Driving deer is unsafe
#6648993
10/25/19 10:30 PM
10/25/19 10:30 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,379 Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
James
OP
"Minka"
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OP
"Minka"
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,379
Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
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Every now and then I see someone post about driving deer as a means of hunting them. I submit that it's an unsafe practice.
I was taught never to aim or fire when anyone is in front of the gun, as defined by a half circle, or 180 degrees in front of me. I don't see how you can drive deer without violating this rule.
Every Ohio deer hunting outfitter I've talked to bans driving as too dangerous. Yeah, when I was young and foolish, I participated in deer drives. The one time I almost saw a guy get killed deer hunting was when we were driving. And yeah, the shooter was stupid to fire a round into a tree next to the driver--but that's the point. There's always someone who gets excited when he sees a buck and does something stupid. The Dick Cheneys are out there, and they don't always stick to quail hunting.
When I was a kid we used to drive fox. A bunch of guys would be dropped off in a big circle off of various roads, and we'd all walk toward the center. But we all had to use shotguns with #2 shot, and the fox was usually killed at considerable range from the guys on the other side of the circle. Don't ask me why they used a hundred guys to do what one trapper could accomplish, but that's another subject.
Jim
Forum Infidel since 2001
"And that troll bs is something triggered snowflakes say when they dont like what someone posts." - Boco
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649003
10/25/19 10:45 PM
10/25/19 10:45 PM
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 8,773 East of the Mason-Dixon Line
DelawareRob
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 8,773
East of the Mason-Dixon Line
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Agreed, but it is still legal here so I say it should be permitted. I personally don’t encourage it though. We use it here for some managed hunts and I think it is unsafe so I don’t participate.
Who is John Galt?
You don't rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training.
Semper Paratus
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649025
10/25/19 11:10 PM
10/25/19 11:10 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 10,490 MN
Steven 49er
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 10,490
MN
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James, do you have any stats to back up your gut feeling or just using conjecture.
For the record, I haven't participated in a deer drive in 20 years.
"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon". Milton Friedman.
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649034
10/25/19 11:20 PM
10/25/19 11:20 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,854 Wisconsin
The Beav
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,854
Wisconsin
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That's just BS. When I was a kid every farmer and his friends set up deer drives and pushed every piece of woods In the area. We did It for 20 some year's AND NO ONE EVER GOT SHOT.
The forum Know It All according to Muskrat
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649036
10/25/19 11:23 PM
10/25/19 11:23 PM
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 18,624 Green County Wisconsin
GREENCOUNTYPETE
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 18,624
Green County Wisconsin
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terrain plays into it a lot , when you have a good hillside you are pushing the deer over and down they are shooting into the hill.
caution and discipline must be used but it can be done safely
no one said you had to shoot at each other , the outside drivers are often doing the shooting of the squirters that come out the sides
say your driving an 80 that is 440 yards wide and 880 yards long next to this mix of juniper and pot holes , mixed hard woods and apple trees from a long over grown orchard is a 80 acre hay field and the 2 are separated by a 5 foot high stone wall.
you can put a person 30 yards the other side of that wall and when the deer make a run for it click click click over the stone pile wall that person waits till they are strait out from that wall before shooting. those deer most commonly run across the hay field to 2 openings in the next stone fence , if you have the extra guy you tuck him in so that the deer get through that opening and he has a shot at them.
I tell you I would much rather be hunting with my own crew on drives than at one of the many public forests where they literally have a cop directing traffic in at 4:30 in the morning and when the sun rises there is a guy in orange ever 120 yards in every direction.
at least I know where my drivers and standers are going to be , but it does take a degree of organization and communication.
700K people in the woods opening morning and almost every accident is still some idiot shooting at motion in the brush only a deer looks like a deer and you have to positively identify your target and that you have dirt behind it.
been doing drives 29 years
Last edited by GREENCOUNTYPETE; 10/25/19 11:24 PM.
America only has one issue, we have a Responsibility crisis and everything else stems from it.
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649037
10/25/19 11:23 PM
10/25/19 11:23 PM
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,203 Eau Claire Wi
Trap Setter
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,203
Eau Claire Wi
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Unsafe not necessarily you just need to know you are with and only hunt people who know what's going on from start to finish and dont hunt with idiots or trigger happy fools. Everyone needs to know the lay of the land the plan of attack and cannot stray from that plan no matter what. Can accidents happen sure but it's for sure safer than still hunting public land during gun season in most places. You never know where the buck fever fool is hiding ready to shoot that sound of a lifetime. We dont drive till the last half of season and on private land but I dont feel any more unsafe than driving in traffic. I've seen more accidents from people texting, running red lights, or just not paying attention than I care to think about.
We hunt with a small group less than ten people and drive smaller pieces of woods we dont shoot into the drive unless it's in a valley or behind a hill. It's a great way to fill tags and gets deer moving when they have been hunted hard and gone nocturnal. Say what you will but I love a good drive.
Life sure is tough when you don't learn from the mistakes of others.
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649046
10/25/19 11:47 PM
10/25/19 11:47 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,379 Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
James
OP
"Minka"
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OP
"Minka"
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,379
Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
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No, Steven, I have no stats, just my own limited experience and what I was taught about hunter safety.
I never said driving should be outlawed. It's just something I want to avoid.
Pete has raised the possibility of the terrain allowing for a safe drive, and I won't dispute that--I just think it's a rare situation. And yes, you could probably shoot deer squirting out the sides safely, depending on the angle.
You guys who do drive deer, how do you shoot without breaking that half circle I talked about? And are you sure the other guys in your drive will pass on shooting the buck of a lifetime because it's in line with the drivers?
Jim
Forum Infidel since 2001
"And that troll bs is something triggered snowflakes say when they dont like what someone posts." - Boco
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649057
10/26/19 12:01 AM
10/26/19 12:01 AM
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,225 Kansas
Pawnee
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,225
Kansas
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I’ve never done it, but it has the potential of going south pretty quick if everyone isn’t on the same page. A lot like blocking during a pheasant hunt. I always spend time talking to the group about safety and keeping cool heads. That being said; I have set up blockers while guiding and or have been one thousands of times and only seen one accident, so I don’t see a problem with it.
Everything the left touches it destroys
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649068
10/26/19 12:18 AM
10/26/19 12:18 AM
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 18,624 Green County Wisconsin
GREENCOUNTYPETE
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 18,624
Green County Wisconsin
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No, Steven, I have no stats, just my own limited experience and what I was taught about hunter safety.
I never said driving should be outlawed. It's just something I want to avoid.
Pete has raised the possibility of the terrain allowing for a safe drive, and I won't dispute that--I just think it's a rare situation. And yes, you could probably shoot deer squirting out the sides safely, depending on the angle.
You guys who do drive deer, how do you shoot without breaking that half circle I talked about? And are you sure the other guys in your drive will pass on shooting the buck of a lifetime because it's in line with the drivers?
Jim you don't get a 1/2 circle you get 90 degrees if your all walking north you have to stay in line no one faster or slower , you may not always be able to see everyone you stop at the breaks and line back up , until you know your back in line your just walking with a gun no shooting. but it moves deer so if we are each walking lets say across a field of waist high grass with a little brush and we are all keeping in line we each get a 90* overlapping field of fire with the guys on the outside having a wider field of fire to the outside.if we are all 100 yards apart the field of fire is from 315* to 45* on the compass it would over lap about 50 yard out think about it your on a trap range you don't get 180 you get like 45* one of our drives was an over grown 80 acre Christmas tree farm field , drivers may carry guns but when you get out to the break between the first section and the second is the only time you could shoot and that was unlikely in the trees is thick , 20 years ago you did most of it on your hands and knees but it almost never failed to produce deer. it is up hill slowly for about 600 yards to the top if the hill , the back side of the hill is steeper and maybe 25 yards to the bottom standers are actually 75 yards of clearing down the back side of the hill and tucked another 25 yards into the woods there is a driver on the outside of the pines on each end when that person reaches the top of the hill the standers can see him he waits for all the drivers to get out just short of the top of the hill then then drive is over. by positioning those standers back down the hill they are shooting into the hill and by being back in the woods 25 yards the deer have slowed down before they hit the tree line and are easier to shoot
America only has one issue, we have a Responsibility crisis and everything else stems from it.
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649099
10/26/19 03:26 AM
10/26/19 03:26 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 29,894 williamsburg ks
danny clifton
"Grumpy Old Man"
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"Grumpy Old Man"
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 29,894
williamsburg ks
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I wish dogs were legal here. I like hounds and always wanted to try that.
Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649101
10/26/19 03:41 AM
10/26/19 03:41 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,379 Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
James
OP
"Minka"
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OP
"Minka"
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,379
Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
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That would be fun all right.
To you fellows having trouble reading what I post, once again, I am not advocating making driving illegal.
Jim
Forum Infidel since 2001
"And that troll bs is something triggered snowflakes say when they dont like what someone posts." - Boco
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649102
10/26/19 03:48 AM
10/26/19 03:48 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,379 Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
James
OP
"Minka"
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OP
"Minka"
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,379
Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
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"think about it your on a trap range you don't get 180 you get like 45*"
You may be aiming for all your shots within forty-five degrees, but you don't have people standing right outside that slice of a circle.
When I shoot trap, other people are standing behind me.
Jim
Forum Infidel since 2001
"And that troll bs is something triggered snowflakes say when they dont like what someone posts." - Boco
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Re: Driving deer is unsafe
[Re: James]
#6649104
10/26/19 04:20 AM
10/26/19 04:20 AM
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,121 AK
FL cracker in AK
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,121
AK
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I only drive with people I know, whether it's deer, rabbits, or any other critters. Never seen anyone hit yet.
Psalm 34:6
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