Is Driving deer is really " hunting" ?
 

This may start some controversy, so let me first say; different strokes for different folks..... but....

I don' t believe people who Drive deer to achieve a kill are " Hunters" , I think they are " Shooters" and I don' t understand how anyone who can get a sense of pride from a deer taken this way.

A drive at the end of the season to try to put some meat in the freezer is OK, by me, but if you use a drive as the primary mode of killing, that can' t be considered " hunting" . I find that style of killing to be lazy and not in the true spirit of hunting. Where is the skill? Too many clubs and groups of guys go out and drive, drive, drive, and what ever comes out gets blasted. I would get almost no satisfaction out of being the guy lucky enough to have a big buck run toward me so I could shoot it.

To me, outsmarting that big buck or a doe or what ever deer you feel like shooting, it " hunting" .

Does anyone else feel this way?

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

you nailed it when you said different strokes , for different folks.....

i am not for it , but i will not belittle anyone who does.....i' m opened minded more than i used to be, i used to be totally against it, but as i have matured as a hunter , i realize that it' s just one of the different ways that hunters legally hunt for deer .....

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

ok whatever you say but driving is the best way to get a deer and yes it is hunting

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

I am not sure i understand what a (deer drive) is

but if you are talking about walking the brush and jumping a buck and shooting it not being hunting
i am at a loss
what do you call hunting is it sitting in a tree waiting, is it driving around in a truck shooting from the window, spot and stalk ?????

i see nothing wrong with jumping deer
how is jumping a deer not outsmarting him? you are overcoming what he thinks is perfect cover for the day and kicking him in the arse to get him out of his bed.

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

Actually there is some skill to drive hunting, I have done this for years.. I havent in the past few though. You just cant go to any bush walk threw it and expect to get deer outta there you may but if you dont know the area chances are you will push them everywhere but to your standers. You gotta know the escape routes only way to successfully drive. As far as it being the lazy way, You are way off there.. much much more work than parking your butt somewhere and sitting all day. Thats why I dont drive hunt anymore my body cant handle it. With drive hunting you still gotta scout, you still gotta be able to read sign. Its the same thing as with stand hunting. I agree to each his own but dont call them lazy. I never saw a lazy drive hunter.

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

Good point on the Lazy issue. I know it can be physically exhausing, I guess I think it takes more mental effort to know the land, pick the right stand, move stands if necessary, control scent, control movements, contain noise, call a deer in and put time in the woods and on the stand to outwit that trophy deer.

I hear a lot of people say that getting a deer on a drive is only one notch higher then hitting one with a car.

Again, to each their own. I am curious to see what people feel about driving versus hunting.

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

Gold, In my past few years hunting alone would not trade it for drive hunting. I do have respect for the guys who do drive hunt. Yes its physical and yes there is mental effort involved. You gotta know the woods just like with stand hunting. You can put 10 guys on stand if you want but if you know the land, you only need 3. The only difference is you dont contain noise (during a drive) and control movements. Oh and yes really good drive hunters play the wind, you dont want the deer moving before you get setup and make your drive. Really if you think about it there is alot involved just like with stand hunting.

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

I prefer to hunt from a treestand or a blind or still hunt.
I don' t drive corners.
However, I do not condemn anyone else' s methods. I believe driving deer is just another valid method. I am familiar with deer drives..it is done a lot in my area. It is not a more productive way of hunting. If anything, it is less productive overall.
Just speaking from many years of experience.

Clint

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

Well I will tell you there is a ton of work to drive hunting, there is actually far more scouting to be done to put on successful drives than there is in sitting in a stand.

When you scout to sit in a stand you are scouting a deers normal travel routes, I challenge any stand hunter to find me one single escape route! I will bet money 9 out of ten times a stand hunter will not find a single escape route. Deer use totally different routes to escape than they do going to and from bed and food.

I used to drive hunt, but I am not a young man anymore and could not keep up the pace. Unlike with stand hunting where you scout and find a single spot where deer are moving through, when drive hunting, first you must know where they bed, second you have to know if I drive from the east and the wind is blowing out of the west, which way will the deer move and on which escape corridor will they use this time.

I stand hunt exclusively now, but I will tell you that it would take a book to tell you how much work is needed to successfully drive deer. Anyone can drive deer, but to set up standers to where they can kill deer is an art and beleive it or not I/we have successfully killed particular bucks that we scouted out pre-season driving, not every deer killed in a drive is luck of the draw, I/we have let dinks go right by knowing that a big one would be coming through soon.

RE: Driving deer is NOT " hunting" .
 

I know of a group of guys that does this all the time and they call themselves the posse. They hit the swamps mostly and kick out the deer and drive them towards the sitters. They usually have about 20 guys and normally someone get' s deer. I have never hunted this way and with that many hunters in the woods in close proximity, something bad could happen. I have been invited to go but have thus far declined. I had a friend go with them once, he said that he was told to sit here and they went off into the woods. He could listen to them on the radio but he never saw a deer. He did state another time he was in the woods and they came in the same woods and pushed a deer towards him which he did get.

This is not my style of hunting since I usually hunt by myslef or with a friend.

Tomster