I look at it this way that isn’t unbelievable they are just killing deer , there were 11 of us gun hunting this year and if we were just shooting deer we’d had tagged out on Friday evening the first day , I had four tags and would have been done by 730 Friday morning

At one time it would have been legal to take over 100 deer a season, per hunter, in Alabama just during the dog season. We were allowed either a buck and a doe, or 2 does per day. Figure that many clubs had 20 or many more members and you can see that the numbers add up quick. Dog hunting is a dying tradition sadly. Watching the dogs work, listening to the chase, guessing who was going to get a shot, etc was fun. We always had good dogs that hunted close. There was no chasing after dogs all day. Short legged beagles that the serious rabbit hunters didn't want, English Springer Spaniels, mutts, and even house dogs from the locals where we hunted joined in. A long chase was 10 minutes. ( All you wanted to do is get the deer up and moving, not run them to death.) Then the dogs would come back looking for someone, or they would be waiting at the truck. Everyone that participated in the drive got a share of the meat too. Shooter had choice of a hind quarter or a backstrap. All the rest was divided up evenly. Deer were skinned and cut up immediately. While the skinning was going on another drive was taking place. If you stayed behind skinning, you were also entitled a share of anything killed while you were working. Everyone worked together, allowances were made for the older members who were not able to hunt as hard as the younger ones. Stands closer to the truck, weren't expected to drag a deer, etc.

The only thing i see wrong with the picture is that a little more discretion could have been used and the deer covered up from view. 20 or 30 years ago nobody would have thought much about it here. It would have attracted attention though, except most likely it would have been all positive.

Now that brings back memories. I miss the fun of hunting. Back then no need for camo, scent free this and that, 1000 dollar rifles shooting MOA and matching scope. No getting up o dark thirty to crawl 30 feet up a tree to freeze your tail off.

No, it was the men of the community. Us boys would give anything to hang out with the grown ups. Lots of laughter and joking. I remember those breakfasts sitting around the big table. We've lost more than just dog hunting.

No one cuts shirt tails anymore.

Wasn't that way around my area. Dogs used to hunt land you didn't have permission to be on, cut fences, shooting up and down the roads, hounds left out to run all day, etc. Main reason I quit hunting. Wasn't worth the aggrevation.

Cut shirt tail if you missed. Blood on the face for your very first deer. First deer killed of the season rarely made it home with anyone. It was dinner that night, breakfast the next morning, and maybe had enough left for lunch. 4 cast iron skillets on the stove. 2 or 3 people cutting up deer steaks and coating with flour, same number dicing up taters and onions. 2 frying it up. Oven was full of pans of biscuits. Everyone took a turn at cooking or cleaning. Everyone brought food or chipped in money to buy it. Many weekends 20 lbs of potatoes, 8 lbs of flour, 5 lbs of bacon, and 5 or 6 dozen eggs was barely enough for everyone. We shared meat with the locals who needed it. Fed the ones who were good to watch over the camp house when nobody was there. It was a different time, a different place, a different world. One that i doubt will ever be seen again.

Sounds like a great time warrior

Never hunted deer with hounds but a few years ago had a guy come find a buck I shot with a dog. It was a beagle. Enjoyed the heck out of watching that dog work. Almost made me want to train one to do it myself.In KS it had to be on a leash. I would have no problem trying hunting witb dogs, especially the slower pace type of hunts some have described here. I could see the excitement of it. Doubt it would be my preferred method of hunting. But I sure wouldn't be happy with other's hounds regularly going through my deer hunting spots, especially if no effort was made to avoid it.

It was.

BandB, that's true. It happened a lot. But it didn't have to. It still happens, just minus the dogs. Some people don't have any respect for others. We did. In areas where our property bordered home sites, or other private property we made extra effort to avoid having dogs cross it. In most cases our stand lines were well off of the property lines in those areas. Leaving a buffer zone that they could hunt in too. We just asked them to be mindful of not shooting our dogs and also pointed out where our stand positions were. We celebrated them shooting one in their backyard just as much as if one of us had taken it. We respected them, and earned their respect.

There was a study done decades ago, I believe in the Carolinas which found the deer returned to the area they were jumped or started to be chased in, before the hounds did.
From my experience I don't find that hard to believe at all.

Not at all surprising. Seen it many times myself. Actually killed one doe crossing INTO the area just pushed by the dogs. Deer ain't dumb they pattern us easier than we pattern them.

I've never hunted deer with dogs but understand the reason people who did feel so strongly about it. When I was young every weekend of our one month deer season meant a drive... the only difference was the us yankees weren't smart enough to have dogs do the driving... we used people like dogs instead. I lived for the deer drives.

We usually hunted from stands for the first 3 hours or so, and then did drives. I never liked stand hunting, but would always eagerly await the drives. Now the family is scattered or dead and deer drives are a thing of the past. The only reason I hunt deer now is for meat, and I do it as quickly and efficiently as possible by using trail cameras and deer feeders. I'm not hunting, I'm grocery shopping these days.

The desire to hunt deer died for me when the drives died out.

Was not unusual at all for the deer to circle the dogs. That's one reason the drivers worked slowly. Like i said before, you weren't trying to run the deer to death. Just make them move around. The drivers shot about as many as the standers. Normally we would drive 2 or 3 sections of the property in the mornings, depending on the size of each area we wanted to cover. Then in the afternoon it was mostly stand hunting, often in the same area that was dog hunted that morning. By the afternoon everyone was tired of walking and the dogs needed to rest up too. We also did man drives too on the occasions when the dogs needed rest or if someone couldn't make it to hunt with their dogs.

When I was a kid you could get one buck tag and one bull elk tag a year. First was elk season then deer season. Each one 2 weeks long. Hunting was a family thing. We often would camp (not always). If we did a drive it was my grandad, my great aunt Katy and her husband my great uncle Bob that sat and waited. Butchering was done as a family too. If somebody had not filled their tag they still got meat. Grandad and uncle Bob overseeing it all. Was always somebody with a bear tag and lion tag or two also. Some years we split the meat from one of them. I didnt get into hunting with hounds (no deer) till I was 15 or so.

Those deer were smart on trying to slip the dogs. I remember watching a spike back track itself to throw the dogs off. It would have worked too because when the young faster beagles got to that spot where he back tracked, they lost his trail. Unfortunately for the deer the old experienced slow dog showed up and it didn't fool him. He picked up the trail and the young dogs took off again leaving the old slow dog behind once again.

Hound hunting is a lot of fun and creates a camaraderie with the guys you hunt with. Everybody needs to know where every body is at all times. We used slugs or buck shot. No rifles.

Houndsmen and trappers have a tenuous relationship in NC to be nice. Most everyone loves hunting over hounds. At some point or another most everyone needs a trapper. It's when the houndsman or the trappers get careless or don't communicate properly that the relationship breaks down. Catch a strike dog in a 220 and watch how bad the reaction will be. Set off or steal or destroy a trap and watch some sparks fly.

Hound hunting is needed in rural areas for additional population control. Trapping is needed about everywhere. I love doing both. But we all have to keep the big picture in front of us and ensure we promote responsible hunting and trapping so we can continue to increase our ranks.

Be responsible and communicate.

Exactly how I feel.

Watched plenty of deer being chased by farm dogs over the years and have watched plenty deer stand and wait for the dogs to catch up as if playing a game lol

This pretty much sums up dog hunting for deer around here. Our county outlawed deer hound hunting but friends in neighboring counties have had a lot of trouble the last 5 years or so. Seems most of the good folks have aged out and it’s done by a lot of outlaws who trespass and poach your land.