Invented

Another year, same old crap. I heard the idiot turn loose deer dogs across the road in 5 acres of woods and about 10 seconds later they were running through the 600 acres that I hunt. I sit in my tree waiting to see the big boy but each year they feel the need to turn the dogs out in October to get them ready for the dog season. The bad part is that they turn them out around 5PM when things are finally quiet and cool.

I think I lost the little patience I had with them this evening...I just needed to vent.

olsaltydog

Sorry this has happened to you. Most of the dog runners I know are pretty courteous but invading another hunters space has happened. Personally i would make the law require dogs authorized only on lands greater then a certain amount of acres. 10 acres isn't big at all and only takes what a minute for a dog to get something moving and off the property? Dogs don't stop and keep going. Other then one group think all I know run on land 150 acres or more.

Iron Archer

Happens to me every year!!! Especially if I get up at three in the morning and drive and hour to go hunt.

I see a lot of land owners putting up wire fences for this very reason. If I had the extra money I would do it to!

mackesr

One of the problems is that there is no deer dog training season, so most guys start running their dogs in the evening and let them run all night so that they are in shape by the time the season starts. If they dont then the dogs are out of shape in the start of the season and dont hunt as well. I hunt archery and blackpowder so I can understand, but I also dog hunt as well so I see both sides. Hunters here in Va. have been hunting with dogs since Jamestown was settled. It is part of the history and heritage of this state. Times have changed and most of the land is cut up and a lot of landowners and hunters are from outside the state and do not care about the heritage. Not sure if there will ever be a time when both sides of the issue are happy. Unethical hunters on both sides make things much more complicated.

Invented

I've lived here my entire life. I don't have a problem with dog hunters, but I have a problem with how a lot of them hunt around my area. There are plenty of good clubs, but for every one good club there seems to be two that are bad.

brewman555

Invented....some hunters are just stupid and ignorant....hope your hunts get better....

vapahunter

No that is not ths problem but an excuse. Dog owners know exactly when archery season starts. For them to release theur dogs during that time is totslly unsportsman of thrm and shows a yotal lack of respect for others and for different types of hunting. They should be ashamed of themselves for doing this. And other dog owners should put a stop to this. Dog hunting in Va worse enemy are the dog owners themselves snd their organization that encourages this activity.

VAhuntr

I agree with you but many still hunters are just as bad. Tearing up fences, leaving trash, rutting up access roads with trucks and atv's, and poaching are just a few examples of what I hear when talking to landowners.

I've said it before but I would like to see a special license for dog hunting(like you have to buy if you want to hunt archery, blackpowder, xbow) and minimum land requirements for deer hunting with dogs.

olsaltydog

Might be for your state but in NC $15 and you can hunt with pretty much anything. Do agree the minimal land requirement would help in certain aspects and reduce conflicts that arise from property crossings.

hardwoodhank

Ive been dealing with this since buying some land out in a rural part of VA so I could hunt closer to my home. Its not unusual for dogs to be running at midnight through my land or sitting out on my deck and seeing hounds strolling through daily...until my dog chases them off.

My biggest issue was a couple years ago when I got a lease on 100 acres in a very undeveloped area that I took a weekend walking the perimeter putting up no trespassing signs. It was turkey season and if you turkey hunt, you know it involves roosting a bird the night before to know where to set up in the morning, and getting set up before the sun comes up. I set up my decoys and called my Tom out of his roost and as he was strutting towards my decoys....4-5 hounds come busting out of the tree line and my hunt was done. This happened more than a few times that season so I was able to snag one of the dogs, bring him home, and had animal control put him in doggy jail. The owners had to pay $300 to get him out. Then since I had his name and address I would write a note every day before I hunted and put it in his mailbox reminding him of my lease, and if his dogs came through again, I would keep doing what I did. It stopped!

Well, until archery season. I understand keeping the dogs in shape for firearms season, but to me I took it like they purposely were trying to drive all the deer off my lease so I wouldn't have a chance at the ones I had scouted all summer with trail cameras, setting stands, planting food plots, etc. so I had the best chance at getting the big racks. I finally made friends with my local warden who made a visit to the SAME guys house, which ultimately caused such childish nonsense like flattened tires on my truck and vandalized stands, which I had evidence on trail cams that I passed on the lease the next season. I guess he won.

They will always be out running off season, no matter what private land you hunt around where I live, so I have just learned to find ways of dealing with it. All this bragging of heritage, and how long its been in VA, is cool history, but it doesn't make up for ethics and sportsmanship...much less common courtesy.