How do you hunt your deer with dogs or...

How do you hunt most of your deer?

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I enjoy stalking.
I've never enjoyed being around hunting dogs. Too much noise with all the barking and what not. Too much chest thumping with the "my dog is better than your dog." conversations. I also think that making the deer run that long makes the meat taste not as good.
So, I don't hunt with dogs.
 
"I also think that making the deer run that long makes the meat taste not as good."

I plead ignorance about that. However, folks shoot birds on the fly, and certainly speak highly of the taste.
 
I make a ground blind and wait. My dog waits with me. After I shoot, the dog waits for the command, then goes first and hold the deer for me if it isn't dead. If it is dead, the dog lays on the deer happy as a puppy with two peters thinking it just conquered the world.
 
I've pretty much always hunted with dogs. I've never seen a deer being pushed hard by the dogs, unless it was a "Jumped as soon as the tailgate dropped" deal, and even then the deer leave the dogs in the dust quickly. Mostly they just sort of lope along in front of the dogs. It seems the deer enjoy it as much as the dogs at times. I hunted for years before I killed my first deer, althought the very first time I ever went, I got a shot and missed. The second time was a long time coming.

Art, you're right about the meat. I killed a doe once that the dogs jumped and carried on out of hearing. One beagle stayed on her and went clear out of my hearing. A couple hours later, I saw a big doe trying sneak past me, and I killed her. A few minutes later I heard one lone dog running. I got ready, then realized the dog was running the same line the doe had run. He ran right up to where she had fallen. That was the worst tasting venison I ever ate. Even that deer wasn't running hard, and she was WAY ahead of the dog. I think she was taking a tour of the area, and the dog was just following her.

I watched a doe shake the dogs once. It was really cold, and had been for a while and the beaver swamp in front of me was frozen over. The toe tiptoed out onto the ice, and climbed up on top of a beaver hut and lay down. The dogs ran out onto the ice, slipping and sliding everywhere. They ran right past the beaver hut and never so much as barked. A few minutes later the doe climbed down, and slipped out the opposite direction.

It's not easy, but it sure is fun. I love to hear a good chase. Where I live now, they run deer dogs across the river. I love to stand on the deck and just listen. Music to my ears.

It really is a social thing. We'd meet at the club house, a couple of guys would be fixing breakfast, lies would be told, football games rehashed, (Washington always got robbed) trucks fixed, guns argued about, dogs praised and cussed, and so on. You did not want to miss a shot. You'd be rewarded with a cut shirt-tail and a lot of good natured ribbing. The "shirt-tail board" was prominently displayed, with name and date for each and what was missed on a tag, and saved for years. When you killed a deer there were a lot of hands ready and wiling to help gut it, and drag it out. There were always a couple of guys who did most of the skinning and butchering (I was a skinner) and everybody took home meat if anyone killed one. Not enough to go around, then blank tags went in the hat. Those who had enough meat would just say "Don't put me in." Everyone pitched in to help catch dogs and round them up at the end of the day, and sometimes late into the night.

Kinda long and rambling, but just as I remembered things.
 
I've tried to still hunt, but it just makes me have to go pee, and I get very impatient. Better for me to go find them rather than for them to happen by.
After I've gotten to know my favorite hunting area better, I've had good success just going straight to where the deer and elk are.
 
From Oklahoma Caveman-

"maybe im wrongbut isnt the definition of still hunting actually something about stalking? "

Still hunting is a technique in which you move slowly and deliberately through prime game territory, stopping often to watch and listen.

Some would say that if you take three steps and stop for 30 seconds, that you're hunting/moving too fast.

You stalk when you've seen game but can't get a good shot, moving in closer for a better angle past brush or other obsticle.

-Steve
 
No elrod i kid you not. Hunting roe deer a taxen is a very popular sport here in Sweden, They are not the dum lapdogs that old ladies have. They are also used for underground work on fox and badger. They will hunt hares and fox as well. Some will even hunt moose but that is not a wise thing as the moose have a habit of trampelling the dog.
The thing with roe deer is that they run in circles round the forest so if you know where they tend to run there's a good chance at getting a shot.
We do often shoot the roe with a shotgun but i use a combi weapon so that i can shoot them close up or at longer range with the rifle barrel.
we do have dogs for hunting every thing from moose to birds here.
Dog hunting is also a social thing. Vert impotant to build a fire,sit round grill sausages,drink coffe and tell lies:)
Next year i will buy one of those new digital cameras and post some pics
 
I remember when Grandmama got a dachsund (sp?) and I found out the Germans used 'em for hunting badgers... Grandpa's reaction was "can you imagine sending something like that in on a badger?" They had two of those dogs among others... they also had chihuauhuas inside and some sort of heinz57's outside...

Tell you what... if it comes down to using a dog just to get the deer moving, why not use a smaller dog? A dachsund or even a chihuahua either one's probably enough to get 'em moving but hopefully not big enough to run 'em real hard. OTOH, I've seen some little stupid yappy dogs come through and bust up a field full of does... they didn't hang around long enough to find out what kind of dog it was. So I probably just shot down my own hypothesis. I guess it could go either way.
 
Hunting styles derive from culture, terrain and vegetation. The use of dogs has been common for thousands of years. The main reason it has become less common--from a practical-standpoint--is the decrease in the numbers of large tracts of privately-owned land.

As far as sitting, stalking or just walking-hunting across open lands, that's a function of land-form and vegetation.

In thick-brush country with little geographical relief, you only succeed by being able to look down into the brush from above--which means a tree stand or artifical tower. (Or hunt along a bulld-dozed trail (sendero) which itself is artificial.)

Forested country? I like sneaky-snaking. It's fun.

In my wide-open country, most success is from walking from point to point, going to where Bambi's likely to lay up during the day. Kick him out of bed, and if he looks good, shoot him. I guess a fella could use a dog, but there'd be a helluva thorn-pulling session at the end of the day. Dogs don't wear high-top boots...
 
I have hunted deer with dogs in Sweden and it is a lot of fun..and very productive.
Since it is not legal in NY I will sometimes sit, slow stalk or work small drives with one or two other hunters.
 
None of the above. Still hunting is not productive in the thick cover down here, done it elsewhere. I've spot and stalked out west and it's my preferred way, but here, it's stand hunting and a feeder. Works for me, though I've not gotten a deer this season. Have gotten three hogs, though, and I got some venison in the freezer from my buddy's kid's spike.

Dogs aren't legal in Texas, not sure why, just aren't. It's not a style of hunting that was ever popular here except in east Texas in the piney woods. However, it's never been legal in my lifetime.

Texas has a LOT of deer, but the piney woods counties are all one buck counties, permit required for a doe. I doubt we'll ever see deer hunting with dogs here. I don't really care as I wouldn't get into it. If I get a dog, it'll be a lab for duck hunting. If I wanted dogs to chase game, I'd get 'em for hogs or perhaps a beagle pack for rabbits, but keeping dogs in town is a pain and not something I wanna do at this point.
 
Check the GA hunting regs. Deer dogs require a $5 license fee per dog. There are certain counties where it's legal... Rabun County comes to mind as one of the last places I previously understood.
 
Dog hunting is very popular around here for deer, fox, rabbit, birds and even squirrel. Not to forget waterfowl retrieval.
There are several groups trying to get laws passed here to ban ALL dog hunting. As has happened in several other states.
I didnt join the club this year, due to the fact the cost of dues is way to expensive for the time I get to hunt b/c of work. Even tho the boss told me I needed to take some time off this year. Im off until Jan2nd, and cant hunt with the club. I do get 3 guest days, but Ive got the cold thats been goin around, so I dont even feel like it. It rained all day today and I didnt even go out the house.

I prefer dog hunting. I like hearing a good chase, playing in the mud with the trucks, joking around with fellow hunters, if I get cold the trucks not faraway. lol.
Im too impatient to sit and wait. If I dont fall asleep while sitting on the stand, I get very edgie, and usually jump at any slight movement or sound in the woods, esp the closer it gets to dark. Thats when I typically head for the house.
I do enjoy just walking around the woods when its nothing goin on. I like to look for deer trails, buck rubs and scrapes. I did jump a nice buck one day at work while trying to find the hole in the fence where the cow escaped. Of course I wasnt armed. But that was pretty cool. Ive never jumped out a deer when I was actually hunting. Stomping around the woods like Clydesdale prolly doesnt help either. LOL
I did find a nice 8pt skull Monday while I was out walking around. It was only a few yards from the house, I guess a car hit it one nite a few months ago, or he was spotlighted. The dogs went the other way and I was bored just walking around. Decided to take a different route back to the house, I had seen a bone up a tree where a buzzard had left. That was pretty strange. 100yds later I found the backbone then I could see the rack. Too me that was better than killing one, no trouble dragging it out the woods. LOL

I didnt realize how much I enjoyed hunting with the club till I didnt join this year. But the money and time is better spent elsewhere.

Matt
 
While I don't use a treestand, I know plenty of guys who do. Some places around here, about the only way to get visibility is to get above the brush. I like to hunt the edges of fields... intermediate cover... and let the does draw the bucks out. It don't always work though depending on timing and wind direction. My Daddy likes to use a ladder stand. So does my BIL. My sister surprised me a few days ago... she's hunting this week, but I don't know if she's up a tree or on the ground overlooking a hillside like I would be where they are.
 
I primarily like to hunt with the deer jump method. Very similar to the old buffalo jump method. We get the whole tribe together herd them up then run them off a cliff.

I prefer at least a 300 foot cliff as I find 243 foot cliffs to be a little light in the energy department. Of course if I am "jump" hunting bigger game like mammoth or mastodon or giant cave sloth I prefer an even bigger cliff wanting at least a 375' drop preferably a 400' drop and I like the bottom to be a solid material. I find that soft pointed material has poor penetration especially on the mastodons.

No.. Seriously..
 
Using dogs to hunt is illegal in Illinois (you can use them to track wounded deer however.)

I'll spend some of my time in a stand or blind and some "going for a walk a woods". Not so much stalking or even still hunting, but kinda let's walk down this trail and see what we bump into. About half the deer I've taken have been shot or arrowed from tree stands/ground blinds and the other half from walking down a trail and having it cross, be standing on/near, or heading toward me. Yep, with both shotgun and bow.
 
I prefer at least a 300 foot cliff as I find 243 foot cliffs to be a little light in the energy department. Of course if I am "jump" hunting bigger game like mammoth or mastodon or giant cave sloth I prefer an even bigger cliff wanting at least a 375' drop preferably a 400' drop and I like the bottom to be a solid material. I find that soft pointed material has poor penetration especially on the mastodons.

No.. Seriously..
Click to expand...


Is this guy ok Seriously..

I dont get it if its a joke.
If it is can some one explane it to me please.

Ricky
 
rickyford2, The heights of the cliffs corelate to different rifle calibers... 243' for .243Winchester, 375' for .375H&H. He took it back to the old method of running buffalo over cliffs to kill them. The higher the cliff, the better just as in caliber arguements in other threads and added it to "my method's better'n your's".
 
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