You’re out on your annual hunting trip and you’ve got a bunch of hunters — some seasoned, some green — but they all have one thing on their mind: the hunt.
Hunting with a bigger group is a bit different than hunting alone. You need to be extra careful to make sure you don’t shoot one of your own. Here’s a little something to guide you when you go out there and seven other hunters are looking to you for direction. If you were in the military, some of these things might sound familiar.
The two most important things are: terrain and communication.
Everyone should study a map before going out on the decided morning. Not everyone needs to be a navigational expert, but just ensure they all know how to use a compass and the general terrain.
How many times have we heard communication is key? Well, it is. Everyone needs to be aware of one another’s position.
Driving deer generally consists of two teams: the drivers and the sitters.
Your drivers are a mobile group, pushing the deer. Stay in line, spread out evenly and keep your distance (about 150 yards is good). They should still be able to maintain eye contact, and communicate in whichever method you establish -typically radio. You’ll probably walk about a mile before reconvening and driving over another section.
The sitters are a stationary group. Know your target, and identify your target before you pull the trigger. Also maintain your lines of fire and space out evenly with full coverage of the area. Communicate -but you may not want to be too noisy since you’ll be the ones taking aim.
Know how much land you want to cover. If you have just a few people, you probably won’t be going too far, but if you have around 8 or 10, you can feel comfortable covering a couple of extra miles.
The more people you have, the more important it is to stay organized and keep to the plan. You don’t want anyone going rogue! Be safe and happy hunting.
Photo credit: Dreamstime
