I am not a dog hater. I love dogs, all dogs. I can understand using a dog will help you during the hunt. Dogs can stir up the thick woods and get the deer moving. But, while it sounds great to some, it is just not my cup of tea, so to speak... I prefer the peace and quiet of the woods, where it is just me and a deer in a one-on-one scenario.

Deer hunting - Just me alone vs the deer. No dogs.
Turkey hunting - ditto.
Rabbit hunting - Sure thing. I'd love to hunt rabbit with a pack of beagles.
Waterfowling - Sure thing. A black lab is the ultimate dog to have in a duck blind.
Coon hunting - It would be cool to try at night with dogs and watch them tree a raccoon.

Just my opinion... If people want to run dogs after deer, fine... have fun. It's just not my thing.

Most of the people I know that still hunt either set up near a feeding area, or put down food to draw the deer in......? Sounds real hard to me

Putting down food is illegal, it's baiting. I could understand a dog hunter thinking any real hunting methods might be real hard.

Putting down food is illegal but huntingnear a bean or corn field is common practice and not really too difficult especially early season, I'm sure you understood his point but we see the path you chose with your response. Predictable.

Last year in VA opening weekend of bow, we hunted Saturday and Monday. Between 3 of us we saw almost 40 deer and went 3 for 3 with 2 bucks and a slickhead. Two weeks later 2 of us hunting see 20 deer and go 2 for 2 one of which being my bigggest bow buck to date.

Yeah, still hunting.......it's such a challenge.

Ahh, interesting to see some of the anti-doggers here showing their true colors. Just like the pro-gun control folks, they start out trying to sound reasonable, but if you press them long enough, you eventually find out their true feelings and agendas.

Well said NEW. I for one can be completely satisfied with being in the woods and listening to the hunt but never actually seeing the deer.......By the ways the Great Danes are doing great. They recovered acouple of sheds from the woods the other day.

you have to keep in mind that bow and blackpowder hunters are also hunting the peak of the rut normally so its gonna be 5 times more likely to see those gaints.

I love dog hunting, but also love still hunting.. each has their plus. If dogs werent allowed, then im pretty sure you would see deer in the fields all year long and espically the bigger mature would continue to show theirselves. To me still hunting is easier than dog hunting. I can pretty much pick and shoose anything when still hunting. Dog hunting is majority luck. But again, I get to see plenty deer. I love hearing dogs run.. I also like the peace and quiet of nature. My kids are just getting started in hunting. Ones 6 and ones 4. Their attention spans arent the best right now, so still hunting usually makes them fall asleep lol, but they still enjoy seeing nature. Dog hunting keeps them wide awake and looking. Since its always some action, whether close by or far away you can hear it.

I would hate to see dog hunting gone, espically from a farmers point of view. But with houses everywhere and posted land around every corner, its gonna be hard to see it still around in 5 years. The biggest issues our hunt club has is dogs being hit in the roads by cars. The sad thing is, the dogs doing its job and having fun. Even though the hunters try to prevent it, it seems most cars just speed right up when they see hunters trying to catch their dogs along the roadside.

I saw where the state is trying to pass a certain distance alongside roads that you can hunt from. Thats fine, since I dont hunt anywhere near a road lol, but whats that gonna do when 15 hounds are trying to cross a highway. It wont be pretty

Doghunting is much harder in a small crew of hunters when you jump a buck. They are unpredictable and you better know the crossings very well, if they even cross at theusual areas. We had a nice buck last year run past a truck and down the main grade road; we never expected that! Believe me thebucks are smarter than they get credit for, and we don't harvest a quarter of the bucks we jump as they usually throw the dogs off. Morestrategy is involved outsmarting a buckon a crossing than it ever will be fooling himcoming to food sources orchasing does- I know, iam a stillhunter too.

It's funny to me how some peopleare so against it, but really don't know anything about it[&:]......

I dont know how you do it..... Lets see your a master still hunter, anti dogger activist, in the woods (the way you tell it) to hear hounds running deer everyday all year long. with all the "hard work" you say you do to still hunt how do you have so much time to know so much about everything else??

Again I have been misunderstood. I love dog hunting and I love bowhunting. I like bowhunting more, to me it's more of a total spiritual thing than anything else. It connects me to early man and our ancestry.I will say it again, I feel more in control when bowhunting, but that doesn't mean it' s easy. I know I can find deer and hunt them, but with dogs all that goes out the window. How many people do you know that only dog hunt scout?? All you need to know is where deer are bedding, and try to block it off the best you can,and drop the dogs in strategically, I know this well, I used to be the hunt master in my old club. Yes deer do run certain ways, but the easy part about it is the dogs, they are the key to it all. How many deer would you guys see/kill on a sat in your club without dogs just still hunting?? be honest. I know last year I saw 27 deer on one stand at my club, I also know I would not have seen a one if dogs were not dropped.