How to Hunt around Pressure from Deer-Dog Hunting

While it can be deflating to see deer-dog hunters parked near your choice hunting spots, it’s hardly the time to throw in the towel. Instead of sulking back home, you can use a little creativity to hunt around the pressure and maybe even notch your tag. Of course, you should exercise the utmost caution and safety during gun season, whether you’re hunting near deer-dog runs or not.

The first few weeks of gun season can fill up the best trailheads and WMAs like a Walmart parking lot. Rather than knocking elbows with the competition or having someone walk past your setup at first light, it can pay to hit snooze. Instead of waking up in the middle of the night, sleep in and drive around your public land to scout other hunters. Note where everyone parks and what areas are overlooked. With everyone hitting the woods or turning the dogs loose, deer are likely to hunker down or head for unpressured cover. With this intel, you’ll at least have an idea of spots that haven’t been hammered for an evening sit or midday scouting session.

I did this very thing on the opening weekend of gun season last year, and while I didn’t fill a tag, it led to some invaluable intel. After seeing where everyone parked, I decided to scout an overlooked area. About thirty minutes into this scouting session, I bumped a good buck from his bed, found his rubs and potential staging area, and picked a spot to hang during ideal conditions. I slept in, had pancakes with the family, and got a great lead on a solid buck. Aside from punching your tag, that’s about as productive as it gets in the whitetail woods.

An upside to hunting during deer-dog season is the possibility of dogs running a deer through your setup. If you see deer-dog hunters on a neighboring property or open public ground and have the slightest idea of where they’ll turn the dogs out, you can take advantage of this by covering a potential escape route. Just make sure you’re not setting up near other hunters. Pull out onX or whatever mapping system you use and look for potential bedding and terrain features. If you have a good idea of where the dogs will jump deer, you can look for nearby terrain features that will naturally funnel deer movement in your direction. Again, you’ll need to know where other hunters set up; otherwise, you should probably move to another area.

With deer-dog hunting, the “back door” refers to the unlikely escape route that mature bucks often take. Instead of running the anticipated direction of travel, sometimes bucks will hunker down, wait for the commotion to pass, and exit the opposite direction to avoid detection (a.k.a. the back door).

Seasoned deer dog hunters typically cover this route, but sometimes it isn’t as clear. Instead of getting ahead of the dogs and hunters, set up behind the turning point of the dogs. If you see a truck filled with a pack of hounds, it’s time to back track. Once the dogs jump a deer, that buck will head toward the next patch of cover. Look for the nearest cover from where you anticipate handlers to turn the dogs. This should be the opposite direction of where you expect them to run. If you anticipate the dogs to run North, look for the nearest patch of cover South of this. Just make sure it’s away from other hunters.

If you’re worried about upsetting deer-dog hunters by shooting a buck in front of their dogs, most of them are happy for you to do so. This means easy roundups for their dogs, and it gives them and their pups a vote of confidence. While they might not help you drag your deer out, they’ll probably be indifferent at worst. If you do happen to shoot a buck behind someone else’s dog, offer them a backstrap as a sign of appreciation. After all, they’re the reason you punched your tag in the first place.

Perhaps you’d rather steer clear of deer-dog hunters altogether. If so, you should check spots B, C, or D on your list. Being forced into certain hunting spots can take off the pressure and be surprisingly productive. I can’t tell you how many times pivoting from my original hunting plans has led to a puched tag. At the least, you can learn more about those spots you’ve been wanting to check out anyway.

Aside from those magical days during the rut, deer hunting tends to get tougher as the season progresses. And you’re not helping your odds by staying at home just because a band of pickups and beagles picked the “best” spots first. By this point in the season, you should expect plenty of hunting pressure. To find success, you’ll need to get creative and adapt to that hunting pressure. You can bet the deer will.