Outlaw deer drives on public land!

[JimmyJames]

I have some land near Swatara, that's surrounded by state land.There's a group of local yahoos that method of choice for hunting deer is doing drives.Sun up to sun down , if you're sitting in your stand, they don't care. They'll walk right through, yelling, firing rounds in the air., shooting at anything they see.Driving deer is no way to hunt, it's unsafe, unethical,and disrespectful to other hunters, especially on public land. I think it should be illegal.What are other's thoughts?

I just read through this , and it kinda sucks, I hate typing. But you get my point.

[MNexpoler]

I don't agree with outlawing deer drives. With those yahoos your dealing with, I'd contact your CO if they are firing rounds in the air and shooting at anything they'll see. And are these guys on private land or state land.

[picksbigwagon]

well if they "always" do this and it is on public land firing their rifles in the air, invite the local CO to sit with you or better yet, video tape them firing their rifles into the air like that. To me that is the only thing that I see them (according to your description) doing that I would have a serious problem with. Have you talked with the local DNR CO? Why don't you video tape them doing this? If they are doing a deer drive in your area, aren't they esseentially doing a deer drive for you? I understand your frustration, but I see absolutely no reason to outlaw it.

I am sorry you feel your deer season was ruined by this.....

[Todd Caswell]

Your right I don't care for them, but it is legal and they are on public land so unfortunaly there isn't much you can do about it.

If you own some private land why are you sitting on the public land while being bothered by the drivers ( don't buy a house next to the train tracks if you don't like the noise)?? MN has alot of flaws in there laws, drives, party hunting, are just two of many..

[JimmyJames]

well if they "always" do this and it is on public land firing their rifles in the air, invite the local CO to sit with you or better yet, video tape them firing their rifles into the air like that. To me that is the only thing that I see them (according to your description) doing that I would have a serious problem with. Have you talked with the local DNR CO? Why don't you video tape them doing this? If they are doing a deer drive in your area, aren't they esseentially doing a deer drive for you? I understand your frustration, but I see absolutely no reason to outlaw it.

I am sorry you feel your deer season was ruined by this.....

My deer season isn't ruined because of them, I enjoy it too much to let some idiots ruin it.I hunted for 9 days straight and loved every minute of it.I do get frustrated because i like to believe all outdoorsman are good honest respectful people. I escape to the cabin to get away from the "crazies" of the metro area. Only to deal with it from the locals up there.

[bowhunternw]

Well I agree that there should be no drives on public land but it would likely be hard to regulate. Several people could hunt on a decent state parcel. However if a big gang pushes it, it is ruined in short time.

[surewood]

I grew up in the swatara area, and still live in hill city. Although there isn't much you can do, a call to the CO might turn something up, hint, hint. Confronting them probably isn't a good idea. Good luck.

[barebackjack]

If it is the guys I am thinking of, you have it right, they make some noise. I'm not certain how long you have been in the area but I personally know these guys have been there for years using the same method, aside form "shooting guns in the air" Not certain about that one.

[Getanet]

While this particular group sounds like a bunch of bad apples, I absolutely disagree that drives are unsafe, disrespectful and especially unethical. What is unethical about getting off your duff and putting in a little effort to help someone other than yourself get a deer? How is using natural tools - your legs - less ethical than tools you weren't born with that many hunters use such as doe urine, salt licks and fawn bleats?

I'm growing pretty tired of how individualistic so many people want hunting to become.

[analyzer]

For several years I've hunted in the Lanesboro area, and just recently started hunting in Elba. One year I was talking to a gas station attendant off 90, near St. Charles, the one next to the amish place. I asked him if he hunts, and he said "not anymore". Apparently he was part of a large group of guys that used to hunt together for generations, but one year, one younger member of their party took a slug in the head during a drive. They had two young hunters posting up, and when a deer ran between them, one shot the other.

He said no one in their group hunts anymore. They no longer have the stomach for it.

I had a friend that quit hunting after he participated in a couple drives, and had multiple shots come close enough to him that he could hear the slug go by. He said "no thanks".

I have to admit I have occasionally pushed through an area where my son is sitting, to see if I can move something to him. But I'm pretty careful to let him know, when I'm going to come through, and from which direction so he doesn't shoot my way.

I don't think I'd have much interest in doing a multi-person drive. Although, I've heard guys will take a boat full out to an Island on the MIssissippi and have pretty good success.

[harvey lee]

I so not care for deer drives but they are far from not legal.

[mntatonka]

While this particular group sounds like a bunch of bad apples, I absolutely disagree that drives are unsafe, disrespectful and especially unethical. What is unethical about getting off your duff and putting in a little effort to help someone other than yourself get a deer? How is using natural tools - your legs - less ethical than tools you weren't born with that many hunters use such as doe urine, salt licks and fawn bleats?

I'm growing pretty tired of how individualistic so many people want hunting to become.

My thoughts exactly. I was halfway through a post saying exactly the same thing when I went back and noticed you'd said this.

We've been doing drives for decades, ever since it was the only way to get a deer in a season because there weren't any. Now it's an excellent way of harvesting a larger amount of deer in high population areas like the southeast.

[JimmyJames]

While this particular group sounds like a bunch of bad apples, I absolutely disagree that drives are unsafe, disrespectful and especially unethical. What is unethical about getting off your duff and putting in a little effort to help someone other than yourself get a deer? How is using natural tools - your legs - less ethical than tools you weren't born with that many hunters use such as doe urine, salt licks and fawn bleats?

I'm growing pretty tired of how individualistic so many people want hunting to become.

Unsafe? Seriously , you disagree with that?

Disrespectful?I spend all fall scouting, setting up stands, only to have a group walk under my stand yelling. No respect for your fellow hunter.

Unethical? I think this one is at the top of my list. I teach my kids to show the deer we are hunting respect with one well placed killing shot. How is this getting done with a gut shot at a running deer?

[JimmyJames]

If it is the guys I am thinking of, you have it right, they make some noise. I'm not certain how long you have been in the area but I personally know these guys have been there for years using the same method, aside form "shooting guns in the air" Not certain about that one.

They have been doing this for many years, the rapid semi auto pistol fire only lasted for 2 years. They used to only do it second and third weekend. Now it starts opening morning.

[JimmyJames]

Hey Harvey, good evening . I agree deer drives on public land are 100% legal. But, would you agree they should be illegal?

[mntatonka]

While this particular group sounds like Unsafe? Seriously , you disagree with that?

Disrespectful?I spend all fall scouting, setting up stands, only to have a group walk under my stand yelling. No respect for your fellow hunter.

Unethical? I think this one is at the top of my list. I teach my kids to show the deer we are hunting respect with one well placed killing shot. How is this getting done with a gut shot at a running deer?

Properly done, there is the same amount unsafe with deer drives as there is with hunting out of a stand.

How are the guys supposed to know that you've got your stand in that particular spot when they come through doing a deer drive? If they're doing a drive (the way our ancestors hunted), then it would actually be less safe for them to go around you and confuse the rest of the party.

Why would you take a shot at a running deer? The drivers that make noise don't get shots at deer, simply because they're running away from them. It's when they get to the standers and slow down that the shots are taken, or when the drivers are quiet and come up on a deer they get their shots. It took me a few years to realize that being much more quiet as a driver got me (as well as the rest of our party) better chances at deer than if we were being loud doing a drive.

Simply put, there's nothing disrespectful or unethical about doing deer drives, and it's the way many humans have hunted animals for thousands of years. It's a very safe way of hunting as well, since there's essentially two rules. Don't shoot across the line, and don't shoot toward the standers as you're getting close.

It's not our fault the stand hunters tend to be all high and mighty. I've heard more people that hunt from stands complain that there aren't any deer because they sat in the same stand all day, while drivers that hunt the same land saw dozens of deer.

[Getanet]

Unsafe? Seriously , you disagree with that?

Disrespectful?I spend all fall scouting, setting up stands, only to have a group walk under my stand yelling. No respect for your fellow hunter.

Unethical? I think this one is at the top of my list. I teach my kids to show the deer we are hunting respect with one well placed killing shot. How is this getting done with a gut shot at a running deer?

Unsafe? Yes, when done correctly I disagree with your contention drives are unsafe. The DNR reported 3 people died falling out of stands opening weekend while "several others were injured in non-fatal accidents." Would you like to outlaw stands too? Perhaps we should all hunt from the ground...

Disrespectful? If you're hunting private property and they walk under your stand then they are not only disrespectful, they are trespassing. They should not be shooting randomly in the air. That is dangerous.

Unethical? Believe it or not, deer are not always on a dead sprint during a deer drive or even moving for that matter. They often stop to look back. Do you think every person that hunts from a stand only only shoots at a perfectly stationery deer?

[Big Dave2]

I would love to have a group drive deer to me every year! If you know they do this "every year" you need to position yourself to take advantage of the free deer drive.

Also, don't think that the area is ruined as soon as they go by either. Sometimes a smart deer will circle around behind the drivers.

[mntatonka]

I would love to have a group drive deer to me every year! If you know they do this "every year" you need to position yourself to take advantage of the free deer drive.

Also, don't think that the area is ruined as soon as they go by either. Sometimes a smart deer will circle around behind the drivers.

It's not a sometimes, it's virtually an always. There's always deer that circle around, make it through the drive, or simply lay low. Those are the smart ones, and many times are the giants as well.

[walleye365]

Well first off it all depends on who is doing the drive theres idiots that sit in stands and theres idiots that do drives. As for drives on public land i would be for outlawing them and not for they might ruin someones hunt or the deer are going to be all gone,but because you never know if or how many other hunters are there or WHERE they are and thats where it gets dangerous.

[kevfish1]

Sounds to me that you should put the gun away and take up archery hunting. 3 1/2 months to harvest a deer and no other people around

[JIvers]

"Unsafe? Yes, when done correctly I disagree with your contention drives are unsafe. The DNR reported 3 people died falling out of stands opening weekend while "several others were injured in non-fatal accidents." Would you like to outlaw stands too? Perhaps we should all hunt from the ground..."

Exactly.

I don't care for hunting in drives myself, and no longer allow them on my property. However, I stopped doing drives because they are not my personal preference, not because I think they are more dangerous or dis-respectful to anyone--I just prefer sitting in a stand. I absolutely do not think deer drives should be made illegal on public or private property.

When properly done, drives are no more dangerous than any other form of hunting. Conversely, a careless hunter doing a drive will be just as careless if confined to a stand. Target the careless hunter, not the hunting practice.

[harvey lee]

Hey Harvey, good evening . I agree deer drives on public land are 100% legal. But, would you agree they should be illegal?

No I do not believe they should be illegal.

I have seen unsafe deer drives with a bunch of cowboy's and I have also seen some crazy hunters in tree stands. If wse start to make a new law for everything that happens that should not or what we each do not like, we would have a book full of new laws.

I personally do not like tresspassers but I have learned to deal with them. I hunt in North Dakota and we put up about a hundred no trespassing signs each year and some get ripped down as fast as we can put them up. As long as the trespasser tears the sign off the post before they trespass, one cannot charge them with trespassing as you cannot prove the sign weas there before they walked in. Sounds crazy but it is the law in ND.

No, I do not care for deer drives as I believe they are really unsafe but some do enjoy hunting this method and who am I to say that most are not safe.

It's always a few who ruin it or try to ruin it for the rest.

[Loose]

When set up right drive are safe and effective. I enjoy driving, and see no reason to ban it.

And sitting on public land I would rather see guys driving then random guys walking around the woods at sun up and down

[Getanet]

The more hunting threads I read on this site the more I'm convinced other hunters pose a much greater threat to hunting traditions and practices than we ever face from PETA and anti organizations.

The calls for state-wide APRs, bans on party hunting, bans gifting a tag, and now apparently those that want to ban deer drives are getting a little ridiculous.

Face it guys, there's more than one way to skin a cat and just because others use a practice that you don't personally enjoy doesn't mean it should be outlawed or is in someway less ethical than how you chose to hunt.