Running deer with dogs
 

I would just like some insight from someone that has hunted deer
with houds. Like how it is done or what breed of dogs are best.
Any info would be appreciated.

Please no debates or negetive feed this
thread is for education.thanks

Decades ago I hunted deer by running them with hounds. I liked the Beagle because these dogs were easy to train to deer scent, worked great in packs of 2-3, did not eat me out of house and home in the off season, and did not push a deer clear across the county!!

agree with the beagles. a lot of people around here like to run deer with walkers (and that's nice if all you want to do is see them streak by and hear the dogs run). i personally prefer still hunting. i do, however, go hunting at least a few times a year with some of my friends who are really into running dogs. it is very enjoyable (less sporting of course), and here in the south it's a tradition that's as old as the country itself. my father ran dogs for years, but got out of the dog business when i got involved in youth sports around age 6 (of course he was in his 40's then and diving and chasing after dogs was probably becoming a little more difficult), and that's how he introduced me to the outdoors. i think it's a great way to introduce youths to hunting, as it is usually very exciting on a good cool morning. i fear it will soon be a thing of the past entirely. i will admit it's a little annoying when you're still hunting to have about 2 dozen dogs come barreling through, but it always gets the blood pumping when you hear them barking like something's killing them and they're getting closer. all in all, it's fun.

Yeah the guys I hunt with seem to have moved more towards beagles. They still use some black and tans though too. They seem to do a good job but they are all a lot of work in the off season.

Basically how it's done is the dogs pick up on a sent and follow it barking. They usually find the deer and jump it up. The deer is often a little ways in front of the dogs and the dogs are following the scent. You try to get somewhere that you think you will get a shot and the deer and hope he comes your way.

We hunted with dogs for close to 30 years until it got too expensive to have enough contiguous land to hunt without running all over other hunters.
The breed I liked best were blueticks. Easier to handle IMHO, and usually smarter. Best pack I've ever seen was catahoula crossed with Australian shepard. Owner could stop on a road and whistle to the pack and they immediately stopped running and came to the truck. It's most important to train your dogs. It seemed that the majority of the beagles I saw were either rabbit dogs or would run each other.

How does hunting with dogs work anyway?

I guess I never put much thought into it. What is suppose to happen? Does the deer tire out and stop running? Is the constant running around suppose to eventually give the hunter a running shot?

Since we're talking beagles here, I'm assuming there's no physical contact in trying to pull the deer down to the ground. Yorkies could do it. LOL!

iSnipe

Good God... I've seen em attack and kill. You could hear em barking from 100's of yards away. That got my attention and when I saw that doe runnin...... well they were hot on her, and WHAM took her down, and made quick work of doing so.

YEP!............Blueticks & Redbones!

wow thanks for the replys
This all seems very interesting and like a lot of fun!
I have always hunted deer by still hunt or stalking. But i am always interested in different legeal hunting methods. I would like to try it one day. it will go on my list.

it has its place, but it usually leaves an area worthless for years to come for any still hunter ( unless you like sitting all year and watching 3 or 4 deer tops

That's funny because we often run an area in the morning and take deer out of the same area later in the day when still hunting. We also still hunt MZ and Archery in the same area that is run with dogs the previous year. Always manage to take deer out of the same areas year after year. So how are these areas "left worhless for years to come for any still hunter". Please be more specific in your statement as many can prove it wrong.

[quote=vapahunter;3575602]That's funny because we often run an area in the morning and take deer out of the same area later in the day when still hunting. We also still hunt MZ and Archery in the same area that is run with dogs the previous year. Always manage to take deer out of the same areas year after year. So how are these areas "left worhless for years to come for any still hunter". Please be more specific in your statement as many can prove it wrong.[/quot

I was wondering the same thing as years ago when I ran dogs we did the same thing ran dogs in the morning and took deer out of the same area in the evening still hunting.
Also to answer the OP we found that the best dogs to use were the smaller type, beagles or beagle/hound crosses as they didn't push the deer as hard as the larger types like walkers.

If its legal and you can live with it, go for it, to me (and this is just my opinion), hunting with dogs or hunting over bait is not hunting, it is just shooting. I really laugh at those TV hunting shows from Texas where the so called hunters sit in a stand over bait, all decked out in there camy clothes (looking good) when they could just as well be wearing a Tux, and then they pay for what they shoot, Hell why not just go and buy a plastic deer and mount it, Doc

Well, DocD, what approved ways of deer hunting do you do?

DocD, would like to see you hunt East Tex!

I think it's foolish to knock other hunter's methods of hunting if it's legal.

I don't approve of several different ways I see deer hunters hunt, but I usually keep it to myself BECAUSE it's their right and it's LEGAL! I'm all for hunters having rights and each time another hunter knocks another's methods, it doesn't do any good... except for the bunny-huggers; they love to see unharmonious tension in our ranks.

iSnipe

I said "If its legal, go for it" I could care less how people shot deer, but if you are shooting them at the dinner table, or running them down with dogs, really don't seem very fair, but hay!! If your state DNR says its OK. it is fine by me!! But you do have to chuckle a little when you watch those TV hunting shows where they are shooting out of the tower at farm raised deer, and when one gets shot, its "High Fives" all around, I'm not sure but I don't think any of those deer can qualify for the record book. How do I hunt deer? well, I do it the old fashion way--- I hunt em', But I agree with isnipe "I think it's foolish to knock other hunter's methods of hunting if it's legal."

Doc

"I hunt em'? Thought I would get a better answer than that, maybe hide behind a tree, jump on their back and wring their necks........one on one, no bow-no gun.......

I have always felt that the "hunt" was just as important (or more so) as the kill, a good hunter, is one who hones their skills, learns how to read the signs, find bedding areas, food areas, predict deer behavior. (or at least try to) find trails and find out when they are used, To Me
that is hunting. If all I had to do was put out some bait and wait and shoot I don't think I could do it. but when you get a deer by hunting it, be it a doe or buck, you know you got it because you hunted it. I don't care how anyone shoots their deer, I don't care if they "shine" them. if it is legal do it, but I wouldn't be real proud of a deer I shot over a bait. I have been hunting for many decades and have taken some nice animals, and have mounted a few, and each head tells me a story, that is why I have a few doe on the wall. we all have opinions, I just expressed mine. If you don't agree, that is OK, I'll still take ya hunting Doc

Just do like most of the other trash. Go to the pound, get some flea ridden mutt, cage it up and starve it for a week. Then hunt with him, shoot a doe in the ass, let the dog run free and become someone elses problem.

I hunt with beagle/walker crosses and walkers in north Florida. Hunting with hounds is a way of life around here and alot of the hunters in my county and surrounding counties hunt this way for deer. The terrain here is usually very thick pine timberland and hardwood bottoms-traditional dog hunting areas.

We use cold nose hounds that can trail a track off the road (while barking) that can be up to 12 hours old. We normally look for tracks before daylight and start putting dogs out once we have enough potential buck tracks. We only shoot forked horn bucks all season, so it works for us better to put on potential buck tracks and trail them instead of casting dogs in a block to jump deer. Our county has a very high deer population for Florida and we don't want to run does all day long either.

In other parts of the south they drop alot of standers off in the potential deer crossings, but we stay close to our trucks so we can be mobile quickly when the deer/dogs cross out of the block.

Dog hunting clubs here range from 40,000-90,000 continous acres, so dogs very rarely get off our property. This is the number one problem with dog hunting in other states.

If you ever get to dog hunt and get in a good buck chase, it will get you hooked quickly. The adrenaline rush you get while running dogs is greater than hunting out of a stand to me. To hear the dogs running a buck your way and then hearing a deer running through the swamp to you is very exciting.

I took a relative of my wife's that has never dog hunted this past year. He's strictly a trophy deer hunter from north Ga. and never has dog hunted before. We got on a good buck race and the other standers missed him when he crossed out of the block.
We got around the next block and the buck turned coming our way, I told him to get ready and watch 30 yds in front of us- I knew he was going to come there and cross. I heard the buck coming and motioned to him. The buck hit the road and stopped, and he missed him.

I asked "did you hit it?" but I knew that he didn't. He was visibly shaken up and couldn't even speak. He finally said "I was shaking so bad that I think I knocked down the tree limbs 3 feet behind him. He was hooked to say the least. He said "In all the times I have taken nice bucks, I have never been that shaken up before." I laughed and said "I know the feeling, now you see why I don't sit in the stand when I can hunt with dogs."

If you dont have access to hunt places where there are natural food sources, the baiting is your best bet.

"it has its place, but it usually leaves an area worthless for years to come for any still hunter ( unless you like sitting all year and watching 3 or 4 deer tops "


If you are going to quote me, do it right, u failed to add the USUALLY part. and yes in my experience the area is usually not worth hunting after dogs have run the place. and this statement is not meant if u run dogs once or twice a year, but more pushed towards if you run dogs in the area often every year.

I know one thing, i wouldnt hunt an area the evning after dogs had been through( or even a few days after ), but thats just me.

this was not an attempt to blast dog hunters, because i sometimes enjoy it myself.

it is illegal on my end but guessing by what begals are used for (bears mtn lions and everything else) they would work fine for deer

Here's how we did it ---- I was introduced to hunting deer with dogs when I was about 12-13. That'd be about 1960! We hunted thousands of acres of swamp land in Louisiana, not far north of N.O. It was tough hunting for sure. We'd stand pipe line and high voltage power line ROW's, or woods roads ... and hope we'd have a chance to get a shot as the deer crossed the lane. Standing in the swamp was more or less useless because the underbrush was just so thick. In Alabama, where I moved to in 1973, we dog hunted deer near Rockford on gobs of acres of timber company land. Back then all it took was getting a free or very low cost "permits" from the timber companies. Usually 12-20 guys hunted together. Three or so would bring their hounds (4-6 each). Several others would use their 4x4 trucks, jeeps, Bronco's, K-5 's, etc. to put out standers. Standers would be set out about good daylight, encircling a hollow, usually on timber roads. Then one or two guys would walk into the bottom, pushing ahead of them 4-6 hounds. I do not know of a single time deer were not jumped. The dogs would drive them out of the bottom, running a few hard ahead. Some of the deer would often peal off and ease out along the way, and every now and then deer would lay tight then once the dogs ran past running other deer, they'd slip out the back ... more or less.

Usually 3-4 drives like this could be made in one day, moving to a new hollow each time. A good day was 3-5 deer. Not many "doe days" back then as I recall. If it was a buck, it was going to be shot at !! The meat would be split up among the hunters, with the shooter usually getting a ham or back strap.

I had several beagles back then, and 4-red ticked "English Coon Hounds" that had taken to running deer. Those English hounds were beautiful, deep chested and could (and would) go fast forever. One cold Saturday morning my dad, brother and I showed up about late. Dad was a HS football coach and he was too pooped to get going at 4:30 a.m. and drive the hour it took us to get to the gathering place. The group was already gone on the first drive. We decided to just head out into the woods and find a good place to sit until the bunch came in for lunch. I set up over looking a creek bottom, on a ledge overlooking the creek. About 7:15 I heard what turned out to be 3-8 point bucks walking in that creek. They passed directly in front of me. I shot at the biggest one. He dropped. The other 2 broke and ran straight towards where my brother was supposed to be set up. I kid you not, within a 1 minute, he shot twice. He killed one of the other 2 - 8 pointers. So, here we 3 were with 2 good bucks down to drag out .... no dogs to round up .... no meat sharing ..... and headed home by 10:00 a.m. DUH ! That week, I called one of my buds and offered dogs. He was excited to have them. I kept the lone beagle to run rabbits with ... and never hunted deer with dogs again. I must say I enjoyed hearing the puppies run, and the social aspects of "dog hunting". But I much prefer how I hunt now and don't expect to ever go back to hunting deer with dogs.

My game cam has pictures of Beagles about 1:00 in the afternoon. By 3:30, two does were at the feeder. Go figure.
As far as the feeder goes, I spend about 3 days in the stand to 1 when I see deer. The woods are so thick here that you can't go thru them to track a deer. you have to hunt openings. Other parts of the country have woods that you can drive a truck thru. Ours ar emore like jungle.

I agree with the others. While you may not do it I don't think you are exactly right. Guys I hunt with run dogs all morning and will also go sit in a stand in the afternoon and don't seem to have any issues killing deer out of the stand either. I've never done but it quite a few guys I hunt with do it often. I've also seen deer in fields where dogs had run in the afternoons while we were trying to catch the dogs so I don't think it bothers them too much.

Bloodsaw, that is the exact quote as it was put in the blog. It is the part I was commenting on. If that section is wrong then please go back and show me where. I am sorry if you don't like me taking your quote verbatim but I really don't care what you think as i commented on what you wrote.

You leaving out the usually part changed how YOU could reply to it, making you sound more valid, as if i didnt give exceptions. Doesnt matter though, i shouldnt have even replied the first time.