RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

Duse, Did you call a game warden and turn in these tresspassers and poachers?

What you mentioned is against the law, right?

RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

NYBH,

Now we are getting closer together on this subject.( see, we might be more alike than we thought;))

Some of the drives described in this thread does sound like a bunch of fools doing foolish things, but man drives done correctly are viable tools to harvest deer. I reckon we all just need to try and keep an open mind, I imagine some recurve hunters might argue that using a compound is not bowhunting ...........

Anyhow, good luck and be safe!

RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

Yes, driving deer is hunting.....

What most rifle hunters who just sit in stand don' t realize is, is that they are part of a drive. Monday (rifle opener) I will sitting in a stand that is inside the wood line from a apple orchard. Nobody from our group will be doing drives, but, I' ll bet that alot of the deer that we see that day will be from drives. People get deer stirred up, and they move, that is why most guys get deer.

Yes, I will be doing some drives mid-day on Monday, and I can tell you one thing, it takes more skill than most think. Tazman hit it on the head about having to scout. With a drive, you have to take into account that these deer are going to have different escape routes, plus, you also have to remember that if you are posting and a deer is comming towards you, you better have the wind in your face because they will already be on alert if they smell you, they normally make a 90 degree turn and head out the other way.

How about trying to outsmart the deer and not let him circle back????

When we do deer drives, we usually have 3-4 guys for the drive. Normally, one or two guys will post, and there will always be two drivers. This isn' t alot of guys for a drive, but, it works for us because we have learned the area, where the deer will go, and how to avoid spooking them too bad.

Another thing we do is try to keep the deer relatively calm. We don' t send tons of guys in the woods making all kinds of noise. Like I said, we usually have two guys go in the woods. They will VERY SLOWLY work back and forth through the woods tryin to make the illisuion that there are more people than there really is. We don' t yell, blow whistles, hit pots and pans, or any of that stuff. We will take a small stick with us and just hit it of a tree every once in awhile. This will jump up the deer, but, they won' t be spooked too bad. We RARELY have deer run out of the woods at full speed, most of the time, they are just trotting and can be stopped with a whistle.

Yes, drives are physically demanding, covering as much terrain as these guys do is tough, very tough, and it will take it out of you.

One more thing........ drive hunting also creates a certain bond between hunters that is just awsome. If a guy pushes out a nice buck to another guy, you can bet the successful hunters is going to be thankful for the help from his buddy. Drive hunting is all about working out a plan with your buddies.

RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

THANK YOU BUCK MAGNET!!!

i stand hunt all day on some days and that night i am just as tired as when i hunt the morning, do a drive, and hunt the afternoon. by walking through the woods VERY SLOWLY with the wind to our backs, the deer smell us WAY before we get there. they normally put their heads down and trot or walk past our stand hunters. the only thing i have EVER shot on a drive that was running was a big male red fox and the only reason that it was running was that it spotted me as it snuck by on a log.

O and NY Bowhunter: thats right, opening day i will be doing drives on public property. the property is about 40 acres of woods and about 20 acres of fields. SEVEN people hunt this property and there are 23 deer stands. it is not in the books or anything. it is almost like owning property since everyone knows everyone else. there is going to be 3 pushers and two standers. you see more deer during bow season b/c the deer are more predictable, under less pressure, THE RUT, and if somebody shoots a bow, it doesnt alert every deer in the county. thats why. truthfully i see more deer during gun b/c i know where to sit during gun season. once you figure it out, so will you.

last year we harvested a large nine pointer (scored 140) and we let numerous does and bucks walk (not run) by b/c we dont believe everything that is " brown is down" . if you believe that about drive hunters, that you are very ignorant.

RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

This depends a lot on the type of land you hunt. Where I hunt its very Large Very deep cayons in the river breaks. You have two choices. Either set where they come out of the canyons in the evening to feed or put together a drive to push them out. Otherwise you will not see a deer during legal shooting times. When the deer go down it the cayons for the day the cedar trees are so thick that you will never see them. You could walk right by 20 deer and never know they were there. These cayons are miles long and many a mile or so wide. with side draws running every direction. You can have twenty drivers walking and not see one of them for an hour or so at a time. I have all the time in the world and prefer to ambush the deer when they come out. However guys with only a weekend to hunt will have to use the drive and block method if they want a shot. Its easy to condem someone elses way of hunting if you don' t know or understand the land and the ways of the wildlife. Driving is just another tool used where necessary. It is niether unethical or unsportsmanlike. And your right . Its very hard work and requires some knowhow. My years of walking those deep rugged draws have past me by so I will use the old Ambush method. Which was always my favorite way to hunt anyway.

RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

Yeah no kidding Kobear. Thanks for helping out my point.

Yeah you at the edge of some field where 5 guys are walking through the woods behing you. That' s a well thought out plan dude. It amazes me you see so many deer. Maybe someday I can figure it all out like you do. You don' t think I can come up with 10 of my friends and put on drives and see about 100 deer? Please!! It seems a little too easy to me.

I' d appreciate it if you would go back through the posts and let me know where I said that. Thank you.

Try to make ammends and see what happens ..... another yahoo has to step up.

RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

Any use of dogs in the state where I hunt is illigal and never in my 45 years of legal deer hunting have I seen anyone use a dog.

RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

Game Warden.....whats that
We have 4 of them to cover 4 counties.
Its to the point here that they just outlawed drives here except for the 6 day.
I imagine every club in S.Jersey will be tearing it up in this township those 6 days,then they move off to thier own towns.
Some of you can sit here with blinders on saying thats not the way You see drives done(brown is down,tresspassing,poaching,CUTTING THE BACKSTRAPS OUT AND LEAVING THE REST))or it' s just 1 or 2 clubs doing it... so it cant be happening.
Well I' m telling you it' s not 1-2 it' s the majority.
All you can do is call the police and hope they get here in time.
I' m telling you its brutal around here

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RE: Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

NY Bowhunter have you ever heard the old saying about walking a mile in someone elses shoes? Please do not take it the wrong way, but you are talking about something you know nothing about.

I challenge you to get 6 people together and put on a successful deer drive. What I mean by successful is to drive a nice mature buck to a stander! You have no idea how much scouting is involved in a successfull drive on a mature buck, as with any type of hunting there is a degree of luck also, but for you to run down a form of hunting you know nothing about is wrong. BTW your comments on driving deer prove you know nothing about driving deer successfully!!!