Deer dogs

[Dirty Jim]

Sounds like a blast! But just 1 question. Are your dogs trained just to run bucks I imagine they smell different than the does during the rut?

[scrubrunner]

No they run does as well as bucks, I've only seen two dogs in my lifetime that I am convinced preferred a buck. If I heard either one of them jump and start running by theirself I would leave a whole pack running too get ahead of that one because both were known to run more bucks than does. We mostly ride the roads in the morning and find a track we feel is a good chance of being a buck and turn loose on it. In the afternoon we mostly free cast. Both of those dogs that preferred a buck was trained by an old man that walked the woods and only let the pups start on fresh scrapes. He never had a real full time job and practically lived with his hounds. He was a heck of a houndsman, I've seen him catch bobcats with dogs I wouldn't have believed could have caught a rabbit.

[Jkohnke]

Yeah they run both unfortunately. Early first season that's almost all you run is doe. Those bucks lay tight and don't get up and move. I've seen them let a pack of dogs get all over them and never move. The hunt changes here around the end of December to the last of the season in mid jan. bucks start rutting and are traveling a lot. You can track a road and put out on him and have good success. They start stinking and the walker dogs can really run them. Nothing like a frosty morning in January listening to a dozen or more running walkers put the heat on a buck.

[Dan Edwards]

Sure wish we could run deer dogs here. Its such a stupid law that we cant.