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Marshall,I'd say snow imo,but that is limited due to avoiding snow as much as I can.Also after hunting the desert down in southern Oregon and some around you over there,I can say I've gained alot of respect for the conditions you guys deal with at times,my hat's off to ya--I know they're tough at times.What say you on the matter?

alot of the cats here hit their back track a time or 2, but the ones that seem to be the worst are the ones i run over and over. i had a 6.5 hour chase this passed season and that cat doubled back move than any cat i have ever seen. he would make a loop around a knob and right back the way he came. once he straight lined for 3/4 of a mile, circled in a thick spot then came back the whole 3/4 mile on his back track. i was watching on the garmin and was sure the dogs were screwed up. i got on the cat track and stood there to catch them. they came screaming over the hill and turned 30 yards from me, made a little hook and right back over the back track. sure enough there was the cat track going the other way. i must have been looking one way when he came over the hill and snuck right around me. they sure are crafty at times. last year i was running in the same area and my good dog was just hammering in this swamp bottom. i remember thinking man that cat can't take much more of that! then i look out across the swamp and see the cat 100 yards off to the side of her heading back the way he came. thats why we run them i guess. if it was easy it wouldn't be cat hunting.

Bobcat wrote: " thats why we run them i guess. if it was easy it wouldn't be cat hunting."

Very well said my friend!

Tim, I think the same thing. I've been in the brush and cats do that and the dogs don't really seem to have as hard of a time figuring it out and I think it's because of the strong scent left on the brush where as in the snow over here where we don't have much brush they tend to have a harder time with it. I think it's a lot like when a cat hits a road over there and runs down it......no brush to leave scent and they really have to work to get it goin again. That's just my opinion on it and it don't mean nothin. It is amazing how a mans opinions can change on things when he lets the dogs teach him .

Marshall

I see those cats as avoiders. They always turn when it gets hot. Clover leafs and backtracks are where the dogs aren't. I ran a cat without dogs once. Yes, that's what I said. It was night and in a limited cover area where the cat wanted to hold. I shined my light and watched his trickery. Very educational. He stuck close and watched me and reacted. Sneaking and avoiding never offering a clear still shot. I'm not sure where I finally lost the cat after about a twenty minute avoidance. The entire piece of cover was only sixty yards long. I can't tell you for sure if the cat left the cover, but it wore me out in that little piece of sticker brush.

I too have messed up my fair share of races by getting my truck in the way on a road crossing.

I'm sure my longest backtrack was lost. I used to have a hound that always checked the backtrack when losing a turn. Problem was he was a tree fighter so I had to get rid of him.

Those tricky cats are good trainers. Let em live if they are near the house. A couple cats have even followed me back to my house to call us back out for a good laugh.

Marshall & Tim had to think this one over. Where I hunt seems I had better luck at catching those wise back on thier track cats, when I/ve hunted in 3 inch wet snow. But I have the advantage of the ideal snow plus the brush. And forsure the snow helps when they hit the roads. Just my experience. Al baldwin

I think it depends alot on the temperature outside.I have hunted my whole life on the coast and that wet snow but not so wet that it is melting fast and washing the track out the dogs do good in.I made a trip over Marshals way this year on a weekend with perfect tracking snow.It was cold at night and I had trouble getting any of the tracks I found going.During the day though when the sun came out the dogs did a lot better.Growing up on the coast I have always been told that those eastern Oregon cats tree easy. Not so in the area I was hunting.We had one four and a half hour race that we treed and one six and a half hour race that we didnt. The cats were running in a lot of thinned out lodge pole thickets and doing a lot of backtracking. It was a lot of fun hunting that country though lots of roads. You could stay right on top of your dogs and get in there and help them out a lot. The second cat we ran the dogs would be screaming on him then a big loose. We would go in there and the cat was doubling right back down the same pole he had just ran up.This happened for 6.5 hours. about dark when it started to freeze again they made there last loose and the race was over.Lots of fun.A lot of variables on those cat tracks not as simple as snow or not. Wind, temperature, humidity,brush all make a diiference.The first cat that we did tree we had about a 1.5 hour loose because he ran down a tire track like Andy talked about.Still dont know where he left the road at. Finaly found his track crossing another road and turned in on him again.All these variables are what makes it fun never the same thing twice. Take care Larry

Thanks for the post Larry, never met you, but, heard you own some very good hounds. Nice to hear that others find cats to be that hard to catch. Thanks Al Baldwin

Hi All, I have never heard anything but possitive things about you. As far as the very good dogs part you may have heard about some of the dogs dad had back in the 70s and 80s (his name is also Larry).I was a spoiled kid we got to hunt alot back then. I have fun with it but dont have anything close to what dad had back then.I should try to make it a point to get down your way and meet you. Take care ,Larry

Alot of folks under estimate our cats on this side. I think once you have jumped you'll catch 80% but you'll turn out on 20 older tracks or other obstacles just to get one jumped! I found 10 tracks one morning but only one wasn't totally frozen enough to start but the dogs had a dandy time jumping it. I know they were night old because I had hunted the evening before. I would like to do as you did and take my mutts west side and see how they fair one of these seasons.

LarryBeggs wrote:I think it depends alot on the temperature outside.I have hunted my whole life on the coast and that wet snow but not so wet that it is melting fast and washing the track out the dogs do good in.I made a trip over Marshals way this year on a weekend with perfect tracking snow.It was cold at night and I had trouble getting any of the tracks I found going.During the day though when the sun came out the dogs did a lot better.Growing up on the coast I have always been told that those eastern Oregon cats tree easy. Not so in the area I was hunting.We had one four and a half hour race that we treed and one six and a half hour race that we didnt. The cats were running in a lot of thinned out lodge pole thickets and doing a lot of backtracking. It was a lot of fun hunting that country though lots of roads. You could stay right on top of your dogs and get in there and help them out a lot. The second cat we ran the dogs would be screaming on him then a big loose. We would go in there and the cat was doubling right back down the same pole he had just ran up.This happened for 6.5 hours. about dark when it started to freeze again they made there last loose and the race was over.Lots of fun.A lot of variables on those cat tracks not as simple as snow or not. Wind, temperature, humidity,brush all make a diiference.The first cat that we did tree we had about a 1.5 hour loose because he ran down a tire track like Andy talked about.Still dont know where he left the road at. Finaly found his track crossing another road and turned in on him again.All these variables are what makes it fun never the same thing twice. Take care Larry