Deer Drives

[can't miss]

I've went on one, yrs ago, pushed threw about a 15 acre bush, we shot 11, real great day, 2 young bucks, the rest doe's and yearling fawns. Back in the day of 6 tag's per hunter?
Last 30 yrs have been spent buck hunting one on one, tree stand, stalk, ect. Seem's alot more like hunting?
See alot of chatter here about load's for driving, standing, blocking ect.
Great science guy's, grew up on a beef farm, open the gate to the feed lot, push them out the other end, and shoot them as they come out.
Buck shot or slug, that ain't hunting.

 

[Bottom_Bouncer]

I agree with you to a point. My family only hunts from a tree stands or ground blinds during the shotgun hunt. But if it is the last day of season and we do not have enough deer hanging we will do a small deer drive and hope to get a few more. We are out hunting to provide for our families. I 100% prefer to hunt from a tree stand and wait for hours but I would rather do a deer drive and have meat in the freezer then go hungry.

 

[Dutch]

every December we hunt as a group in southern Ontario as part of the controlled deer hunt ,we hunt some of the same farms for 30 years and new ones every year as well ..yes it is hunting but it is also population control ,we shot does and fawns as well as bucks we are not fussy ,,We realy enjoy the company of the group and the challenge of setting up the drives ,and yes it is a sport to hit a deer on the run at 50 yards with a shotgun ,,lol I love it ,if I had to give up all deer hunting but one it would be are December hunt ,I love hunting deer with hounds as well but we have to do that in the north ,,it is just a different kind of hunt ,,,and yes I have shot a ton of deer with the crossbow as well..but give me a shotgun or a rifle and a good deer drive oh ya lots of fun be it with men or hounds ,,Dutch

 

[WinSX3Tom]

Yup got to agree. The controlled hunt is just that population control. Oh and a great freezer filler. I've never hunted an area that was that easy to find and shoot deer through a drive.

You can hunt all the old bucks ya want. I love the tasty little tender deer!

Why do people have to shit on someone else's form of hunting? If you don't like it so be it. But we are all hunters and all enjoy getting out there.

Hell I just got a nice box of meat from a friend as her husband and family don't eat it fast enough. Does that mean he shouldn't hunt and enjoy time with his family and friends?

 

[DaveJ]

Used to hunt in the Teeswater area with a big gang. We sat in the am, pushed bush during the day, sat in the evening. Most of our deer came off the sits, but the drives were exciting. After that hunt disbanded, I hunted during the muzzleload season the same as I do bowhunting...pattern the deer, find the food plots, travel zones, etc..treestands, ground blinds, a little slow stalking if the conditions are right. The 4 of us get all the deer we want, just don't work as hard as during the drive days. The sitting is tougher on really cold days, but it allows for some selective harvest, depending on how the herd is doing. We try to leave the young bucks to reach maturity, and for strictly freezer deer, we target does. If someone in the group wants a mature wall hanger, than they go for it...its your dime eh? Its all good!!

 

[can't miss]

Dutch, sound's like you enjoy watching the animal crumple and roll, at a dead run a 50 yrd's? That's hunting? I've shot many deer, and have shot small's and doe's to fill my tag, and the freezer. Never enjoyed the kill, but will never forget the challenge of the hunt, not the 30 minute bush push?
Setting up the drive's, let me help and send you a play book, because it's so technical. Most bush's have natural escape rout's, block them on three sides, set up a shooting line on the other, don't shoot in direction of driver's. Radio the driver's go, gather the spoil's and move to next bush, repeat until truck is full. Today's shotgun's, a 50 yrd shot isn't a sniper maker. And yes, you and Win T will and can fall back on it's population control, doesn't make it hunting, call it what it is, a cull, a meat hunt, your doing a pubic service, and no need to answer back on would you rather have one threw your windshield. The same number's of deer could be harvested by allowing more tag's, and banning party hunting, you either get a deer, on your own, or you don't, but you have to hunt it, not having it pushed by you for your shooting pleasure, for that ever tough 50 yrd shot?
I help harvest alot of corn each fall, and live in the rural. We drive over so many dead deer well combining, I always check them out, buck shot wound's, three legged from a slug, I watch many deer drives from the tractor cab, 6 came out, drive got 3, other's slipped by. Gut what's on the ground, and on to the next block, why bother tracking a wounded deer all afternoon, your doing a public service, and there's more to be had in the next bush.
Guess what my bitch is the wasting of a resource, you may deny it, but I see the result's, drive's waste a lot of deer. As well, many more licenses could be sold, to do the one point, we agree on, population control. Why not, You actually hunt your deer, develop the skills of track's, rub's, daily routs, concealment, scents, not line up, shoot, move to next bush. When the old boy's club's realize they don't need 32 hanging, but instead 100 hunter's more were out there trying, and harvesting the same number, it just seem's closer to hunting, not target practice?

 

[Dutch]

I guess you do not like the deer hunters in the north that use dogs to run deer ,I enjoy all parts of the hunt and take just as many deer bow hunting as I do with the shotgun ,,,controlled hunt is not for every one that's for sure ,,,and we will spend the day tracking a wounded deer we will never waste a deer ,,,,Dutch ps I have beagle hounds that I run on rabbits and deer ,,,,

 

[DaveJ]

I guess you do not like the deer hunters in the north that use dogs to run deer ,I enjoy all parts of the hunt and take just as many deer bow hunting as I do with the shotgun ,,,controlled hunt is not for every one that's for sure ,,,and we will spend the day tracking a wounded deer we will never waste a deer ,,,,Dutch ps I have beagle hounds that I run on rabbits and deer ,,,,

I've hunted over dogs twice, and when they're headed you way howling, it gets your pulse rate up in a hurry!!! Definitely a hunt to try if you haven't experienced it....

 

[can't miss]

Dutch, respectively, agree to disagree, on how our southern Ont deer cull is ran, regarding party hunting, tag allotment and resource waste. Commend you on retrieving any wounded deer, a few bad apples don't, and I see the spoilage every fall.
As for you running hounds, in the large expanses of the north, or hunting cotton tails, no problems at all. Working the dog's, the specific training required, retrieval, I very much respect as a hunting skill.
You have a good day sir

 

[Dutch]

If I had my way are southern Ontario deer hunt would be over hauled completely .I would like to see everybody that gets a deer tag be able to hunt from October 1 to December 31 with what ever tool you want to use with in the law ie bow muzzle loaders and shotguns ,Then if you fill a tag and can register your kill then you may buy a second tag ,if needed in your area ..Dutch

 

[Magnum 3]

Whether it is one on one , party hunting , shotgun , rifle , bow or whatever , people hunt for different reasons. Some only want trophies or bucks and others want meat or need to feed a family. Either way , I don't feel it necessary to always criticize peoples choices on how or what they prefer . If it works for them ... power to them . I came to this site to learn from others , help where i can , meet new people maybe even hook up with someone and do some hunting . Maybe I'm wrong but it seems that some of you already have known each other in the past and maybe have unsettled differences that seem to flow over onto these topics. It's not the first forum that I've seen it go on . I party hunt and have bow hunted . I am a gatherer and it helps feed the family . I have fished and hunted for ducks and although I'm not fond of the taste of duck , will still go out for the sake of friendship and to help someone else fill their freezer . Last year I gave probably half my deer meat to friends , family and farmers . As long as they appreciate it and eat it , I have no problem with that . I've hunted alone alot , with my dog and with friends . But I've also seen people party hunt one year and then go off and hunt on their own , because they don't like party hunting , or a person , haven't had success hunting where they were and want to come out find out what we do or where we go so they can slide in there the next year or just don't like to share . I've had a guy hand me his brothers crutches so they could rabbit hunt and expect me to provide property for him to hunt because that day we used his dog . And he tries this with everyone he can . Needless to say , I don't hunt with those types anymore . BACK TO THE POINT ! Can't we just play nice ? It took 3 pages to quiet the masses just on the buckshot /slug deal . And thanks to the fella at the end who seems to have put that to rest at least for now . I do appreciate every ones opinions could we stick to the topic or facts . P.S Sorry for budding in ... please do continue .

 

[Dutch]

many guys do not have time to spend sitting for hours and hours on stand to wait for a deer to come to them ,and it is true for a lot of young hunters that have school as it is dark by 5pm in December ,,If guys can get a few days of to hunt the controlled hunt and put a few pushes together and kill a few deer good for them ,,not everyone has farms to hunt were thy can put up tree stands and sit all day and have deer walking by them but by joining a group thy have a chance to shoot a deer ..I do have lots of farms I can sit on and bow hunt and I do from October to December but I really look forward to are group getting together in December and hunting for the week. And yes I shoot a 20g shotgun with a good scope and I do shoot deer on the run at 50 yards if thy will not stop when I do try to get them to and watch them pile up after a good shot it is a good feeling to see them go down and not have to worry about how far thy are going to go like when I hit one with the bow .we will spend all the time needed to get any deer that have been hit and do not go down right away and have pushed bushes back the other way if the deer go back after being shot ,to be sure we get them as no one wants to see any animal suffer ,,,,I think this goes for most hunters ..so enjoy your deer hunt and we will enjoy are tradition that has taken place for more then 30 years that I have been part of and hope for another 30 years if we can stick together as hunters and fight all the folks that do not think we should be able to hunt ,,,,,together we stand divided we fall.....dutch

 

[droptine]

well said dutch!!! I also use hounds up north. we hunt in area 47 and it is amazing listening to them howl through the woods. bow hunting from oct through to dec is its own adrenaline rush watching any deer be it a monster or a small fawn inching its way closer to your position. and the muzzle load hunt I hunt the third week with a great bunch of guys usually sit morning and night and push during the day. I love deer hunting and will continue to do this until I die. opinions are simply that. not everyone agrees nor will they ever agree on reasons for how people hunt but oct 1 is just around the corner so shoot straight, fill freezers, shoot a head mounter, hang out with friends, push a bush or hunt alone. either way have fun, enjoy nature and take the kids along to keep traditions going.

jeff

 

[DaveJ]

well said dutch!!! I also use hounds up north. we hunt in area 47 and it is amazing listening to them howl through the woods. bow hunting from oct through to dec is its own adrenaline rush watching any deer be it a monster or a small fawn inching its way closer to your position. and the muzzle load hunt I hunt the third week with a great bunch of guys usually sit morning and night and push during the day. I love deer hunting and will continue to do this until I die. opinions are simply that. not everyone agrees nor will they ever agree on reasons for how people hunt but oct 1 is just around the corner so shoot straight, fill freezers, shoot a head mounter, hang out with friends, push a bush or hunt alone. either way have fun, enjoy nature and take the kids along to keep traditions going.

jeff

..and THAT is one of the best posts in this thread!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mudpuppy]

i prefer to hunt all by myself with a bow or gun and can say that most people i talk to have no respect for hunters when they see 20 guys dressed up in orange circle a bush and shoot everything that runs out. i hear it all the time when looking for new places to hunt its a bad public image of hunters and we are all grouped together in most peoples minds when they see this

 

[can't miss]

Thank's to all for your reply's, I may not agree with them, but respect your opinion's, and do realize, we are all hunter's, and we must stand together. End of the day, were way out numbered by those that don't understand our passion.
Above, Mudpuppy touches on a big part of my rant, the public see's the orange army's as kill lines. Much of the turf I hunt, owner's are good with my truck parked, maybe the odd shot. They close the property when the gang show's up, pick up's surround the concession with 6 riding in the back, RURAL PEOPLE don't like crowd's??
Can't fall into the meat in the freezer crowd to feed the family, really?? Time spent, gas, licence cost, equipment cost, guessing you could buy a lot of store bought meat for the same price? Also won't buy eating organic, southern ont deer eat everything the same and more than commercial protein critter's.
Don't take anything from those who meat hunt, just ask, you seem to like to throw in comradely and tradition, does the orange army help hunting, as it is threatened today?

 

[Moose man]

Let's not forget about disregard for property lines it happens all the time

 

[Dutch]

the thing is this is the way the MNR has set up the controlled hunts group hunts ,,,,I would rather have the deer season open from October till December for all firarms or bows what ever you want this would keep the big groups a little spread out ,,Dutch

 

[plowboy]

The key to driving deer is to not shoot everything that pops out. I've seen guys clear out bush lots then wonder the following 3-5 years why there are no deer in the bush.

Our group is by no means a high volume group, we get anywhere from 5-15 in a season. But we work a whole lot of farm land to get them.

 

[Moose man]

the thing is this is the way the MNR has set up the controlled hunts group hunts ,,,,I would rather have the deer season open from October till December for all firarms or bows what ever you want this would keep the big groups a little spread out ,,Dutch

All that would do was get all the shooters out there to find all the people with tags they could so they could keep the slaughter going because they could not everyone is like that but they are out there