Dogs on Dutton

Bow6x6 · Mar 2, 2015

Last season I had a great hunt up on Dutton the first week of archery. My Uncle hunted the second week which he has done many times but to his surprise there were numerous camps with guys running dogs. Pretty much ruined his week for archery. We have never seen this before in any week/year up there during archery. Can anybody tell me what that was all about? What were they hunting and is that going to be a regular thing now? I looked at the regs and couldn't find an explanation for what he experienced. Any info would be appreciated as this could potentially dictate our plans for this year.

Thanks,

Brad

elkassassin · Mar 2, 2015

Don't know the Exact situation with your Uncle!

Here's the Deal!

When the UDWR decided to start Hunting Big Game Continuously & Overlapped from Mid-August on in to February They Screwed the Houndsmen!

The Hounders Like to Hunt just like you do!

Everybody needs a little of their own Time to Hunt!

I don't agree with Houndsmen to be able STIRR sshitt up during a LE Elk Hunt but I have seen it happen many a times!

Like I said!

Hounders like to Hunt too & they may not like a bunch of Deer/Elk Hunters stompin stuff out either!

Again,I think all types of Hunters should have some time without the Hassle of other Hunters!

But with the Big Game Hunts continuous & overlapped JFP!!!

We laugh, we cry, we love
Go hard when the going's tough
Push back, come push and shove
Knock us down, we'll get back up again and again
We are Members of the Huntin Crowd!

WhiskeyDog · Mar 2, 2015

They would have been bear hunting. The bear hunt would normally start one week after the archery hunts giving the archery guys a week alone. There has been a lot of changes to the bear hunts this year. In most cases there won't be houndsmen running bears during the archery hunts. There will be bear baiting seasons earlier. I would recommend looking at the bear season dates during the time you plan to hunt. Remember it's a two way street and the houndsmen also have to deal with the other hunters. On several units in the state it takes as long or longer to draw a bear tag as it does to draw a big game tag. Those guys with dogs are just as entitled to a quality hunt on public ground, and are usually more invested in their hunt.

Bow6x6 · Mar 2, 2015

I agree we all need to share the woods. That's why I'm trying to figure out what that was and is it going to take place again so I can plan accordingly.

Brad

Bow6x6 · Mar 2, 2015

LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-15 AT 02:35PM (MST)[p]What added to the confusion is all I could find for that area and that date was a single bear tag. One tag doesn't explain the number of hound camps my Uncle saw. So, there is obviously something I missed in the regs which is why I'm asking for help.

Brad

Downrange · Mar 2, 2015

They also have pursuit permits. So hounds man can chase bears and bay them up or tree them without having to kill one. You probably had those houndsman huntn bear not killing them. Dam good training for dogs. A good bear dog wil run between 2000 to 5000 dollars and they don't get good at home on the chain if you know what mean.

WhiskeyDog · Mar 2, 2015

Looks like 1 fall tag for this year. The hunt opens Aug. 22nd on the Dutton. There is always the chance of the few conservation tags being on the mountain but I don't suspect they would choose to hunt that unit. Can't explain what happened last year, but I wouldn't expect that to be the norm. Like other hunters, some who draw a bear tag choose to involve many family and friends. That would explain a large camp with multiple people but not several seperate camps. If you do find houndsmen on the mountain while hunting I would recommend trying to visit with them. Most hound guys are very willing to help other hunters. I suspect if they know your general hunt plans they'll do their best to not disrupt you.

elkassassin · Mar 2, 2015

Was on an LE Elk Hunt about 3 years ago!

A Hounder started a Bear Right out of Our Camp!

SOB'ing Bear Drank one of my DEWS!

Was I mad at the Hounder?

Hell No!

He ended up catching & Releasing the Bear!

We laugh, we cry, we love
Go hard when the going's tough
Push back, come push and shove
Knock us down, we'll get back up again and again
We are Members of the Huntin Crowd!

Bow6x6 · Mar 2, 2015

OK, so I was right about there only being one tag. Maybe the part about being able to train the hounds was new to that area/date. Something was different last year than all the other years we've hunted there. Could be as simple as a group of houndsmen choosing that area to train over areas they normally go to. If that's the case then it's not likely I can predict how it will be in the future. I was hoping to find a change in regs or some sort of factual explanation that I could then look for in subsequent years to plan around.

Brad