Does anyone drive out woods with a group?

[head57]

Sort of piggybacking off of KJ's post, does anyone here hunt with a group and predominantly do drives through woods with posters set up in certain spots?

I do this exclusively. It is pretty much a family thing. I have sat before, but I don't have the land or time to commit to really doing it right.

My uncles and cousins all hunt together. Typically my uncles post and we push through the woods. It takes time to get everyone informed on how we are going to push it and where everyone will be set up, especially if it is a woods we don't push multiple times each year, but that is all a part of doing it safely.

Some guys get shafted and have to walk spots in which they don't really have a window to shoot. That happens but it is a part of being on the team.

All the venison gets cut up by the crew and divided out equally after the season.

Seems to work for us.

Anyone else doing drives?

[imnofish]

Sort of piggybacking off of KJ's post, does anyone here hunt with a group and predominantly do drives through woods with posters set up in certain spots?

I do this exclusively. It is pretty much a family thing. I have sat before, but I don't have the land or time to commit to really doing it right.

My uncles and cousins all hunt together. Typically my uncles post and we push through the woods. It takes time to get everyone informed on how we are going to push it and where everyone will be set up, especially if it is a woods we don't push multiple times each year, but that is all a part of doing it safely.

Some guys get shafted and have to walk spots in which they don't really have a window to shoot. That happens but it is a part of being on the team.

All the venison gets cut up by the crew and divided out equally after the season.

Seems to work for us.

Anyone else doing drives?

I used to do that with some buddies, but we were very careful about how we set it up, so that no drivers were taking shots and nobody on a stand was shooting in the direction of the drivers.  It was important to know the area very well, to have guys you could trust, and to take turns being in the different roles.  The idea of everyone sharing the processing and the meat was a good incentive and a lot of fun.

[Kjohnson]

Sort of piggybacking off of KJ's post, does anyone here hunt with a group and predominantly do drives through woods with posters set up in certain spots?

I do this exclusively. It is pretty much a family thing. I have sat before, but I don't have the land or time to commit to really doing it right.

My uncles and cousins all hunt together. Typically my uncles post and we push through the woods. It takes time to get everyone informed on how we are going to push it and where everyone will be set up, especially if it is a woods we don't push multiple times each year, but that is all a part of doing it safely.

Some guys get shafted and have to walk spots in which they don't really have a window to shoot. That happens but it is a part of being on the team.

All the venison gets cut up by the crew and divided out equally after the season.

Seems to work for us.

Anyone else doing drives?

I thought the rule was: young people drive, old people post

Back a few years when I was hunting on land near Merrill. A small group, I think 2 or 3 would drive a small section across the road from me at 9 am. If I wasn

[Handles II]

When I hunt in the Bemidji area, they (the party I hunt with) only does drives. It's thousands of acres (private) and very thick, each hunting area gets driven once, maybe twice per season. Due to these things, drives are quite ineffective as deer can stand 30 yards from you and there is no way to shoot, often you can only see it's legs at the base of the brush, Or they have dozens of escape routes. The ironic thing is that they have some excellent stands errected at intersections of the big,wide cross country skiing trails, where deer travel and cross, and along field edges, but nobody hunts them.
Since we stopped drives here in WI, our hunting has been much more productive, fewer wounded deer, and an increase in larger bucks. I would expect similar results in MN, but that isn't going to happen.  
If you don't have the patience to stand-hunt, perhaps the still hunting methods that imnofish and jeast discussed would be a good compromise.

[head57]

I guess I would describe myself as more of a "social hunter." I appreciate the time with uncles and family as much as being out in the woods. This is how my old man has always hunted and it is kind of special to share it with him like this (he isn't getting up in many tree stands).

[Handles II]

That would be my brother in law and some of the bemiji group. They aren't that into the hunting, just the social, and that's totally fine.

[head57]

Don't confuse "social" with unsafe. We take great precautions when we hunt. No naughty drinks cracked until we are out of the woods for the day. Each drive is planned out with great caution to avoid problems.

For me, though, being in the shack for the Badger and Packer game is more important than being in the woods!

[maggie]

YES, drives start right after a rest from the morning stand, we used to spend all day driving...nothing like standing during a drive anticipating a deer stampede.. when it get cold enough, in the low line wood you can hear them breaking ice on there way out and ya get a better idea as to where there heading..fun stuff...exactly Head, there is a unspoken rule that we have gone by for as long as i can remember, once ya pop a top, your don't hunting for the day...that simple and i think everybody knows that the deer never out come out when the Badgers or packers are playing in the shack