HOW DO YOU GET AROUND IN THE SNOW WHEN HUNTING?

[BEAR HUNTER]

Just curious what people do when the snow starts falling. Here in Northern California (most years) about mid Decemeber the snow is deep enough that your not driving through the mountains. What are some of your guys's methods, chains (good or bad), preferred tires, winches, ATV's, Snow mobiles.
I would like to try some cat hunting this winter and all admit it, I'm a little scared about being back on some mountain rode by myself in the snow. That could turn a good day into a bad day real quick. How do you guys do it? What kind of emergency pack do you guys carry?

[Grzyadms4x4]

I've tried driving in it, and if you are in hilly country, things can get real bad real quick. Now not necessarily life or death bad, but vehicle disabling bad. Sometimes having a 4x4 isn't good and you can get into bad spots before you know it. That's where a winch and a good shovel can help. As far as the other vehicles go, it kind of depends on where you hunt. Is there consistently lots of snow, then maybe a snow mobile or a atv with tracks would be in order. Not a lot or no snow, then a quad or bicycle would do just fine.
I prefer to walk anyways though. I use good boots and gators. I haven't tried snow shoes yet, I'm just concerned that we are to rocky here and they will be a pain in the ass at times. But I don't know yet. As far as stuff to bring. You can't beat a good ol space blanket, mre's, and a two way radio. Try to get the extreme cold weather mre's as they have more calories and come with plastic bags to hold water to put into their mre heaters. You can heat water real quick and have some warm soup or coffee if you get stuck somewhere.

[Mike Leonard]

I have tried most everything from snowmobiles to snowshoes, jeeps chains and I have to tell you the only thing I hate worse than snow is mud. Here if you have snow one day you will have mud the next so they go hand in hand. If it gets deep enough to stay on the ground long which is very rare here then it usually takes a blade and a snowplow in front of you to go anywhere. And the mechanical bills just start racking up.

I put tungstun carbide crystals on my horse's shoes, and i just keep riding. Actually if it's not too boggy a saddle horse or mule will get you around pretty darn good and and it is sure enjoyable and you don't have to listen the rudden! rudden! roar of a snowmachine. Don't get me wrong I was raised in the north country and I love fast snowmobiles but not for hunting.The quiet solitude of the snowy winter woods is an awesome experience and when that silence is broken by the roaring bawl of old Blue when he crosses the tracks of a bob or longtail it will linger in your mind forever........

[BEAR HUNTER]

You know I'm not much of a people person, would rather go get a root canal them talk to a group of people, but the guys on this forum are some of the most knowledgable, friendly people I've found. I really enjoy hearing everyones different views on things.
Mike I'm a shoer by trade now and have thought about hunting off of horse or mule in some of this wilderness country. What are some of the problems you have experienced hunting off of horse back, and how do you get your horses in shape for the mountains. Which do yo prefer, horses or mules.

[rosin]

we get a pile a snow up hear in canada .and if you dont have chains all around on your 4x4 truck you aint goin down many mountain roads also a good scoop shovel if you get stuck is always a handy tool . you should always carry some matches and candles along in case you get in to trouble a couple candles lit in the cab of the truck will help to take the chill off . if you drive and hunt in snow you will figre out what you need in a hurry LOL

[Brady Davis]

Getting around in the snow for me has been many different experiences from getting my truck buried in snow (buddies who keep egging a guy on from the passenger seat are not all the useful as it turns out!) to walking and wishing I was dead, to snowmobiles, some ATV's (which suck in the snow) and riding horses/mules.

I agree with Mike, riding a horse or mule is about as fun as it gets when Lion hunting. I feel like you actually get to do a better job of following the hounds instead of constantly trying to figure out how to head them off....

That said, riding your butt off all day in the snow moving slow while looking for a track can be monotonous....In a perfect world you have a buddy who hops his sled real early looking for tracks. When he finds one he comes back, wakes you up, cooks a bit of breakfast and then you saddle up, grab the hounds and go out and have a great morning pounding out that track.....When you find "that" buddy, let me know!

[Mike Leonard]

C-B&T

That is a perfect world. LOL! Trust me I have seen some guys who had it that way but they pay for it. LOL!

Red Bluff, Bearhunter.....I get my horses in shape with routine excercise in the numerous sand washes around here. I get out and long trot them a good ways up in the hills and then make them lug back in the deep sand. I don't like to start right out in the sand until they are warmed up because you can get some sprains if you are not careful. This will really put the muscle in them. This is also a good time to leg up the dogs. Hunting dogs usually make from 3 to 4 times the miles the man on a horse makes because of there back and forth quartering as they hunt. So say you ride 10miles your dogs are usually going 20 to 40 miles depending on how active the cast or hunt.

No real poblems out here for horse hunters except there are places that a dog and lion will go that no horse or mule can get into and at times you just have to tie up drop your spurs and chaps and go to them on foot. Sounds bad but sure is nice coming back out to be able to go over and untie old Dobbin get in the saddle and let him do the work of packing your behind out of there. Dogs free cast and hunt better with a man on a saddle animals than they do if you are on foot. They seem to sense you are more mobile and are hunting along with them as a part of the pack. One problem you may encounter in thick brush country with lots of deadfalls. It is really tough to hunt on a horse in this kind of country and that is why so many in very high alpine type forest with lots of black timber choose to walk. you are limited to trails there and as we know hounds and critters will get way off the trails. I hunt a lot of thick brush but it is not so bad that I can't bust thru it and I make my own trails.

I hunt on horses because I have them and they do well for me. I have some really good brush busting rock rolling ponies. That being said if I was starting all over again from scratch I would seriously consider finding me a good saddle mule. They eat less, can take more bad country and keep coming back, and they live forever. But finding a good one is tuff and you will pay for it. You have to make sure the mule is not only good with you but he has to be good with dogs around his feet. Some mules just don't like dogs and unlike a horse who will just kick out a mule places his shots and will kill dogs if he wants to.

Speaking of shoeing. My farrier for many years had a bad fall recently and he is a bit older and the Doc told him to stay out from under horses. Well that sort of put me in a bind. He sent over a young guy that had been helping him some but the first time I had him bring in a few and jerk the shoes and trim them they looked like crap, so decided to go back to doing myself. I drug out all my old tools and found that a lot of things were missing over the years. WOW! when you go to buy new shoeing tools you better take a fat wallet! But I learned long ago second rate tools just won't hold up so I decided if i was going to go back to doing it I would do it right. Well growing up on a ranch I had started trimming and shoeing my own by the time i was 12 and let me tell you I was a lot more limber back then. LOL! The first 4 head liked to kill me. Oh man, then I have to bring in another group better wait a few days and loosen up. Trust me good farriers are not over paid, and if you think they are and they make it look easy just crawl under a few head. LOL! I actually really enjoy it and we work hard on all our colts to make sure the are double good about their feet. My old horse I can work on them without even a halter or a rope they just stand there and let me do my deal. And it takes me a lot longer because i know i am not a professional so I go slow and a little at a time. I can handle most of it but I have a couple that have some problems and really need special corrective shoes and my old farrier carried his own forge and shoe stock and he would make them right there. I am not going to that extreme, I will just keep looking for another experienced farrier to handle these.

[BEAR HUNTER]

Ha I know what you mean about it being hard work. I've been doing it now for 2 yrs. Went throught a good school here in California. Shoeing is an art and I can be honest with myself. I could be alot better. My skills are increasing though. The secret is in getting you hoof level. Thats something that take years of experience. There are some out there who are amazing farriers. You look at their work and wonder how in the world they can get that good. Some of these guys making handmade shoes are artist. I guess its like anything else. Your born with a certain amount of talent. You then perfect it through hard work and practice.

[kickemall]

Unless your wanting to look for tracks in the snow why don't you just move down and stay out of it? Theres quite a few cats in those fine brush patches to the west of you that rarely snow you out. Same for some of that country around Paynes Crk.

[Steve White]

We use snowmobiles most of the time. Our area has a lot of snowmobile trails to get around on in the winter. Can't legally just drive them anywhere. Which is ok as once the snow gets deep it is real easy to get stuck out there. For the off the trail stuff when it gets deep a pair of snowshoes are in order. If that is not enough then it's best to just stay home. Yet, who can do that when there are hounds that want to run!

[fox hunter]

every time I get on a snowmobile the f$$$ker gets stuck or upside down so I bought a four wheeler with tracks and love it

[Liz ODell]

Hey Mike L., how deep of snow will you keep riding in? Do you ever ride when its crusty or just wait for a melt? I have been considering using ours during the winter but the snow crusts fast here or is over their knees high. I look at the old photos from around here of people riding in deep snow (up just a little past the horses chest or just below belly line) and riding on top of the snow in the spring...I always wonder how many horses they really went through. But heck we already have the horses and would have to buy the sleds. Around here we have alot of thick woods or big brush fields and would be limited to mostly using the horse on the roads we already use anyway - except we have no access once the snow gets a couple feet deep.

[J.C. Call]

Driving the Toyota where only snowmobiles have been all winter...... pretty fun

Chaining all four and shoveling for four hours..... not too fun

Listening to your wife bitch and tell you what a dumbass you are because she's missing the superbowl....... Priceless

[R Severe]

Here's the camp I put in and my mode of getting there. Getting in aways helps and the narrow skis on the Tundra keeps the big playsleds out when the trail is cut narrow to camp. The dogs have a better ride than I do

[Mike Leonard]

LIz,

When you get to pushing snow up high much over their knees it's pretty tuff. I use to have to stay in town at some friends house when school was on because the bus couldn't make it out on our country roads there in the badlands when the snow got deep. Well we kept two big stout grain fed geldings there at my uncle's barn on th edge of town and I would have to run from school pull on my snow suit and saddle one of them geldings and ride 4 miles to the old place and feed the heifers, and make sure the water was good and then head back in. So 8 miles and many times the wind would blow the horse trail over and they would be busting new snow. Most of the time it was pretty late by the time I got in but I had snacks packed to eat. We used borium on the shoes some later back then but a lot of the horses we rode were bare foot and trimkmed to have a natural rim on their foot and it hold pretty good. I have terrible circulation in my hands and feet these days becasue of being frost bit so many times doing that kind of thing and then calving outside in those bitter springs. But when it is crusty your dogs feet will go to heck a lot quicker than your horses if you use your head and don't get crazy with them.