There will never be anything more exciting than listening to a pack of hounds, screaming with every breath, pushing a deer straight towards you.
In the Beginning
In the early 1960s, we were living in Jesup when we got into the dog hunting business. We started out with an old dog named Spot, she was more of a pet than anything else. I don't know where Spot came from, but she had a pup we named Snowball, and Snowball started a line of some of the best swamp hounds ever to set foot in Long County.
Early on Daddy knew a lot about hunting with dogs, but his only experience was hunting rabbits. As a young boy, he grew up in North Carolina chasing rabbits with beagles. I don't believe he ever hunted deer until the Army stationed him at Fort Stewart, about seven miles from Ludowici. ( Keith and I were both born at the Fort Stewart Army Hospital. My son, Sam, was born there as well during the early days of Desert Storm. I was stationed in South Korea at the time.)
In the beginning, Daddy trained our deer hounds the same way he used to train his rabbit dogs. He would catch rabbits in wooden box traps, then turn them loose in front of our young pups. Once they started running rabbits, he would get our pups into a deer race.
Years later he trained our pups with a 3-legged dog named "Joe." That old dog actually had four legs, but only three feet. He lost one foot in a coon trap. Old Joe was slow, but steady on a deer trail. I once watched him trailing a deer while swimming across a wide slew; he would smell where the deer had brushed against the trees. He was a great teacher for our young deer hounds.
Back then there were basically two kinds of deer hounds; those that would run a deer for about 30 minutes, then come back to where they started. We used these dogs when hunting in the swamps. The other kind was the breed of dog that would run a deer for hours without stopping. We used those dogs when hunting in the flat woods, affectionately referring to them as long-legged Walkers. We had both kinds of dogs over the years.
During the 60s and 70s, we did a lot of hunting in the river swamp. This was a stretch of land that hugged the Altamaha River, east of Highway 301, between Ludowici and Jesup. The area we hunted was about 10 miles long as the crow flies, and about three miles wide in some places. This tract included the two large swamps with high ground in between. Calling something in that part of Long County "high ground" is a bit misleading. It didn't take much at all for the river to flood out the high ground.
Back then there were basically two kinds of deer hounds; those that would run a deer for about 30 minutes, then come back to where they started. We used these dogs when hunting in the swamps. The other kind was the breed of dog that would run a deer for hours without stopping. We used those dogs when hunting in the flat woods, affectionately referring to them as long-legged Walkers. We had both kinds of dogs over the years.
Swamp Hounds
During the 60s and 70s, we did a lot of hunting in the river swamp. This was a stretch of land that hugged the Altamaha River, east of Highway 301, between Ludowici and Jesup. The area we hunted was about 10 miles long as the crow flies, and about three miles wide in some places. This tract included the two large swamps with high ground in between. Calling something in that part of Long County "high ground" is a bit misleading. It didn't take much at all for the river to flood out the high ground.
The high ground was covered with water oaks, yellow pines and palmettos, now it's mostly clear cut, replaced with planted pines by the paper companies. The swamps were full of tupelo and cypress trees. There weren't many good roads back then either, mostly just a few sandy two-path trails crisscrossing the ridges. When the river rose and the swamps flooded, the high ground became small islands, with names such as Shoe Island, Buck Island and Joyner Island; perfect county for big bucks and swamp hounds.
Snowball
Snowball was our first real swamp hound. She was a mixed breed, mostly red bone with a little bit of bird dog. We would put her in the trunk of Daddy's Falcon until we met up with the other hunters. Daddy would then put her in with another hunter's pack of hounds. She didn't even have a collar back then. Her line of pups became great swamp hounds: Blue, Drive, Bullet, Maybelline, Showboat, and many others.
I still get sentimental when thinking about those dogs, back then dog hunting was serious business.
Just Like A Drill Sergeant
Daddy used to be a sergeant in the Army, and that's the way he handled our dogs. I remember Keith and me following Daddy and those dogs on many deer drives. Sometimes we were busting through thick myrtle and palmettos on the sand hills between the swamps, other times we were crossing black water slews so deep that Daddy would carry Keith across on his back. Other hunters would take up stands on the narrow sandy roads and into the swamps, surrounding an area. We'd then push our pack of hounds through until they jumped.
Daddy never did have the patience for sitting on a stand, so we were always "drivers." Whenever he dropped the tailgate on our truck, the dogs would almost bust up the dog box trying to get out. Once in the woods, they would scatter, but Daddy would start whooping and clapping and everyone of those dogs would be right there within minutes. Wherever we went, our dogs were always out front, but never really out of sight.
Whenever Daddy shifted right or left, the whole pack would shift with him. I even remember watching those dogs looking back at Daddy to see which way he wanted them to go. The instincts in our hunting dogs were strong, they seemed to come into the world knowing what was expected of them.
Our swamp hounds didn't have to worry much about trailing. We were good at finding deer beds, and that's all it took. Daddy once told me that whenever deer busted out of their beds, some of our hounds would actually start jumping up, looking over the palmettos, trying to catch a glimpse of the deer. But once a deer did get up in front of that pack of hounds, the chase was on.
And there was never a doubt as to when they jumped. The whole pack would start screaming with every breath, sounding like a freight train rolling through the swamps. Because of the few roads and swamps, it never took long for the dogs to push the deer out of the drive. If one of the standers didn't kill the deer crossing a road, most of the dogs would be back within 30 minutes. Then we'd continue with the drive, doing it all over again.
Many deer were killed in front of our pack of swamp hounds back then. I still miss them.
Mike's Hunting Tip - When hunting with dogs, more deer are killed "slipping" away from the dogs than in front of them. When on a stand, try to stay hidden and keep still. Your chances of seeing a deer will greatly improve.
Mike Griffin, an old Ludowici boy from way back.
PS - All of my stories are true, mostly true or maybe just made up!
Daddy never did have the patience for sitting on a stand, so we were always "drivers." Whenever he dropped the tailgate on our truck, the dogs would almost bust up the dog box trying to get out. Once in the woods, they would scatter, but Daddy would start whooping and clapping and everyone of those dogs would be right there within minutes. Wherever we went, our dogs were always out front, but never really out of sight.
Whenever Daddy shifted right or left, the whole pack would shift with him. I even remember watching those dogs looking back at Daddy to see which way he wanted them to go. The instincts in our hunting dogs were strong, they seemed to come into the world knowing what was expected of them.
Our swamp hounds didn't have to worry much about trailing. We were good at finding deer beds, and that's all it took. Daddy once told me that whenever deer busted out of their beds, some of our hounds would actually start jumping up, looking over the palmettos, trying to catch a glimpse of the deer. But once a deer did get up in front of that pack of hounds, the chase was on.
And there was never a doubt as to when they jumped. The whole pack would start screaming with every breath, sounding like a freight train rolling through the swamps. Because of the few roads and swamps, it never took long for the dogs to push the deer out of the drive. If one of the standers didn't kill the deer crossing a road, most of the dogs would be back within 30 minutes. Then we'd continue with the drive, doing it all over again.
Many deer were killed in front of our pack of swamp hounds back then. I still miss them.
Mike's Hunting Tip - When hunting with dogs, more deer are killed "slipping" away from the dogs than in front of them. When on a stand, try to stay hidden and keep still. Your chances of seeing a deer will greatly improve.
Mike Griffin, an old Ludowici boy from way back.
PS - All of my stories are true, mostly true or maybe just made up!
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