Using dogs to hunt deer in Texas

[stan v]

Any other old pharts here remember when Texas passed the law prohibiting the use of dogs to chase deer? I swear it has to be the mid to late 70's?!

[AggieBall]

Glad they did.

[stan v]

Well, we're all glad, the older ones especially!

My question was/is does anyone remember when dogs were banned from hunting deer.

[Hill1970]

it was still legal in Polk County during the early to mid 80's

[Dusty]

I don't remember when they stoped it statewide. I do remember that there used to be several counties where it was legal when I started hunting in the early 80's

[stan v]

It looks like 1990 was the first year dogs were banned in Texas......man, that stuns me. I thought it was the late 70's to maybe mid 80's!!

[Hill1970]

We used to hunt on a 6000 acre place in Polk County in the 80's. None of our hunter ran dogs, but the hunters on the neighboring ranch did. They used to turn their dogs out on the highway and run them through our place. They would sit and wait for their dogs on their side of the fence. It was not a good relationship.

[sling shot]

For those of you who never had the chance to hunt with dogs you missed out on some exciting hunting. Most of the time you where let out on an old logging road with your shotgun and waited on the guys making the drive with the dogs to either hit a cold strike or if someone had seen a deer you new they where in the area. Once the dogs struck you had to make a decison if you where in the right place, the problem with moving is that the deer where always out front of the dogs by some distance that you did not know so when you move down the road to the sound of the dogs often times the deer would see you and never cross. Hunting with dogs was most times way more challenging than sitting in a box blind with corn out and picking out the one you wanted at 100-200 yards and taking the shot, you had to be still and quiet, then you had to be lucky enough for the deer to come out within shotgun range. I can remember a lot of great hunts where all we got was to hear an excellant race with nothing being shot. I remember having to go back to camp and add water to the beans because the deer out smarted us. Oh yeah if you did not have good dogs that would not run out of the county you spent most of the day getting them back to try again. Running deer with dogs is something I wish my kids could have the experiance of just once, because it always got your blood flowing hearing the dogs headed your direction and then seeing the deer appear from a thicket not far from you but on the move leaving town. Those where some good times.

[Death from Above]

One of my earliest memories hunting was going with my oldest brother on a dog hunt.......It sure was fun to a 5 year old.

[Nitro1970]

Heck in some of (most of?) the East Texas counties you can't even track a wounded deer with a dog.

[Tmag]

I remember it well. Hunted in San Jacinto and Polk counties on paper company and national forest. I believe they still do it in Louisiana. If not, there are some boys in Vernon parish that don't know better.

[grizzlyman]

Glad they did.

X2. In Arkansas, where I do most of my hunting, they can still use dogs to hunt, in the southern part of the state. Can't tell you how many times I have almost lost it when a pack has come in front of me chasing a deer.

I haven't had as much of a problem this year because of new rules that require clubs that run dogs to be permited and there is a minimum acerage of 1,000 acres to be permitted. There isn't 1,000 acres owned or leased around my lease by one club, so I don't expect any problems anymore.

[Ellis]

What are the 70's?

[Hokie]

I grew up hunting deer with dogs in Virginia.
It is still legal there in some of the Eastern Counties, you should take your kids and let them try it.

Good times.

For those of you who never had the chance to hunt with dogs you missed out on some exciting hunting. Most of the time you where let out on an old logging road with your shotgun and waited on the guys making the drive with the dogs to either hit a cold strike or if someone had seen a deer you new they where in the area. Once the dogs struck you had to make a decison if you where in the right place, the problem with moving is that the deer where always out front of the dogs by some distance that you did not know so when you move down the road to the sound of the dogs often times the deer would see you and never cross. Hunting with dogs was most times way more challenging than sitting in a box blind with corn out and picking out the one you wanted at 100-200 yards and taking the shot, you had to be still and quiet, then you had to be lucky enough for the deer to come out within shotgun range. I can remember a lot of great hunts where all we got was to hear an excellant race with nothing being shot. I remember having to go back to camp and add water to the beans because the deer out smarted us. Oh yeah if you did not have good dogs that would not run out of the county you spent most of the day getting them back to try again. Running deer with dogs is something I wish my kids could have the experiance of just once, because it always got your blood flowing hearing the dogs headed your direction and then seeing the deer appear from a thicket not far from you but on the move leaving town. Those where some good times.

[Speedgoat]

Any other old pharts here remember when Texas passed the law prohibiting the use of dogs to chase deer? I swear it has to be the mid to late 70's?!

Some still think its legal in East Texas