Deer drive areas

[slowpoke69]

I know a few people on here are fans of deer drives. I on the other hand am not. To each their own. I know some guys that push the same areas every year. One of those looks like a decent looking cattail marsh. So what's the chances that a good buck still lives in there and is huntable during bow season? Or should I just stay away from the area cause they push it every year. By the way they push a lot of the surrounding hard woods too.

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[Wlog]

I don't think being driven a couple times a year will ruin an area if there are plenty of places to escape to, like a big marsh. Other terrains where cover is more limited is a different story.

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[Jeff G]

we do it every year and see and have success.

you have to know how to hunt it during bow season and how to effectively push it during gun season.

The key is knowing when and how to go in and get it done correctly during the season you are hunting.

I would never push my private land, only public.

[stash59]

I don't believe gun season deer drives on any terrain will kill all the bucks. I used to think so. Back in my younger days. The area I grew up in in central Wisconsin. The deer drives started by 9:00 am opening morning. They continued until the season ended. 9 days. Alot of hunting parties disregarded posted land. Or the landowners just didn't care. The same pieces were driven by more than a couple different groups most days.

Yet every year I would come across a mature buck (3 y.o.+) at some point during the year. Sure they were fewer and farther between than areas with less pressure. But they were still there. Maybe some of it was due to dispersal! If I knew then what I know now. I'm sure I would have had even more sightings.

Like Dan says in the new videos. In marshes and swamps it's just too thick and wet to push every buck past a shooter. Then they still have to hit it!!!

If the pressure is low during bow season the area may hold more bucks during that time period any way. I'd at least give it a try. You won't know for sure until you do!!!

[tgreeno]

A few of my spots get hit pretty hard during gun season. In those areas I consider my bowhunting season over after gun season. I have had limited success in the past. Late season is always a crap shoot anyway. Now for the following year, I think you can still have very good success in those areas. Mature bucks in those areas have lived thru a couple gun seasons and usually have figured out places to hide.

[slowpoke69]

Thanks this is what I was hoping to hear. I'm definitely getting boots on the ground this spring. I can see how they just move a little to avoid them or wait till they pass. I getting just as excited for spring scouting as I am bow season. I'm compiling a list of places as I read/listen more on this site. I'm still learning and I enjoy that.

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[PK_]

We used to push bucks out across open fields and watch several guys miss them. A buck has a huge advantage in a cattail marsh, even when you get them up you have to see and shoot them.

We kill deer in the Everglades that get run down by by swamp buggies, airboats and track vehicles. Also kill good bucks in other areas where they run dogs. Couple deer drives ain't much pressure imo.

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[JoeRE]

Yea, Iowa is the land of deer drives during gun season. As I have said before, if even every other shot fired during our shotgun seasons hit a deer, we would have no deer left. Its probably more like one deer recovered per 5 or 10 shots. It kills a lot of yearlings, 2, even 3 year olds but most mature bucks have learned how to avoid them, otherwise they don't reach maturity. Only a small percentage of drive hunters know what they are doing and have a chance of outwitting a mature buck IMO...I can assure you its not by yelling and screaming and trying to surround the buck or "force" him to run a certain direction.

I don't like the typical deer drive either, blasting at running deer really ticks me off. I know even some on here seem to think that's OK unfortunately. I have put down dozens of cripples shot up from gun season over the years in late season hunting. However, you can be successful, and take ethical shots, if you do forced movement correctly - not what I would call "drives." My brothers and I do small nudges of known bedding late season with muzzleloaders and are extremely successful. We don't take wild shots at running deer, and have killed quite a few slobs. When one of us shoots there is likely a dead buck involved. Its just lightly bumping them with ambushes set up on spots they will likely head when bumped, using terrain to know when they will pause and that is where we drop them. The more I have done it, the more I am convinced doing drives with large groups is actually counter productive not to mention more likely to be unsafe. Everybody needs to know exactly where to go, and exactly when to as well.

[Buckshot20]

The deer have the advantage always. A lot of the stuff I hunt gets hunted with hounds. Hard. I promise you people are not busting through and swimming through what these dogs are. That's pressure. And every year I have an island that always has great bucks on it. I don't kill them but they are there. Lol. I think places that don't get driven/ hounds will have more big bucks generally speaking, but those big boys find a way. They may bed on little tussocks in the marsh or tiny bogs in the cypress but they find a way.

There is an old man I talk too who swears he use to wade around and shoot bucks laying on matted vegetation late in the season.

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