When done safely and properly, this technique can be very effective
In some parts of the country, deer drives, also sometimes known as “pushes” or “man drives,” are common, but in the Carolinas, man drives should be undertaken only in a few special circumstances.
One such situation — and some hunt clubs make a practice of doing this the afternoon of the last day of the season — involves a large group of hunters covering pre-selected tracts of land, with some serving as blockers and others as drivers. An air horn or something similar announces the beginning of the drive, and hunters move through the woods making an unholy racket: shouting, shaking milk jugs containing pebbles or coins, and maybe even shooting off a firecracker or two.
The idea is to send deer fleeing in the opposite direction, towards standers carrying shotguns loaded with buckshot who are on red alert for any sign of a whitetail. Properly done, such drives can be highly effective, but they require close attention to safety issues as well as recognition this isn’t something you want to do in the middle of the season.
The other scenario involves what might be called a “soft” push. Only two or possibly three hunters are involved. One sets up on stand near an obvious and frequently used travel lane, while the man doing the push eases through the woods in relatively quiet fashion. He doesn’t try to slip along, but he avoids the great ruckus and racket associated with large drives. The idea is for deer to hear him coming, leave their beds, and move, though not in great haste, towards the stander.
These aren’t normal or generally recommended tactics, but they are worth having in your end-of-season bag of tricks.
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