Drive Hunting
 

Many people when I tell them that we drive hunt say that, that is not real hunting. Let me tell you something drive hunting is alot of work and sure gives you exercise. Besides our family has to drive hunt because of all the hunters we hunt with. All the hunters are family or really close friends. Total we hunt with 15 people. Drive hunting takes alot of skill because you have to be really quick and ready to shoot and be able hit a deer running at full speed. Drivers usually make the deer scatter and help out other people (strangers) who are sitting in their stands get a chance at getting a deer by making the deer run everywhere and allowing some other hunters the chance to get a shot. Last year we were doing a drive a guy and his son were up in their stand we ended up pushing a six point buck to there stand. Even though one of our guys didnt get it, it still made me happy to see someone else get it. What do you think? Do you think drive hunting is real hunting?

RE: Drive Hunting
 

That about sums up my feelings on the topic. [:' (]

RE: Drive Hunting
 

I' m not going to get into wether it is hunting or not but I will tell you that in my experiances I have seen many many more bigger deer by still hunting or making small two or three man drives with out all of the hooting and hollarin. A deer is not stupid, if people go into an area year after year doing 15 - 20 man drives the big boys are not going to hang around. Fellas I used to hunt with down in Florida did drives and used dogs and the deer, after the first couple of times, would all but dissapear. If we got any big bucks then it was on the first couple of days and after that it was pretty much a few does and small spikes and fork horns. We also wasted more time fartin around figuring out the next drive or chasing dogs than we did hunting. I never did like it but that' s the way the owner of the land wanted to hunt and it is his land so I went along with him.

RE: Drive Hunting
 

drive hunting is real hunting in my book. I grew up in Wisconsin and it was standard issue after the opening weekend. Still do it to this day but much with a smaller group. Since this was brought up, I' m going to share some things that I have learned from driving deer

1) don' t drive them, push them. Meaning don' t do the yelling and smacking stuff. Have everyone slowly walk like they are still hunting (maybe a little faster though) this makes deer get out of there beds and walk/trot to there escape route. They are much less likely to sit tight and let you walk past, or haul ass out the side of a drive.

2) post someone where you first enter the woods (opposite end of standers) If you start doing this, you are going to be very surprised at the quality of bucks that end up coming out the " back end" of a drive that none of the drivers saw. I smart buck will sit tight and let you walk right by, within yards/feet.

RE: Drive Hunting
 

Jorgy, some very sound advise. I used to hunt the Western Md mountains and the locals would drive the heck out the place, we even had a few run ins with them as they didn' t pay any attention to property lines, but after all their hooping and hollering the big ones would come slinking out the back door. Payed off for our group every year.

RE: Drive Hunting
 

mdbohuntr, that is how I learned that trick myself. When I tried to incorporate it into my new hunting group they all thought I was an idiot until they saw the success

RE: Drive Hunting
 

We man doged (drives) deer for many years and the still hunt method toward standers on known run ways works very well, it makes the deer nervous when they hear a snap here then nothing then a snap over there then over here,they dont know which way the threat is coming from.We even had guys still hunting behind the main doggers just to catch the sneakers as they circled behind the line (you must have ultimate trust in these guys for safety reasons). Now I hunt with dogs and it is a blast (different folks different strokes). As for not finding the big boys after things get stirred up, might be you dont know where they hole up when the crap hits the fan( ie: a spit of dry land in a swamp, behind the out house, a row of bushs on the front lawn of someones house (seen this one b4 and it was right beside the road with cars/trucks driving by within feet of it), behind my wood pile at the trailer,under someones cottage etc.), in short an out of the way spot where nobody in thier right mind would look for a deer.

RE: Drive Hunting
 

I feel that if you enjoy it and it is legal then by all means have a good time. The comradery is half the hunt anyway.

RE: Drive Hunting
 

I have been on drives years ago. Never really cared for it for several reasons, but like said above, if it' s legal and you stay within the guidelines....have a blast.

It' s been said by several already, but take it slow, and don' t intentionally make noise. As a matter of fact, stop frequently when driving....a good buck will many times sit tight or double back....they kinda freak out when you stop because they think they' re busted!! Quite a few years ago up in some very deep timber up near Lake Superior we had access to some private land that you could actually drive in certain areas. A nephew of one of my buddies that lived close by took a huge 232#, 13 pointer with a big drop tine by doing this during a drive. This was one of the " toughest" deer I have ever seen. He hardly had any teeth left, had a club foot that was probably broken several years before, and at 232# dressed, he was thin. His ribs were actually showing!!! An old bruiser that made it through many seasons and would have probably made a good dinner for a wolf that winter!!

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