South Carolina Deer Hunting

[YankeeBuckTracker]

I grew up in Vermont and started hunting and tracking deer at 9 years old. Between Vetmont and Maine I have killed the biggest deer of my life, All big mature mountain bucks! In area;s where you drag them 3+ miles out of the woods. I love the cold, wind, rugged conditions. 6 years ago I moved to SC. I love it here,and the deer season runs 3+ months! BUT I don't like the style of hunting. 4 wheelers being used by hunters under the age of 50, endless shooting of 80lb deer, and its very hot so most hunting is done n tree stands. Now I love a goood stand hunt but feel the hunters down here are a bit modern or lazy when it comes to the effort put fourth into a hunt. Anyone from the south care to give this Yankee a few pointers on how to break the guys I have land with down here into a more rugged old timer style of huntng. Do not get me wrong I love it here and will never move but God how I count the days till I hunt in the cold and big north east!

 

[genesis273]

My first thought was, move back to Vermont. But since you are here, you might as well accept the fact that you will not change the way people in the south hunt. As they say, "when in Rome..."! First, the worse thing we hear is some yankee trying to tell us how to hunt! The property we (southerners) hunt is generally small tracks of land.

There are those who do try to let the deer grow, but the biggest buck you will kill will be in the neighborhood of 200lbs. There are too many that are taken under 100lbs, but if they are legal to shoot and you want to shoot a smaller deer, have at it! That`s the mindset.

As for tracking deer as opposed to tree stands, you might as well forget that too! Most properties do not have the room to be a consistantly effective tracker. I have hunted in the northeast part of the country, and I love the deer, terrain, etc, but hated the hunters! They were walking everywhere, even on the private property that I had permission to hunt, and they didn`t. It was like it was understood. Insane! You may say that we are "lazy" hunters, but my first thought two hours into the season opener was, these yankees have no patience! Did I try to change everyone around me to hunt like us southern, more patient hunters? No, I left and never went back! One more thing to think about, you might want to refrain from walking around too much if you are close to the SC coastal area. There are tons of snakes that can make a good day walking around the woods...I mean "tracking", into a real bad day!
BTW, welcome to the south...and 100+ degree weather!

 

[rhomas]

In the low country where I live and hunt, trying to "track" is an impossible task, due to the water, thick cover, quantities of snakes and 'gators. I use my 4 wheeler to get into the deep swamp when dog hunting, for two reasons. Crossing the water and avoiding the biting critters and thorns, as well as, getting my deer back out after I kill 'em. One attempt at dragging a 150 lb buck out of the deep swamp and getting tangled up and falling into deep holes of water is reason enough to avoid that long trek on foot.

As for hunting out of tree stands and ground blinds, since we do most of our hunting over food plots and bait piles when still hunting, concealment and visibility are important.

I will also state that down here, an 80 lb doe, is a pretty big deer. A 130-150 lb buck is above average, and anything above 150 is exceptional. I've killed deer in the six year old class that might hit 160, especially during the rut.

Thankfully, since I'm in the low country coastal area of the state, we can use bait, dogs, and have no limits, unlike the piedmont and mountain areas of the state. At least that's the way it is now! The yankees and the out of state hunters who can afford to buy up all of the hunting land are trying to eliminate our "no limits", and if they have their way, our dog hunting will also be a thing of the past!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mdunc8]

The yankees and the out of state hunters who can afford to buy up all of the hunting land are trying to eliminate our "no limits", and if they have their way, our dog hunting will also be a thing of the past!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those aren't the only people who would like to see deer hunting with dogs go away.

 

[TLC]

"Those aren't the only people who would like to see deer hunting with dogs go away."

guessing those same people want to see using dogs "go away" when it comes to hunting lions, bobcats, coon, bear, etc.? and while we are stopping the legal use of dogs, may as well include stopping the use of them on pheasants, quail, and rabbits, also.

 

[mdunc8]

No, actually I don't have a problem with any other kind of hunting with dogs (at least that I can think of right now) as the dogs used for other hunting purposes are either controlled by the hunters (e.g., bird hunting) or the season doesn't coincide with the general hunting season (e.g., lion hunting). Try hunting eastern Virginia (and probably most other southern states) without having someone's dogs from the next county screwing things up. Deer hunters have absolutely zero control on how their dogs affect other people's hunt. There are very few tracts of land large enough in the East to ensure your animals stay on your land.

 

[tarheel]

The hunting with dogs is confined to the more eastern counties where the woodlands and swamps are so thick that more normal methods of hunting just don't produce unless you're fortunate to have access to farm land where standing crops or cut over crops are still an attractant to deer. In the areas of large woodland holdings which mostly belong to timber companies, there are no crops and it is a catch as catch can situation which can only produce when something is moving the deer. In more northern states where the woodland isn't choked with undergrowth many deer clubs and groups participate in deer drives which serve the same purpose of moving the deer which as most people know tend to be bedded up in the daytime unless the rut is near or in progress.
Beside that; that's the way our English ancestors did it and that's the way we do it, so there.

 

[mdunc8]

The hunting with dogs is confined to the more eastern counties where the woodlands and swamps are so thick that more normal methods of hunting just don't produce

False

 

[174in]

I lived there myself for 2 years and hunted deer there and can say it wasnt my style of hunting either.I didnt care for the bag limits.The public lands were overun with mudbuggies and 4 wheelers.Pretty much had to get on a lease to get any privacy to hunt.The snakes were no fun either.
Just didnt seem like real hunting to me.I think it is all in how you are brought up to hunt some ways feel right and others dont.

 

[tarheel]

I lived there myself for 2 years and hunted deer there and can say it wasnt my style of hunting either.I didnt care for the bag limits.The public lands were overun with mudbuggies and 4 wheelers.Pretty much had to get on a lease to get any privacy to hunt.The snakes were no fun either.
Just didnt seem like real hunting to me.I think it is all in how you are brought up to hunt some ways feel right and others dont.

That is an unfortunate byproduct of hunting on public land unless they are restricted. Another common practice of the younger set of gunners (not hunters) is to fly around on the public roads surrounding a block of leased land while keeping a constant chatter going with CB radios in an effort to cut off the deer or at least to stop the dogs which usually are good distance behind if there is any running room for the deer. The dogs trail and therefore are slower than the deer. Many times I've seen deer get a good lead and stop for a blow until the dogs get close and then take off again. They're also experts at using bodies of water to their advantage to throw off the dogs.
When I was young and living at home or coming home on military leave to hunt, the group would pick a block of woodland, put "standers" about every 100 yds. apart with shotguns using #1 buckshot (no slugs or 00 allowed) around as much of the perimeter as you had men, and the "driver" would take the dogs into the thick to jump and run the deer. All this was done on foot and very quietly except for the hollering and clapping of the driver. Deer which grow up in close proximity to humans as is the case in a good deal of the SE are not overly concerned about the smell of humans as they would be in a more natural setting. It has been my experience that in the area we hunted the members of the group would make every effort to stop the dogs before they ran onto someone else's land, but you and I both know that isn't always possible. I once was a member of a hunt club in a county which had no dog hunting, but it was adjacent to a county which did, so like mdunc8 we got pretty uptight when these dogs came onto our property where everyone still hunted, studied their habits and routes, and paid attention to wind as to stand selection. A well planned day of hunting could easily be queered (can I say that ?) by this scenario and I can see where he's coming from, but having grown up to the dog method and killed many deer ahead of dogs, I have some allegiance to that too. At least they don't use dogs in Belgrade, MT, so you'll just have to forgive us our ways.

To mcdunc8----Curious to know just which part of my statement you feel is false. I'd venture to guess that I'm a bit more knowledgeable on those points than the occasional visitor to eastern VA.

 

[mdunc8]

I grew up in Virginia hunting my entire life before moving to Montana four years ago. I think that classifies me as more than the occasional visitor. For starters, you can run dogs hours away from the nearest swamp.

 

[tarheel]

I grew up in Virginia hunting my entire life before moving to Montana four years ago. I think that classifies me as more than the occasional visitor. For starters, you can run dogs hours away from the nearest swamp.

If you'll go back and reread what I wrote, you'll see that I said "woodlands and swamps". That pretty much includes everything from the salt marsh to the sandhills. One thing I have learned in my years is that most people know some things, some people know most things, but no one knows everything, so therefore are not justified in being confrontational and telling another that what they say is "false". I've spent 55 years hunting deer in the swamplands, coastal plains, sandhills, piedmont and the Appalachians, and while I don't pretend to know everything, I can read and decipher all nuances of the King's English and see no sense in being insulting in so doing unless I detect something which insults my person and my integrity. You've been quite succinct in expressing your dislike for dog hunting deer in this and other threads, and appear to be content to condemn everyone who hunts in this manner because of whatever experiences you might have had in the past, and I can only say; get over it, for it's unlikely to change in your or my lifetimes.

 

[mdunc8]

The hunting with dogs is confined to the more eastern counties where the woodlands and swamps are so thick that more normal methods of hunting just don't produce

Merriam-Webster provides several definitions for the word "false" including but not limited to the following: not genuine, intentionally untrue; adjusted or made so as to deceive, not true, based on mistaken ideas, and inconsistent with the facts. According to Noah Webster and the Merriam brothers, your statement was, is, and always will be false since you can run dogs almost to the Blue Ridge Mountains. I suppose there is a possibility that part of your argument could become true if the more eastern counties fall into the Atlantic Ocean in the next hurricane thus making the counties in the piedmont region of Virginia the more eastern counties.

I will pay you one million Schrute Bucks if you can find me a single woodland or swamp in Nelson County, Virginia that is "so thick that more normal methods of hunting just don't produce".

In Virginia last fall, over 120,000 deer were killed in counties where hunting with dogs is permitted. Based on your statement, you're insisting that each of those deer were harvested over crops or by hunters with dogs since "normal methods of hunting just don't produce". I'm willing to bet one billion Stanley Nickels that is also false.

There are three factually-based points that demonstrate the inaccuracy of your sentence, so there.

I won't argue the point that some people like the tradition of the hunt or that dogs make it easier to hunt certain areas. I appreciate your contrition (I can use fancy words too) for not controlling your dogs as you did in one of your earlier posts, which I didn't notice until now. However, you can't claim that it's a necessity. That just isn't true.

There's no point in being circuitous (look at me, two in one post). It's a waste of everyone's time.

 

[TLC]

"Try hunting eastern Virginia (and probably most other southern states) without having someone's dogs from the next county screwing things up."

hell, if that's the problem, then guessing you have a problem with other hunters, also. have been hunting many times when uncontrolled hunters have walked thru the area I was hunting. better change the laws so this doesn't/ can't happen. get over it. just like there are ways to hunt out west, there are ways to hunt in the east.

 

[tarheel]

Again, a case of not reading and/or comprehending all the words. "More eastern counties" does not mean only coastal counties nor exclude those less easterly, it quite simply means those counties in the more eastern part of the state. Since both North Carolina and Virginia are longitudinally oriented and are both at or nearly 500 miles long, that can take in quite a bit of geography, so rather than picking fly shit out of pepper as some are wont to do, my statements are usually crafted to be general in content, not all inclusive, and simply meant for conversation and discussion of the given topic. If it's your nature to take issue with everything controversial which you see in print, then yours must be a lonely and frustrating life, so go your way and tilt your windmills as you may, and the rest of us will continue in our own manner, and when it's all over it won't matter crap all which dictionary anyone uses.

 

[rhomas]

I don't know squat about Virginia, or Montana hunting regs or practices. I do, however, know about SC, Ga, and N. Fla. As I stated in my post, dog hunting is done in the coastal low country of SC.......which IS swampland and marshes. Since most of the clubs in my area are dog hunting clubs, we all work together to catch each other's dogs, and get them back to their owners. Thus, the disdain for those who would see our traditions changed to suit their own idea of what hunting should be! To my way of thinking, if out of state hunters are so adamantly against our way of doing things, why don't they stay the hell out of my state, and hunt the way they like, in their own state??????

Another very obvious point I'd like to make, is that since we all belong to the hunting community, why should one group's attitude reflect animosity towards another? If we fail to support each other as hunters, the anti-hunting groups will continue to gain ground in their efforts to ban all of us.

As a side note, when I'm sitting in a tree stand with my rifle (not dog hunting), I like to hear dogs running near my location. It tends to get deer moving and increases my opportunities to kill something for the freezer.

Since I'm strictly a gun hunter, I have no disdain for archery or black powder enthusiasts, and if people prefer to hunt differently than I do, I still consider them to be a brother hunter and will defend their choices just as much as I will defend my own! I will not; however, stand by and see someone come into my area and make efforts to eliminate my way of hunting.......the way I provide food for myself and my boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mdunc8]

TLC - There is actually already a law on the books that is meant to prevent this from happening. It's called trespassing. It's been around long enough I'd bet it is also in the dictionary.

Tarheel, you are correct. Technically speaking, I suppose they could be considered more eastern since you never defined what they were more eastern of. They are in fact more eastern than Lee County (the southwest tip of Virginia). However, I, and I would suspect most other people, don't consider a county over four hours from the beach or on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains as "more eastern". My ill will towards you is based upon the fact that I grew up in a Wake family.

Rthomas, I know nothing about hunting the East outside of Virginia and that's why I limited my posts to Virginia.

"Why should one group's attitude reflect animosity towards another?" Because your fellow dog hunters have ruined countless hunts for me. You guys may hunt differently than the aholes around the properties I hunted, but excuse me for getting tired of seeing fat, lazy hunters sitting on the side of a public road with their telemetry equipment, shotguns, and beer waiting to unload on a deer running full tilt. It sounds like 99.9% of the western hunters on this forum do not agree with what Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife are attempting in the western state. However, they're hunters, so I guess that means you support Don Peay and his buddies.

You may like to shoot deer on the run. I don't.

"I have no disdain for archery or black power enthusiasts." That's because they're not screwing up your hunting.

"the way I provide food for myself and my boy!!!!!!!!!!!!" With the exception of the lucky few who can hunt their backyard, we all know buying half a cow is much cheaper than filling a freezer hunting especially when you're shooting relatively small coastal deer. No disrespect meant towards the deer you hunt. They can't help that they're small . I too prefer wild game. Last week, I bought my first beef, a big fat ribeye, in over two years.

 

[spook12]

Mdunc, you stated that you know nothing about hunting outside virginia and limited your post to same.FALSE, see post number 6 where you threw in ''Most other southern states''. You also stated in number 6 that dog hunters have ''absolutely zero control on how their dogs affect other peoples hunts''. FALSE.Dog hunters have many controls they can use or ignore, from GPS tracking collars, to using smaller breeds, where dogs are turned out,making sure they have enough people to assist in catching dogs when the hunt ends,Etc. There are two factually based points too demonstrate the inaccuracy of your two sentences.

 

[mdunc8]

Spook, I'm guessing you intentionally left out the word I used prior to "most". I will concede that dog hunters can lessen the chance of their animals interact with hunters an adjacent properties. I'm sure most actually attempt to do this as well. I am curious though, exactly how does a GPS collar in any way control a dog? It might control the hunter, but it doesn't control the dog.

 

[spook12]

Gps collars can assist a hunter in controlling dogs, by knowing the location of his dogs a houndsman can pick them up before they leave the area that he wants them on. He can retrieve dogs that are no longer hunting, therefore ensuring that the dont jump and run deer when no one is present. You stated that there are very few tracts of land in the east that are large enough to ensure your animals stay on your land. I dont know your definition of very few , but i call B.S.