woody
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Post by woody on Dec 6, 2016 18:45:45 GMT -5
Anyone ever hunt deer with dogs in the south? I've always wanted to try it. We used to do a lot of deer drives but in the last few years we haven't done it too much. Most guys are just sitting which I enjoy too since I'm a bow hunter first. I miss it during gun season. I know some guys are dead against it but it seems like a neat old traditional hunt.
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paulg
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Post by paulg on Dec 6, 2016 20:50:07 GMT -5
I've done a little bit of it. Used to go with a friend on a 10,000 acre lease in North Central Florida. He had 30 head of deer dogs. Of course not all 30 were put out at the same time. He'd take 4 or 5 at a time and other hunters on the lease would bring their dogs. It was exciting listening for those dogs. All the hunters had marine cb radios to communicate and keep up with the dogs. It was always well organized and no drinking alcohol was allowed until the days hunt was over. It was a family friendly hunt club. The flip side of that is the stupid moronic rednecks that dog hunt on public lands here. You are taking your life into your own hands if you venture out into the Ocala National Forest during deer dog season. Most don't care how much beer they drink before loading up and will shoot at anything with brown on it and moves. That's been my experience.
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Post by rooster on Dec 6, 2016 22:20:17 GMT -5
I hunted with dogs as a boy here in SW Arkansas. Most hunters did not know there was another way. In my 20's I discovered still hunting/stalking and never went back.
I would guess at least 50% of deer hunters in my area still hunt with hounds. Sadly it is not as in my youth! 4WDs, CB radios, cold beer, and lots of flying gravel/spinning tires seem to be the norm. At least it is confined to their particular lease as there is little public land in this area.
We do have some late season rabbit hunting with beagles on my lease that is VERY family oriented. Grandkids, half a dozen beagles, sxs shotguns and a few acres of cut over timberland or swamps can provide a multitude of fun and memories! Just like the deer hunting with dogs but it all happens on foot and is usually confined to 10-20 acres, and with a slower pace.
Bob
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Post by contender on Dec 6, 2016 23:00:28 GMT -5
Some do it in eastern NC,,, due to swamps & all. Never tried it myself,,, but I do know some boys who have.
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woody
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Post by woody on Dec 7, 2016 19:17:51 GMT -5
I was think of the more traditional. Not the drunken redneck hunt. We have that around here too.
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paulg
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Post by paulg on Dec 7, 2016 20:35:50 GMT -5
I was think of the more traditional. Not the drunken redneck hunt. We have that around here too. If there were more traditional dog hunts around here like rooster mentioned I'd be all in but they've all gone the way of trucks and radios. |
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cable
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Post by cable on Dec 30, 2016 19:27:38 GMT -5
I got to go a couple of times, years ago, on a very large farm in eastern NC,where i covered the local emergency room. some folks think it sounds unsporting but it actually is difficult and often not that much of threat to the deer. one afternoon I sat in a tree stand instead, in the woods, and watched a large group of 8 or 9 does lay down conflicting trails and criss crossing paths....then retreat to a point just under my stand [ I did not have a doe tag ] they literally casually and calmly stood there in the brush and listened as the dogs ran their legs off --- back and forth---never coming closer than a few hundred yards away. the does would listen and then look at each other and at the younger ones---thinking " isn't this fun, Susie ? and...Martha remember last year when we made them run all day...." i was honestly entertained watching them for at least 30 minutes and then they drifted off.....completely away from where the dogs were running. the dog owners really didn't want to believe me. : )
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Post by crazycarl on Dec 31, 2016 16:23:45 GMT -5
It can be fun, especially late in the season when the deer aren't moving much. But, there's always that one, stereotypical, unethical hunter that ruins it for everyone.
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Post by bushog on Dec 31, 2016 19:17:01 GMT -5
Oh hell yea! I grew up hunting with dogs in N.C. and later in the Florida Everglades.
We used to always run Walkers as their long legs could keep up. We could only hunt with shotguns in NC way back but that changed some in the late 70s and early 80s. You'd be surprised how a whitetail can sneak right through a group of hunters on a line.....
It wasn't like many think...like shooting fish in a barrel. Yeah, we killed lots of deer but...lots outsmarted everybody too.
There was one old fellow (seemed old to me as a teenager) named McCorkle that used to go in with the dogs with a short double barrelled 12ga. To me he was like some mythical being with long hair and beard flowing as he ran through the woods with the dogs and one hell of a Rebel yell. Kinda like John Brown at Harpers Ferry. McCorkle was definitely NOT a Yankee though....He also had MULE tattooed across his fingers when he made a fist. I wouldn't have been the poor sot who was on the receiving end of that one.
Me and a buddy of mine hunted for a while on some leased land that belonged to a hunt club down near the Great Dismal Swamp too. We got asked not to come back after the 2nd time we went in and set up tree stands along the river real early before the guys with dogs showed up. As soon as the trucks pulled up with the dogs baying look out! Here they come! We killed 3 each that last day (limit was 3/day, 7 per season) and those old timers were plenty pissed we weren't hunting with everybody else....again... If I recall we left that day without any meat....
In the Everglades it was different. Walkers and walker/blue tic mixes mostly. My dad had an airboat and belonged to the FL Airboat Assn. We'd find big islands in the glades that would hold deer. Line the boats up around the far end of the island and put the dogs out on the other end. When the hounds got about 2/3s of the way down that head it would look like something from Bambi...every form of furry creepy critter you ever thought of would come hauling ass out of the wood and into the swamp. Killed lots of pigs that way too. You always knew when you had a big buck on the chase though...he'd run back and forth, up and down and not run off the head. They'd shake the dogs many times and you could catch them tippy-toin' out the side. I'll never forget my walker named Penny...she had a really high pitch yelp when she got hot one one. She was a good dog...you could call her off which was rare. Finding lost dogs in the everglades is a sport unto itself.....
Hunted with dogs off buggys (not little ones) and full tracks in the glades too. Dad had a full track named "The Zipper" and that thing would flat boogie. I bet it would do 50mph across the everglades prairie. Seats on that thing were an easy 8 or 10 ft off the ground so you could see over the grass. Always had a fice on the buggy to wind the deer and when she went off then you'd drop the dogs.
Brings back times not thought of much any more...probably can't even do it like we did back then anymore either...
Hunting in the land of "haints and boogers"
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woody
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Post by woody on Dec 31, 2016 21:08:58 GMT -5
Oh hell yea! I grew up hunting with dogs in N.C. and later in the Florida Everglades. We used to always run Walkers as their long legs could keep up. We could only hunt with shotguns in NC way back but that changed some in the late 70s and early 80s. You'd be surprised how a whitetail can sneak right through a group of hunters on a line..... It wasn't like many think...like shooting fish in a barrel. Yeah, we killed lots of deer but...lots outsmarted everybody too. There was one old fellow (seemed old to me as a teenager) named McCorkle that used to go in with the dogs with a short double barrelled 12ga. To me he was like some mythical being with long hair and beard flowing as he ran through the woods with the dogs and one hell of a Rebel yell. Kinda like John Brown at Harpers Ferry. McCorkle was definitely NOT a Yankee though....He also had MULE tattooed across his fingers when he made a fist. I wouldn't have been the poor sot who was on the receiving end of that one. Me and a buddy of mine hunted for a while on some leased land that belonged to a hunt club down near the Great Dismal Swamp too. We got asked not to come back after the 2nd time we went in and set up tree stands along the river real early before the guys with dogs showed up. As soon as the trucks pulled up with the dogs baying look out! Here they come! We killed 3 each that last day (limit was 3/day, 7 per season) and those old timers were plenty pissed we weren't hunting with everybody else....again... If I recall we left that day without any meat.... In the Everglades it was different. Walkers and walker/blue tic mixes mostly. My dad had an airboat and belonged to the FL Airboat Assn. We'd find big islands in the glades that would hold deer. Line the boats up around the far end of the island and put the dogs out on the other end. When the hounds got about 2/3s of the way down that head it would look like something from Bambi...every form of furry creepy critter you ever thought of would come hauling ass out of the wood and into the swamp. Killed lots of pigs that way too. You always knew when you had a big buck on the chase though...he'd run back and forth, up and down and not run off the head. They'd shake the dogs many times and you could catch them tippy-toin' out the side. I'll never forget my walker named Penny...she had a really high pitch yelp when she got hot one one. She was a good dog...you could call her off which was rare. Finding lost dogs in the everglades is a sport unto itself..... Hunted with dogs off buggys (not little ones) and full tracks in the glades too. Dad had a full track named "The Zipper" and that thing would flat boogie. I bet it would do 50mph across the everglades prairie. Seats on that thing were an easy 8 or 10 ft off the ground so you could see over the grass. Always had a fice on the buggy to wind the deer and when she went off then you'd drop the dogs. Brings back times not thought of much any more...probably can't even do it like we did back then anymore either... Hunting in the land of "haints and boogers" Sounds fun. That's what I had in mind. We used to do a lot of drives but most guys just stand hunt now days. I miss the drives. We never had big gangs just around 6 guys. It was a lot of fun. By gun season we had hunted a lot with bow and that was a good way to fill a bunch of tags. We still do it a few times a year to fill tags. Up until 4 years ago we were slug gun only so we used shotguns. Now we can hunt with rifles so I use a 30-30 sometimes but still prefer my 20 ga 870. I've used it so much over the years it's second nature to hunt with it. I know what you mean by deer are smart and it's not as easy as it sounds. I don't know how many deer I shot when they tried to circle behind us. I always tried to stay 50 yards or so behind the rest of the drivers for that reason. Also saw quite a few deer run ahead and lay down until the drivers past. You could see that happen when you up on a hill over looking the drive. On one occasion I saw a doe run out and hide behind a round bale in the field and watched the drivers and when they past ran back into the wood. Old mature does are smarter than any buck thought of being!!! |
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Post by oldschool on Jan 31, 2017 10:06:50 GMT -5
Anyone ever hunt deer with dogs in the south? I've always wanted to try it. We used to do a lot of deer drives but in the last few years we haven't done it too much. Most guys are just sitting which I enjoy too since I'm a bow hunter first. I miss it during gun season. I know some guys are dead against it but it seems like a neat old traditional hunt. Hunted them as a kid in the Mississippi Delta with a large, family-oriented club. It was very organized. After a big breakfast in the bunkhouse (an old schoolhouse), we would have our morning meeting and determine where the drive would be and what stands hunters would be dropped off at. After the hunters were settled, the guys with dogs would put them out and try to find fresh scent. Once those big Walker hounds would get on a trail, hang onto your hats! Listening to those dogs in the distance, anticipation would keep you warm on a cold morning, wondering which direction those dogs and the deer were heading. Afternoon hunts were always still hunting, as the dog owners would be in neighboring counties, trying to locate their dogs. I still remember going out in the middle of the woods around midnight, whooping and hollering, still trying to round up the lost hound or two. I always enjoyed the camaraderie; playing pranks on the older adults, and in turn, having pranks played on the youngsters. However, I soon started still hunting and never looked back. The downside to dog hunting was the occasional lost dog or the ill will from surrounding landowners who didn't enjoy a pack of hounds chasing game from their property (or scaring their cattle). But I will always cherish the memories of growing up in a healthy family-oriented atmosphere, where men treated young teens as equals in the field and were always willing to give advice and encouragement, with regard to both hunting and life in general. |
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eskimo36
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Oklahoma
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Post by eskimo36 on Feb 14, 2017 20:30:21 GMT -5
Hounds run deer hard, beagles move them in big circles. Give me a good beagle every time.
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Post by grinanddull on Feb 22, 2017 14:21:51 GMT -5
went a few times when I moved to the Florida panhandle in the mid 80s, who and what dogs you go with really makes a difference in how the trip feels. one group were more of the drunken rednecks racing around in trucks (in some cases getting stuck) talking endlessly on the CBs with hound dogs running around. seemed like other groups with beagles were actually hunting for one thing they stopped and got out of the trucks. I had fun in both cases but not something I really wanted to get into. have a couple of buddies who are big into it and other than deer hunting with dogs those guys are as different as night and day so who knows whose going to like it and who will pass on the 2nd invite.
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