Then at the heart of it all, there are the dogs.ĭog hunting is knowing an animal like the back of your hand, being able to identify the bark of each dog you own in a chorus of hound song, and knowing from the differing sounds whether the dog is on a hot or cold track. It's laughing and cutting your buddy's shirt tail when he misses, and being the first to take his picture when he bags a trophy buck. It's gathering around tables at hunt clubs on Thanksgiving, saying grace with a group of friends that might as well be family. Misses are plenty, but the joy of the experience as a whole overrides the killing aspect for the majority of dog hunters.ĭog hunting is kids pretending to be disgusted as their dad smears their face with blood after their first kill, but inwardly taking pride in the fact that they've become part of a brotherhood of sorts. Normally a hunter will have a very short window of opportunity to take aim and attempt to make a kill. If it's your lucky day, the pack of dogs will close in on you and your adrenaline surges as you hear the approaching deer moving through the underbrush. Shortly after, a pack of dogs will chime in and it's hard to tell if the roar of the running dogs or your heart beating in your ears is loudest. The squall of a good jump dog piercing the woods on a crisp fall morning, in indication that a deer is on the move, will make the hair on the back of one's neck raise. Hunting deer with dogs is a delight for the senses. Those who have never dog hunted usually grossly underestimate the ease of hitting a fast moving deer with buckshot. Not all dog men follow this method today, but the objective is the same: locate and give chase to a deer so that one of the hunters may get lucky enough to take a shot. In years past, most dog hunters would "drive" their dogs, walking into the woods with the dogs hunting out ahead of them until a deer was successfully jumped or a dog worked a cold trail long enough to get a race going. Dog men are given a designated spot to turn the dogs loose in, and the hunt is on. Hunters select a "block" of land to hunt, and "standers" are assigned locations around the perimeter. Most are unclear about how dog driving works, and thus deem it "unsporting."ĭeer are hunted with hounds of varying types and breeds. With deer season in some South Carolina counties only a month away, many hunters that take part in one of our state's oldest traditional methods of deer hunting, dog driving, are gearing up to head back to their second home at hunting clubs across the lower part of the state.Īlthough hunting deer with dogs has been a family tradition for many folks over the years, there has always been controversy surrounding the method from those who don't partake.
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