before, you might be amazed how capable they really are.

The two most important things about using a ATV/UTV:
1. ALWAYS put Stabil 360 in your gas - if you don't, it may not start after it sits for a couple of months and will cost you to get fixed unless you are handy with carburetors and hand tools and you can't go if it doesn't run!
2. Put some type of sealant in the tires BEFORE you go and it could be the difference between a good day and bad day - everyone has their favorite snake oil for this - I've had good luck with Slime and Berrymans - Slime is available everywhere, Tractor Supply just started carrying the orange Berryman's.

Reminds me of one of the guys on a S Tex deer lease years ago. Bought himself one of those 6 Wheel Polaris ATVs. I had Slime in my tires and assumed that he did too, but the next morning he had 6 flats.

Thanks for the reply's. Just the type of information I was looking for.