NEW61375

Are you counting muzzleloaders?


From the website it looks like Reg set 1-4 which covers 26 zones has a much shorter firearms season 7-16 days.

Reg Set 6(covers 6 zones)has about 35 days and Reg Set 8(covers 14 zones)has 50 days


Isn't that still less time than bowhunters get in every zone?

Knowing that and the amount of deer harvested (they figure for non tagged deer and road kill) and the amount that need to be harvestedyou would vote to shorten gun seasons? Mind if I ask why?

Firehawk7309

Better off spending your time scouting and patterning.

rustynobles

i think it should be regulated. it's shameful to see people's dogs in the condition they let them get in, and it's ridiculous to have to put up with on an almost endless basis on a saturday. i personally feel that there needs to be a season for it (a very short one).

Leafrivermac

Mississippi here . . .I grew up dog hunting . . . .and sometimes we even shot a deer. Most of the time tho we just hunted dogs. In the 50s and even the 60s nobody cared much if our dogs got on their property as nobody hunted from tree stands and the population was'nt as dense, plus most lands were large tracts that had'nt yet been sold off in smaller parcels.
Early on we hunted with black and tans, ticks, red bone and cur crosses, and they were not prone to visiting other continents. Eventually tho still hunting and food plots started gaining favor and more and more lands were posted. About this time the walker hounds started showing up in our packs and we were losing more and more control of our dogs. It was'nt uncommon to get a call to come get our hounds from 50+ miles away.
It's not unethical to run deer with dogs . .it's legal to do here. Your required tho to not trespass and that can't be done as you can not keep your hounds on a couple hundred acres. If your dogs are running on other folks posted property then you've been unethical. So it's just not practical any longer.
I loved dog hunting for deer, but mostly I loved hunting dogs with family and friends. We would usually start meeting up at 4am . .argue about where to go and who to put where until well after good light and then go out and argue with other doggers the rest of the morning. . . .Kind of an exageration, but pretty close to the truth.
It's been yrs since I've seriously used dogs on deer and I now wish that the practice would just be banned. To an extent most folks have gotten away from it, while the remaining deer doggers are mostly poachers. . . .just a fact.
Overall, ethical can be a relative term with the definition varying depending on who you ask. To me it's just another way to hunt and ony unethical if you break the laws or ignore property lines. You can legally turn your dogs loose on your half acre lot but you can't keep them off your neighbors property. It's unethical to turn them loose knowing full well that their headed to farmer Joe's farm.

n.florida hunter

There have been numerous times that I have been sitting in a stand with deer feeding all around me. Off in the distance comes a pack of hounds when eventually they come within a 1oo yds. Low and behold the deer that are feeding all around my stand lift up there heads listen to the dogs go by and keep right on feeding. I have had times when dogs have trailed up to where I am sitting and run the deer off but it is few and far between. More times than not the deer don't pay them any mind. Those of you who have an untaimed hatred for it should try it before you knock it if you haven't. I due both I dog hunt and still hunt. From the 3rd week in September I start climbing in trees and bow hunting. By the 3rd week in Oct. Iam in the tree with my muzzle loader. Then by the second weekend I am sitting in a tree with a rifle or I am running dogs depending If I want to spend time with my family or if I want solitude. But it is possible to coexist. More times than not the ones with the biggest problems are the ones that have never experienced the hunt. And for one statement made about it being easier to kill deer with dogs. I can kill 3 to 1 from a tree compared to running dogs.

gregrn43

I dont see it as being ethical vs non-ethical issue. To me its weather a person likes to hunt with dogs or not. Myself I dont like hunting with dogs. I realize that there are areas where if you didnt run dogs there would be very few deer killed because of the thickness of the habitat. I dont like being bothered by other peoples dogs, but I understand that dogs cant read signs and do cross fences.

Deerhunter61

If it is legal where you hunt...then you are not breaking the law. So I would say it is ethical there. I actually got to go with my Pa-Paw deer hunting with hounds. He used to train the dogs and he also ran the dogs on his hunting club. It was amazing watching a 70+ year old man moving through the woods like he did. I was 12 or 13 at the time and I could not keep up with him. He had to keep waiting on me. The next time rather than going with him he put me in a spot to possibly see a buck. I think this hadmore to do with me not being able to keep up with him than anything though.

bowmanaj

I dont care cuz its illegal here..(thank god)..

But if I lived in a state where people hunt deer with dogs I'd be very annoyed.. Learn how to hunt the deer, why would someone need a dang dog to run a deer down. Wouldnt it be more rewarding to work/scout hard and sharpen your skills instead of following loud ass dogs around the woods? I guess its a tradition in some places,thats fine, Ijust dont get it.. JMO

For you guys that hunt with dogs, I'm in no way saying its unethical. I just dont understand it, its not part of the culture around here.

stubblejumper

You have never seen it because you live in Florida where there is no snow.A pack of dogs can run down and kill a deer with deep crusted snow.
Personally,as far as I am concerned,if it is legal where you hunt,and you keep the dogs on your own property,I have no issues with running deer with dogs.Not that I would enjoy meat that is full of adrenaline from an animal being chased.
However,it is illegal where I hunt,and any dog seen running deer is usually shot on sight.

deerhunter729

I'm from SC and dog hunting is legal here in some parts of the state. I have done it myself. I do agree that you don't need to dog hunt 100 acres but we hunt large sections. Were talking anywhere from 500 to 5000 acres. Our club only does it for one weekend out of the year. Its a family affair.