Dogs that run deer end up dead here. We don't shoot them but everyone else around here does

I grew up around it. I hate it. It would be helpful if there were a separate dog season. Dogs are a nuisance to those who have spent a lot of time & effort in preparing a stand & they don't respect property lines as already mentioned. I did not share any meat with dog runners. I am a hunting dog fan, just not for deer, at least during regular season.

I grew up around it. I hate it. It would be helpful if there were a separate dog season. Dogs are a nuisance to those who have spent a lot of time & effort in preparing a stand & they don't respect property lines as already mentioned. I did not share any meat with dog runners. I am a hunting dog fan, just not for deer, at least during regular season.

I live in the heart of deer hound country. I grew up hunting deer with dogs. Ran off my first wife and tore up 2 good trucks hunting deer with dogs from when I was about 17 years old to my mid 20s. Had a dozen Walker hounds at my peak that would move one rapidly out of these jungle-like swamps. Those hounds and I spent a lot of time in these pineywoods. I miss it sometime but I loved it too much. It was more about the hounds than the kill.

Hunting deer with hounds is an organized and very sociable way to hunt. It is a time honored and traditional way to hunt deer in this area. Nothing wrong with venison that has been ran...thats a myth. I sold my hounds and got into bowhunting in my mid-20s. Thought Id save money....wrong.

Most of the deer dog hunting leases here are large. 10 thousand to 20 thousand contiguous acres is common size. A few clubs are almost 30 thousand acres in size. Many have 40 to 70 members...all with 4x4 pickups. All their hounds have tracking collars and the trucks have the GPS receiver with mapping. This is to keep hounds off of unwanted properties and to make retrieval of the hounds more efficient.

The deer do sometimes line out and cover some ground during the race, but most cover less than a mile...crossing private roads and clearcuts during the pursuit....which is deadly for the deer many times. Meat is split up and shared...no matter who takes the deer. Many clubs won't shoot doe deer nor spike bucks.

As a GW for the past 26 year, Ive seen some rogue deer houndsmen, but Ive also see rogue still hunters too. I will sit by the fire and socialize at any deer dog hunting camp....and enjoy these houndsmen.