Bow hunters and big deer drives

[JFB]

I was curious as to how many of us who consider themselves avid bow hunters participate regularly in big block deer drives once gun season rolls around?

We are three days into the gun season and already it seems the masses have grouped up to "drive" every nook and bush in the neighborhood.

I wonder how much more enjoyable gun season would be and how many more deer would stay on their feet during daylight if this didn't occur? I'm only asking this question to people who also bow hunt because I know the average brown/down gun guy just loves to drive and unload their gun.

For myself, I'd very much like to only stand hunt or still hunt but once the local drivers start their thing and deer become nocturnal, I will do one man pushes on occasion. So how many of you bow hunters do large group drives?

[SteveB]

I doubt if even 1/2 the gun hunters I know take part in drives anymore.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

I think its more prevelant in hunting camps were groups of guys hunt together. Me driving the woods by myelf doesn't seem like such a good idea

[moose]

no deer drives for me i am a stand hunter.

[Doc]

I don't do drives anymore, and I don't know anyone who does. I suspect that it is a more common practice in big-farm country where there are small isolated blocks of woods. Down our way, most of what you see is large wooded hills, and an occasional huge brushlot that used to be a farm field. It's not really set up for drives anymore

[Nomad]

This bowhunter loved 'em, we killed a lot of deer years back on farm land drives. We knew where they came out and where they ran to. Thats where you set up,sometimes more then half a mile away from where they bust out.

I had spots I could put your feet and the deer would run right to you.

Now its all managed land and no driving allowed, see fewer deer it seems. Before every piece was pushed every day and twice on Sunday.Deer were running everywhere anytime of the day all season.

More then once I'd see guys set up for a drive and think,"but there not posted where they should be", I'd drive around the block back door them,and drop a deer or two off their drive,that was great fun,I miss it.

Nothing like the deer running out behind their watchers run a big field cross a hedgerow I'm in, drop one and see them stand in a group stairing over .

Edited November 20, 2012 by Larry302

[JFB]

You guys make a good point because I'm in agricultural farm area rather than hill country and it only takes a few pick up trucks full of guys to really impact an area and effect stand/still hunting.

I'm not trying to tell someone how to hunt, but I just wonder how the drivers would feel if roles were reversed and if my stand hunting had major ill effects on their ability to drive deer?

Frustrating when one of the trucks full of guys pull up to you and say "hey, we hit a big 10 point in the a$$ so keep an eye out of him"...

[WNYBuckHunter]

We do them once in a while on one of the farms I hunt. It can be very effective. I still see deer during the day on days between drives, they dont vanish into thin air, you just need to figure out where they go when they get pressure.

Id prefer to hunt unpressured, but when you dont own or lease, you go with the flow.

There are plenty of slobs that dont do drives as well. You shouldnt paint with such a broad brush.

[JFB]

I never called anyone a "slob" and never said drivers were any kind of person or hunter associated with other things so not sure how I'm broad brushing anything.

[sampotter]

I live 10 minutes south of Auburn- it seems like all I see is deer drives. More like stomping up rabbits. Once I started bowhunting I learned to appreciate and respect deer more and don't care for deer drives. Seems like a lot of deer around here just move into town once gun season starts.

[gfdeputy2]

I have never been a fan of deer drives but I do think they get the deer moving good I used to put a stand on an ajoining of a pice of property that got pushed hard was a great spot for a stand problem with that now is my area virtually has no hunters anymore

[Doc]

At this time of the season, now that the deer are pretty much nocturnal, and all the hunters seem to be sleeping out in the woods all day, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have somebody out there pushing deer for us. It sure beats sitting all day with nobody seeing anything.

[JFB]

I hear what you are saying Doc. But we are only 3 days into the season and it's my belief that these deer become SO nocturnal largely because of these massive and constant drives. That forces people to drive even more just to get movement and again we're only 3 days in and can already mostly forget about outsmarting a deer on their natural (feeding, breeding, bedding movements) which most bow hunters so enjoy.

Now it's like sampotter mentioned where they stomp on a rabbit and blast away. The problem is these aren't rabbits and we're not using buck shot and I seem to see more wounded deer resulting from this. I know it's not realistic, but it sure would be neat if people just took stand or still hunted similar to bow hunters. There still would be plenty of people moving around but the nocturnal factor might greatly reduce. Just dreaming I guess..

[Nomad]

oh ya,I've been on both sides,set up on stand and trucks come out into field guys line up facing you.... um hello I'm sitting in the middle of your drive !

We never drove the first few days of the season ,others sure did though .

I hunt a large farm,speard out over miles in a patchwork type fashion, "my" block is only hunted by me and a couple friends, no drives,walking around and so on. Sunday some guys pushed a near by spot, 12 deer ran our way, then later 4 more does .I LIKE that, but it used to happen daily .

Oh well on stand all day tomorrow,no others around and I doubt any drives around me, we'll see.

JFB I feel your pain heres what I see. I have idk 50 -60 acres of woods and thick cover surounded by 100's and 100's of acres of crop fields. In Bow its just me see plenty of deer. In gun as I said no walking around and so on, slip in slip out like bow.

BUT its 4 guys, 4x's as many leaving scent, making noise climbing in and out of stands,maybe some talking,a shot here and there, then any deer that wander off get a lot more pressure . Movement still drops off greatly compaired to bow . Even if nobody drove, there is now guys in every piece of woods/cover, many not as carefull with wind and scent control.

Use these guys to your advantage as much as possible I guess .

Edited November 20, 2012 by Larry302

[New York Hillbilly]

Doc,

The deer here are sure not nocturnal yet. I had to take this morning of to do some work around the house before my family all come home for Thanksgiving, but for the first three days the deer are walking all over with very little sign of concern. I have passed thus far the same four pointer twice, four different spikes, and countless does. What is surprising to me though is with the number of deer I have seen, that I have not seen a more mature deer yet. Maybe they are the ones that have gone nocturnal. I'm puzzled!

[WNYBuckHunter]

I hear what you are saying Doc. But we are only 3 days into the season and it's my belief that these deer become SO nocturnal largely because of these massive and constant drives. That forces people to drive even more just to get movement and again we're only 3 days in and can already mostly forget about outsmarting a deer on their natural (feeding, breeding, bedding movements) which most bow hunters so enjoy.

Now it's like sampotter mentioned where they stomp on a rabbit and blast away. The problem is these aren't rabbits and we're not using buck shot and I seem to see more wounded deer resulting from this. I know it's not realistic, but it sure would be neat if people just took stand or still hunted similar to bow hunters. There still would be plenty of people moving around but the nocturnal factor might greatly reduce. Just dreaming I guess..

Im not sure what you mean, i shot the second doe to go by my stand today, in an area that is heavily pushed. Both does were heading from feed to bed, through a transition area, just like they were doing in bow season. Just gotta put your time in and hunt around the other guys.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I never called anyone a "slob" and never said drivers were any kind of person or hunter associated with other things so not sure how I'm broad brushing anything.

I guess i took it the wrong way. Fair enough.

We usually do drives to fill the farmers DMAPs. They are all full as of this morning. Not sure if any more of the drives will be necessary this year. We will see what the other guys want to do though.

[JFB]

You guys are correct by hunting around them and tolerate it the best I can. It only takes a few neighbors to really have an unfavorable impact unfortunately. My brother spent the morning following drag marks through our property after yesterdays drives.

Miss bow hunting...

[WNYBuckHunter]

Thats a bummer. I take it they dont have recovery permission?

[Doc]

It really doesn't take heavy pressure to send the deer into nocturnal activity. I don't even think a deer has to be shot at or even come into direct contact with the actual hunters to get them to turn on their super stealth mode. I have never seen a deer confused about the fact that hunting season is underway right within a few hours of the first shots. I think they put on the heavy survival moves within a few hours of the beginning of the first day. The stink of hunters in the air and on the ground tells them that something is up. I don't think that drives do anything toward spooking the deer more than just the fact that everywhere they go there is hunter scent. I just wish that hunters would put more pressure on the deer and keep them moving like they used to. Whether that pressure is drives or simply more still hunting, I don't care. I have this picture of all the deer bedded down somewhere, and all the hunters snoozing under a tree or playing video games, or anything other than putting those deer on their feet.

[JFB]

I would grant recovery permission if they asked. But they don't ask, they just sneak and go. Drives were everywhere yesterday and unfortunately I could not be in the field to patrol. We are in the midst of specifying that if they claim to have a wounded deer on our property that we require a phone call. Otherwise, they'd have an open excuse to say why we found them walking through the property (when in reality they might be driving or hunting).

Vast majority of these guys are not bow hunters, just brown/down gun hunters.

[accman]

I'm not a full drive person with all 25 guys taking part with 13 or 14 sitting, except for the final weekend. In our area, we have guys who would rather mooch hunt, and they are good at it, so let 3 or 4 guys move around. That should send some deer flying around, and usually does. But we sit till 10:00, after Thanksgiving and head out again at 2:00, cause the woods just get real quiet, especially if it's been warmer than usual. The deer in our area of Orange county have been in heavy rut, but only the spikes and fours. We got an 8 and a 7 on opening day, and it's been quiet ever since. I believe the older know somethings up when they hear all the quads in the woods and all the shots. I guess that's how some deer get to be 10's and 12's, just a whole lot smarter, and head for cover. These spikes and 4's just do the same routine all the time, chasing like theres no tomorrow. I just hope the big boy steps out and we get lucky. Good luck to all and happy Thanksgiving.

[New York Hillbilly]

accman,

LOL! I'm not sure what a "mooch" hunter is but if it's a guy who sits still while others push deer all over hells creation then call me the "king". I really don't know any other way because that's how I was taught as a kid and how I have had my success in taking deer every year. As a kid my uncles would take me hunting even for squirrels and stick me someplace and say "now don't move till I come get you". I guess I just did what I was told because I knew what would happen if I didn't". LOL!

I like guys on neighboring farms driving deer because every year it's the same thing here. Once the deer get tired of the chasing, running and being shot at, they come hang out on my land where it's quiet. On my land it's like bow hunting with a gun. For the most part the deer waltz around unbothered and when one does get shot it is most likely under 50 yards, standing still, and a one shot one deer proposition. I have taken some deer at longer (much longer) ranges, but have still been at quiet deer and one shot deals. I like deer drives, just not on my land or by me.

[accman]

I'm sorry. When we "mooch" around the woods, it's just a quiet, slow, walk through the area. We like to have guys walking on different ridges, toward each other, in contact with each other to let each other know where they are constantly. No accidents and it let's the the guys in their stands get ready for some "action", hopefully. We're talking over 600 acres, so it takes up a lot of time, and it just pushes the deer, doesn't make em scatter and look for new areas.

[dbHunterNY]

I do it if it's going to be done. I don't like it though. especially during regular season. rather sit tight with my bow. minimal pressure during gun season will hold deer on your property until the sun goes down.