Deer Dogs blue tic vs. beagle

sherlockbonez said:
I never hunted with hounds before, but one of my buddy's neighbour is a houndsman. I think his are a mix of begals and plotts.

So how often are you guys running around in the woods looking for your dogs?
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Currently I have an 11 month old Plott hound that I brought up from WV last spring. He's on his way to becoming a hell on wheels coonhound. I have him out for a run about 5 times/week. He's becoming very independent in the last few weeks so I've started running him with his tracking collar on. Lets me know exactly where he is.
 
usually if they dont come back after the run theyll come back that night to the camp. if not, then another camp has picked them up and will inform the other camps in the area on the cb. that or you have to go pick them up at the pound. some times people will keep them at their houses until they get ahold of us all our dogs have reflector collars with our phone # on them. like mentioned in some of the previous post its really the individual dog itself, some of our blue tics seldom go more than 100yds from the dogger, where some of the others especially depending on which dogs you run together will keep on going until they loose the track.
 
We have moved 100% to beagles after running blueticks and walkers for years. We found that we were rounding up hounds as much as we were hunting with the bigger running dogs. And the distances they would cover would be huge. Now we know that even if the beagles don't come out of the bush with us, they will be in their houses behind the camp by morning.
 
cz858hunter said:
usually if they dont come back after the run theyll come back that night to the camp. if not, then another camp has picked them up and will inform the other camps in the area on the cb. that or you have to go pick them up at the pound. some times people will keep them at their houses until they get ahold of us all our dogs have reflector collars with our phone # on them. like mentioned in some of the previous post its really the individual dog itself, some of our blue tics seldom go more than 100yds from the dogger, where some of the others especially depending on which dogs you run together will keep on going until they loose the track.
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I lost my dog few years ago and had to pick him up at the pound by you. A older fellow runs its and has a few begals. Very nice guy, meant to drop some dog food off at his place sometimes, but haven't been up since. I was told that the bush is so thick by you guys that they can't get the gps tracking collar to work.
 
Thinking said:
Sounds like the voice of experience. Do you actually have any experience to back that statement up or is it simply an opinion that you've pulled out of your azz?
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oh, yea,venison was DAILY table fare in the south- and more often than not chased by dogs- packs of them- and it's a DRIVEN hunt- usually takes a morning to get enough animals for everyone- granted,they're swamp deer, which tastes awful, not like your grain fed or mountain grass fed- but it's REAL strong tasting meat, just like if you'd toted the thing home tied across the hood of your 50 merc on a hot day
 
t-star said:
oh, yea,venison was DAILY table fare in the south- and more often than not chased by dogs- packs of them- and it's a DRIVEN hunt- usually takes a morning to get enough animals for everyone- granted,they're swamp deer, which tastes awful, not like your grain fed or mountain grass fed- but it's REAL strong tasting meat, just like if you'd toted the thing home tied across the hood of your 50 merc on a hot day
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This is deer we are hunting, not an old English style fox hunt. Most gangs I know use two, maybe three hounds on a chase, not "packs" of dogs.

If you've ever seen a deer being pushed by beagles, there certainly isn't much urgency in their pace. It's a little different with the bigger hounds, but little beagles on a full on sprint are barely quicker than a deer out for a morning stretch.

Besides, if I wanted grain or grass fed, I'd buy beef, that "awful" taste you mention, is called flavor.
 
Thinking said:
This is deer we are hunting, not an old English style fox hunt. Most gangs I know use two, maybe three hounds on a chase, not "packs" of dogs.

If you've ever seen a deer being pushed by beagles, there certainly isn't much urgency in their pace. It's a little different with the bigger hounds, but little beagles on a full on sprint are barely quicker than a deer out for a morning stretch.

Besides, if I wanted grain or grass fed, I'd buy beef, that "awful" taste you mention, is called flavor.
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remember, YOU ASKED if it was experience or just smoke out of my azz?well, you GOT your answer.
we're not ALLOWED dogs in alberta anyway- that was louisana, and down there it's a whole town type hunt, but on foot- everybody brings their dogs, and it's potato salad and fried chicken for lunch, prepared by the "women"
 
and you really THINK that a deer KNOWS the difference between a beagle and a wolf?- and a deer tastes of what it feeds on- so if you drive a deer with anything, you're going to taste that chemical cocktail in the meat, and if the deer feeds on swamp grass and swamp water, well, let's just say you haven't REALLY had deer
your "flavor" gives some folks the hershey squirts
 
t-star said:
and you really THINK that a deer KNOWS the difference between a beagle and a wolf?- and a deer tastes of what it feeds on- so if you drive a deer with anything, you're going to taste that chemical cocktail in the meat, and if the deer feeds on swamp grass and swamp water, well, let's just say you haven't REALLY had deer
your "flavor" gives some folks the hershey squirts
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No they will probably not know the difference, however a deer does not run away full sprint unless it gets startled all of a sudden. Most times the deer will hear you (or the dog) coming a loooooooooong way off, and just trot away nice and relaxed.

The "chemical reaction" that you speak of is Lactic acid building up in the muscles when running. The same lactic acid is created when the deer is shot. The nasty taste left behind can be avoided by feild dressing your deer as quickly as possible after death, and then aging your meat before storage.

I have had deer that have been driven, as well as deer that were stalked or shot while feeding...the only difference I can taste is a corn/bean feild deer vs a dense forest deer. Again this is because of what they are eating, not how they are harvested.

I would be interested in seeing some studies that show the different taste of a deer when driven, because in my own personal experience, that is not the case at all.
 
t-star said:
and you really THINK that a deer KNOWS the difference between a beagle and a wolf?- and a deer tastes of what it feeds on- so if you drive a deer with anything, you're going to taste that chemical cocktail in the meat, and if the deer feeds on swamp grass and swamp water, well, let's just say you haven't REALLY had deer
your "flavor" gives some folks the hershey squirts
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A deers reaction is to how much pressure the pursuer is offering. As already stated, beagles are only fast enough to nudge deer along. Faster hounds can get them moving, but then the deer may be pushed well out of your hunting range in short order. I've seen it with coyotes too- they know how much energy they need to expend to avoid the dogs. I watched an old Walker sight running a coyote that he had tracked up, from across a valley. The coyote basically toyed with the old hound for a good 20 minutes, staying out of reach but, in sight of old Howard. The coyote could have easily sprinted away. As well, if Howard had been in his prime, and gotten that close to the coyote, he would have run it down and killed it.

PS, my buddy used his .243 to take advantage of the coyote's bravado and inattention, and Howard got to rough up a dead coyote.
 
We had a beagle tracking a coyote,was someones rabbit dog that got on the wrong track,the snow was up to his belly and the coyote walked ahead about 100 yards,knew he could not catch him.I would think beagles would be the ticket,but have no experience with deer and dogs!
 
mvarley84 said:
The "chemical reaction" that you speak of is Lactic acid building up in the muscles when running. The same lactic acid is created when the deer is shot. The nasty taste left behind can be avoided by feild dressing your deer as quickly as possible after death, and then aging your meat before storage.

I have had deer that have been driven, as well as deer that were stalked or shot while feeding...the only difference I can taste is a corn/bean feild deer vs a dense forest deer. Again this is because of what they are eating, not how they are harvested.

.
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bang on the money.


usually if the dog is close enough, the deer by our camp hit the water because thats how they escape the wolves. however it does not work for escaping bullets;). that may be some of the gps collar problem. lots of mineral in the rock to so you never know could throw it off. we dont use gps collars anyways so i honestly couldnt tell you.
 
I hunt with hounds, mainly walkers, in an area where this year there was a high wolf population and low deer population. The few deer we saw this year were flying, not trotting, especially with a younger dog after them. With higher deer populations in previous years I found the deer moving much slower maybe because there were more deer per dog and the dog could only trail one.
 
t-star said:
we don't use dogs for anything but cougar and bear- and fowl, of course- i'd rather not have my meat rancidized from bambi being chased by rover
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I believe that it is a myth/folklore that deer meat becomes rancid after running, weather being chased or chasing. I've killed many an old whitetail in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan while they were chasing does and they tasted just fine to me. I seriously believe that their diet plays an important roll of how the meat tastes. A good eating whitetail will come from the alphalfa fields.
 
track said:
I believe that it is a myth/folklore that deer meat becomes rancid after running, weather being chased or chasing. I've killed many an old whitetail in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan while they were chasing does and they tasted just fine to me. I seriously believe that their diet plays an important roll of how the meat tastes. A good eating whitetail will come from the alphalfa fields.
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thanks for showing up- and it's no myth; it's lactic acid running through the meat from running;but you're right on the diet as well; but remember some people can't tell the difference between kobi beef and aa or aaa or whatever- it takes a thing known as a PALATE- the same as some folks think that all red wine or white wine tastes the same- the same with any mammalian meat- i can certainly tell the difference between a "run" deer and a bang- flop, as i can with a swamp deer and one that's been feeding on alfalfa,hay, grain, or mountain grasses- and there's a difference between plains deer and high mountain as well
and if you're chasing anything over 3-5 years old, you're wasting your time anyway- that meat is going to be tough in my view
 
actually, it does- i hunt either pre or post , but not during- and very few know how to age the meat propely, or how to take care of it post shot- there's nothing worse than draping it over the roof or trunk lid of a hot car and driving home- far better to drain it,quarter , and stick it in the trunk, on plastic- i use 6 mil painter's plastic drop sheets or thicker so i don't get my trunk bloody
 
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