Running Dogs
 

There is a mountian right next to the area I hunt, and they lease it out for people to run dogs. Every saturday it sounds like adamn war is going on up there. Although they do push deer onto our property, I find it to be stupid. I just feel that running dogs is cheating, man up and hunt from a stand, using your skills to find the deer.

What do yall think, have your or would you run dogs?

RE: Running Dogs
 

Yes, but never on deer, just hogs!

RE: Running Dogs
 

Run Rabbits but would like to try it on deer sometimes...i cant see much difference in running dogsvs pushing bush with hunters..its legal in certian counties in Alabama.

dd

RE: Running Dogs
 

No, I just don’t consider it sporting...

RE: Running Dogs
 

I have hounds and run lion and bear. The anti hunters are really working to stop this. They pick one thing at a time and just keep pecking away.

RE: Running Dogs
 

I grew up from a small boy running deer with dogs. I am in an area where I cant do it now and it has hurt my hunting skills but there aint nothing like hearing a pack of beagles or a lone bluetick running a deer. I don't see any difference in running coons squrriels rabbits or deer. It is all the same when you come down to talking about cheating. If you were cheating running a deer then why would you not be cheating running a rabbit, coon, fox, hog etc. I use to love working with those dogs. Let me tell you it is not always the easiest thing to hit a deer running 100mph across a road when you only have about a five foot lane to determine what it is and get a shot off. I have missed a many of deer. At least if you are sitting on a stand you know somewhat of where deer are going to come out if they do. When hunting with dogs you have no idea where that deer is going to come out at because the dogs could be a half a mile behind that deer so you could think that the deer is cooming out on one side of a stand of woods where the dogs are while it is ecaping on the other side. Not as easy as people think it is esp in the swamps of carolina. Just my 2 cents
stephen

RE: Running Dogs
 

I never heard of it before this year?

RE: Running Dogs
 

2 questions.
1. How has not being able to run deer with dogs hurt your hunting skills? I would think your skills would sharpen not being able to use dogs.

2. Shooting deer crossing a road? Is that even legal. I know it isn't here.

Just

RE: Running Dogs
 

I agree DD, I don't see much difference between the 2 either. It is legal in alot of counties in NC. I have done it and it is not as easy as someone who has never tried it might think it would be. Kinda of like hunting over a food plot or corn pile...done that too and that's no slam dunk either. I don't like the fact that some of the people doing this don't make every effort possible to make sure they did miss and or follow/track/make every effort possible to recover. Also I think it hurts our chances of having bigger bucks because so many1 1/2 yr olds and button bucks etc. get killed because they don't have time to judge the size or sex. I also think it puts so much pressure on the deer that it makes them even harder to kill on stand. Most of those guys start training the dogs in spring all the way up to season, so you are talking about 9 mo. of running.It is a legal way to hunt so I guess at least people are deer hunting and I do see alot of father/son, father/daughterpairs hunting together this way. It is probably more of a tradition in the south maybe NC, SC,and GA than anywhere else. It is not for everyone...I prefer to be deep in the woods,20ft up with bow/gun from sun up to sun down as far from anyone else as possible. To each his own and as long as its legal and people continue to hunt instead of losing hunters I will not bash anyone for their method. Just get out there and HUNT and show us your Pics!!!

RE: Running Dogs
 

Hunting skills???

Which ones are those? Sitting in the truck or talking on the radio.

Dogging is not hunting. The dog hunts, you just shoot.



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RE: Running Dogs
 

I dog hunted for over 25 years and loved it. If we could still lease enough land to run dogs without getting on other people's land we would still be running them. No difference in using a dog for squirrels, quail, ducks, rabbits, bear, cougar or any other legal game where dogs are permitted. It is probably just a difference in the way you are raised hunting.

RE: Running Dogs
 

Agree with timbercruiser. Tradition and how one is introduced to hunting makes a lot of difference.

I love dog hunting. The closness to the dog at work is a really great experience I think. It is a bit more actionpacked than still hunting and stalking. A bit more social too. A great part of hunting in general is the planning and the execution of these plansand then the immediate response as of whether it worked or not. With dogsthe processis just speeded up alittle.

It sure is no success guranteed although it is probably a more effective method, or no one would have started doing it. In particular old smart bucks will be likley to fool the dogs. My impression is that mostly fawns and yearlings tend to get shotwhen dog hunting.

RE: Running Dogs
 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "if its legal where you are hunting, you've got my support!"
My ONLY problem with using dogs, is that they don't know property lines! The dog OWNERS do though!
All of this "un-sporting," crap, is just that! CRAP!
Hunting with dogs, as well as some other forms of hunting, that are being questioned by some of these "great," modern day hunters, are as old as dirt!

RE: Running Dogs
 

(Not condemning ANY legal, modern form of hunting, or hunting accessories!)
I'd like to see some of these "small-ego, gotta-be-better-than-you" hunters on their 4X4, with your #70 compound bow, carbon arrows, and other accessories,ride up to an Indian, who just threw a corn cob on a game trail, and tell 'em they were un-sporting! You'd end up being coyote bait!
Or tell some of our great hunters of yester-year, that their dogs, or drives were "too easy!" (while you've got your 1/2 MOA rifle, 3X10 scope, and laser range finder at your side) They'd probably rip your head off, and stick it where it belongs!
Let legal hunters, hunt legal! Flush the "holier-than-thou," crap, and let people ENJOY the sport of hunting!

RE: Running Dogs
 

Dan,
Let me re phrase that. I have been dog hunting most of my life and that has hurt in my skills of finding deer in the woods to where I could put up a stand and bow hunt them. I have only started this bow hunting thing and that is making my stalking skills better now. Yes it is legal to shoot across a road as long as you are on private or leased land. Down here what sometimes happens is that you lease logging companys land and they cut the land into blocks by roads then plant pine in rows in the blocks. the blocks are usally a couple of hundred acres a piece. you get standers to stand on the road around the block. All standers must stand on side of the road that the drive is on. as the deer crosses the road you wait till it gets on the other side then you shoot if you have a shot. sorry about the mix up.
Stephen

RE: Running Dogs
 

No prob, I was just curious. Thanks.

RE: Running Dogs
 

hunted with dogs for years (to many to count) i dont use them now its not legal to hunt deer in wnc with them . if it was legal i would still use them

RE: Running Dogs
 

Maybe Im getting out of the threads core now but Im getting the impression that dog hunting is diminishing. That it used to be done and isnt anymore. Is it really so?

RE: Running Dogs
 

I run rabbits with my beagles but dont run deer. aint really cared for have to chase them dogs all around the club and not get nothing.

RE: Running Dogs
 

Quote:

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Run Rabbits but would like to try it on deer sometimes...i cant see much difference in running dogsvs pushing bush with hunters..its legal in certian counties in Alabama.

---

I can see a helluva lot of difference between the two!!!! Dogs can smell a lot better, run a lot faster, are smaller and can go through brush much better than humans, have more stamina, and can't read a posted sign!!!!!

Lets not compare apples and oranges here!!!

RE: Running Dogs
 

This subject has been hammered on in another thread. My perspective is that running deer (or anything) with dogs is just as sporting as sitting in a stand with a scoped rifle or $500 compound bow with newfangled sights. But then again some of those who say that dog hunting is unsportsmanlike may actually take their deer by stalking with a wooden bow, deer sinew bowstring, and chert-tipped arrows. If so, my comments are not directed toward you.

RE: Running Dogs
 

Chert tipped arrows. Nae thats not very sportsmanlike is it.:D

RE: Running Dogs
 

You're right. Let's go with fire hardened wooden arrow points. Or even better, an atalatl...But you will need a good obsidian knife to skin the damn things...

RE: Running Dogs
 

I chase racoons with hounds over the winter quite a bit, but never with deer, and probably won't ever do it (It's also illegal in Illinois). Then again I don't think it's cheating. When we do deer drives we have people standing and then we have the "dogs" walking through the brushy draws jumping the deer up.

RE: Running Dogs
 

i've run dogs and think it's quite fun. but it has a time and a place to do it. sometimes dog hunting can get on my nerves but that's what happens when you hunt on public dog hunting area.

RE: Running Dogs
 

It's legal to run dogs in Ontarioas well as party hunting. As was said,try hitting one on the move in hardwoods.It's somewhat harder then capping one on the edge of a crop field.

RE: Running Dogs
 

I RUN DOGS EVERY SATURDAY AND LOVE IT. I WILL DO IT UNTIL THE DAY I DIE EVEN WHEN THE OUTLAW IT. IF YOU THINK ABOUT IF YOU ARE A GOOD STILL HUNTER KILLING A DEER WOULD BE AS SIMPLE AS GOING TO STAND THAT YOU PLACED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEER EVERYDAY LIFE. PUT CROSS HAIRS ON THE BIGGEST BUCK AND PULLING A TRIGGER. DONT GET ME WRONG I STILL ALSO BUT YOU TRY TO HAVE A DEER CROSS A DIRT ROAD MAKE SURE IT IS A BUCK AND WEIGHS OVER 75 POUNDS AND PUTTING A GOOD SHOT IT BEFORE IT IS OUT OF SIGHT. DOG HUNTING ALSO MAKES FOR A GREAT SOCIAL CLUB. AND PERSONALLY I HAVE NEVER KILLED A DEER BY MY TRUCK I HAVE ALWAYS HAD TO TRY TO DETERMINE WHERE THE DEER IS HEADED AND GET TO THE BRANCH OR RIVER BEFORE HE LOSES THE HOUNDS IN THE DEEP WATER. MAYBE MOST OF YOU SHOULD TRY IT BEFORE YOU HATE ON IT.

DAVID HOLMES
SUMMERVILLE SC

RE: Running Dogs
 

I don't mind people who hunt deer with dogs, though I have never been in an area where it is legal. I do have hounds though for running mt lions. I think that all of these questions about if hunters think another type of hunting is wrong need to stop. The whole deal is that we are HUNTING (or the dogs).

It can take a good deal of time to train an animal, and lots of money can be put into tracking collars in case the dogs get lost, training dogs for the hunting you want them to do, vet bills from various circumstances, and various other things that may come up from time to time.

A person who has a good pack of deer hounds is no better norworse than a person who hasa 160 acre plot that they own or lease, and have a field of biologic that the deer come into every day, and then a couple of stands in various locations around the field from which they can take their deer of choice.

Both extremes deal with people who take pride in what they do, and have a good deal of time, money and energy tied into the HUNTING they enjoy. Both people are helping the sport rather than hurting it in the fact that we are still doing it.

Strength in numbers. If the stand hunters try to eliminate the dog hunting, then the anti-hunting groups will take advantage of that and try to eliminate other forms of hunting until there is no more hunting.

We all need to stick together, support our fellow hunters, whether or not they hunt the same as we do, and keep our sport alive, however we do it.

RE: Running Dogs
 

Charlie B,

that's the most intelligent and articulate statement I have heard on this site thus far.

RE: Running Dogs
 

I've have not run dogs but I've hunted over dogs because of my hunting situation. I hunt on a 1000 acre peanut/cottn farm that my step mom owns. She lets 2 hunt clubs come in there and run dogs. We usually get in there an hour or two before they do so I get a little quite time. I have killed 1 deer without the dogs and 2 being chased. I actually like to hear the dogs running. It gets your heart pumping too. If they run dogs it will ruin still/stand hunting until next season. I'm going to get down there a bow hunt next fall to see what is really down there.