Clyde Lawson wrote: I converted to rigging about 90 days ago and will not go back! It saves my hounds and keeps them fresh for the race, & it is great way to train my young hounds. I know when a strike is a cat by my broke hounds and then turn in the youngsters! It is like a "jump" race and provides only positive training most of the time.
Can only think Jimmie M. & Jimmie J. (who I met last year at the gatherering) for helping me get my pack rigging.
I cover from 25-40 miles on forest roads rigging with 95% of time locating a cat track that can be ran & have a fresh pack to do so. Have had them rig a bobcat traveling 15-20 miles per hour, but usually travel about 5-10 MPH. Helps it seems if there is a small amount of cross wind? A couple weeks on a hunt with Marion G. following, two of the older hounds winded a cat down off of a hillside over 200 yards! When those two were put down--they went that fare with out a bark---then the race was on! We ran him for over a hour, having to catch them off due to getting to close to blacktop highway.
Clyde Lawson
Clyde this is great, you will find it only gets better over time, your hounds will learn to strike deeper and more refined...Not sure why a guy continues to try and convince others the world is round when they believe it is flat? Rigging bobcats can be done all over....If you ever hunted with a good solid rig dog, you would not keep those that you must stick their nose in a fresh snow track for long or worse yet travel hundreds of miles to find better snow conditions or you can't or won't hunt. You will find those thermals will allow you to rig bobcats that are not close to roads or have crossed directly....Hounds are amazing and limited only by the person behind them!
The rig striking out 200 yards is hard to imagine unless you have seen with your own eyes... Here in Oregon under ideal scenting conditions a friend had an English Redtick rig a bobcat some 400 plus yards and go to the track and open and treed the bobcat...This is not the average rig dog mind you, but those bred to be rig dogs....Locations vary on what a dog can and will do but make no mistake, they can and will!
Not all breeds or strains make the grade to become rig dogs...I like the term "tool". Our Oregon legislature is contemplating cougar legislation and reference hounds as tools....Sometimes you need to apply the right tool to the task for success! Looks like you have found the right tool!
Believe your correct regarding "bred to rig" line of thinking. The female that was loaned to me to get my pack rigging was 12 years old and a litter mate from diff. litter to sire of female(3 yr. old) that took to the rigging after only seeing it done 2 times! The third cat rigged the 3 yr. old female was first dog struck off of box. After doing that 5-6 times, I loaned the older female to Marion G. to start getting his young hounds to rig. I did not need her anymore, as by then I had 6 hounds that were rigging from top of or out of box. It seems that Hootie S.'s line of Poncho (Running Walkers) want to rig naturally? I have two females that are sired by him and both rig real well. Also a cross of Running Walker and a Trigg female I have produced two females (coming 3 yr olds) that are rigging real well. A Treeing Walker male that is 5 yr old actually gives to much mouth, I think, sometimes? But a high majority of time when he is let down, he cold trails a cat track and my swinging hounds will get that track running. In regards to another comment made on this site about one hound treeing bobcats---will happen very few times in country that I hunt! If we finish 60% of tracks we start, we think we are on verge of getting a pack of bobcat hounds! Just saying!
And your correct in another statement, if you don't believe---bring those hounds on and let me guide you cause I want to listen and see for myself.
Have a good one and come and hunt with me sometime,
I checked the dates for your Bobcat rendezvous and it is in May on the 22&23...I'm leaving for Canada in June to hunt and always wanted to come to Oklahoma and hunt...I would love to hunt with you, your fine hounds and the other's fine hounds. I correspond a lot with Don Stuckey and need to meet him in Person...Guess I need to pencil this in for the following years event as none of us are getting any younger....It would be a lot of fun to see how hounds perform from different parts of the country and this would be a fine place to do just that, along with meeting all the folks who attend! Look at it this way? It is just another five hundred days! What does a non resident need to do to be able to hunt bobcats?
Check with Oklahoma Wildlife Dept for exact, but cost is around $160 for Non-resident lic. to run hounds + trespass fee to hunt on WMA's that have been set between the timber companies and the State Wildlife Dept.. That is for one year of hunting.
Have heard diff. numbers regarding land mass but some where around 400,000 acres----sure good hunting with very little pressure, especially from hound hunters.
Shown and taken a number of houndsmen hunting there and they all appreciate the experience.
Clyde
PS: That Don can cook pretty good, he is not to pretty, but he can cook!
I should just turn the other cheek but can't when I'm right. Heres an offer for you guys that have strike dogs that can catch consistant here in our drypart of our season. This way no one from out of state can have an excuse by saying its not legal to run a dog here. I will say I am trialing the dog to buy. This will be true if the dog can strike run and catch one cat a day for three days you name the price ill buy it! I've had plenty of nice strike dogs ride for days on end with out a catch so bring me that special one that can. Andy
twist wrote:I should just turn the other cheek but can't when I'm right. Heres an offer for you guys that have strike dogs that can catch consistant here in our drypart of our season. This way no one from out of state can have an excuse by saying its not legal to run a dog here. I will say I am trialing the dog to buy. This will be true if the dog can strike run and catch one cat a day for three days you name the price ill buy it! I've had plenty of nice strike dogs ride for days on end with out a catch so bring me that special one that can. Andy
I hope someone takes up your offer. When is your bobcat season?
If your going to find tracks you better make tracks!
Mt bobcat season is dec. 1- feb. 15 unless quota is filled earlier, which it usually is on the western side of the state. Andy, I think you should sell tickets to this event, although you might have a bidding war for that hound if it meets your requirements.
Seems everyone has a rig dog that can catch cats here consistant so I should be a busy guy lol. Houndoger region 4 5 6 7 stay open until march 1 or until quata is reached and chase season last til april 14. Andy
