Deer drives

[TURKEYFOOTGIRL]

I try to do at least a few drives every year. Been doing them for 25 years and love them! Great way to learn a lot of land and stretch the legs.

[Gehrke145]

Did a bunch of these years ago when I lived in Wisconsin, it was one of my favorite ways to hunt.  Lots of action with good friends and lots of laughs.

On NW Iowa public land there are several deer drives every week end.  Problem, or perhaps a good thing, is that the drivers never realize that they are partaking in a deer drive.  The morning drivers main techniques are to belch, make metallic clanking sounds, yell, smoke cigarettes, break off and stomp on dry branches and then stomp and talk with their buddies all the way back to the road.   Ya just gotta appreciate willing volunteers.  The afternoon drivers do the same thing except in reverse.

[MnFn]

I agree, Pavan.
A little different tactic: Picking up a good track and following it in fresh snow and placing a poster at the other end of a potential travel pattern is an acceptable way to hunt to me. One on one pushes are ok to me, though I seldom do them.  The big deer drives do not interest me.  As with every other hunting method,  if you are not confident in making the shot, you shouldn't take it.

Also wind direction is huge.

I have seen deer return  to cover that they were "pushed " out of within the same afternoon.  So it is not always as invasive as some  think, unless repeatedly driven.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Every winter a bunch of great archers and myself get together for a day of doing drives on public land. All the things Ron W. mentioned are good advice. As for getting a good safe shot, I have had several times when the deer were right in front of me standing and looking back because the drive was done "silent" and slow offering good shot ops.I know this goes for the other fellas as well. Even if there are no shot ops all day, it is great fun with a group of great people. Best group of guys I have ever hunted with.

 

[Jakeemt]

Originally posted by Bill Kissner:
To each his own but I do not allow deer drives on my property simply because IMO it is not hunting. There is no woodsmanship or skill involved and it usually ends up with wounding even among gun hunters, let alone bowhunters.

Hey partner you are entitled to your opinion but, I would prefer if we kept with the original question. I asked for tips and tricks not ethics advice. If you don't agree again no biggie I would just like to hear how yo be successful. Thanks man.

[Jakeemt]

Hey thanks for the great tips guys. Sounds like slow and quiet it is. I appreciate the advice.

[Ray Lyon]

Gene Wensel's book describes his 'drive'. They have stands set up in a wood lot on the downwind side. These are smaller wood lots where they know where the deer bed on one end. They drive a vehicle up to the edge of the downwind side, leave truck running. Deer move to into the wind to the opposite end of the woodlot while one or two sitters get out and quietly get on stand. Truck leaves and then goes around to the upwind side of wood lot. Don't push the woods, but get out and move around. Deer will move back to the other end where the stand sitters are waiting. They don't want to leave the security of the woodlot and I believe Gene calls it 'nudging'.  

Even if you're not doing the exact method above with a block of cover, the idea is to have the 'nudgers' upwind and let their scent drift through the cover to get deer up and moving out slowly, versus busting through and having them running full tilt.

[highlow]

I hunted one Saturday last January with Bamboo and Jerry and a few other guys. Did some drives but never saw a deer. More of a social event. All the guys in the group are above ethical when it comes to shooting at deer. Only take shots at standing or very slow moving animals. I know running shots aren't a part of my repertoire. Kind of a way to close out the deer season with a great bunch of guys. If driving deer isn't your cup of tea, then it isn't your cup of tea. No need to denigrate others who choose to do so. If truth be told, I don't think any of us care if we shoot a deer or not. It is a lot of fun.

[mlsthmpsn]

Deer drives are the norm in my part of WI during gun season only. I don't enjoy them much, but to many it is more social/hunting time than anything else....I prefer quiet & solitude.

My advice to you, is to have 1-2 guys following behind the pushers/walkers. My experience is that the younger deer are more apt to run away from the drivers and toward the Posters...but the big ones will hunker down and skidattle out the back of the drivers...once clear from those walking through, the deer will stand up and sneak out at a greater pace.

That's where the guys following back 50-100yds and paralleling deer trails can get a shot at the more wiley of the herd.

[Red Beastmaster]

I have a woodlot within a bow shot of my back door that is a fantastic place to push deer. It has open fields on one side and homes on the other three sides. I've been playing with the deer in the woodlot for over 30 years and have them figured out pretty well.

Just a few days ago my buddy came over for a hunt/stump shoot. It was rifle buck season last week so the girls were off limits. The way he was shooting his Red Wing Hunter I knew any legal buck would be in trouble. I posted Scott at "Lance's Tree" and said the deer will "stop right there". I took a loop through the woods and within 15min saw tails ahead of me headed right for my friend.    

The hiding spot is a large tree right on the edge of a drop in the terrain. The deer are funneled to that corner and always pause to scan below as they crest the small ridge. Scott said 5 does and fawns stopped in the exact spot I predicted before they trotted off and out of the woods. All were within 20yd and never saw him standing behind the tree. Way Cool!

As for running them off for good, it just doesn't happen. A couple buddies and I will push the woodlot a few times a week for quick after work hunts during the early season. We get deer up 75% of the time.

The keys to success are predictable deer movement, terrain features that will funnel and slow the deer, hiding spots that give shot opportunities, and a nice slow "push".

It's a real blast for myself and my trad shooting buds, especially during the late season!

[Michael Arnette]

Its actually a really good tactic in my oppinion. ..Id be interested in being a part

[Mark Baker]

We don't do it very often anymore, but we have killed a bunch of deer doing "forced movement" with Trad bows.    Here's our 2-cents...

-We don't do it in areas we stand hunt, but there is not better way to learn new areas and potentially have some action than to send hunters in to the "thick" of it....with standers at the ready.

-It is more successful in areas we know the deer's habits....intimately.

-Pushers move real slow...in fact they hunt too, and often get as many opportunities as standers.

-knowing when to push an already up and moving deer is important, as is letting it slip away.

-standers need to know "the place", and the actions deer will take when they get there.

-Practice for this!  Shooting quickly, and at slow moving targets can be practiced for and be very effective.

-This is a great, exciting way to get youngsters involved, insure some exciting action, and keep them tuned in....vs... long waits on stand.  Just another idea.

We still prefer hunting in ambush, but back when deer limits were more liberal, and us "older" guys had more gumption, this was a fun, exciting way to hunt...and not by any means easy.   We also learned how to stand hunt many areas that we would not have paid attention to except to do deer pushes.   The Wensels have a lot of good info in the writings/and older videos on this stuff....it's all good.

[KentuckyTJ]

I've never understood the deer drive method here. If you are somewhere that is VERY thick or if you had a huge area to hunt maybe, but running deer off isn't a good thing to do here on your small farms. If you run a good buck off once or twice he will relocate. Not what I want, good luck with that.

[ron w]

The Archery drives I have been on for the last 40 years the deer are almost never running. A slow walk as they browse and looking back over their shoulder towards the pushers is the norm. I have had them walk by a 8 feet and they never knew I was there.........Oh yea......you can miss at 8 feet!  

[Mike Gerardi]

Originally posted by KentuckyTJ:
I've never understood the deer drive method here. If you are somewhere that is VERY thick or if you had a huge area to hunt maybe, but running deer off isn't a good thing to do here on your small farms. If you run a good buck off once or twice he will relocate. Not what I want, good luck with that.

Yep..

[BAK]

The shotgun hunters here in Iowa do it all the time.  I went on one in MN years ago and swore I'd never be part of that again.

I want to hunt deer, not chase them.

[Burnsie]

Been many years, but back in my younger years we used to make some major drives in the large North woods of Wisc.  On Thanksgiving Day the tradition was to link up with the camp down the road and make the "Big Drive"  It stretched over several large sections of state land and took 2-3 hours to complete.  The old timers knew how to set it up taking us in for almost an hour to the last stander and driver.  Topography played a big part in the success of the drive.  Steep bluffs along one side kept the deer channeled and large Tag Alder swamps help direct flow as well.  Like has been said by others,  it was actually more of a social event,  although we killed a lot of deer over the years.

[Jakeemt]

Originally posted by KentuckyTJ:
I've never understood the deer drive method here. If you are somewhere that is VERY thick or if you had a huge area to hunt maybe, but running deer off isn't a good thing to do here on your small farms. If you run a good buck off once or twice he will relocate. Not what I want, good luck with that.

Neither I nor most of my buds care all that much about big bucks. Don't get me wrong we'd all love to bag a p&y quality deer but, it just isn't that high on the priority list.

[Red Beastmaster]

We don't even think about running off bucks. The odds of seeing a legal buck in my part of PA are slim.

My woodlot will get the occasional buck during the rut or from gun hunter pressure. There's a half dozen small rubs and zero scrapes in the whole woods.