DEER DRIVES

[Cut N Run]

I prefer not to hunt by driving deer, either by humans or with dogs.

My favorite type of deer hunting is stand hunting over trails or changes in terrain on less pressured deer following their normal travel routine.

To me, it is like the difference of spear fishing and fishing with a net. One is very selective and the other provides a greater yield.

Jim

[SteveH2112]

In my book we had a couple of hunters talk about deer drives. There seems to be two schools of thought with driving. There are those who use "loud drives with whistles, firecrackers and other devices. My own preferance is to send a hunter or two on a slow still hunt through an area and place a couple of standers at escape routes. While I don't condem drives and have shot some deer during them they can "sour" an area for stand hunting. To each his own.

[jonny5buck]

I would have to agree with ''to each his own''. I am proud of the fact that several years ago i had 5 hunters on the ground walking towards my stand,at a state park in illinois.I whistled and waved letting them know they were screwing up my hunt.When they continued coming directly at me i climbed down to see what was going on....it was 7:35 am...did they need help retrieving a deer? couldn't they have waited till 9am to get it?....turns out they had 3 more guys at the south end of the park and were walking thru EACH section were they knew hunters were in stands and that they were blowing everyones morning hunt to push deer to the south.Not only was that selfish,but not allowed because they were signed in at one section and walking thru sections they weren't supposed to be in.I decided to talk to the game warden...after a short conversation and filling him in my comment was ''is that legal to drive deer on state property'' i talked to him the next day and it was confirmed that there was nothing in the regulation books at the time that specified one way or another-all i knew was that someone was gonna get hurt if this continued....You can thank me and that conservation police officer...because of this incident it's now policy NO DEER DRIVES ON ALL STATE MANAGED PROPERTY IN ILLINOIS! your welcome

[Dan Salmon]

So then, really, you don't subscribe to the "to each his own" theory, correct? 

Why would any hunter thank you for denying a perfectly legal method of hunting just because it inconvenienced the way you were hunting on that particular day?  And now going forward they can't hunt with a method that has been used for generations to legally take game. 

The anti's are probably thanking you for making it a little bit easier for them to stop hunting altogether on state owned land.  Good luck with that in the future.

[jonny5buck]

You can put a spin on anything ....what they were doing was illegal by park rules and then because it wasn't in the state regulations i pointed it out to CPO and than it became illegal in the state regulations

[jonny5buck]

Also 23 other hunters had there day ruined by a few-maybe im just more considerate of others,i couldn't walk thru a park knowing full well im blowing their hunt...thats just the way i am.Besides walking from section to section violated park rules -get it?

[jonny5buck]

Maybe i need to clarify this a little.I do not have a problem with deer drives,i have seen them done properly,safely and by knowledgeable hunters. I have [by my post] also seen the negative side,and in this SPECIFIC example ,not only were these guys violating park rules/and knew it! They also asked me if there was other hunters...''YES..I replied all over this park...didnt you guys sign in? ''yA -one guy replied....then i asked him ''don't you care tromping right underneath peoples stands??? ''we do this every year''...he replied....and kept walking.When i went to the sign in sheet,there was an angry mob looking up those guys names and plate numbers.I contacted park personell and in turn told us were a CPO was.Than we found out they started at the north end of the park and walked thru 3 sections total -and even marched thru a ''handicap only'' section.This was a clear violation of park rules....they didn't care...gloves were starting to come off in the parking lot...it was serious....luckily by doing the right thing and contacting a Conservation Police Officer....it was not only diffused,but he informed me the next day that since there was no clear policy [at the time about deer drives on state mangd. prop.] and that we inquired about it and he seen a need /that it is now in the books in Illinois.This was the right thing-throwing the comment about feeding the anti's is stupid-[>:] stopping it on park property was a needed accomplishment nothing less- anti-hunters have nothing to do with this thread at all.

[Sam Menard]

When I was a young deer hunter, a typical day would start with standing on a watch for a couple of hours in the morning and in the evening. The midday hours were spent doing deer drives, or "pushing the bush" as we call it in Canada. All I can say is that for all the walking we did, there was little to show for it. That's not to say that it's not a productive technique. In fact it can be very productive when implemented properly. Iknow guys who hunt with hounds and say it's very exciting.

Anyway, I get more enjoyment from still-hunting or to sitting in a treestand.

Sam

[bmstaaf]

I love 3 man drives, well slow walks in our case. I was brought up still hunting and that was the only way. I hunt high pressured areas and it is not uncommon to not see a deer after opening day that's with putting in numerous full days in the woods. I adapted to stalking and small drives during rifle and it makes my season that much better. I have learned where they bed and how to get there undetected, where they run if you do make a mistake its hunting. I know the land I hunt when they get pressured daytime movement comes to a hault so I go get them. Every area is different, if I had 500 acres to make a habitat and keep pressure off i would be sitting everyday. I will tell you this my goals are not to push the deer around but to get in a scenario where I can make a clean shot or keep them in the areas I'm hunting. If you push them out they might be gone for the rest of the season.

[kellory]

We have one piece of property that just can't be hunted effectivly otherwize because of the wind and the water and an overpass, and a nasty old man on the other side of the stream. We will put 3 or4 hunters at preset exit points, so everyone knows where everyone else is, then 1 guy only will start up wind, and slowly walk the property, zigagging, and slowly pushing deer ahead of him. Very little running deer, most just decide to mosey on elsewhere. It is a very small area, but usually good for 1 or 2 deer per drive.