rigging bobcats

[Budd Denny]

Funny that you guy's say a pup raised hunting this way has a better chance learning and rigging cats. I've sent a few pups out to Oregon (C. Wilcox) and he called with a update that the pups were starting to do a good job rigging on cats , a practice I've never tried here. So yea I totally agree that all good cat hounds will do it if raised and trained that way.

[Dads dogboy]

South Texan

As you know Dad roaded his Hounds to strike for 40 years. It was the only way folks in Texas struck a Bobcat.

Then he started hunting in the Sandy country of North East Florida. There the Hunters would drive the roads with a light mounted to the lower driver’s side door of their truck. The Hunters would find where a Cat came out into the road then track the Cat down the road to where it turned out into a Plantation. Then they would get their strike Dogs out, go to where the Cat had crossed the ditch (this usually had water from knee to head deep), snap their fingers and sic the Hound into where the Cat had gone.

This was the best way to find a Cat in that Country, something we can not do here in AR, in East Texas, LA, MS or anywhere else Dad has hunted. However it allowed Dad to cover a Lot more country, this equated into more strikes and Races.

Now he is like you all, he always had Hounds that would strike out of the Box. He began to find that his Hounds were catching on to the "Tracking" game. Selected Hounds (usually his better nosed strike Dogs) began to open much more freely in the Box about the time Dad started seeing a Track.

Then Dad moved to North Central Florida to Hunt. The Roads were not as well kept here and the tracking was not as easy. Dad went back to roading. He began to get frustrated at how slow it was. I had started hunting with him by now and was commenting on Ole Ruby striking out of the truck. Also we talked about the fellows out west Rigging Lions and Bears. Dad said that the Good Old Time Bobcat Hunters in Texas used to say that you could not “Rig” a Bobcat as they did not leave enough scent!

We decided to put Ruby and Rita on top and see what would happen. The first night we had them up, we struck 11 different Bobcat (you could find their tracks in the sand every time) and ran and caught 2.

It took several weeks to perfect the manner and style that worked best for us. We put two main Hounds up and two prospects (not all Hounds are comfortable on top) behind them to learn this craft.

We soon learned that you will not only cover more ground (you can drive a steady 10 to 15 MPH) but you will strike more Cat from the top than the Hounds roading will! We find that only a third of the Tracks struck will yield a race. So many times a strike will be an old Pile of Scat that will leave enough scent to provoke a strike but the Cat has been gone too long (maybe as much as a day) to trail. Also Toms and Sows will both leave what Coastalrangecathunter calls “Pissing Posts”. These are the places that a Bobcat will deposit some of that excretion from their anal gland to “mark” their territory. We have had Rig Dogs strike these for 4 days in a row (the Cat who left it died the first time we struck there, but another could have come by and freshened it).

Starting to Rig can be frustrating if you do not TRUST your Hounds, as lots of places you may not be able to find a track as easy as we can in Florida. Glen Rybard here in AR Rigs almost all the time. He caught over a Hundred Cat last year. Dad gave him two Hounds that we had started Rigging in FL and he had two other young Hounds that caught on quickly. However he found out that not all GOOD Road hunting strike Dogs will make Rig dogs. His Best Bitch just never got comfortable on top, but when turned out at the strike was great at finding where the Cat had left the Road.

Mr. Harold Parker in MS wanted to get his Hounds rigging. He had started putting his two Red Bitches that are littermates to Dads and Glens top Rig Dogs up on top. Mr. Harold hunts almost every morning of the year, in the summer it gets Hot early so rigging could sure help him.

As I said you have to trust your Hounds….Mr. Robbie you have had those bad scenting, Hot Dry Mornings when you see a Cat and the Hounds just can not smell him. Well shortly after Mr. Harold started putting his Hounds up on top, he was Rigging down a road and saw a Bobcat cross the road ahead of him. He Rigged right across where the Cat crossed the road and nothing…not a Hound barked. He went up the road, turned around, drove back and still nothing. He then turned around and put the Hounds down and roaded back across the Track….still nothing. He then walked the Hounds out where the Cat went and got one or two cold barks but nothing else.

That was tough for him to swallow, however it taught him to trust his Hounds. He now Riggs most of the time and catches as many Cat as anyone outside of South Texas.

Mike Rooke (Sotexcathunter) who as you know has several of Dad’s Hounds is now rigging (except when he Hunts with Weaver, who as you can imagine is a very Vocal doubter). This has helped a lot in keeping His good strike Dogs from getting Rattlesnake bit when roading. Also it equates in more country covered, which on nights when Cat are not moving much means a better chance for a Race.

Mr. Robbie some of the advantages for you in your country is the Rig Dogs can “Wind” a Cat farther out from the Road than they can in our Big Timber country. On top the Air Currents can carry the Bobcats scent better and farther than what the Hounds can smell on the ground. This along with dodging the Snakes will help you strike more Cat, but just like roading you will strike lots of Tracks that you can not do anything with. You will learn to tell by the sound of the Strike which ones to put down on. The intensity of the Rigs Dogs Barking will let you know what is going on, just like watching the Tails wagging on a Road strike!

Come on up here to AR and make a Hunt with us and watch the Rig Dogs in Action. It is too Hot and dry in South Texas to do much good. Bring a couple of your best strike Dogs and we will put them on top with Choctaw and let them see how this Rigging thing works!

C. John Clay
Dad’s dogboy

[Huntintony]

CJ, well stated! Let me know when those cats are thick. Next couple months would be a good time for me to come over. Need to see the family soon anyways. Tell your dad I said hello.

Tony

[Dads dogboy]

Tony,

We will be here till Oct. 2nd; then in Florida till about Oct. 26.

Come see us in Sept. It should be cooler and the Cats will be moving better, maybe South Texan and Shorty can make it at the same time. Shorty has some Hounds that can make the Longtails that live in some of your country get real nervous!

CJC

[South Texan]

Gentlemen,
I appreciate all the good info. Sure has me scratching my head and pondering this little endeavor. I think what I'll probably try, is putting a couple of my easiest opening start dogs on the box and just keep road hunting the rest of the pack. When the dogs on the ground start a track, I'll try to encourage the dogs on the box to open, when they do I'll put'em down. I'll try this a while and see what happens. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, I appreciate it.

CJ, I really appreciate the invite. I'd give anything if I could come up and hunt with you and your Dad for a few days. But... I just can't get that far away from home right now, with this drought on here in south Texas. All the tanks are dry, so if the water well goes down, I can get in trouble in a hurry. Thanks again and tell your Dad I said "Howdy"

Thanks to everyone for all the replys. Robbie

[box rocker]

CJC, how old were Ruby and Rita the first time you put them on the box ? What is the average humidity % in the air when you go out and rig? thanks for all the info.

[Dads dogboy]

Box Rocker,

Ruby and Rita were both "Special Hounds" (refer back to earlier posts to see what this designation means and how it is earned), Ruby was 5 coming 6 and Rita was 3 coming 4.

Both were Hounds that had been striking Bobcats from inside the Box.

The relative Humidity along the Gulf Coast is always on the High side, we seldom see it below 60% in the North Fl region that we hunt. However in the Winter, a dry Norther pushed by a Strong High Pressure System can come in and drop the Humidity to below 20%. When this happens a Track must be Smoking Hot for the Hounds to have any chance of terminating it successfully.

In AR the Humidity is not as consistent as FL. We can see fluctuations during a 6 hour Hunt. This greatly impacts the Hounds ability to move a Track more so than Striking! You will always seem to be able to Rig a Cat where it has sat around, defecated, or freshened a Scent post.

Hope This Helps!

C. John Clay

PS I sure hope that BuddyW can make the search engine for the Archives work better as there is lots of very good Threads from the last couple of years on this subject!

[George Streepy]

Great posts fellas.