Hounds

[poutpro]

Do your dogs get pretty anxious being kenelled up, or do you get them out to run around if you're not getting them out chasing critters?

[IceHawk]

Well we got out yesterday with the hounds and what a blast. We found a bunch of tracks and 1 area where there were 5 running together. We could of used more snow it was hard to tell if they crossed out of a section or not? With the lack of snow cover the yotes are traveling alot of distance at night, with more they will hunt shorter distances. Anyhow we dropped the old (our best cold tracker) bluetick on a fresh set of tracks and off she goes into the swamp. In a few minutes she's cold tracking so we throw 3 more (walker) dogs out and whamo they jump one and the hunt is on. We manage to shoot the first one. (small young female) We know there is another in there so we bring the dogs back in. They jump another and the chase is on we get a nice 45lb or so male. All in all a good day and nice to hear the dogs again looking forward to more fresh snow!!!

[poutpro]

I'd love to see some action pics of your hounds.

[Cooter]

They're too fast for pictures! If I had a decent camera I would. Might snap a few with the disposable. Heading out tomorrow for sure, maybe Sun also. Later.

[Cooter]

Another weekend of coyote hunting - Sat was a bust as it snowed here all morning. We walked several sections and pine thickets with no luck, almost got one going early morning. I was helping a hound cold trail - we went through about a half mile of hardwood ridges on it and then it crossed an alfalfa field and the track was all blown in.

Yesterday with the fresh snow we had a great day, ended up with two yotes. The first circled about three times in a section then blew out of there and beelined about 8 miles before we finally got ahead of it. The second was a short chase as one of our guys was at the right spot and the right time. Beautiful day with the fresh snow and sun out. We were in southwest WI and its a gorgeous area with hardwood ridges, creek bottoms, and broken farm country. I soon realized how out of shape I am right now! Its amazing how much ground the dogs can cover in a short time on a hot track. Later.

[IceHawk]

We ended up with 2 more yotes and 3 red fox last week. Tough hunting still need some snow. Cooter we are doing the same thing with the lack of snow. We have opted to push sections with the lack of snow hopeing to jump a yote. It has worked but we have been putting on some hard but healthy miles on the legs. I am surprised at the number of fox this year, looks like are yote controll is starting to work.

[dstrey]

Just wondering what a good coyote dog goes for these days.

[Cooter]

That really depends on what you're looking for. If you want a dog that will run a jumped or relatively fresh track those are a dime a dozen. You want a good cold nosed dog for cold trailing and then the laws of supply and demand step in. For estimates on price I'm hesitant to say because it depends on where and who you 'shop' with. I'll throw out $1000 for a good cold nosed dog thats proven. Hope someone else can put out a more reliable number. Later.

[walleye101]

I haven't dabbled in the coyote hound market, but I'll bet it is not much different than the fox hound and coon hound market. I have dealt with many a hound jockeys over the years and the bottom line is if a hound is for sale there is usually a good reason. There are exceptions, but buyer beware, and be ready to sort through a lot of junk.

[Cooter]

Great info Walleye - your best route if you are serious is either buy a pup or make sure you hunt with a dog you are interested in and is for sale. Or like me, just have freinds with lots of good dogs!

[walleye101]

First coon hound I bought I was just a kid in high school. Answered an add in local paper for a grade bluetic, $60. Seller was the nicest guy I've ever met. Letting her go because he was getting into some registered walker stock. This was before the last fur boom when a good coon would only bring 4-8 dollars. The guys in the business then were in it for the hounds not the $$$$.

I couldn't decide if I could part with the $60. I was raising registered Beagles and selling pups for $25, big business. I'm sure the seller felt sorry for me and told me to take her for a week and try her. Turned out she was pretty darn good, but being green I didn't know how good. I bought her and ran her for years.

I didn't realize how good till I lost her and tried to replace her in the Mid 1980's when coon were bringing $45-55 and everybody and his brother was hunting. I tried out dozens of hounds that guys were wanting $300-600 for and spent many miserable nights chasing miserable hounds. The old $60 bluetic was long gone before I realized how good she really was.

She hooked me on running hounds though and I persisted until I found another good one. I went back to the guy I bought the bluetic from and begged him to part with one of his good walkers. He gave in but said he was going to need $100. Needless to say I didn't hesitate and never regreted it.

As I look back had I stumbled onto one of those junk dogs my first time I'd have givin up the sport right then and maybe led a normal life.

[ZOOM]

Sure is funny how you never really know what you have until its gone. My first two coonhounds were both reg walkers and let me tell you that Reg means nothing sometimes. Anyway that was the case with these to bone heads.(Chase anything but coon.) The next dog I had was Ok or anyway thats what I thought until I lost him to the Limes disease. I found out pretty quick after just how good the old boy was. Missed him for a long time. A good dog is priceless. Its the differents in a good productive night of fun or a trip to hell and back trampsing around the woods chaseing ghosts.

[walleye101]

I've run most every breed, redbone, bluetic, walker, english redtick, black and tan. Never owned a plott. There were good ones and bone heads in all the breeds. That $60 bluetic and the female walker I got to replace her were a couple of the most dependable hounds I've ever been around. Nothing fancy or fast, but steady and true. Probably the quickest starter I ever saw was a great looking walker male out of Finley River Chief. Never worked him on lead coon as a pup. Not sure he had ever sniffed a coon until 10 months old, then first time in the woods ran wide open and locked up on the tree with the old female like he had been dong it for years. He'd of probably been my best but disappeared the next fall with three others while out for a run. Never saw any of them again.

[Cooter]

Who's gonna unleash the hounds this weekend? Missed last weekend with the brutal temps.

[walleye101]

Unleased the Beagle yesterday. Trailing conditions were slow with the cold and wind and my patience and stamina to wait for the loop to close was way too short.

[nolte]

Unleash, On What snow? The areas I hunt seem to be in a snow vaccuum this year. There is stinking grass pokin up in the yard up north. We missed the latest snow storm again. It's been easily the worst year for snow I can remember. We get excited to just have a skiff so we can tell what tracks are from last night. I guess I'm to blame though, got a new sled to use this year. It's only been fired up twice when we traveled to cat hunt.

Rip em Up this weekend Cooter.

[Cooter]

Well the crew got 5 last Mon and then 3 on Sat. I had to help a bud move Sat and Sun there were I think too many tracks. We cold trailed all day and just couldn't get anything jumped. Gonna hit er again this Sat.

[houndsman]

dang thought there was no hound guys on here just bird dog guys so any of you gearing up to run some coon

[Tenpoint]

Hey keep up the posts. I enjoy reading them. I'm just sitting on the sidelines these days. Wife and two small kids take up to much time. I still have one old coyote dog, but the rest of my dog houses are empty.

I WILL GET BACK IN THE GAME, WHEN THE KIDS ARE OLDER Till then, i'll just have to read about it.

[walleye101]

Tenpoint,

I know what you are going through, been there. Love hounds? Want to stay in the game with young family? Ever tried Beagles on snoeshoes or cottontails? Great family dogs, kids love em, but dad can slip out for a couple hour run on weekends, evenings around family chores. Worked for me and I am hooked. Just some advice though, there are a lot of pet shop beagles out there. Make sure you find some good hunting stock. May as well be feeding a family pet with some hunt in him.

[Tenpoint]

Unfortuatly I have a beagle sleeping beside me as I post this. You couldn't give me another one if it had a bag full of money tied to it's tail. My hounds never drove me nuts the way this dog has. (Just between you me, my wife may have babied her just a tad)

[walleye101]

would that be pet shop breeding, or hunting stock?

[Tenpoint]

I'm not up on my beagle bloodlines, but the guy who gave her to us bought her for hunting. She is a nose with legs. She probally has as strong a hunting drive as any dog I have owned. That's what makes the problems. When the kids try to play with her she goes hunting. She barks ALL the time in the yard, way more than my hounds ever did. She is just a lousy pet. But the kids love her, so she gets to live the good life.

[walleye101]

Quote:

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the guy who gave her to us

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When ever the terms give, gave, or free are involved in a hound transaction I smell trouble!

Actually she sounds like a pretty typical beagle. They hunt for themselves but the good ones will tolerate you tagging along.