BigGameHoundsmen.com

Jcathunter- no hard feelings, we all should be able to voice and share our opinions.
Al- none of that was bragging or trying to put off me being superior,certainly not my dogs either. Always trying to improve and look for better tools to make the job easier and fastee. Have kept some far to long,some not long enough. Its my belief,if i dont like a dog, i wont gove it a fair chance,as long as its not a cull, i choose to pass them along. I get to hunt more than most and am thankful for that. Its alright woth me if we disagree, bit do not appreciate the insuations of dishonesty. I can find somerhing to disagree on wirh anyone, but doesnt mean i discount everything they have to say, including you even though you bash me.

Perk,I like your post. Minus a good competition hunt the next best thing would be to visit some of the guys on this site and hunt with them.Probably wouldn't change any minds but you could get a better idea of what they like about their dogs.Then again maybe it would change some minds .You're welcome here,heck you can even bring your best dog .

Not bashing you Tim. Just saying that is not the way I remember some things. For the record I have nothing against running dogs, of the seven dogs I hunt with at times lately, all but one has some running blood in them. I have no problem with a dog not locating & tree on bobcat until they are two, just saying for a beginner at cat hunting, without a reliable locating tree hound, it is most time going to be a real struggle to train a running dog on bobcat. So I would start with a tree oriented young hound and piece from there, and even then it will be a struggle for most. Al

This is off topic but it is a comment about where this thread has gone.I think most guys would agree that boastfulness and condescension and tooting ones own horn is just poor social etiquette and when it takes place on a public forum then it should be no surprise that some will be rubbed the wrong way.Do people have every right to boast about their achievements ? Yes they do......but if they are going to behave in a way that is lacking in humility and social grace then they should not complain when they are treated in return with a lack of social grace.If you are the pot then you can't call the kettle black.I think the general consensus on this thread is that most guys probably like some runnin dog in the right amounts and noone likes a runnin mouth in any amount.

I run both grey fox and bobcat here in south Ga , all I have is running dogs no tree dogs, if he climbs they hunt the truck, night hunting is different than day hunting , I have ran fox up to 12 hrs and never climb, and ran cat six hrs and he never climb , Briars in south GA can be really bad and that's where they like it the thicker the better, I hunt 9 head all broke dogs, and I don't go to kill anything expecially not the fox, but the cat if they can put teeth on him that's ok , I been fox and cat hunting probably 35 years and have never bred a dog that would tree, I hunt for the music, and the excitement of the race, im not a meat hunter

Southern fox you hunt like I do. Thought I was the only one on here that believed in that type hunting. I tried explaining the use of the running dog here in the south in another thread. Nobody seems to understand that a full running dog is not bred to tree and neither do we want them to down here.

Just curious , why would'nt you want your hounds to tree if a gray fox would tree ? Just asking not trying to be a smart ass .

Grouse that's not the style of hunting here in the south. It's all about dogs running with speed and endurance and listening to the race. Research southern fox hunting and read about it. It dates back to early settlers in Virginia and then trickled south.

That's your style of hunting and no one should knock it but its not the only way people like to hunt and should not doubt the ability of a running dogs tree ability u u don't hunt them that way.some people will just never see it. No disrespect its just reality.my dogs locate and tree fine. Some better then others but all in all I hear the same races and jump up and down by the camp fire too when I have a long hard race that could end at a tree.i feel like the closure in a race is important to me and there's nothing wrong with it. It just shows more good dog work

I'm not in a pissing match with what you do with your own dogs. Heck hunt beaver with em and teach em to swim lol

I could care less as well I just here u speaking facts about running dogs instead of opinions and your experiences.some people may be persuaded away from a running dog for that. I catch as many as the best of them and hunt 5 days a week mostly and have had several good comments from good hunters about how my dogs tree.if a guy jumps a lot of fox out of trees for a second and third race you would make your dogs crazy at the tree too.u just don't hunt that way

Folks,

I have been tied up with Dad as his Health has been deteriorating pretty fast, but have been keeping up with this thread.

With FEW exceptions you all have had a Civil discussion and have been able to "disagree without being disagreeable" ( that is a quote from Flacathunter).

The fellow who asked the original question has been given very good advise ( the best may have been from Mark....doing something else and saving lots of Headaches and Money). Seriously he has been told that there are several GOOD Bobcat Hunters in OK who I KNOW would be glad to help him get started. He can PM them right here on BGH!

Now most use Running hounds, and subscribe to the TEAM of Hounds being much more EFFICIENT in successfully ending a Cat Race, than trying to find that ONE Hound who can due it all.

I know for a fact that you fellows in the NW, WI, MI, ME and NY have Hounds that can and do Tree/Catch Cats alone.....in fact I gave a fellow in NY a Hound who has and is doing this as we are reading this. Could this Hound preform this feet here in SW AR or N. FL. NO WAY IN HELL!!!!

"When in Rome do as the Roman's do" is a ditty that has some merit. Any one starting any endeavor should go find some one who is good at what ever it is and try to learn from that person as much as you can, emulate what is causing that person to be successful. Then after you start doing what ever it is on your own, you will develop your own style.

STYLE and the differences in this is what seems to causes all the IRRATATIONS here on BGH. Thank God for making Chocolate, Vanilla, Redheads, Blondes, Treebred Hounds and Running Bred Hounds.

Different Styles work in different areas for reasons as varied as there are Styles....things such as:
Purpose-----high dollar Hides in the North Country and out West-------low value Hides and Hound Music in the South and South East.

Terrain----- the open Snow covered hardwoods of the upper Mid West into New England-----Cut-over Briar infested Pine Plantations in the South-------the Pacific Mts of CA-----to the Rain Forests of the NW

Culture------Now here, as I see it, is where most of the Friction comes from. Folks get hung up in doing something the way it has always been done and are successful doing what ever it is and they become complacent, and feel that this is the only way to do something.

IE: No Rigging for Bobcats in the SE or TX (it can't be done, the hounds will miss too many strikes, can only smell a Hot track),

NO hunting at night....the Hounds can not see at night (this is the feeling on much of the East Coast)

Bobing tails, VA, TX and parts of the NW do this as a Hound may loose too much blood from a bloody tail end.

I could go on for a while with regional differences in STYLE of VERY Successful Bobcat Hunters. There is NO Perfect way to Hunt and Catch a Bobcat!

Now after having rattled way too much, my ADVISE....and it is worth just what it is costing you, NOTHING, is for everyone to take the Flavor of Hound you desire to the Woods and go Hunting.....cause you never know when it may be your last......enjoy the friendship's made and Knowledge gained here on BIGGAMEHOUNDSMEN. Leave your Petty Gripes and Grudges at home and enjoy the ability to make friends all over the World!

Again to quote Mr. John "I'll Hush Now"!

PS Welcome to the new Posters and the New Lurkers who have called me!

Flip we live and hunt in opposite sides of the country. Grey fox rarely ever tree. The only time I've seen one in a tree was in a running pen. Will a running dog tree I guess some will. You and others on here say that you have some that do. I'm not doubting that. The ones I've owned and run over the years don't and have said in earlier post that they are not bred to tree. The same way beagles aren't bred to retrieve ducks but I'm sure somewhere some bodies got some that do lol. If your treeing fox with your running dogs that's great if that's what you like. We field trial our dogs here and treeing or baying in a hole gets your dog scratched in a field trial. These strains of running dogs here in the south are bred to run fox,coyote ,cat and deer and breathe the same air as the game their chasing.

Jkohnke I can respect that.im sure if I was raised there I would be hunting the same way. I don't mean any disrespect just want to share good dog talk and keep good energy

I took a trip last july down to the Clays to see for myself a southern style cat race with full blooded running dogs. It was HOT and humid!!!!!!! Hunting at nite and it never got below 85 degrees with higher numbers of humidity. I was able to listen to 5-6 cat races that lasted over an hour with one lasting a little over 2. Tough does not begin to describe those dogs than ran back to back races in those conditions. I would bet alot of money that even after the aclimation period there wouldnt be a tree dog or a running cross dog from around here that could endure that day after day, i could be wrong but i dont think so. I have places i hunt that are every bit as thick and just as many briars as i saw down there. That being said, what i dont have around here is spiders the size of silver dollars, chiggers, and SNAKES that bite and are poisonous! I googled this and found there are 21 poisonous snakes in the world and Arkansas has 30 of them lol. I need closure to a race as much anybody but in Mr Finneys defense after as many cats he has seen in his lifetime and probly when he hit about 65 years of age im thinking he probably said F##K it and could care less if he ever crawled through all that nasty snake infested spider riddin brush to a tree. I can definently see the merrit in a non locating tree dog down there!!!!! Just go run another one lol. Just my experience down there