BigGameHoundsmen.com

David,

Great reading!!!

I am not certain where you are located, but would enjoy meeting you sometime?

You are correct! After reading your post about 4-5 times, in about everything and all issues or so I believe. And, your experiences stated are right in line with my findings.

Suggestion if you could: If you could, in your research, get together with some great cat hunters like Hootie Shaw, Bill Curtis, Billie Smith, Johnny Brezidine, Marion Graham, Carl Clap, Earl Cole, Finny Clay, & I am sure I left some out?

These Gentlemen have spent years trying to perfect the perfect cat hound. In the last few years(except Mr. Clay) I have had the great fortune to call all these guys friends and have spent many days and nights hunting with them. Either road hunting or sitting around the coffee pot, discussion always evolves around what makes the perfect bobcat dog! Once you get to know these Gentlemen, they can & will tell you of their mistakes and their success's. All in training, breeding, geographic locations that they did good and places that their top dogs could not get anything done and made them think that they had "lost it"?

A plus point is that all of these fellows are great people, have a great time, family oriented, well respected. When you get two or three of them together, they will keep you laughing with their stories and jokes! But their experiences are invaluable to experienced and non-experienced bobcat hunters.

Hurry with your book!!

I have two young men now who have approached me to mentor them in attempting to put together a pack of bobcat dogs and teach them the basics. I tell all of them to think that through!!! And, then choose another hobby!
There are not many other endeavors that require any more time, money, & other demands to succeed.

In my humble opinion, your correct in assessments regarding comparison of coon hounds vs. bobcat hounds. Same can be stated, for the most part, comparing lion/bear hounds vs bobcat hounds.

Hootie Shaw told me one time and I believe he is correct, that you cannot hunt other game with your hounds except bobcats. A bobcat trained hound should be kept on bobcats! Now, in saying that, I find no problems with using my bobcat pack to tree lion with in West Texas, NM, AZ & WY. I do that quite often, and proven to my shelf anyway, that there are not any negative results. In saying that, I prefer to run and hunt bobcats over lion. More of a race and the kill is not that important any more. I leave a high percentage of bobcats in their tree so that maybe I can run again. Just my thought only.

My Dad always had a saying that he never could run a dead one again!!!

In closing, I failed to mention many great hound men that I have been blessed to know, hunt with, and call friends. Sadly father time has taken many and seems the clock is speeding along. Appreciate your time and effort to gather and commit so much info. that should not be lost.

Clyde Lawson

turtle dove wrote:hi i see where you have written a book about bob-cat hunting iam wanting to buy a book about bob-cat hunting for my husband for x-mas but iam having trouble finding them i would appreciate any help many thanks turtle dove my e-mail is dreber46@gotrain.org

Turtle dove, I guess one of the reasons I wanted to write a book on bobcat hunting was because I have never seen one. I have heard that there are a couple though.

I have not printed the book, and actually, I dont know how I could ever feel like it was completed. I will just have to stop at some point of incompletion and call it a book. I am hesitant to spend the money to print it, because I dont know if the cost would ever be covered. So, thank you for the interest, but I wont be able to help you for this Christmas. I know there are others who have started and finished books too. I hope they will come out with them soon.

Clyde Lawson wrote:David,

I am not certain where you are located, but would enjoy meeting you sometime?

Clyde Lawson

Thankyou Clyde, I would love to meet you and hope that I can. I am a truck driver and recently came through Oklahoma. PM me your location and contact information. If I get close, I will try to call you. I get my mail in Minnesota, but I am not there very much these days.

Right now, I am in a library in Pennsylvania nestled in some amazing looking hills next to a big river. I can see why this state has produced some great hunters. I got to meet one of them called Ryan on here. One of the perks of my job I guess.

I wish I had a list of all the cat hunters living along my routes. Sure would like to meet them all. You are right Clyde, probably the most interesting bobcat hunting book of all would be the one about all the men who do it well. I have written about a few that influenced my early years, but sure would like to see the book about all of those you mentioned, and many of the other greats.

Thank you for the great post Clyde.

Uh Oh, you met up with Ryan from Pennsyltucky???? He chased dogs around these hills for a few days a couple years back. Ask him about his walk to the first tree. He wasn't too impressed when I found a road that went right to the dogs just about the time he made it up mount son of a gun. Good times!!!!!!!

Ya right, I think it was more like; let me drop this dumb ass off at the bottom of the mountain and I'll drive around and eat a sandwich at the tree and see if he can make it! That was a great time jcat, I may have to invite myself back! Your dogs and woodsmanship amazed me.

Man, I sure felt bad about that but it sure was funny. You are welcome back anytime but the dog work will be a LOT different for awhile. As it is now, I'm just happy if none of them crap on the box. lol

jcathunter wrote:Uh Oh, you met up with Ryan from Pennsyltucky???? He chased dogs around these hills for a few days a couple years back.

You know one of the things I appreciate about God is that he could twist me like a piece of string on a spinning wheel, roll me into a ball and kick me into oblivion any time he feels like it. He just chooses not to. Every day that he chooses not to, I have something to be thankful for.

It is with that same thankful attitude that I stand in the presence of some hunters. If I learn that a man starts with nothing, gets him a pup, and turns that pup into a for-real bobcat dog without the help of another hound or bobcat man...That is about all I need to know.