Question for all you hound-doggers

[willyqbc]

First off let me say that I have never hunted with hounds, not that I have anything against it, theres just not many where I live who do. Now my question is this.... What is the big deal with running dogs? You all seem very dedicated to this type of hunting. What is it that draws you to this style of hunting? Is it the social aspect, or the companionship of a good dog, or pride in training a dog well or what? And whats up with the razzing about the different breeds you use... is it just a FORD vs CHEVY vs DODGE kind of thing? Or are there different breeds that are more easily trained and easier to handle etc? Anyway I'll be interested to hear your replies! Thanks
Chris

 

[willyqbc]

And in addition to the above questions.... what kind of cost is involved in a cougar hunt for an out of country hunter? (Canadian) Reading posts from Dawg and ED and that bunch remind me of our moose camps here! Its good to see there are still a few first class social degenerates out there!!! :7
Thanks
Chris

 

[catmando]

For me it was mostly the dogs. There is nothing like starting a pup up and watching that dog catch it's first lion, bear or bobcat. Alot like your child taking their first steps, or speaking their first words. Much like watching a young pointer on it's first point. Basically a great feeling of accomplishment.

The "music" the dogs make trailin' an old track up the canyon is some of the coolest sounds that I have heard. Listening to all the different dogs barks, bawls, chops etc., is undescribable. It is something you would need to hear for yourself.

Some of the company is pretty good as well. Old Kattrax is about as funny a guy as you would ever meet. Waycool is down to earth, solid, and likes to spark hunting interest in kids. Hounddawg is a good guy, but until he gets over that fact that he thinks I'm an undercover fish cop I won't get to know him to well.;-)

Hands down this is the funnest forum on this site.

If you want a good hunt and want to see a cat, you get what you pay for. You can count on spending a minimum of $2,000 and up plus your licenses for a guy that will show you some game. Kattrax and Houndawg both can hook you up for a gauranteed hunt. Go down on this forum to the following posts: "The boys tom" and "Catmandoo's toad", to see two of the cats caught this year.

Anyway, I'm sure the other guys will give you more information that is better than mine.

Catmando, putting the "itch" in #####.

 

[WayCool]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-16-03 AT 04:24PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jan-16-03 AT 04:23?PM (MST)

Its all about the dogs my friend... its all about the dogs I don't hunt much that dog doesn't make more enjoyable...

Some tree huggar said something like.. how cruel it is to chase a lion with a dog... well hell I say its cruel for my dogs NOT to chase a bear or lion... its what they were born to do.. to deprive them of it is as lame as depriving a lion from hunting deer...

It still amazes me what well refined instinct these dogs have... just amazes me...

The collateral benefit is.. making friends and getting others interested in the dogs, its fun for everyone... Imagine the look on a young persons face when they see their first bear in a tree.. or when they see a good pointing dog snap around to staunch point ... Man.. now that is COOL !


Steve Lithgow
http://www.waycoolkennels.com

 

[edhunter]

Willy,
Good questions and this is just one response that only represents me. As a boy I read about bears, lions and dogs-dreaming of some day actually seeing a large predator in the wild. When I was 24 years old I spotted my 1st bear in the woods. Years later I was fortunate to see 3 lions without the aid of dogs. It seemed no matter how hard I tried to call or spot the apex predators they would elude me and my desires were to cross paths more frequently.

Then along comes Stan. He wanders through here from time to time but his dad and I hunt together often. This wet pup was ate up with getting dogs and treeing something. It wore on me and I was drawn like beartreed to a woody. Next thing I know my truck has a welded up contaption to hold mutts, I've got 8 or 10 barking mongrels in the back yard and I'm broke. Worst of all we still can't catch nothin' but coons and the dog we paid $2300 for wasn't even catching them. (He was the best bear dog in AZ when I was handing out the money)

Any smarter fool would have licked his wounds and gone back to hunting deer and elk. Not these rednecks, we spent more money and did some heavy culling. After two years of chasing nothing we finally caught a bear. Not big but a real bear was up the tree. For a guy in mid-life crisis that was better than sex no matter how well you do it

This has rambled along long enough. To answer your questions: I love hearing the dogs, filming what we catch and watching 95% of them run away. I love walking noisily through the woods to a pack of screaming hounds. I love the last 100 yards to the tree, sneaking in to see if the critter is hanging low and ready to jump. I am amazed every time my black rig dog starts singing on the box and a few hours later we are under a tree with the bear popping his teeth and the dogs going crazy.....we rest up for a minute or half hour and then leash the pack and film Mr. Bruin as he decends...jumps....runs off to be treed again.

Dogs are dogs but finding a good one is hard as hell. Some day I'll post my "Dogs I've had" list. Right now I've been through over 50 and have 5 in my yard right now.....one that needs a bullet. I'll run a plott/weinner cross if it will trail and tree.

Dawg does lion hunts for $2,500 in Utah if you are interested. Hope this answers some of your questions.

Ed, www.swhounds.com

 

[HoundDawg]

Hound dogging is not all about the dogs like these guys will tell you. Here is a secret buddy... Hounding is all about the women!!

These deer and elk hunters laugh and make fun of us, and we act all hurt and put out and cry for respect, etc... It's all an act. While they are laughing and making fun of us, we are scoring bigtime on their wives and girlfriends.

All these "famous" mule deer guys on this site... hell, I've had all of their wives or girlfriends approach me at some point and it sure wasn't to buy a bluetick pup!! ;-)

You see women just can't resist trashy guys, I don't know why but history has proven it time and time again. And who qualifies as trashy any better than a hound guy? As much as you don't want to admit it, if you have a nice truck in your driveway, with a Mossback mulies logo in the window, or a Kings calendar on your wall at home, some lowlife hound guy is nailing your wife or gal.

Kid Rock, Hank Jr. Axel Rose, Tommy Lee, Kevin, Ed... trashy bad boys ALWAYS get the babes!! Your wife or gal can't resist us trashy hound guys, and we are happy to oblige. So forget this BS about the dogs, and seeing game... it's all about scoring with the babes!!!

Oops gotta run... BlueHair's wife is calling again. ;-)

-Dawg "Putting the TRY in Adultry...."

 

[HoundDawg]

OK, well this is one other thing about hound dogging I like...

For me it's the satisfaction of succeeding and something that has been very challenging and difficult for me.

It has been far more costly, challenging or difficult for me than killing any other trophy animal. Ask CB about a memorable hunt and he'll most likely mention his Dall sheep hunt, probably because of the degree of difficulty.

Killing a trophy elk is just a matter of getting a tag and pulling the trigger when you call the dumb lovesick sucker into your camp.

Killing a trophy mule deer is more difficult in my opinion, but becomes much easier with a premiere tag in hand, or access to prime private ground. I killed a trophy buck once and drawing the tag was more difficult than killing the deer.

But going onto the most prime piece of private real estate with your pack of hounds doesn't do squat for you. Bottom line is you still either have a dog that can catch game or you don't.

And getting to the point where you have dogs that can catch you a lion or a bear consistently in any conditions, wherever you go, is still the most difficult feat in hunting, or one of them. And maintaining that year in and year out is even harder.

If you want success and results, stick to deer and elk hunting. If you want heartache, misery and despair, with moments of joy and reward mixed in on occasion, take up hounding...

Take 'ol Ed as an example. He's a much better bear hunter than I am so I'll use him... He has a damn nice pack of bear dogs and so does Stan. For the money they invested in their pack of dogs, they could have taken that money and killed a couple trophy mule deer and elk on some premiere units in the west.

You can bank on one thing. Anyone that tells you hounding is easy doesn't know anything about hounding. If a guy tells you to stay away from it, and you're a fool if you start buying hounds, he knows ALL about it. ;-)

-Dawg "Puttin' the ID in Idiot!!"

 

[Bluehair]

>Oops gotta run... BlueHair's wife
>is calling again.
> ;-)


I wondered where she was geting all that walkin around money. And that smell......?

Sorry bud, if you want that one in yer garage, you're gunna have to take over the payments. Warranty run out a looooong time ago.

}>

 

[willyqbc]

Very interesting replies!! Sounds like one of those things you just need to be a part of to really understand!! Maybe someday...
I think the wife would kill me if I laid out that kind of cash for a couple kitties! Maybe that casanova Dawg could talk her into it for me ;-) Anyway... thanks for the insight, and BTW, you guys are a riot!!
Thanks
Chris

 

[KeepemTreed]

Hey! IF you want a first row seat of hunting with hounds I would highly recommend purchasing the video's from swhounds you can contact ed about them. These guys know how to tree bears and lions! They will take you into arizona, new mexico and utah. You will see some bears get harvested and also a bunch released! You will get to see old dawg's pack tree some pretty nice lions in utah. These boys have been around the block, they know what it takes to have some decent hounds that will catch game. Watching these videos will help you understand the reality of this sport. As I mentioned before these boys know what they are doing and you can tell how much they enjoy this hobby of theirs!

 

[HoundDawg]

Hey now, careful about peddling that video. I'm totally ashamed of both of those videos!!

Do you realize that I am sober over 80% of the time in those videos? When I sent all the footage to Ed I assumed it would be a video that truly showed what hounding was all about.

When I get the finished product back, all I see is a bunch of damn hounds trailing and treeing lions and bears. That's hounding? HA!! Hardly...

That video showed no heavy drinking, no serious addictions, no broken down vehicles, no crack whores, no nudity and vulgarities, minor profanity, and no major game violations being knowingly committed.

I don't know what Ed did with all the footage I sent him, but he didn't even include the best part... when they booked me into the graybar saloon and did that full cavity search on me. Now that kind of stuff is what hounding is really about!!!

And speaking of my stint in the 'ol clink, when did they make it illegal to dump a cow moose up on the mountain to run bobcats off of all winter? When Kevin taught me that trick he sure never mentioned the word "illegal"...

Oh well. They serve a helluva bologna sandwich in the joint. And the conjugal visits from Bluehairs wife were OK. Oh wait, maybe that was his girlfriend, I forget... He probably can't even keep track.

-Dawg