Stag-hunting. [f. TUFT v. 4 + -ER1.] A hound trained to drive the deer out of cover.
1856. ‘Stonehenge,’ Brit. Sports, I. II. ii. § 2. (ed. 2), 109. Men, called ‘harbourers,’ with hounds trained for the purpose, called ‘tufters,’ undertake the task.
1868. Daily News, 2 Sept. The tufters … soon roused two fine stags.
1884. Jefferies, Red Deer, iii. When the tufters enter the woods—that is, the hounds detached from the pack to force the deer to break cover.
