2012 Thanksgiving Driven Deer Hunt

Cull buck with drop tine harvested on man drive

The standers and their guns are ready to deploy

The cull buck draws a crowd after the hunt

After 48 hours of family togetherness, a band of deer hunters gather in Yemassee for an annual driven deer hunt. No hunting with dogs is allowed, but horsemen and man driving is fine, so that is the method that the landowner approves. This type of hunt allows for standers to have a chance at harvesting a quality buck, but not to shoot any buck that is too small. Also, meat for the freezer can come in the form of a harvested doe - which is also a deer herd management benefit for the property. Other ways that standers can help is to harvest any feral hogs, coyotes or armadillos encountered while in the field. On the first drive of the morning, under crisp and cold 30-degree temps, one doe crossed a veteran stander who reported that she tried to run him over before he stopped her. On the next drive, one of the man drivers jumped a buck and squeezed off two rapid-fire shots, harvesting the animal. Upon further examination, the buck had a malformed rack, resulting in one drop tine type formation on one side. It is unclear why his antler formed that way but it is possible that some damage occurred while he was in the velvet stage. Also notable, was a series of holes in the flesh on the neck area on the side of the malformed antler. With green puss visible in the perforations, this mature and large bodied buck may have become injured while fighting other bucks, since it had no antler for defense on this side. The deer herd benefits from this type of cull buck being removed from the herd for the sake of future breeding. Overall, the hunt was slow, but the hunting was done safely, ensuring that we'll get them next time!

To view past blog entries from this annual man drive click here.