Driving, Stalking, and Still Hunting Deer

[novahunterpa]

Has anyone put on drives for deer or other game? What about stalking?  Or still hunting?   Are these valid methods.

  Ive used all these methods with some success, but also hunt alot by pattering deer and setting up a stand in wait for them.   Reason I ask, is on another forum we've been haveing a heated debate on an issue (not related to tradbows) and the subject of driving deer and stalking ect. comes up as not an acceptable way to bow hunt ( which seems odd to me).
  while some of these tactics my be unconventional
they certainly arent new.  Did'nt Fred Bear, Howard Hill and others use tactics like these.  In the video....Bowhunting October Whitetails  they hunted from stand but also, stalked and used deer drives, these methods have been around a long time.  Many say this way of hunting is'nt bow hunting.  I just dont get it, I thought bowhunting was trying differnt things at different times to see what works.  
  Sure sitting in a tree is one way and it's effective, and I see noting wrong with that (except i get alittle scared being in a tree but still do it once in a while).  Many say putting on drives with a bow is wrong,I say fine if it's not for you dont do it, but why is it not bowhunting the wright way.  Ive shoot a few deer on drives and some have been on the runn, I dont advacte shooting running deer unless you feel confident in it.  Many feel driving, stalking or still hunting somehow is not bowhunting, are they right.  
 Do any of you hunt this way, Is it part of bowhunting tradition and history.  What if any "unconvetional" ways to any of you hunt,  I value many of your opinions more on this site then on most, many here have alot of knowledge of bowhunting and it's traditions.

[Stick_N_String]

I don't use drives to hunt deer, because I don't want to run them of the property I hunt. But it is a viable hunting method no matter the weapon.
As for stalking and still hunting, I don't have exact numbers but I'll bet that 90% of the Elk and Mule deer taken every year are from a combination of stalking and still hunting.
Daren

[pcappy08]

They are all most definitely valid ways of deer hunting...i have shot quite a few deer still hunting in the rain and stalking in the snow to be honest if you ask me still hunting and stalking are skills and an art that becomes more and more lost with each passing year as hunters rely on stands to get close to deer....i couldnt agree with you more- think outside the box and try different things when the conventional seem to keep you just out of range.

[jonsimoneau]

I think that when gun hunters get in big gangs and drive deer it is borderline unfair.  But driving deer to archers is fair game in my opinion.  Humans are not the only predetor that has used this tactic.  
Driving deer works best in cover that is long and narrow, such as creek bottoms with open fields on either side.  We do it alot in the late season, and also sometimes during October when the deer are not always playing the game.  It's alot of fun and can be productive.  Note escape routes, as deer will use them over and over again.  Be there the next time it happens.  The hardest part is getting the deer to move at nothing more than a fast walk.  It can be done.  I'm not good enough to shoot at running deer, so we normally do our drives very slowly, and always so that the deer can smell the guy that is doing the pushing.  
We have found that as long as the deer can smell the guy doing the pushing, they are able to keep track of where he is and will not run like hell.  But if the pusher surprises the deer, and the wind is not favorable so that the animals cannot keep track of him via scent, they will panick and run like there is no tomarrow!

[Orion]

The big drives I've seen gunhunters make aren't particularly effective, but the large number of folks crashing through the woods yelling all kinds of stuff is rather crude.  Most deer flushed in those situations flee wildly and usually don't present a good shot for gun or bow.

I've used one-person "drives" that have been quite effective for both bow and gun hunting.  The idea is to move through the woods quietly, letting the deer get your sent.  This just nudges them forward toward the stander and they often present a walking or standing shot.  Of course, a lot of times, they also circle around me.  That's why they call it hunting.

Anyone who says stalking or driving isn't for bowhunting probably hasn't been a bowhunter very long and/or just doesn't know how to do it.  There is nothing unfair in either method.

[Ghostman]

Deer drives can be effective if well organized and conducted properly. Milo Hansens world record typical whitetail was taken using this method but it's not my style of hunting.

I much prefer to hunt deer one on one using stand or still hunting methods.

[Talondale]

Woody was taken by using a scent drive to bump him out of the thick cover he was in and past the Wendsels, if I remember right.  A slow push is a good way to get a shot in the right situations.  I like drives late in the season when the movement is next to nothing.  Wooded ditches and fingers are my favorite.

[ron w]

When you put on drives or push's while bowhunting the drivers no matter how many should go slow and actually still hunt to the watchers. Most time when this is done right the watchers if they see a deer it will be looking back to the driver and not moving to fast. This method works if everyone knows what their doing.Slow is the main factor,YOU CAN'T GO TO SLOOOOOOOW!!!!!

[bowhunterfrompast]

Still hunting, stalking and drives, along with treestands and ground blinds, are all definitely valid ways of bowhunting large and small game...to learn how to use each method only makes you a better bowhunter. Every hunt calls for a bowhunter to evaluate what will work for that particular hunt. Sometimes you have to use a combination of all the methods to become successful.

It is evident that these methods work by looking at the successful hunts just posted on this site by our many experienced/novice bowhunters.

[GregD]

I've never been any good at stalking or stillhunting but with the right people I have had good luck with pushing deer to guys. When I lived in N.J. we would loop way around the pheasant hunters and see what they would push by us. It was a great way to hunt deer, red fox and german short hairs.

[Swamp Pygmy]

To be honest I don't really understand the question. Who and why would they say it isn't bowhunting?

As far as I know hunting + bow = bowhunting.

If they say you can't successfully hunt with a bow while stalking or still hunting I'd say they are just... well I don't want to put a word on it.

If you ask some people around here who have hunted their whole lives they'll say you can't hunt deer without bait. You just can't. The idea of understanding the woods enough to find deer rather than bring them to you is unheard of. Simply doesn't exist. No one they know can do it, therefor NOBODY can do it.  

I'd suspect someone who says such things about stalking with a bow is just not very talented. And rather than say "I guess other folks are better hunters than me" they say its impossible. Otherwise they too would know how to do it.

[wihill]

I love it with the neighboring properties of where I hunt conduct the mass orange march.  Most of the deer end up on our property.   :D

I would love to try a stalk, but the area I hunt is more of a corridor for the deer than a bedding/feeding area.  A well educated guess for an ambush location is usually the best bet, but that's why it's called hunting and not shopping.

[mcgroundstalker]

Hey Mike, you answered your own question. I'm gonna bet that the "other" site had nothing to do with Trad Archery. How could (they) be so hard headed? Whatever. I'm not going to beat up on strangers......

Well, I feel that stalking and stillhunting are what big game hunting is all about. Eye Level is the ultimate rush. I want to Hunt deer, not just kill 'em. Understand?... I know you do.

... mike ...     ...

[George D. Stout]

Nothing wrong with a slow walk meant to move deer.  It's just as viable is sitting all day in a tree waiting for something to walk by.  I don't have patience for tree sitting, and would rather pit my still-hunting skills against my quarry.  The deer I hunt still rely on their instincts, so I try to hunt them on their level; their natural skills against my learned ones and they usually win.

[Doc Nock]

NOT ACCEPTABLE speaks to narrow-mindedness. Trouble with narrow-minded folks is they're predictably narrow-minded about being narrow-minded!    

Our outdoor fraternity smotes of "if I can't do it, don't like it, or had a bad experience, then it should be elminated!"

If I'm not mistaken, that is the anti's platform as well!

Free thought suggests that if it's legal and has ethical foundations, it's acceptable. EX: I won't hunt bow in the rain...fear of losing a blood trail. But if I had a good # of home acres I hunted, and knew exactly where deer went when hit, like many folks do, I might feel different.

[hawkeye n pa]

Agree with Pcappy08.  Its a lost art and todays modern equipment, clothing and boots discourages most. Very little of todays clothing is quiet enough, and the monster lugs don't cut it.

I'm in my fifties now and find this type of hunting most rewarding, although not quite as productive.

[Rooselk]

I certainly hope that spot & stalk and still-hunting are "acceptable" because that's the only type of hunting I've ever done. While I have nothing whatsoever against hunting from a treestand, that particular method has just never particularly appealed to me. As for deer drives, I can't say that I've ever really tried it. It's my understanding that a successful drive usually requires a number of people to participate. That method wouldn't work for me since I tend to hunt alone or with only one or two other people.

[ron w]

George, when you say that they usually win, you could not be more right!!!! But it is fun.