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moonie_57

Hunting season

moonie_57 (8 NC)
17 years ago

The guys that hunt deer around here with dogs really bug me. They load their dogs up, put a radio collar on them, send them out to "hunt" while the hunters sit in their trucks beside the road with guns, CB's and a 6 pack. Sometimes the dogs are missing for days, run down the middle of the road (they definitely are not street-smart) and are skinny as all heck. The other 9 months of the year these poor dogs sit in pens. When the guys aren't out hunting, the poor dogs sit in those darn cages in the back of the trucks. Sure.. there are some big time dog people that spend alot of time training and working their dogs, but thats not the case in the vast majority. Grrr.. I hate to see deer season open.

Comments (51)

  • savannarose
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    P.S.
    You hunt deer with rifles, not shot guns.

  • sandlady
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This post has thrown me for a loop. In my state it is illegal to hunt deer with dogs. In fact, if a dog is seen chasing a deer, (they call it "running deer") then a hunter can legally shoot the dog! Now that's something I don't agree with, but that is Wisconsin law.

    Wish to clarify: Deer can be hunted with rifle or shotgun. In WI some counties (the more densely populated ones) you may only use shotgun because the slug does not travel nearly as far.

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  • rthummer
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've never heard of hunting deer with dogs. Are you sure they are not hunting raccoon with the dogs? Known in the south as coon hunting. We have had lost dogs wander up in our yard, skinny, full of ticks. Some have been lost, it looks like for a couple weeks. No one ever claims them, so we have to load them up and take them to the Humane Society. I just can't afford to take them. Some are really nice dogs, too.

  • labmomma
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hate deer season where we live. When my DD was a toddler there happened to be many stories that year about innocent people being shot accidentally by hunters. I live on a wooded 3 acre property that is surrounded by more woods and a creek. My property line runs right up to the creek. That particular year on the day deer season opened I spotted three hunters walking down the side of the creek (my property).Yelled to them that they were on private property, etc. They laughed at me. So I called the police and they were fined a. being on private property and b. not having the proper license? to hunt. I haven't had any problems with hunters since then. We were new to the area and have since posted private property signs. That first year, however, was very scary since I had a toddler and two large dogs. I grew up with my dad and brother bow hunting deer. As much as I am opposed to it, they hunted with licenses and in places that were legal to do so. Did you call the police. I don't like guns and I think guns and alcohol are a recipe for disaster.

  • moonie_57 (8 NC)
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Roughly half the counties in NC allow hunting with dogs. In counties that don't allow dogs, many hunters simply hunt in counties that do, so that would sound as if the hunter population would be larger than average in those particular counties.

    As far as alcohol, perhaps I wasn't being fair. I'm sure not ALL drink while sitting in their trucks with loaded guns less than 100 feet off the road. (Law says no loaded guns within 100 ft of roadways but I know for a fact that sometimes people don't pay attention to the laws.) In lots of rural areas, people don't let their children play outside during hunting season... a bullet from a high-powered rifle can travel over a mile!

    Still, I'm not against hunting, but I never would hunt and I'm glad that my husband and sons aren't into it. It's those dogs that bother me, and the 9 months out of the year where they "have no use". There just doesn't seem like much sport in sitting and waiting for your dog to run a deer to you.

  • Ina Plassa_travis
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    1) I don't know any state where it's legal to let dogs run deer except within the confines of private land.

    2) guys sitting in their truck with a 6-pack would have had their tails busted HARD in my neck of the woods- one of the few things the city folks are good for is they've made 'dumb hunter' enforcement an election-year issue for long enough that stuff like that is frowned on.

    3) I just don't like people who are such inept hunters that they need a pickup truck, dogs, a GPS system, and gods know what else to even FIND a deer, and will hassle them any way I can... honestly? I miss the days when rock salt and a shotgun was an honourable means of protecting your property.

  • moonie_57 (8 NC)
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, most land IS private, and all you need is the landowners permission. Hunting is a big deal here where I live. By the time hunting season opens, cotton, soy bean and peanuts have already been harvested. These fields and the surrounding woods become hunter territory.

  • dobesrule
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    rthummer they definately hunt deer with hounds. Two of my uncles used to have Red Bone Hounds they hunted deer with. I have no idea if there is a particular season they have like bow season, to use the dogs or if they can be used anytime deer season is open.

    Lisa

  • rthummer
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lisa, I ask my husband if they hunted deer with dogs here and I was informed that they do. I was uninformed. He is not a hunter and I am not familiar with hunting with dogs for deer. We are bumped up against national forrest land (65,000) on three sides, when deer hunting season comes I just dread it. I hear guns going off alot. I just don't go outside for fear of stray bullet. That may sound crazy to some people. The only thing that protects us from hunters is a large creek dividing our land and national forrest land.

  • karyn1
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sorry, I have no idea what the difference is between a shotgun and a rifle. We have a small farm about 5 miles from our house. We are in MD, just outside of Washington, DC. The deer population has exploded in our area and it has become a big problem. Not only because of the deer eating crops and ornamentals but they are causing so many auto accidents, especially this time of year. The bucks are hormonal maniacs. Last fall my dog was barking at something in the sunflower field and it was strange because she never barks so I went to see what was going on. A buck had obviously been hit by a car and both hind legs were broken. The poor animal was still trying to run into the wooded area. I couldn't get a hold of animal control so I called a friend that I know was a hunter. He came over, shot the buck and slaughtered it. I hated seeing someone shoot an animal but it was better than watching it suffer. I could never kill an animal and would rather buy my meat at a grocery store but I don't have a problem with people who are responsible hunters.
    Karyn

  • savannarose
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hadn't heard of hunting deer with shotguns before, thanks! Guess we lived far enough out in the country that it wasn't necessary. Sounds like it would make dressing out the deer more of a challenge, tho'!
    The bucks do become kind of crazy during rutting season. My children got between one and his does up in our pasture years ago and he chased them all the way down the hill.
    During the first week of deer season we used to lock all the cows up in the field next to the house and not let them into the upper pastures just to be safe.
    Most hunters are great. It's the very few that give hunting a bad reputation.

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It has just been in the past few years that guns other than shotguns were allowed here in Indiana. Now, big hand guns are allowed, though not sure what caliber they must be.

    There are also seasons that allow bows, and another that allows muzzleloaders, though all of the different seasons may overlap some.

    I never heard dogs addressed as being allowed or not. Seems to me that the dogs would just run them off, and continue the chase., maybe occasionally catching one, but who would ever want that to happen. Kind of defeats 'hunting' IMHO.

    Sue

  • micke
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Umm... isn't hunting from a vehicle considered poaching? it is in our state anyway, we have GREAT hunting laws, my husband hunts, but what he loves is the chance to get up before dawn and get out in the woods and sit in his deerstand in peace except for nature, what he HATES is the hunters that get to the woods after dawn and drive their loud 4 wheel drives all over the place til they find the perfect spot, lazy hunters we call them, and really ticks him off when he has had to lug his deerstand about a mile or so to find the perfect tree, and those dipsticks pretty much ruin it.
    (our state don't allow deer hunting with dogs either, thank the Good Lord)
    there are also the overzealous hunters that run around shooting anything with a white tail, we have found button bucks before that hunters shoot and just leave them laying there, I am so glad my DH is not that way, he only shoots what we can use, he lets many does go just 'cause he knows we can only use 1 deer, so he waits for a nice sized buck, sometimes coming home with nothing because he passes alot of them up.

  • savannarose
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Shooting deer from a vehicle is illegal in every state I know of......at least shooting deer from a vehicle on a public highway is. Spotlighting falls under the illegal category, too.
    They used to have a "Robo-deer" (mechanized deer) where we lived. The game wardens would set it up right by the road in someone's field and wait for the hunters to come by and see who took a shot at it. One party got so excited they shot out their truck's transmission when they saw the fake buck and were sitting there stalled on the dirt road when the warden came by.

  • dobesrule
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Makes sense to rthummer. We are in a rural area and you hear people shooting a lot. I always worry about the ponies when I hear that going on.

    Lisa

  • buyorsell888
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If I lived in a rural area and had livestock, I would definately be worried during hunting season. Too many city slickers use "hunting" as an excuse to show off 4 WD rigs, drink and shoot. They give legit hunters a bad name.

    My DH and I like to drive on public lands for the scenery/photography and recently we got a permit to collect rocks. Almost every sign we passed was full of bullet holes. There were spent shells (?) all over the ground. Thousands of them. I think the kind of people with guns that do all this vandalism are the ones to be worried about and they seem to be everywhere.

    I personally don't hunt but don't have a problem with those who do when they are law abiding.

  • jazmynsmom
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Moonie, your perception of reality, as described in your initial post, is virtually unrecognizable to me. I'm not saying it couldn't be possible, but I can't fathom a world in which such behavior would be common (or remotely acceptable, or widely tolerated).

    As someone with a hunting dog, who's been around hunters all her life, and who will be hunting (upland birds) herself this season, let me comment on a few of the things said.

    I live in a state (WI) where using a dog to hunt deer is illegal, even if it were legal, I'd not engage in it personally for a few reasons (in addition to the humane ones):
    - I wouldn't want to eat an animal whose meat was awash in stress hormones from being chased by a dog.
    - I wouldn't want to shoot a rifle while on a foot pursuit, nor be near people who did, neither would I shoot towards my dog, if she were driving the deer to me.

    Up in these parts, where woods are abundant, we hunt deer from tree stands. We do this for a few reasons, not the least of which is that if you shoot from a height towards the ground, any missed shot will go into the ground --- not into any number of people/places/things within a one mile radius.

    I believe it is both legal and ethical to use a dog to track a wounded deer. But I think you have to unload, put away and lock up your gun before you get the dog. I certainly wouldn't have a problem with someone using a dog's nose to prevent a wasted kill if he couldn't track the wounded animal...

    Sandlady:
    Hunters in Wisconsin can not legally shoot dogs who are chasing deer. Only game wardens can. (refer to page 13 of this PDF from the WI DNR). If you know someone who believes otherwise, please gently set them straight.

    RE: Guns & booze & hunters in their trucks on the road.
    If anyone ever sees this combination, please, please, please call 911. Call the game warden. No need to confront the idiots, just report it. Get a plate number if you can do so safely. Open container is illegal in most states. Guns and booze just don't mix and need to be reported. It's almost always illegal to hunt from the road. When in doubt, report it. Here in WI, our anonymity can be guaranteed when we tip off the warden. Game wardens have a lot of leverage. In many cases, if other laws are being broken (esp. federal laws) guns and trucks can be seized.

    RE: Radio collars on a dog.
    I wouldn't consider sending my dog into the field without one. But I was trained by a professional before I ever put one on my dog.

    The first time my dog went on an insistent "point" on a porcupine, that thing paid for itself a million times over in averting needless suffering in both my dog and the porcupine. The collar helps us keep our dog off road and control her, even from far distances, in a sport involving firearms and a very driven animal fulfilling her biological passion. We mostly use a whistle to control her in the field, but it's good to have backup when we need it.

    It's not a remote control. It doesn't train your dog. It reminds your dog to obey they training you spent months establishing in her through positive affirmation and repetition before you ever let her set paw in the field. A hunting dog can become so single-minded in pursuit of game that they require a remote interruption.

    RE: The mistreatment of hunting dogs.
    Unforgivable. I've called the Humane Society and animal control for several instances of dog mistreatment... although never one involving a hunting dog.

    Moonie, your comment: "Sure.. there are some big time dog people that spend alot of time training and working their dogs, but thats not the case in the vast majority." threw me for a total loop. Do you really believe vast majority of hunters in general don't give their dogs proper training, stimulation, affection and care, or was that a local or deer-dog generalization? I realize that my anecdotal evidence is no more valid in a logically-constructed argument than yours would be, but my experience is so overwhelmingly the polar opposite of that assertion.

    I don't know any hunters who can hone the instincts of a well-bred dog without spending a lot of time with the animal, and the bond that develops in the process is amazing.

    Please realize that irresponsible, immoral, and illegal behavior in the pursuit of hunting is just as offensive (if not more so) to law-abiding hunters than it is to opponents of hunting.

  • micke
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    jazmynsmom= well said!!! you said what I would of liked to of said, I have been around coon hunters and bird hunters all my life, and those men and dogs have a bond that no one could break, and they treat their dogs like kings.

  • ballsare4fetching
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Jazmynsmom - THANK YOU! I'm an avid hunter (and eater of what I kill) and agree with your entire post!

  • moonie_57 (8 NC)
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello to jazmynsmom. I knew eventually a responsible hunter would step forward. You said you can't fathom that the aforementioned behavior would be common.
    Do you not believe it would be common for people to allow their animals to run at large? Or that people would allow their pets to poop in others yards.. that dogs aren't tied up in backyards for their entire lives.. that people drink and drive.. have loaded guns in their vehicles? Just because you would never kick a dog doesn't mean many others wouldn't.

    I've already made a partial apology for the alcohol comment, because I have never personally SEEN any of the guys drinking. However, I work in a restaurant that is also a convenient store on one side. I've sold many a 6-pack and bags of ice to the guys. I know these guys personally.. I've recorded their kills. Am I to believe they're hanging onto that beer until later in the night when they get home? I know better. Still, I claimed to have been unfair in that regard.

    Yes, this is redneck territory here. I'm married to a redneck but thankful he doesn't hunt. He has been hunting before, years ago, and taken one of our boys, but he just wasn't into it. I don't have anything against those that do love hunting, though. It's just not my thing. My husbands ex-boss (who happens to be one of those that do a great deal of training, etc. sent my husband several hundred miles from here with $6,000 for a puppy. A PUPPY! He has this weird little hand-held device that sets off a very loud series of two beeps and his dogs recall immediately. He also hunts bird, but I'm not sure about deer. Anyway, he's now happily divorced. Yes, he loved his wife and children.. just loved his dogs more. :)

    Now, a state trooper that I know had a hunting dog he was trying to get rid of. For what reason, I have no idea. Well, soon after, there appeared a hunting dog roaming. He took up at a home with several dogs. Dogs that were allowed to run loose. So the part-time animal control officer whom I also know, picked the dog up. Everyone knows where this dog came from, but the state trooper claims it wasn't his.. he had gotten rid of his weeks before, so he said. The last I heard about it was that they were sure the dog belonged to the state trooper but I don't know what ever happened with the situation. (And by the way.. nothing was said about those dogs at the house being loose, but this is outside town limits so maybe there is no leash law. Still, its on a very busy road, and on a curve to boot!)

    You asked if I really believe that the vast majority of hunters don't give the proper care/training/etc. From my personal experience.. from the hunters I know.. in my area here, yes, I do believe that. However, generalizing.. perhaps is wrong. I'm not above apologizing to those that deserve the respect they have earned. So, only for you, whom I do believe to be a responsible hunter and dog owner since I take your post to heart, I will say I don't include you in The Evil Hunter group. And, I understand your need to protect the sport you love, but you should also respect my feelings of what I witness year after year.

    I love watching those field trials and tracking shows on tv. Retrievers, particularly goldens are my favorite breeds of dogs. I own a golden that used to love the fields but now prefers laying at my feet. He was never trained for anything other than to be a family dog, but I gotta say.. he's the best darned dog ever. Before arthritis, his hobbies were soccer, swimming and nursing kittens. (Yes, I said he was a he. A dog, not a cat. :)

  • russh_nepa
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Many hunting traditions have been changed due to the poor perception of the majority "non-hunting" urban population. It sounds like NC may soon be in for some changes in the hunting laws if half of what moonie 57 says is true.

    Here in PA deer season is more of a religious event than a hobby. Schools around here close for opening day (I think it was originally due to poor attendance by both teachers and students, but now it is part of the tradition). However, the laws a very strict in controlling the hunter's actions. Now, it would be foolish to think that some people would not bend or break the laws (I've personally known some who would), but it is more foolish in most states to permit such actions. We all worry about our "right" to hunt being taken away.

    I lived in Mass. for 8 years. I know of one hunter, president of a hunting club, who videotaped and turned in a guy hunting turkey illegally. He felt that as hunters we need to be responsible for the actions of other hunters, since that is how the general population would see it. I think he was 100% right.

    These so-called hunters you saw had better change their ways, or the urbanites will change it for them.

  • more_to_grow
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "you hunt deer with rifles not shotguns" WRONG in many densely populated areas, such as the Northeast, most of the hunting is shotgun only (using slugs) at least on public land such as state forests and state parks; rifles are only legal on private land of a certain size or larger.

  • savannarose
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Already got that re. shotguns v/s rifles. Haven't lived up North or hunted in densely populated areas. Appreciate the info.
    Our schools closed for the opening day of deer hunting, too. I think it's a nice tradition.

  • pablo_nh
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    As an avid hunter with muzzleloader and bow, it irks me when I see people refer to slobs and poachers (if you are being accurate in description, that is) as hunters. I could also refer to "bank robbers" as "bank patrons", "shoplifters" as "customers", or "car theives" as "valet parkers", but the terms would be equally accurate.

    As soon as they're breaking laws- it's poaching. Drinking in the vehicle, loaded guns, etc. etc.- call them what they are, and don't exaggerate. What they are doing is heinous enough.

  • nova_gw
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    moonie 57 - I stand with you in your discription of "Dog Hunters". Maybe it is a "southern thing" but during hunting season what you discribed in your opening post is a common sight here in Florida. And these dogs here are the same skinny, tick infested, heartworm positive creatures you have there. I once asked a "Dog Hunter" if he used any heartworm protection for his dogs and he told me - "The hogs will kill them dogs long before the worms will!" While dogs are used here mostly to hunt hogs, many areas are open to deer hunting with dogs. Including the Ocala National Forest!

    jazmynsmom - I am glad to hear from a responsible hunter with a dog. As a Vet tech, I have tried to help the locals with improving the care of their dogs but have run up against a brickwall and have even been threatened when I suggested a badly hurt dog should have medical care! Your comment - "I wouldn't want to eat an animal whose meat was awash in stress hormones from being chased by a dog." I agree with 100%.

    micke - I feel you husbands pain! What you describe as "lazy hunters" is all too common and I have had it happen to me!!

    I am a stand hunter and hunt mostly bow and muzzle loader seasons as I do not want to be in the forest with the "if it's brown it's down!" crowd. I do not use a dog or a 4-wheeler to hunt deer and have dragged stands many miles over the years. Our bow season opened 3 weeks ago and in that time I have passed up 5 legal deer for different reasons ranging from bad sight lines, to too late in the evening. I may take a deer this year, or I may not, either way, I will have a good year due to the quiet of the forest and the joy of seeing the various birds and animals in their natural habitats doing what God intended them to do. nova

  • rhodie_chick
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    come to NJ. we not only protect our deer with multimillion dollar crossovers from the preserve across the interstate but we have expert bow hunters who are begging to cull the herds (which are growing vastly with no good natural predator) just for the meat. now to me bow hunting is the most natral and most artistic form of hunting. also, just a word, our deer have become so smart that they even evade infrared light set-ups and all sorts of electronic gizmos to eat our crops!! I say we need wolves to cull the herds but that could really backfire! LOL!!! Just imagine what we would need to keep a wolf pack in check if the deer are getting too sharp!!

  • joepyeweed
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like pablo's post comparing poachers to bank robbers and shoplifters.

    Do not let some bank robbers ruin the valuable and necessary predator role that responsible hunters provide.

    We have all but eliminated the natural predators for deer and many other critters on this continent. Hunting fills the void and provides the population control that wolves and mountain lions once provided.

    In our area of the country, the deer population is out control and deer are dessimating the vegetation of natural areas. With predatiors, deer were browsers, constantly on the move, eating a bit and then moving on. Without fear of predation, the deer herds tend to move slowly, standing in one place, eating everything in site and are no longer browsers. This over eating effects other species of plants, insects and birds and disrupts the web of life.

    There are environmentalists lobbying to extend the hunting seasons and increase the frequency of hunting seasons - in an attempt to mimic the year long predation of the animals at the top of food chain.

  • kframe19
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "You hunt deer with rifles, not shot guns."

    You most certainly CAN hunt deer with a shotgun.

    It requires special ammunition that's not typically thought of as "shot."

    Ever hear of the term buckshot?

    It refers to a type of ammo that you'll see loaded for shotguns.

    I wonder why it's called buckshot... :-)

  • savannarose
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Again, thank you, got that about shotguns being used up-North, in developed areas, etc.

  • nycefarm_gw
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "I am so glad my DH is not that way, he only shoots what we can use, he lets many does go just 'cause he knows we can only use 1 deer"

    If he were interested in helping maintain the natural balance he would consider the doe a more practical prize than a trophy buck. If you want to thin the herd, start with the girls...

    Also use shotguns in Maryland, with a deer slug.

  • africanvioletlvr
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    1) Shooting from a truck is VERY illegal. So, if you see this going on...contact the DNR. They could get their license revoked and their truck taken away from them. ALSO, shooting from a place from a roadside is also illegal if I remember right. They could receive some very hefty fines.

    2)I don't like how some people treat these dogs, but I have to remind myself sometimes that these dogs do enjoy what they do. I've talked to 2 different people who use dogs in hunting. One said...don't feed the dog or he won't have interest in the deer. The second said, feed the dog! It won't have energy to run. I guess it is a take your pick situation.

    3) Deer hunting is not really as sportman if you run around with a bunch of dogs. Most people here where I am in South Carolina actually sit all day in a tree stand. Deer population is much much higher than when settlers first arrived here. they are thriving without predators. so, get those hunters out there to eliminate some. Too much of anything is bad. Just as too little as bad as well. We need that number inbetween.

    I am taking courses in Natural Resources Management. This is the type of thing I am learning all about. My dad is a hunter and hunts nearly every weekend. you'd be surprised too because only 2 or 3 deer are taken out each weekend even though dozens of people go sit in stands. my brother has also become a bit of a hunter himself. All of my classes I am taking are full of "redneck guys" who love to hunt. It's like their biggest hobby. I think 90 percent of them wouldn't ever hunt illegally. Most have the right sense not too and a lot of them like to get their game fair and square. Good hunters are also some of the biggest conservationalists.

  • dotmom
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    As a waitress in No. Mn, I've served many hunters breakfast as early as 5 am, and they were already drunk, and to think they were going into the woods with loaded guns. Glad my men don't hunt. We had a neighbor (we lived in the county) who would put out corn and salt in his front yard all summer, then when deer hunting time came around, he would sit in his garage doorway in a lawn chair and "hunt" now THATS a sorry a$$ lazy person.

  • bean_counter_z4
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't understant this post. How could you hunt deer with dogs. "Go fetch 'em, Rover." That won't work. Deer don't tree well. "Round 'em up, Aggie." Believe me, it can't be done or my border collie would have done it. These rednecks are either hunting something else or they're just letteng the hounds run for exercise.

  • savannarose
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is a joke, right?

  • moonie_57 (8 NC)
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    bean counter... it can be done, and it IS done, as you could see from reading the posts.

    I'm not an anti-hunter, just a non-hunter. My main issue is the dogs that are the most important "friend" to some of these guys.. for all of 3 months out of the year, then forgotten the other 9 months. Also, it just doesn't seem fair to sit in one spot (whether its inside a pickup or otherwise) and wait for the dogs to fun deer out to be shot. Where's the sportsmenship in that?

    I understand the need to keep down the population, and I also can understand the sport of hunting, and others love for it. Its the way of hunting deer with dog in my area that I don't agree with.

    One other thing I take issue with, and am offended by is the way some people will display their kill. I mean, clean up the blood and tuck in that dangling tongue. If it bothers me I can well imagine a child can be traumitized by it.

    One thing I've learned by this thread is different people have different ideas of what's ethical.... and then of course, there are those with little ethics.

  • labmomma
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    savannarose - what joke? I missed it.

  • anya_101
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    moonie_57,
    I am betting that what you percieved to be deer hunting with the dog's and truck's, were ACTUALLY coyote hunters running thier dogs. This is common here in Illinois, as there are a lot of coyotes. They use the trucks to keep up with the dogs. That's what the collars are for, to help keep track of were the dog's are. I am sure they are actually hunting for vermin, not deer.

  • nova_gw
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    anya 101 - Again, it may be a "southern thing" but Google deer-dog hunting Florida and you will find hunting deer with dogs is a hugh "tradition", here in Florida anyway. The dogs run the deer and the trucks are used to get in front of the dogs and running deer so that when the deer clears cover the "hunter" can blaze away at it! It's legal here, have seen it myself, and I hate it! nova

  • africanvioletlvr
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've heard of Coyote hunting and THAT to me is an unethical way of hunting. I came across a site with pictures and literally the whole idea is to set loose the dogs (which are some seriously tough dogs too) and the pack will catch up and surround a coyote and then proceed to kill it by mauling it and stuff. If the hunter caught up, he'd shoot the coyote, but for the most part he couldn't or he'd shoot his own dog. Where my dad hunts people who are looking for deer are told to shoot coyote's they see. They aren't even supposed to be here in SC, but they are. Once shot by ethical hunting, the coyote usually is given over for learning. A lot of times they get stuff and they use them for educating other people. We have a number of stuff creatures in my Natural Resources building including turkey, coyote, red fox, pheasants, ducks galore, etc.

  • bean_counter_z4
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Deer hunting with dogs could not be done in Illinois. If it is possible in other states, please tell me how it works. It sounds exciting! I've never seen dogs that could keep up with deer. They are unbelievably fast! Dogs don't have the stamina, the speed, or the ability to jump obsticals. (Possibly greyhound or deerhounds but the hunters could never catch up). In Illinois no farmer would allow hunters to drive a vehicle on their land because all land is fenced (cropped or pasture). What happens if the deer run thru a pasture of sheep/cattle? And they would cross roads every mile or so. Aren't all states like that. Do farmers allow trucks to go thru their crop land? Here they only hunt bird and animals that go to tree with dogs.

  • anya_101
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    bean_counter_z4,

    and Coyote.

  • nova_gw
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    beancounter-The dogs they use here are mostly hound crosses or hound/pit crosses. They don't have to be fast enough to catch deer, just push them until they hit an open area [road, pasture, meadow]. In fact, it is the dogs best intrest not to be fast enough to stay close to the deer because when the "doghunters" open fire anything close to the desired "game" is in danger of being shot too! nova

  • micke
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    nycefarm, that is my fault.
    he actually likes doe meat better.
    I just worry about the fawns.

  • micke
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    also in our state it is sometimes impossible to get a doe tag, just buck, so instead of shooting smaller bucks, he waits to get a older deer, he has shot several and there is actually no trophey deer heads on our walls. that is not what he is trying to do, he is just trying to get out into nature and enjoy some solitude away from a busy lifestyle.

  • oakleif
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I live next to the ARK Ozark National Forest.
    Dogs are allowed for hunting in some counties but thank heavens not ours.
    The purpose of using dogs is to have a "Drive" whereby hunters are stationed along a certain area. Someone else with the dogs starts at the head of the drive and stirs the deer up and they run thru this area giving the hunters a better chance of seeing a deer. The only deer dogs i've seen are long legged naturally skinny hounds.I think it's an ancient method.I think it should have stayed an ancient method.
    As for drinking and hunting,i've seen it for myself and reported it. We only have one gamewarden for a 2 county area and he does the best he can. The only drinkers i,ve seen are idiot city people who only come to party anyway and will shoot at anything that moves, like a certain politican in Texas not long ago.
    oakleif

  • jemdandy
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This post has strayed from the original, and has mentioned the many ways people hunt deer. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned 'deer driving'. Up here, we don't hunt deer with dogs, we use people! Now that method is very dangerous to the one doing the 'driving', and guns and alcohol surely would be a mix for pending disaster during a deer drive.

    Observation from a high vantage point will show that deer can sense the presence of a person walking long before that person is aware of the deer. The deer, or herd of deer, will keep their distance ahead of the walker and interpose cover between the walker and themselves. So, a walker strolling down stream bed in a shallow valley will inadverttently 'herd' unseen deer in front of him.

    Wisconsin hunters take advantage of this phenonem. The main huting party will lay in wait while one member of the party, the "driver" will go to a place about one mile away and begin to noisly walk toward the ambush. Sometimes, 4 or 5 deer will move in advance of the driver toward the ambush. You can see the danger in this for the driver. He depends on everone in the ambush party knowing the path he is on and hopes they don't shoot directly toward him, but will wait until they can shoot more or less perpendicular to the driver's path.

    Each year in Wisconsin, we have hunting accidents. It's bad enough when you doze off, drop your gun from a tree stand, and shoot yourself out of the tree, or cross a fence with your finger within the trigger guard, or slip on a snow covered rock and squeeze off a shot into your hunting buddy or your foot, to add to the danger of a deer drive.

    Laying all that aside, maybe you should consider hunting in Wisconsin this year. Our DNR wishes to clear the deer heard in designated areas in an effort to control chronic wasting disease. They may employ some unpopular methods this year. The DNR wasn't satisfied with the herd thinning last year.

    Wisconsin has another deer problem this year. There has been a dramatic rise of injury and death from motorcycle riders colliding with a deer on our roadways.

  • micke
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have heard of deer driving, and some hunting parties use that method here, of course the group that I know that does this, gets as many tags that they can using wives, girlfriends, cousins, whoever they can find that don't hunt, then they proceed to fill those tags, my husband hunted with them for 1 year that was it, he was very disgusted by what he seen, if we had a deer population as that of Wisconsin, it would of not been a problem, but these guys were shooting any deer, even those still with spots, we are talking fawns here, shoot the mama shoot the baby, they did not care. And what is really bad is I believe that was the year that they only had a certain amount of doe tags to hand out, once they were gone that was it, so because of their greed, I am sure more responsible hunters missed out on those tags, people that would of used the meat instead of throwing a ton of it out of their freezer at the end of the year, I know this because unfortunatly they are part of my hubbys family.

  • jtwtech
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    In MO it's illegal to deer hunt with dogs, and you cannot shoot from a vehicle whether its from the road or parked in a field.

  • fancifowl
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    There are hunt clubs in Virginia which use dogs on deer. Large tracts of land, some , most, fenced in. It sometimes give a market to a coon hunter for his deer running dog.
    A lot of those poor skinny looking hounds are actually very fit, they just work off the fat, a fat hound is not much for trailing at speed. Most houndsmen I know run year round, but only take game during season. lots of houndsmen never kill any animals, they run for the sport and thrill of observing good hound work. Competition hunting doesnt usually involve killing game.
    Any sport or hobby, or what ever has a element of slobs who certainly are no asset to the endeavor. I trained and ran Beagles for years and never shot a rabbit, when coon and fox hunting behind hounds I took my fair share.
    Coyote hunting by hounds is pretty big sport here in Pa.

  • simpleman
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Anyone who "hunts' illegally or drinks and then goes "hunting" is NOT a hunter. They are in fact criminals or poachers, but not hunters.

    Living up north I don't know a thing about hunting deer with dogs, other than it it a very old tradition in the southern states. Even enjoyed reading about it in some of the old sporting literature. But as a bird hunter (or should I say dog hunter) who uses dogs and as someone with many friends who are houndsmen for rabbit hunting, I may be able to speak to the treatment of the dogs. ALL the bird hunters and houndsmen I know take care of their dogs better than they do themselves, myself included. We have spent literally thousands of dollars in the training and care of our dogs ... tracking collars, beeper collars, hundreds of hours or thousands of dollars invested in training our dogs, even money spent to help us road our dogs for training. With that kind of an investment, you better believe those dogs are well cared for. We want them to be in peak condition when hunting season rolls around, whether we are ourselves or not. Our dogs need to be in peak condtion in order to assist us in our hunting endeavoers. You better believe they are well fed and receive the very best vetrinary care.

    I can't speak to the dogs or "hunters" you saw. Maybe they were mistreated. Maybe they were criminals. But then again seeing a well condtioned dog may seem like an undernourished dog if yor're not aquainted with how a well conditioned dog should look. In other words, everything may not be what it seems.

    If the dogs were malnourished or the "hunters' criminals, then by all means call the authorities. They should be reported.

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