Outdoor Journal: Drive can trigger change of hunting fortune

By now, the deer know what time of the year it is, and have become extremely cautious.

Add to that some of the worst deer season weather we’ve had in a long time, and the result is those of us who are still afield are having to work a lot harder than usual.

My usual watch on opening day in Allegany County last Saturday was quite uncomfortable and disappointing. As an all-day sitter, I see at least 20 whitetails from this tree stand opening weekend, many of which are bucks, and always at least fill my Deer Management Permit (DMP) — not this year.

I spent 11 hours sitting in an

all-day rain, with a 10 mph wind, and all I saw was raindrops. As for shots heard, usually 50-plus by 10 a.m., but on this opening day, I heard seven all day. When I got back to camp, I found we had set a record — in the seven years we had hunted there, it was the first time we did not get a deer, buck or a doe opening day.

The next day, the rain was gone, replaced by a blowing snow that dumped a five- to six-inch cover over me by the end of my ninth hour in the stand. As for sighting — zero. It was a long, very cold day. However, a four-pointer was taken, and two DMPs were filled by other members of the club.

Even Monday was difficult, but the club added a few more deer to the tally. None of them were mine. Can’t shoot what you don’t see. And this produced another record: It was the first time I headed home without firing a shot or without a tagged deer in the bed of my pickup.

But at mid-morning Tuesday, after I had left for home, things changed when those still in camp decided to start a few deer drives. The first drive resulted in a real trophy nine-pointer, plus two other bucks and two DMP does.

I don’t think there’s anything better than a deer drive when the going gets tough like it is right now. A combination of bad weather and being shot at will cause deer to hole up in the heaviest cover they can find. And they’ll stay there until you give them a kick.

I know many of us like to sit, but if you want to see deer later into the season, deer drives should make up a part of your hunting day. Here are a few thoughts on deer drives that might turn your season in to a successful one.

Before the how-to, let me first remind readers it’s very important that both the drivers and the watchers all practice and adhere to gun safety rules. It can get very hectic, especially when things begin to happen quickly, like a big buck jumping up in front of you or running to your right or left. This goes for both drivers and watchers.

Drivers must remember the watchers are in front of them waiting. A rule that perhaps we should all consider is one used by the Highland Field & Stream Club in the Catskills. They’ve been putting on deer drives since the mid-1920s — without a single accident. They don’t allow drivers to carry guns. Not a bad idea.

The most important thing drivers and watchers must always remember is the location of everybody else. If you don’t know, don’t shoot.

Always assume every movement or sound you hear when hunting is another hunter until you can prove unquestionably otherwise. And do not use a scope to identify that movement. It’s very uncomfortable and dangerous being watched through a rifle scope.

Safety first, deer second.

I also believe all who participate in a drive should wear plenty of hunter orange.

A GOOD DEER DRIVE

Several years ago, a friend gave me a book entitled “The Art of Successful Deer Hunting” by Francis E. Sell. In it, he describes what I think is the perfect deer drive. He calls it the still-hunting drive which he says has three major parts for a proper drive: pace, noise and

direction.

But before discussing it, let’s examine the preliminaries and characteristics to look for when choosing a patch of woods to drive.

The key to a good drive as the season progresses is to choose a wooded area with heavy cover, obviously lined with numerous deer trails. The drive should usually

begin after the deer’s morning feeding period, and should always be done with the thermal winds drifting at the backs of the drivers.

One of the common causes for failure of a drive is that it is too long and/or too big. Tailor your drive to the number of hunters in the group. If there are five, pick an area no larger than 200 yards long and 50 yards wide. This can be driven with one or two drivers and three or four watchers very effectively. But remember, even with a bigger group, the longer the drive, the harder it is to keep the deer moving where you want them to go.

The pace can never be too slow. In fact, each driver should really be doing exactly what he/she would do when still-hunting. This includes taking just a few well-chosen steps, stopping, scanning the area around without a lot of head movement, and repeating this all the way through the drive. Whenever possible, the drivers should try to be in sight of each other at all times. Doing this will keep everyone in line and keep the deer moving, not running, in the desired direction.

Noise is something I know veteran deer driving hunters will disagree with Sell about, but he says it’s better not to make any noise. Sell believes the truth of the matter is that a barking or yelling drive puts the deer on alert mode usually well before the drivers are near them, and often allows the deer to move off to the sides and escape without the watchers ever seeing them.

Also, even if the deer move

toward the watchers, they’re usually on a dead run. And the odds of hitting a vital area on a whitetail that can attain speeds of up to 40 mph, jump a nine-foot fence and swim 13 mph, are very low. We’ve all taken a running shot at a deer, but how many of us have actually hit and/or harvested a deer in that situation?

Maintaining the right pace and without noise will usually get them to move in the right direction where the watchers are waiting.

The watchers also have to follow some simple rules. They must not announce their presence to the deer. They should get to their watch quickly and quietly without being scented and once there they must sit or stand quietly without excessive movements.

On these frigid days, this can be a problem. Therefore, proper dress is important when you may have to sit an hour or more without moving. The best choice for a watcher under these conditions is layering, with particular attention to feet and hands. They usually get cold first and when that happens, those dancing feet and hand-rubbing motions used to try to keep warm can easily spook an incoming deer.

Knowing where the drivers are is very important and why I like to see lots of hunter orange on them.

Never shoot back into the cover where the drivers are coming from. Shoot only when the deer is away from the drivers and your fellow watchers on the left and right.

The safest shot is actually when the deer has passed you and the line of watchers, and is behind you.

TWO-HUNTER DRIVE

This is a drive I’ve used successfully with another hunter both during the bow and gun seasons. During the gun season, it requires a lot more caution. One hunter takes a stand, ground or tree, while the other hunter (driver) still-hunts his way around the watcher in a wide circle. The size of the circle is determined by the type of cover. In thick cover the circle may be only 100 yards.

The deer in this drive will generally not bolt off if the moving hunter is proceeding slowly, only a few steps at a time then stopping and looking before moving a short distance again. Should the driver get a good shot, he should first be sure exactly where the watcher is. The easiest way to always know the location of the watcher is to use a GPS with the watcher’s location as a waypoint. By frequently checking the GPS, you’ll always know where the watcher is. And watcher, stay where you are put.

Quite often on this kind of drive, the deer will keep the driver in view and can lead to a good shot for the watcher. I actually shot a six-pointer in the Catskills several years ago while on one of these drives when the buck was following my partner. It was very entertaining watching the deer stop every time my partner stopped and staying about 50 yards behind him.

TIME LEFT

No need to panic yet; there’s plenty of hunting time left to make your own buck tales. Both the Northern and Southern Zone’s regular seasons are open until

Dec. 7. Immediately after that,

Dec. 8, you can take a deer of

either sex in certain designated Wildlife Management Units (WMU) through Dec. 14 in the Northern Zone and all of the Southern Zone gun WMUs until Dec. 16. And bowhunters can still launch arrows in the Southern Zone, as well. For the exact regulations and WMU designations, refer to the “New York Hunting & Trapping 2008-09 Official Guide To Laws & Regulations.”

And when you finally connect, be sure to email me your Buck Tale at enoonan@nycap.rr.com.