Deer Hunt In the South Western U.S.

[Blu]

Scotsgun, I don't know about Arizona but in most States including Michigan, we are not allowed to use dogs to hunt or track deer.

Blu

[etprescottuk]

Great pics.

Whoowhoop makes a good point. Don't you ever use dogs for finding deer. A good GSP or even a lab can track deer.

Blu is correct, no can do with the dogs, dogs can only be used with game birds and to track and tree mountain lions (Puma) strictly forbidden with deer or any game animal, I do not know of a state that allows dogs for tracking game animals.

Whoop, thanks, yes crossing country on foot shown in the pics, exploring, finding ruins, rifle in hand, does give someone that feeling of adventure lacking in our modern world sometimes

[whoowhoop]

I know attitudes towards using dogs for finding lost deer are rapidly changing over here now, thankfully.
I wouldnt dream of going out nowadays without a dog. It would be like leaving the bolt at home.
Mind you, the way I shoot, I may as well......
Just curious as how wounded deer etc are collected without a dog, especially in such terrain.
I assume that a "lost" beast goes on the tag?
I know most dog work over the pond is either hound work - bear, fox, racoon etc or is upland bird dog with hpr breeds.


Anyway, it doesn't take away that you have fantastic country to enjoy, and that this is after all a fulbore forum.
(I've had me dinner so I.am full and dont want to be a bore)

[Blu]

Whoowhoop, simple fact of the matter is that if one wounds a deer then you track it until you find it if possible. Saying that though mate, using a dog to track a wounded deer and using the dog to hunt are two entirely different things. In all honesty I'm not sure what the rules are regarding using a dog to track. I can't imagine anyone taking a dog out with them in case they need it to track (they can get noisy) and it may be too far from home to go fetch the dog. I will however endeavour to find out as I'd like to know what the score is on using dogs to track wounded deer also. I'll get back to you on that one.

Blu

[whoowhoop]

Cheers, Blu.
I would be interested to know.

[Blu]

WooWhoop, just got off the phone after speaking to an Officer at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). She tells me that it is perfectly legal to use a dog to track a wounded deer but the dog must remain on a leash at all times and must not be allowed to run free of the leash. There you have it, every day's a school day.

Blu

[whoowhoop]

Thanks for that Blu. :cheers:

It does make a bit more sense to allow a dog to be used for finding any lost deer.
Funny that it doesn't seem to be more widely known.

[Blu]

Thanks for that Blu. :cheers:

It does make a bit more sense to allow a dog to be used for finding any lost deer.
Funny that it doesn't seem to be more widely known.

To be honest I've never thought about it, but I can see the pro's and cons of doing so.

Blu

[Scotsgun]

Thanks for the info guys. Most informative and somewhat surprising considering how much more accepting it is to hunt in the US.

I myself have 4 dogs, all of which 'work.' One of my Chesapeake Bay Retrievers is particularly good at tracking deer. It doesn't point, but it will walk 10yds in front of me and indicate deer. The more tense its body language, the more recent the deer scent. Once found, it'll sit to heal and wait whilst I take the shot. Once shot, it'll follow the shot trail and either indicate the fallen beast or track the blood trail. If the deer is wounded, it will tackle the deer and either hold it until I arrive to dispatch it or kill it himself if its small enough to handle.

Any dog will can bean effective blood tracker but you have to see my Border Terrier. He's unbelievable and being so low, gorse, bracken and heather aren't any problem.

My mate breeds German Shorthaired Pointers who are truly phenominal at finding deer. I've seen those dogs point out deer which are way over the other side of a glen and hard to see through optics.

In the UK we favour dogs which remain silent and indicate deer. We only encourage them to 'give mouth' when they have found a fallen deer or are holding a deer at bay for us. However I have a Scandinavian friend who uses Teckels to drive the deer to him. Its amazing to watch the little buggers disappear into the forest and then hear it yapping before it leads a deer or even moose back to him. There's several vids posted on youtube which are well worth viewing of this.

[Jenks]

Scotsgun..

My mate breeds German Shorthaired Pointers who are truly phenominal at finding deer.

The chap I used to stalk the Hinds with in Argyll Had a wonderfull GSP. He used to be a Keeper in west Sussex and when the dog was still a youngster, little more than a puppy. One evening my mate was sat in a high seat looking to shoot a Fallow Doe, with his dog sat at the base of the tree (having been told to SIT and STAY) well he was up in the seat for quite a while, all the time keeping an eye on his dog. Suddenly the dog became alert pointing, whilst still remaining seated. My Pal looked towards where the dog was pointing to see a really good Fallow Buck (a Hat-rack) walk slowly across the clearing in front of him.In spite of the Buck passing within a few yards of of him, the Dog never even twitched ,the buck crossed the clearing and disappeared into the foliage without being aware of the dog or his masters presence. The dog was also amazing on the open hill, once released to look for a shot beast he would cover a staggering amount of ground in an incredibly short time. When it was his masters turn to shoot he was content to walk at my heel, some yards behind. Even when his boss took a shot he would not move from my heel until he was called forward by his boss. He would then be released to find the shot beast (even if it had fallen dead to the shot) He was usually rewarded by a slice of liver. Mind you some of his Spaniels left a lot to be desired :lol:

Jenks