BigGameHoundsmen.com

We don't have the rough rocky country scattered with the small junipers that many of you run in. We have the dense fir and pine stands, where a cat usually ends treeing 50 foot up. It is very rare to catch a lion on the ground in my country, but it does happen from time to time. I would love to run some young dogs in the more open country where they can see the cat up close and personal! You guys get the greatest pictures!

I run one dog about 10 years by herself. She caught a lot of game and had no problems. She wasn't an aggressive dog at the tree or bay up, but would always stay back just far enough out of their reach. By far, she was one of the smartest hounds I have been around, and I was really fortunate to have hunted with her over many awsome catches.

I have more dogs now, but I still catch game with one dog from time to time. I guess a lot has to do with the type of country you are hunting, the type of dogs you have, and what their abilities are. Each dog should be able to catch their own game without the support of a pack.

The world record lion was caught by one bluetick looking dog by an older man from Idaho, not sure if it's still the record, most of the time there is not much to worry about but sooner or later it will happen when either you run in to a bad lion or just the wrong situation and things go bad, most of the time in those bad times it's good to have more dogs around to help things out and I would rather have at least 3 dogs at a time, I have had dogs that do so much better than the rest that they go on and do it by themselves and that is just the way it is when hunting with hounds, it's up to you how you want to do it I guess.

i run one hound, lots. feller should be careful how you judge other houndsmen and perhaps mind yer own business. if it ain't yer cup of tea say so and leave it at that. what ya gonna do report a houndsmen to the HS for running one hound?

nait hadya wrote:i run one hound, lots. feller should be careful how you judge other houndsmen and perhaps mind yer own business. if it ain't yer cup of tea say so and leave it at that. what ya gonna do report a houndsmen to the HS for running one hound?

When i started this post i did not start it to create a argument or to make people feel like they are being judged in any way and i hope those such as your self dont feel that way. That being sayed I myself have not done it but was thinking about it to see exactly how my dog would do. ( I only have one dog but run with a friend and his dogs). There has been a lot of things that i have found from listing to people and there experiences that have had many more years in the field than i by starting this post. I think that the terrain that we hunt has a lot to do with the risk of running one hound. Guys down south that hunt more open and rocky terrain have had problems running one dog where guys up north in thick forests with lots of trees have done it for years without problems and then theres those lions that are just mean and nobody told them all there suppose to do is climb. I have started to notice that when there are a lot of dogs in a bay up they seem to get over excited and and compete on who can pull hair first and get closer than if they were just with one other dog has anybody noticed this with the dogs they run? I thank you guys for helping a man that did not grow up around hounds and just found this great sport not to long ago and again nait hadya im sorry if you feel like people are judging a man on how they run there dogs, their yours run them how you like and good luck this season.

Hunter12

We get the reason for doing this post. Dogs are capable of catching game all by themselves. Why would any person ever feed a pack dog? Most hounds can step up and do what is expected if given the chance. A smart man would figure this out quick, and by having this forum as an information super highway that can and will knock years off the learnig curve. How about one small example of gleening enough perspective from a few veterans that might just serve to save the life of a hound. No one started on top of this game including me....No one was dumber about hounds than I was.Sure wished I could have parked my butt and read post from some qualified hunters some forty years ago.

I think I would have never taken the long way around the barn! Take the time to read post from guys like Mike Leonard and Dad's dog boy. most hound hunting from species to species is very transferable and the only requirement is an open mind! Patters in lion behavior is not always predicatable. Theory is as close as we will ever get to having all the answers! I see just as many bad encounters happening in open timber with little or no bluffs.

I know the guy who killed the number one cougar recorded in B&C Book. Doug Schuck from Tatlayoko lake B.C. Canada, skull owned by Charles Travers. Unless there has been one killed since the 12 edition book, that is it.16 4/16"

Take care and good luck running the big cats! Catch them while you can!
Mike

Very well put Mike. Hunter12 you can catch with one or tweve, what ever suits you the guys are just telling you what could happen or has to them and thier dog or dogs. Make your own mind up and have fun once you have. I am not one for guys just starting out to have a handful of dogs but a couple good prospects are nice to have as if something happens to one you are just out of the game. Andy

Sure never a lion hunter, have treed lion with one dog. If a mature lion decided to elimate the dogs, would it make a difference if there was one or three? Al

I run two lead dogs on everything. Two dogs that hunt like they're tied together with a coupler. Would never send either one alone either. Anyway it might be a little dramatic for lions but I watched a Jim Shockey episode where he had gone hunting in Africa with hounds collaring cats and the guy who brought the dogs almost lost his whole pack to a cat. Doubt that guy runs just one dog! Judging from the show he probably doesn't just run six dogs anymore either. If any!? Just thought I'd throw that it in there after Al.

Al

Lions have no lungs and a fast pack of track style bobcat hounds will suck the wind out of a jumped lion in minutes. I have never seen a jumped lion stay on the ground longer than about 10-15 minutes in timbered grounds, not rocks and bluffs..... For these reasons, I made it a practice to never jump a lion out of a tree once I had it up the first time. when you jump them out is when you will catch them on the ground most of the time. When you run large packs or fast dogs, i have seen them catch on the ground before the cat can grab a tree. Frenzied dogs create problems. Two or three dogs will keep the cat off balance with dogs hitting them from all sides creating a diversion for the one caught dog to get free and clear of a bayed up lion. Large packs with more solid aggressive dogs can kill a female or young juvenile lion. You can stress a lion real quick in cold weather and I think you should keep the exhaustion to a minimum to insure the cat does not simply wander off and die. I think the magic number is three, maybe four dogs. Ones that run like they are glued to each other like rezdog explained. I'm no expert but have treed a pile of them. When I lived in N.E. Oregon, i would tree one most every morning on the ranch i lived on. Snow and timber their not much sport. Kind of like running a coon.

Thanks Rezdog & Mike. Yes mike the few Lion i have ran were very short jumps, some good trail jobs. Long time a guy saw a lion he and I got there a couple hours later, trailed out where he saw the lion over a big ridge . Just as we got to the top of that ridge the dogs were coming towards us jumped track. They came within 50 yards and out of hearing, dark, steep rough drainage. Decided to hike back to the rig and drive up the road. Thinking with some luck will find them treed some place. To my surprice found them in the road, ovious they had lost that track on the road. Not sure maybe they switched to a bobcat? If not they lost a jumped lion in the road. Ever lost a jumped lion on a road? Al

Al

I always figured the hardest thing about catching a lion is finding the outbound track. Hard to say what happened in your particular case. You don't lose a jumped lion on a gravel road. I suppose there could be that one time in one hundred, but I doubt that was it.Sure sounds more like you put out on the wrong end of the track and when the lion hit the road it was cooling down from actually leaving out where you ended going the opposite direction or better to say you were backwards.

Lions can walk a fast pace and cover some serious ground.Before i figured out I liked the drifting track style dogs, I lost many lions that just kept a stady pace out ahead of the dogs all day and never did get them jumped. I have had them to make a loop and end up back over the inbound track and mess you up.Could also be a possibility what happend as well. Hunting on snow you can solve the mysteries, but you are at the mercy of the hounds and your own skills otherwise.

I don't want to be to critical of lion hounds as I am most of the time. A good lion hound in the bluff country and how they handle a lion in the dirt is like watching a good coon dog. very seldom will you ever see the really greats. When you do hunt with one they can be fun....

Take Care. Thank you for your continued input and your post Sir, I really enjoy your knowledge and perspective!

Mike

That is about as cool a photo as I've seen,Im sure the owner of the dogs was puckerin a little bit when it was all goin down.But what a neat memory to have to look back on years later!