One of Hunting's Oldest and Most Controversial Traditions
Is hunting deer with dogs an unfair and outdated practice?
While deer hunting with dogs was once fairly common in the US, the practice is dwindling. Most states have laws that either severely restrict or outright ban the use of dogs to hunt deer.
The Deep South, known for holding tight to tradition, is the last haven for dog hunters. Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia are the only states where hunters can use dogs can still legally be used during deer hunting season.
Whether you agree or disagree with using deer dogs largely depends on where you call home.
Dog hunting in the South is intertwined with Southern identity, intricately woven into the fabric of Southern culture. A porch-sitting deer hound is as much a Southern icon as tobacco fields and Southern drawls. For many Southerners, asking them to give up their deer dogs is like asking them to quit grits cold turkey. It just ain’t happening.
Some folks consider hunting whitetails over bait unethical. However, there are plenty of areas where the practice is perfectly legal, and a good number of deer hunters fill their tags over a pile of corn without feeling an ounce of guilt.
Hunting with dogs is the same way.
Hunting culture is an awful lot like culture in general - the practices we grew up with are generally what we consider acceptable. I was raised in the South, which explains my affinity for sweet tea, my overuse of the words “y’all” and “yonder,” and why I have no real beef with dog hunters.
Hunting is the Reason Canines Were Domesticated
Dogs and humans have been hunting together for nearly 20,000 years. When our early ancestors were still hunter-gatherers and agriculture had yet to be invented, man and canine entered an early partnership, making canines the world’s first domesticated species.
Since then, humans and dogs have evolved side by side. Ancient cave paintings show images of dogs and humans hunting together, and when European settlers first reached North America in the early 17th century, they brought their hunting dogs with them. Historians believe the first pack of hunting dogs in the American colonies was owned and hunted by Robert Brooke of Maryland as early as 1650.
Canis lupus familiaris, also known as man’s best friend, is a subspecies of wolf. It is, therefore, important to remember no matter how cute, fluffy, cuddly, and playful they may be, dogs are predators at heart. Centuries of selective breeding have resulted in drastic morphological differences, with wide ranges of size, color, coat, and even skeletal structure.
However, our ancient ancestors first domesticated the wolf to harness the animal’s speed, keen senses, and fierce disposition to assist them in putting food in the family stew pot. Only in the species' recent history have dogs become couch potato companions.
Deer Hunting Dogs
You’re most likely to find hound breeds with hot noses and a strong prey drive, thrumming with electric anticipation in a truckbed dog box on any given weekend of whitetail deer season in the South. Most are treeing walkers, foxhounds, blueticks, beagles, or some mongrelized combination of all four.
Hunting with dogs is an intimate affair, and dog drivers sometimes understand their hounds better than they understand their wives. A good handler can pick out each individual voice in a bawl-and-chop chorus, and he can tell by the pitch and rhythm of the song whether that dog is running hot or following a cold trail.
A good number of hunters bond with their hounds like they bond with their hunting buddies, building relationships in the field that can’t be duplicated anywhere else.
Old-timers tell tales of their best-running dogs long after those companions lie cold in a grave, the dogs who “could run a two-day trail” or “gave a deeper call when he was on a buck” or “would run a deer three counties over without falling off.” They tell those stories with not just affection but also a deep respect that often borders on awe.
Defining Fair Chase
One reason hunting deer with dogs is so controversial is because some think the practice unfairly swings the odds in the hunters' favor.
It’s true to an extent. Dogs will flush deer off their noonday beds and bust them out of swampland so thick that most humans wouldn’t dare venture into it, even with snake boots and brush chaps. When deer turn nocturnal in the late season, dogs often provide hunters the only chance of glimpsing big bucks bent on tucking in until nightfall.
However, both the Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young record books, which have detailed rules of fair chase, recognize bucks taken in front of dogs in states where the practice is not prohibited.
Honestly, anyone who thinks deer hunting with dogs is “cheating” seriously underestimates the intelligence and wily survival instincts of whitetail deer. Pretty much every hunter with deer dog experience has a story of a whitetail that “gave the dogs the slip.”
Deer in areas with active hunting clubs and trained dogs seem to pick up “dog smarts” early on. Whitetails who’ve been chased by piles of canines learn how to trick the hounds as a matter of survival. They probably picked up the skills from Mom.
I once watched a big mammy doe and her button-head fawn hoodwink some hounds during the Virginia bucks-only season. I saw them trot across a dirt road well ahead of a braying tussle of dogs. A full minute later, both deer sailed back across the path straight toward the approaching pack.
Not so much as a whiff of a hoof touching the lane. Less than a minute later, the dogs came through hot, wailing and yapping their way across the path in the same spot the two deer had initially crossed. Unlike the deer that had circled back, the dogs kept going. Eventually, their yowls grew slower, less sure, and spaced apart. They’d lost both deer.
It’s what my Uncle Terry calls “the old double-back trick.” He’s been a dog driver for decades and serves as huntmaster for Bacon’s Castle Hunt Club, one of the oldest clubs in Virginia that encourages deer hunting with dogs.
“I’ve seen that one more times than I can count,” Uncle Terry says. “It’s harder than anybody thinks it is to kill a deer in front of a dog. The deer learn the tricks because if they don’t learn, they don’t make it to the next hunting season.”
Successfully shooting a deer that is literally running for his life is no easy feat, either. Shot opportunities in front of dogs rarely last more than seconds and almost always involve a fast-moving target. Wounded deer are an unfortunate part of the process.
Hooking Young Hunters
Young hunters often have a hard time sitting still and quiet long enough to see game, but dog hunting can make for an exciting introduction to the sport.
The fast pace of the hunt and the dogs' excitement work well for the short attention spans of some young hunters. Hooking youngsters on the sport is crucial as deer populations rise and hunter numbers continue to decline.
I used my daddy’s Remington Wingmaster to shoot my first deer in front of two squat, loudmouthed Virginia beagles named Herman and Big Girl. I was twelve and wiggly, with an attention span that would make a goldfish seem focused in comparison.
Death By 1000 Cuts
Although hunting deer with dogs is a long-standing tradition, it certainly doesn’t appeal to everyone, as is apparent in the historic chipping away of the practice spanning almost 300 years.
The Virginia House of Burgesses passed the first deer dog restrictions in 1738, requiring owners to confine their canines except when they were actually hunting deer.
In 1876, Wisconsin was the first state to ban deer hunting with dogs completely. By 1920, the practice was outlawed in every state that wasn’t below the Mason-Dixon line.
Even though dog-hunting makes its last stand in the Deep South, not all Southerners are keen on the practice. A 2015 survey of North Carolina hunters indicated that 46% of the 5,000 deer hunters questioned believed dog hunting should be illegal.
Interestingly, most hunters opposed the practice and had never hunted with dogs.
Perhaps because once you’ve heard a choir of deer dogs singing their way up a river bottom, you’ll be hooked for life.
A version of this article first appeared in Free Range American.