Sadly, dog hunting is gradually going away in South Carolina. The reasons are varied, but population growth and anti-hunting pressure are certainly part of the reason. There are a lot of people in SC now, particularly along the immediate coast, that were not raised up around hunting, and they don’t understand when they see someone riding around with a dead animal on their tailgate, nor do they appreciate hunters turning their dogs loose, knowing the dogs will cross private property, or standing along public roads with shotguns. (In other words, a few slob hunters can make it bad for all the good ones.) Safety is an issue, with the influx of housing developments. The larger land owning companies along the coast are beginning to ban dog hunting at lease renewal, so availability of property is an issue. There are still lots of private clubs, but the numbers are dwindling. I was raised up dog hunting, and still enjoy listening to them run, but I don’t participate anymore, because of the lack of respect shown by a few of the hunters I used to hunt with, some of whom are still my friends. I only do still or stand hunting these days, and enjoy it much more.
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