Deer Drive Ds

[Crispina Blomker]

Deerdrives are an effective strategy to hunt deer, but they can be potentially dangerous if the proper precautions are not taken. The purpose of the deer drive is to make the deer move, but not run, out of their hiding places. The deer will move toward hunters positioned in strategic areas. Before conducting a deer drive, hunters should properly plan out their drive. All hunters who are participating in the deer drive should carry out the plan. Deer drives with more than six or seven hunters should be avoided because of increased risks.

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1. Pre-season scouting: In the 2 weeks prior to the season opener you can bet your favorite deer rifle that every dead end, back road, turn around site will be completely trampled with hunters. Keep in mind that mature bucks have a memory of several weeks concerning human intrusions so whether its the 4th week of October or the day before the season it definitely serves to repel mature bucks from the area. If there is enough space for an older buck to go find a secluded spot to hide you can count on him traveling a 1/4 mile or more to relocate his activities.

2. Bait pile refills: Imagine hunters finding a good spot at the end of a 2-track during the first couple weeks of November while repelling mature bucks for several weeks at the same time, out of the general area. Then, many of these same hunters repeat the process every day or two to add feed to the bait pile. Knowing where hunter bait piles are at in your area can often be the #1 method to determining exactly what areas that mature bucks will be driven from. Its not the food that is the problem, or even the attraction TO the food that leads to success, but instead the consistent deer drive that takes place every single time a pile is replenished.

In most of these areas I find my best hunting is in the first week or 10 days of the season, as eventually bucks slowly migrate with the rest of the herd back towards the deer drive areas that traditionally feature a decent food supply, and ever dwindling hunter activity.

Other preferred deer hunting words and terms related to mooch are sneak, creep, mosey, nudge, bump, still-hunting, and mousing around. Still other hunters nudge deer onto their hooves by taking a slow walk, stirring the pot, or grabbing a scattergun to hunt grouse. Deer-drive tactics, meanwhile, can also involve runners, doggers, drivers, pushers, blockers, sitters, and standers.

Once the mooch begins, the group uses text-messages and onX to keep everyone on track and on schedule. Wisconsin allows electronic communications while hunting, and smartphones with GPS keep newcomers from straying onto neighboring properties.

It was the last day of my Kansas deer hunt. I had experienced rain, snow, wind, (lots of wind) drastic temperature changes that caused our camera gear to lock up and did I mention it was windy. In fact, one morning it was so windy I crawled out of my tower blind because I was worried it was going to blow over. Because of this unsettled weather the deer had diverted from any pattern that they may have had during the last month. There was sign everywhere but we were not seeing the bucks I had anticipated seeing in Kansas. However, we knew the deer were there because the outfitter had been scouting with Bushnell trailcams prior to the season and had several pictures of bucks that would make any hunter happy.

One person silent deer drives

What exactly is a one person silent deer drive? A one person silent deer drive is where one person is the driver and one person is the shooter. The object of a one person deer drive is to have the deer move within range of the shooter at a reasonable speed allowing the shooter to successfully get a shot.

The shooter must enter the area first and get set up downwind of the area that will be driven. It is always a good idea to be situated in a place that has some elevation so that you can watch a larger area.

I discourage using a treestand or blind as it does not allow you to be mobile and move quickly if you need to. A good rest, like Stoney Point shooting sticks or Quake Claw SlingStix is a must in the event you need to move. After the hunter is situated the driver starts his drive upwind of the shooter.

Play it safe

It is imperative to keep safety first when doing a silent drive. The driver should always where blaze orange whether the law requires it or not. The shooter should also be observant of all hunter safety rules specifically being sure of their target and beyond.

Move slow

As the driver enters the starting point of the cover that he or she is driving they should move slowly back and forth in a zig zag motion letting their scent drift downwind.

Stop and go

Years ago while hunting late season pheasants without a dog I learned this technique from a veteran bird hunter and I have found it to work equally well with whitetails. When hunting thick cover walk 10 yards, stop, wait for a while, and then move again.

What it does is allows those wise old bucks a chance to sneak out in front of you. I have personally had deer let me walk by them then slip out the back door behind me. By using the stop and go method bucks that may have let you walk by them will get nervous and move out in front of you. If they get up behind you the shooter never has a chance at them. If you let crafty bucks be sneaky the shooter on the other end will benefit from this.

Thinks small for big results

Isolated creek bottoms or small wood lots are my favorite place to conduct silent one person deer drives. The reason for this is that I can be unobtrusive yet have the deer move in the direction of the shooter.

A five to eight hundred yard stretch of creek bottom is the perfect set up. If you have a creek bottom that is larger then divide it into sections and do two or three drives. If you do this, always start with the shooter on the far end with the wind blowing towards him then after that portion is driven both of you walk back to where the driver started and leave the shooter there. Then the driver needs to take a wide walk around the area that is going to be driven so that their scent will not drift into the area prematurely. If both hunters have deer licenses you can switch back and forth with each taking a turn being the driver and being the shooter.

Cover the escape routes

Knowing when, where and if a deer will leave cover is always a guessing game. The key is to cover the escape routes. I like to position the shooter slightly higher in elevation if at all possible so that they can see several escape routes or when a good buck is moving so they can re-position if need be.

That way you are assured that the bucks are in a place that they will move out in front of the driver to the shooter. Do not try this technique during transition times like when bucks are moving to or from feeding areas. Wait until they are settled in for the day.

The shooter

In order for this type of drive to be successful the shooter must remain motionless and undetected. However, the shooter must be able to move and reposition if a buck is moving to an area that will not give you a shot from where you are at.

Many times deer will pop out on the edge of cover and you will see what they are then move right back into that same cover. You may need to move to get a better shot once you know that it is a buck you want.

Personally, I never saw anything wrong with a man standing on his own property shooting a deer that crossed onto it. But some of the men in our hunting club just seemed to think that back standing was a bit shady or disreputable.

The deer were cut up into pieces and every hunter carried home meat, regardless of whether he had killed a deer. Our club allowed the man who killed the deer to get first choice and most folks took a hindquarter or piece of loin.

The degree of togetherness hunters practiced depended on the club. Some clubs had clubhouses where members slept and ate before and after the hunt. Others met on a wide spot in the road or clearing near the property gate and brought sandwiches with them.

I grew up and have lived my entire life in the state of Wisconsin. In the Midwest, the deer drive is a long standing deer camp tradition. It is however, in my opinion, being phased out by most people, preferring to emulate what they learn from watching TV and reading magazines, where such a thing is generally frowned upon. In the Midwest region of the country, until the past couple decades; deer hunting was a way to put food on the table. Hunters were not going out to specifically to harvest a trophy whitetail, although they all dreamed of doing so. Normally people would sit their stands the first day or so, but if no luck was to be had, well we made our own luck. We needed food in our freezer, and if that meant bumping that giant out of the area in hopes to put a tag on a doe for meat, well then so be it.

Did I forget to mention safety? It is true that this can be a very dangerous tactic to use while trying to harvest deer. Always make sure everyone knows where they can and cannot safely shoot. Many hunters have paid with their lives shooting into areas where they are not supposed to during a deer drive. If there is no safe direction for walkers to shoot due to position of the standers, then the walkers should not carry their guns on the drive, to avoid temptation to shoot at a deer that may jump out of its hiding spot.

This was made clear to me on my first deer drive. I still remember like it was yesterday, my first ever deer drive. It was Thanksgiving Day in 1986. I had sat opening weekend seeing only a few deer. From what I can remember, no one had put a tag on a deer as of yet. After the Thanksgiving morning hunt we met at the trucks for lunch and started planning a drive. I was nervous, hoping I did would not screw up. Since I was using a 20 gauge shotgun, younger, and full of youthful energy, I was chosen to be one of the walkers. My father and older brothers, who had longer shooting rifles, were to be the standers. My other brother Tony was also chosen as a walker, because he also carried a shotgun. We chose to drive out a corn field that sat on the east end of the property. I was told sternly to follow the rules to ensure the utmost safety of everyone participating. My father and two other brothers would set up in the corners of the corn to catch deer that broke out of hiding. They were not allowed to shoot into the corn at all, for obvious reasons; my brother and I were in it! Tony and I were not allowed to shoot anywhere but straight down the rows of corn, this way we would not run the risk of shooting the standers stationed in the corners of the field.

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