The question arose as I was sitting around a table at my church’s wild game dinner, “What was my favorite way to hunt?”
Bowhunting was a popular answer around the table. Being from south Alabama by way of north Florida, gun hunting was the most favored answer. There were also a few black powder fellas, and then it came to me.
I listened intently as answers flew from around the table mixed in between bites of fried venison cube steak, elk blackstrap and blackened crappie. Dog Hunting is what came out between those bites for me. Boy you should have seen the looks on their faces. A cross between bewilderment and anger.
That table, though small in sample size, would be about the norm for most people who enjoy hunting whitetail deer. You either don’t like it, are confused at how it works, or love it. Admittedly, the people who love it are a small group but a fanatical one nonetheless.
For those who don’t know what dog hunting is, the method consists of dogs being turned loose into a block of woods or a track, and the dogs run the deer past hunters [standers], and hopefully a hunter shoots and kills the deer.
It’s important to understand the vernacular in the rest of this article to get a better grasp on what dog hunting is all about. So here are some terms used by dog hunters and their meaning.
Stander: A hunter stands at a specified spot waiting for the deer to cross
Driver: Person who turns the dogs out and walks them into the woods
Block: A continuous chunk of woods surrounded by roads
Box: Dog box that the dogs sit in the back of trucks
Cast: When a hunter turns the dogs loose into a block of woods
Jump: Dogs see the deer or the scent starts to get real fresh and the dogs bark consistently
Race: From the time the dogs jump until the deer is killed or dogs are caught
Growing up in the panhandle of Florida, this type of hunting was how I was introduced to deer hunting. My dad took me as a young kid. My uncles dog hunted, and my grandfathers dog hunted. It really was a family tradition.
Opening day always coincided with Thanksgiving, so it made it extra special. This is a theme you will see across the south when it comes to dog hunters – tradition.
I knew of a few guys who picked it up on their own, but not many. Some of my buddies that were treestand guys would come with me and get hooked as well.
Hunting with dogs is legal in 9 states, all southern. They include: Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia.
There is a nostalgia to dog hunting that you don’t get in any other type of hunting. Dogs become legends and certain races become legendary.
Growing up, we had a particular buck that always seem to elude us and the dogs. But one day we found him, by his track, going into a block. We cut the dog loose. Three hours later, and 3 different packs of dogs, the “Wild West Buck” was on the top of someone’s dog box. That race still gets talked about almost 15 years later.
Talk to any dog hunter that has a pack of beagles or walkers, the most common breeds for dog hunting, and they will speak highly of one of their current dogs and reminisce about dogs of the past. Many southern dog hunting clubs have been running hounds over the same ridges and hollers for 25+ years.
When I was younger, there were men in there 50s & 60s that I hunted with that had been in the club for decades. Camps and skinning poles could tell stories and lies about all the big bucks killed and about kids getting their first deer.
Certain deer crossing signs like, “7 Point Crossing,” “Big Turnaround” and “The Branch” are as alive to me today as they were when I was 10 years old standing on the dog box beside my daddy.
Still, dog hunters get a bad rap. When I was at that wild game dinner talking about hunting with dogs, it was met with anger and comments like, “You shouldn’t be able to hunt that way…It ain’t real hunting…Dogs messed up my hunt.”
I get it. There are hunters out there that are anti-dog hunting, many who have never tried it, or the neighbor’s dogs came on their private/leased land and messed up their hunt, so they are against it.
Some hunters associate dogs as being bad to hunt with. However, most clubs that I have hunted and know of have rules and guidelines they impose to limit the bad reputation dog hunters have.
For example, many dog hunting clubs only hunt on the weekends or holidays, leaving Monday-Friday to treestand or still hunt. And many states require permits for dog running on state land.
These deer dog clubs are typically very large tracts of timber company land that offer hunters plenty of room to roam, and GPS collars on the dogs allow hunters to monitor the whereabouts of their dogs at any time, as well as the option to correct the dog’s direction of travel.
There have been ongoing attempts in the state of Mississippi to tighten up on the regulations for deer hunting with dogs. A recent statement from the MDWFP said there’s little it can do to prevent hunters from running their dogs on other people’s land. It’s only if they see it happening, the agency said, when they can issue a citation.
Part of the issue, the agency added, is the change in land use over recent years.
“Quite simply, there are fewer and fewer large undeveloped tracts of agricultural or forest lands,” MDWFP said. “Dogs don’t care if they’re too close to someone’s house when they’re chasing a deer – they only care about staying on the scent. Homeowners get antsy when they hear gunshots or see deer being chased by a pack of hounds, unless they grew up doing that very thing. Wide open spaces and the ability to roam at will are casualties of the evolution of society.”
David Smith, president of the Mississippi Hunting Dog Association, told the Mississippi Today news source that a lot of people mischaracterize dog-deer hunting. “For the most part hunters are able to keep their dogs away from others’ private land,” he explained.
“Modern dog collars have GPS tracking, and if the dog strays too far, the hunter can send a shock or vibration to try to stop the dog. You’ll have a dog from time to time get out of pocket, but not very often.”
Advantages of Dog Hunting
Despite all the negativity that typically follows deer dog hunting, there are some great advantages when it comes to deer hunting with a dog.
1. It’s a great way to introduce kids to hunting.
Why?
Kids can cut up, eat and talk without being told to be quiet. Remember your first hunt in a treestand or blind? ”Hush!” “Don’t move!” “You’re being too loud!” or “You can’t pee right now!”
Dog hunting is an active sport that kids of all ages will love. From putting dogs out to catching dogs at the end of a run, there’s plenty of action to keep a child’s attention throughout the hunt.
2. You learn how deer move through the woods.
I learned more about deer movement when dog hunting than when hunting from a treestand. You have to play the wind, you learn why deer cross where they do, how they use terrain and how you can cut them off. You quickly learn how to decipher tracks and the difference between a doe and buck
3. It’s a ton of fun.
Because of the team effort nature of this style of hunting, dog hunting tends to be much more fun. The commraderie found throughout the hunt is second to none.
Check out the video below with avid dog hunter, Jeffery Fountain, to see all the fun deer dog hunting can provide.
Disadvantages of Deer Hunting with Dogs
As you might expect, there are disadvantages for the deer dog hunter as well.
1. It takes a lot of land.
Deer dog clubs typically consist of thousand of acres. Dogs need room to run. Public lands offer the large tracts necessary for deer dog hunting, but also come with tighter restrictions. With land being bought up, land prices on the rise and land development continuing to skyrocket, opportunities for deer dog hunting are shrinking all the time.
2. It can get pricey.
Getting started is the most expensive part. Between dog boxes, CB radios, Garmin GPS and tracking collars, dogs, dog food, dog pens, dog maintenance, and fuel for travel, the cost of deer hunting with dogs can add up quick.
3. There are not a lot of clubs around anymore.
Because of the reasons list above, deer dog hunting clubs are becoming fewer and farther between. And considerable travel is often necessary to get to the deep south portions of the state to access opportunities to play the game.
Simply put, if a dog hunting club isn’t near you, it’s hard to justify all the time and money to get on one. In fact, the last time I personally dog hunted was 4 years ago, and that club has since closed down.
Is deer dog hunting a dying art form? It certainly seems so at times. However, many groups are fighting to keep the tradition alive, working diligently with legislators and game and fish commissions. Virginia and the Carolinas seem to be leading the way in that regard to uphold this southern tradition that goes back hundreds of years.
On the flip side, deer dog hunting has hit the mainstream deer hunter like never before thanks to social media and videos circulating on YouTube. Popular channels like Bubba Roundtree Outdoors and Team Scrub Oak provide a closer look at all the excitement of deer dog hunting. If you want to see what a deer race with dogs looks like, be sure to check out those channels and others listed with them.
In our current culture and climate where our hunting and fishing traditions and rights are coming under fire, now is a good time to support all the different styles and methods of pursuing whitetail deer, regardless of whether that’s sitting in a stand, or chasing deer with dogs in the deep south.
