 SECRET
MAN-DRIVE TACTICS FOR TROPHY BUCKS
Southern Rabbit Hunts for Trophy Bucks
EDITOR’S NOTE: “A trophy buck is simply
a giant cottontail rabbit with horns,” says David
Hale, co-owner of Knight and Hale Game Calls in Cadiz,
Kentucky. “If you know how to hunt cottontail
rabbits, you can take a trophy buck. Like a rabbit,
a deer may run a circle and often head out of a briarpatch
behind the drivers.”
 When
Hale organizes a man drive in his home state, he doesn’t
put standers or blockers in front of the drivers like
most hunters do. Hale has learned that standers in front
of a drive probably will see only does and young bucks.
The men he hunts with don’t care about taking
these deer. They want to find the one trophy buck that
may hide in a thicket.
“Nine times out of 10, the biggest buck in an
area you drive will sneak either to the outside of the
drive or behind the drivers,” Hale explains. “Instead
of breaking from the drive to try not to give away its
position, the deer most likely will move slowly. He
then will exit at the back of the drive. For this reason,
I always want at least one stander behind the drivers
as the drivers penetrate the thick cover. Then this
stander probably will have a shot at a walking buck.”
Hale also puts standers on the sides of the thicket.
But, he doesn’t decide where he’ll place
the standers until after he has driven this section
of land at least once. “After you drive a region
and see where a big buck breaks out of the drive, watch
in whish direction the deer goes,” Hale emphasizes.
“If you drive thick cover between two fields,
a trophy buck may break out of thick cover and run across
the field. Choose a landmark where the buck enters the
woods. Once you complete the drive, go to that landmark,
and look for a trail. When you find a trail, even a
very dim one, you’ll know where to place your
standers the nest time you drive that section of land.”
When Hale drives this same thick cover again, he’ll
put a stander across the field from the drive in a tree
stand 20 yards into the woods. This stander probably
won’t see or hear the drive. But he will stand
along an escape route the trophy buck may use when forced
out of his thick-cover sanctuary. “This stander
may be as far as ¼- to ½-mile away from
the drive,” Hale mentioned.  “If
the buck runs across the field, he may stop at the edge
of the field and look back at the drivers. This stander
then will have a good shot. If the deer really spools,
it may run 10 to 20 yards into the woodlot before stopping
to look back, also presenting a good shot.” By
driving a big buck out of his sanctuary, Hale helps
the stander get shots. He also drives the buck slowly
to insure the standers don’t have to take running
shots. By knowing where the deer will go when spooked,
Hale can place his standers where they have the best
opportunities for shots.
TOMORROW: TACTICS FOR NORTHERN
DRIVES
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