It's the stump where your grandfather taught you to hunt. A strategic location that has put you on deer in the past -- your private little place in the woods that feels like home.

Traditions are great, and your favorite spot might be productive again this year.

But what if a cold, lingering rain sends hunters home early leaving no one around to push deer past you? What if a new farming strategy or residential development changes the habitat surrounding your vantage point? What if someone else is sitting on your stump?

Experts know there are three general strategies for hunting white-tail deer (in states that don't permit deer hunting with dogs):

• Stationary and upwind of a natural crossing. Scout the area and know where the deer will be at dawn. After the first opening-day shots have been fired and the property becomes unnaturally active, however, deer fall out of their natural travel patterns and aren't likely to return until things calm down. The lower the hunting pressure, the quicker they'll return to those patterns.

• Stationary and upwind of a "pinch point." Many hunters take advantage of the chaos of high-pressure hunting destinations, positioning themselves near clearings at topographical or brush-related funnels, waiting for strangers to randomly push deer past them. The downside is the randomness and inability to coordinate the actions of other hunters.

• As part of on organized drive. The key word is "organized." A good drive moves deer -- no doubt about it -- and those who drive well get more shots. Too often, however, attempted drives fail at the surgical precision necessary to intentionally push deer past fixed locations. Hunters may fail to place a stander (or standers) at the correct upwind and elevated positions, or drivers may spread too far apart, allowing wily deer to circle around them.

"I've watched deer from up in stands," said Abby Abbondanza, former singer for the PovertyNeck Hillbillies who now hunts full-time for Bullseye Outfitters (www.bullseyeoutfitters.com, "Bullseye's Outdoor Adventures" airs on the Sportsman and Pursuit cable channels). "I've watched guys in a drive come by and the [deer] circle right around them as the drive goes past."

Chris Rosenberry, head of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's deer and elk section, said while countless outdoors writers have considered the drive, there's been little scientific study of how deer respond to that specific kind of pressure.

"Knowing we were going to be talking, I was looking for research about this," he said. "There was some done back in the '50s, but I was a little surprised that more research on this hasn't been done."

That leaves several questions unanswered by scientific study: How many hunters are needed to put on a successful drive? How far apart should they spread? Should they walk quietly or make noise?

"From my own experience in walking in on radio-collared deer where we know for sure they're there, the ability of those animals to sit tight has always surprised me," said Rosenberry. "We had one doe ... she didn't break out of heavy cover until I was about 10 yards from her. It made me wonder how many hunters had walked right past her -- and they didn't have the advantage of following a telemetry collar."

Abbondanza said he finds it easier to wait for other hunters to randomly push deer past him. But if you're going to drive, he said, keep it tight.

"Depending on the size of the property, I'd recommend using at least six guys and spreading 25 to 30 yards apart -- 15 to 20 yards in a thicket," he said. "I know guys who drive silently and guys who make all kinds of noise to get them out. Both ways can work, but either way you have to keep tight or [the deer] is going to circle around you."

"Each deer seems to have a comfort zone," said Rosenberry, "almost like a personal space. From what I've seen personally, it isn't based on age or whether it's a buck or a doe. It's just, each deer is different."

During a study conducted in the 1950s of deer in an enclosed area, he said, researchers had taken down part of a fence and were trying to push deer out of the enclosure.

"The closer they got to the fence, the more panicky they became," he said. "Those deer were sitting tight; they had to get drivers within 10 yards to move them. You can imagine a typical drive when guys get spread out 40 to 50 yards apart."

Like military battles, drives succeed or fail before the first shot is fired. Before the drive, spend some time contemplating a topographical map of the area.

"That's what we did all day today," said Abbondanza, who was taping a "Bullseye's Outdoor Adventures" deer-hunting segment in Illinois last week. "I'm a big fan of topo maps. We got here this morning and went over the property with maps looking for pinch points and funnels. Topo maps work great for drives -- you can find where the deer will run when they're driven and plan where to place your stander."

Once the drive starts, several tactics can work. In most drives, pushers walk in a straight line forward toward a stander (standers) watching a specific clearing. One driver might walk slightly ahead of the others -- deer trying to circle around will be pushed ahead, or shot, by another pusher. In some habitat and terrain, a broad V-shaped drive, or pivoting at a predetermined point, might better push the deer toward a specific point. Or pushers can swing in a circular pattern, driving deer toward a stationary silent shooter in the center.

In all scenarios, the point of the drive is to keep the deer's attention focused on the drivers until it's fallen into the trap. Loosely organized drives are more dangerous than well-coordinated plans. As always, safety is paramount to getting off a shot -- if you're not absolutely sure, don't squeeze that trigger.

In Pennsylvania, cell phones and radios may be used for general communication with other hunters, but it's illegal -- and unethical -- to use electronic devices to alert hunters of the location of game animals.