Gearing up for drives this weekend.

[G-man]

Every year for 31 seasons  now we do muzzleloader drives.  Primary goal is to reduce doe ( try to take 8 to 1p a year ) we should have 12 to 16 people.   Most drives are an hour  long with anadditional hour to get set  up.   

Nothing more exciting than hearing single shots  going  off down the line of standers... 

Rules are simple  

1.  Orange!!!!

2   drivers can and will shoot.  Know your safe lane to  shoot front  and rear.  If your not going to have chance to kill it at least try and turn it in to drive if if headed out. 

3.  standers have to carry many relaods as deer are grouped  up many times.. are usually elevated and deer must pass or be broadside to  shoot..  the drive isn't over if you kill a deer until drive is said to be done by person in charge.   had one guy miss  5 times and then big  buck ran by and he was out of rounds. He now brings 10 reloads with him..lol.  

4.one person is in charge and he may put 2 of you in same  spot ( you only have 1 shot each ) it's not a lock of confidence in your shooting abilities but if 8 deer run by and your only one there  make for limited  take . .... 

5.  standers do not move from where they are placed for any reason even if you shoot next world record buck .  I don't care if you can see better from a spot 10 yards away..  your placed where you need to be for a reason . If you move you are banned for life from  hunting here.  Safety  is #1 reason!

 

Have  only kicked  one person out in all the years we have done it.   

Best take off a drive was 5 deer. 

Usually we are happy with one or two. 

 

[Robhuntandfish]

That's a pretty cool experience.  Ive been invited to a couple of drives but haven't gone cause I don't know everyone and how safe they are.  Sounds like you got it down pat. 

I was invited to a drive out here that is kinda famous in the area.  It involves two groups of people of 4 large properties.  They then all get together after. I've seen pics of the take with a stack of 22 deer at a time all in a huge pile.   They have like 17 -20 people involved. 

They get together after and clean deer and have a bonfire and everyone brings food.  It's a definite meat get!  

Good luck out there.  Post pics.  

Edited December 15, 2023 by Robhuntandfish

[maddie]

where does this occur and how do i get signed up?

[mowin]

We do some small drives on a couple properties.  Everyone  has been involved with these driver for yrs.  Our best was 9 doe in one morning.  One yr we got 5 coyotes out of one drive. 

[cervidchasers]

28 minutes ago, maddie said:

where does this occur and how do i get signed up?

Ditto...

[Lawdwaz]

When it was shotgun only, we did a fair amount of driving after a couple weeks of the season.   With rifles legal, it seems like the appeal wasn’t there.  These days the older guys have aged out and there’s no interest from me to participate in any.   

Edited December 15, 2023 by Lawdwaz

[Nomad]

Excellent Gman !

We drove after morning sits up till evening sits most of shotgun ,same rules . We’d have watchers sometimes a half a mile away to where the deer would RUN TO ,not where they come out ,most times anyways .

On my drives I placed red five gallon buckets , where the watchers were to sit , same rule , don’t move it ,don’t stand a bit over that way because you think it’s better . I’m not walking a mile in mud so you can miss the deer that I’ve watched run to almost the same tree a dozen times .

15 slugs were stretching it thin … often because I had  resupply the 5 round guys .

[2BuckBizCT]

Never been a part of a drive besides 1 guy walking and 1 waiting. Sounds cool, but bow drives sound better. @Bfahy13 is part of a big bow drive that results in a lot of success. I know a few other non-forum members who do bow drives in late december with great success as well.

Edited December 15, 2023 by 2BuckBizCT

[cervidchasers]

12 minutes ago, 2BuckBizCT said:

Never been a part of a drive besides 1 guy walking and 1 waiting. Sounds cool, but bow drives sound better. @Bfahy13 is part of a big bow drive that results in a lot of success. I know a few other non-forum members who do bow drives in late december with great success as well.

THP uses the wind bump n dump strategy alot.

[ATbuckhunter]

This is how we hunt during the shotgun season in LI. We try to get 4-6 guys together and push out the bedding areas. 6 is the magic number but 8 can be really good. Any more than that and it can get a little hairy with guys shooting. This year @crappyice and @Chef  will be joining so I'm hoping we can deliver from the stories I've given. We've pushed as many as 20-30 deer out of one bedding area and if you do it right, you can keep the deer circling in the drive for a bit. We've had many days of 7-10 deer takes. Only bad part is its a lot of walking 10+ miles for the way we do it (Unless we shoot too many and have to call it quits early.

Hard to beat a good deer drive

[fletchny11]

I grew up doing Adirondack deer drives. We would sit in the morning then do drives during the day. I have not been in too many real big drives but a few up to 12-16 folks. The biggest were at Deer camps on paper company lands. The old timers had it down to a science but way different than southern Z!! Up there back then if we shot 1 deer it would be a big deal lol!

In the southern Z we would usually have 4-8 guys in our hunting group and  do drives mid day on state or private areas and had good success.

Now adays I'm lucky to have 2-3 of us and we may do little bump drives. They work very well also.

Just don't have the guys we used to so not really an option. Kinda miss it as so many of the hunters sit and do not move unlike the old days. So the deer don't move a lot during gun.

One of the southern Z state lands I hunt had a big group from up north come down every year opening weekend and start drives. I had a spot to set up that I knew they would drive to me like 9am every opening day. Took more than 1 deer they pushed me lol.

 

[Swamp_bucks]

We do drives most of ML if we can get 4 or 5 of us.  Unless it’s fresh snow and then I’m out trying to find a buck.  We are the same way if you can’t be safe and follow the laws you’re not welcome back.  When we do drives in rifle it’s straight wall cartridge, pistol, and shotgun only unless we have a spot that needs a rifle which is very rare.

[2BuckBizCT]

1 hour ago, ATbuckhunter said:

This is how we hunt during the shotgun season in LI. We try to get 4-6 guys together and push out the bedding areas. 6 is the magic number but 8 can be really good. Any more than that and it can get a little hairy with guys shooting. This year @crappyice and @Chef  will be joining so I'm hoping we can deliver from the stories I've given. We've pushed as many as 20-30 deer out of one bedding area and if you do it right, you can keep the deer circling in the drive for a bit. We've had many days of 7-10 deer takes. Only bad part is its a lot of walking 10+ miles for the way we do it (Unless we shoot too many and have to call it quits early.

Hard to beat a good deer drive

Will @crappyice turn down 184lbs dressed buck of meat for 112lb doe?

[crappyice]

1 hour ago, ATbuckhunter said:

This is how we hunt during the shotgun season in LI. We try to get 4-6 guys together and push out the bedding areas. 6 is the magic number but 8 can be really good. Any more than that and it can get a little hairy with guys shooting. This year @crappyice and @Chef  will be joining so I'm hoping we can deliver from the stories I've given. We've pushed as many as 20-30 deer out of one bedding area and if you do it right, you can keep the deer circling in the drive for a bit. We've had many days of 7-10 deer takes. Only bad part is its a lot of walking 10+ miles for the way we do it (Unless we shoot too many and have to call it quits early.

Hard to beat a good deer drive

So excited!!! I've only been a part of "pushes" so this will be my first drive!!!

[crappyice]

4 minutes ago, 2BuckBizCT said:

Will @crappyice turn down 184lbs dressed buck of meat for 112lb doe?

Turn it down? No.

Be as happy for a doe? Absolutely!