BigGameHoundsmen.com

Texas does not have government funded hunters?

I think they have govt. funded trappers but no hunters. The trappers use mostly snares and cyanide guns. Hopefully I will be corrected if I'm wrong.

I thought Rick Dickerson was a USDA houndman out of Fort Stockton?

Yeah I went down and hunted for a week on the Pecos above Sanderson. That dog pear is some nasty stuff... Rick Dickerson is out of Fort Stockton I've never met him ... Terral Shelly use to go down and hunt with him some. I've got to hunt behind one of his hounds he traded to a friend of mine years ago.. real deal dryround Lion hound we caught a nice Tom just because of her... My first hounds came from a ranch down at Fort Davis ... Matter of fact I just remembered Tye Vick use to have some hounds down in that area too

Brett,

Benny G can tell you about Rick they use to run around together and terrorize the Phoenix area when they were kids. LOL!

It seems to me that one could never hunt a bobcat population down in Texas. A lot of cats and a lot of country for cats to come back into. As far as lions not hard to catch down there just hard to find one. The locals think the population is increasing . As far as here in Oregon there seems to be a few hunters that catch a lot of bobcats year after year with a lot of hunters catching very few, not able to find any. I wonder if it might be the difference in the hunters and dogs they are hunting? Just something to think about. Dewey

It amazes me when flying in and back out of Corpus how much brush country is there. Couple that with the fact that it is all private and not all available to cat hunting and there is no way hunting could wipe them out. Dewey,I ask Dan if he thought the cats there could possibly have 2 litters a year and he said he didnt know for sure but said they had caught kittens just agout every month of the year. Any thoughts on that? Any South Texas hunters have any thoughts? Anyways it is a blast to hunt down there,someday i will take dogs from here down there and see how they do. One other thing in spite of the population there are still times when you cant buy track.

Bobcats have one litter a year most often in April. I have seen a litter die for whatever reason and the female will bred again. There are two sub-species of bobcats in Texas, one being the desert bobcat and harder to tree than the kind in South Texas. I am not sure if it’s the bobcat or the terrain, but they will give you a longer and harder chase and they look different. They have their litters in late April and early May, compared to early April in other areas of Texas. In all cases, it’s prime time to feed on other, animals offspring.
It is true, sometimes, you can't buy a track and the same goes for fishing.

There is plenty of Lions in Texas and the population is growing and expanding. It’s having the knowledge to know where to hunt, how to hunt and having hounds, good enough to handle a track in dry ground, being in good enough shape, to handle the heat, have feet that can take abuse and the grit to pressure, lions in rough country. Treeing a Lion in the Trans-Pecos area, is very difficult and you will be very limited hunting from a truck. Hounds that can tree lions on a regular basis in Texas, make easy work of treeing bobcats, but very few bobcat hounds can tree lions, on a regular basis, especially adult Toms. That is why we have no closed season. I know it's different in other states, but we are talking Texas.
Texas is a very big state and the difference between South Texas, East Texas, The, hill country and the Trans-Pecos area is like being in different states.

JTG: I agree with most of what you say but not all of it. There is a big difference as to where you are at in Texas as to how hard it is to tree bobcats or lions. As with anywhere you need to know where to hunt,have very good dogs in top shape to catch game. Some hunters have the time and ability to be very successful with what they do while others do not have the knowledge or take the time to do so. I have hunted lion and bobcats in 8 different states including in desert conditions. I have always found that it takes a top dog to hunt in different states and conditions. Out here in western Oregon in a wetter climate taking my dogs to different states it has always been easier to tree lions than bobcats. I have seen bobcat dogs that are hunted hard on bobcats not take a lion track. I have also talk to Texas hunters that have seen that there bobcat dogs will not take a lion. You seem very knowable but I would like to know how many bobcat and lion you have treed in Texas and your current hunting time spent on lion and bobcat. Dewey

Dewey,
First let me start with, I think you are a good man and I am impressed your hounds treeing bobcats in Texas, staying here for such a short time. The last week or so, I have been spending time with a friend from Utah, visiting. He has not had much luck on bobcats, not that my hounds are better, but his hounds are not used to this environment.
In respect to hunting, I live on a ranch, surround by other ranches that are either own by friends or oil companies. The same land, where family and friends, have hunted with hounds for over hundred years. We are one of the few places left that has not been developed. I hunt other places in Texas and other states too.
When my pups are under a year old, they are running loose 24/7, I stick a baby monitor out the window, so I know when they are treed. I will not get into how many lions or bobcats my hounds tree. My priority is breeding and training, although, I keep very good records on what, where and when, cats where treed or caught. It’s not, uncommon for my hounds to stayed treed for eight or more hours and that’s tough in Texas or to tree or catch, two or more cats in a day. There are many days, when I get nothing, but a good workout.
Dewey, Texas is different and it’s impossible to know without living here. Where you hunted in Texas, there is a few lions and lots of bobcats. Many ranches in that area and other areas in Texas, kill all the coyotes, hogs and coons, they can, but leave the bobcats alone. There is water on most of those ranches and lots of small game, so the bobcats thrive, although a little hard on turkeys. There is no shortage of bobcats or any other varmint in Texas.

It takes years to learn how to hunt lions with hounds in Texas and know of no others that can do it on a regular basis. Not saying they can’t, just saying that I have not, known or seen any, but I do know several bobcat hunters. One of my friends hunts on a ranch on the border of Mexico, he gets around 80 or so bobcats a year in three or four months. He can’t get it done on Lions in the Trans-Pecos area and when I first started, I could not either. The main problems, are feet, mouth and knowing how to easily find the lions and in that order.

JTG: Thanks for the reply. I did not have my dogs down there but hope to next year. I do not know if they will catch a bobcat down there. I have hunted Nevada desert, California desert next to Nevada and southeastern Arizona with success. Texas is different with everything having spines. Arizona my dogs were out of it after a week of hunting. We hunted out of Uvalde, south maybe 50 miles on larger ranches while I was in Texas. West Texas-Pecos area is a hard place to catch anything with hounds from what I have heard. Good hunting Dewey

I've found the best way to compare dogs is to hunt them together They're are so many variables in hunting that is about the only way to do it.Bullshit being what it is numbers don't mean a lot but of course a dog that trees cats is a great indicator that you have a good dog.Conditions vary from state to state but the heat will take it out of most dogs.Good dogs can usually acclimate to different conditions but it takes a little time for some and some never do.Some good dogs just can't handle much heat.

For sure having one/e dogs in top shape helps catch cats that try to elude the dogs, especially in this steep rugged terrain. How can one keep dogs in top hunting shape when hunting time is limited to six months a year? Add to that the first three months coincide with the hunting seasons of deer, elk & etc making it hard to hunt your hounds safely, if not impossible because of leases & etc. I know in my case about the time the dogs get into hunting shape it is near the end of the season. Yes it is possible some folks catch more cats because of the dogs they hunt, and they are better hunters. However it it also possible those who catch less don/t have equal cat populations, have a 40 hour work week schedule, do not have time to travel hunting a large area, and do not inflate the catch numbers. Yes there are those who catch a bunch of cats most every year who are good hunters with good dogs, do not sale pups or dogs, do not tell others what great dogs they own, they don/t have to, we know who those folks are. Just something to think about. Al







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