BigGameHoundsmen.com

Was sitting at the office, trying to get something done when son, Clint called from a ranch about 13 miles south of here. He said that a big tom bobcat just crossed a pasture road in front of him. I wrapped up what I was doing ran to the house and loaded the Blues and headed south. I got there about an hour later and the sun was blaring down. There was a pretty good dew from last night but it was burning off in a hurry. I dumped the dogs close to where he descirbed and it was not long before my little Lizzie gyp struck. Her littermate, Jimmy was already batting his tail and he fell in with her. My two older dogs struck in and they headed west. After trailing for about 5 minutes and covering over a quarter of a mile, they jumped the big tom. They made a few circles in some thick oak thickets, then headed west into some more open country. They made a pretty bad loose and I got a little to close in my pickup. When I stopped to listen, could not hear anything. Lizzie cam to me with her tounge hanging out from the fast pace and 80 degree temperatures. About the time I got her loaded, I heard Jimmy headed north. I heard the other two older dogs hit in there and they were runnning north.
I thought that I would be able to cut the distance on the hounds for there was a road that headed in their direction. Everytime I stopped my truck to listen, the dogs were running at least 400 yards ahead of me. So much for this story, I did not get the cat in a tree or catch him on the ground. I never got Lizzie back in the race and the other three blew out and made a bad loose just before taking him in to a neighboring ranch. I was a little relieved however because it is the middle of deer season and most every ranch has hunters in the field. I am sure that a hunter would not appreciate a blue dog running a cat by his deer blind. I did not want one of my blues to be someone's Thanksgiving turkey.
Adios and Happy Thanksgiving!
P. S. I guess that is what I get for running a AAA rated bobcat with AA dogs.

Great story, but you have way more guts than I do to turn a dog loose in the Texas hill country during deer season!!
Have a good Thanksgiving.

I'll take the cold and the snow any day.. Good Story.. KattSkatt

You are sure right about all of the deer hunters in the Hill Country, especially around Thanksgiving.
The good thing is most of the folks in the area and many of the hunters who have hunted around here for any period of time know me and these blue dogs. They have orange tracking collars as well as collars with name tags. I know the ranch where the cat escaped and know that he would give me access if I was chasing a cat. The great uncertainty is who might be on the ranch during deer season.
Yeah, I wish we had the luxury of huting in the snow as there are many advantages. There is a little chance of snow this weekend but I do not know if it will stick...the ground is too warm.
Adios,
Gary