Tracking collars taking away from the hunt

[Sammiller03]

Just wondered what everyone else thought of tracking collars taking part of the houndsmen experience away. By this I mean hunting dogs that blow out of the country and you have to use a garmin or other tracking system to find them and not getting to hear the race. I know a few people who pay more attention to their garmin than what their dogs are doing. Me personally I always have a shock collar and tracking collar on every dog when they leave the truck so it's not like I'm not all for the latest and greatest but sometimes I think people miss out on the hunt and hound work by looking at a garmin.

Sam

[live to hunt]

I know that the garmin has taken away alot of worrying and made my houndogging experience alot more enjoyable. When a dog misses on a lose and does not get back with the pack you can go right to him and help him or pick him up and maybe put him back on the track down the line. The hours spent beeping lost dogs is now spent hunt for the next track.

[Sammiller03]

Very good point that is a very good advantage and I also love being able to mark the truck. Just wondering how others felt about high tech hunting

Sam

[2ndhound]

JMO, I don't think so, yep the recovery part of the equation is for sure high tech,
the actual hunting part not so much, a fella can stare at that screen all he wants and miss the hunt so to speak, but don't mean squat when it comes to actually catching game.
My garmin is rarely on yes I carry it always for the dogs sake and yep I mark the truck for my sake, but I sure as heck dont delude myself into thinking that I will be a game catching master with it.
Now keep in mind I dont have dogs that blow out of the country, they hunt hard but check in now and again, and know abouts where I will be when they decide to check in,
My ears tell me more about whats going on then the garmin, their body language says volumes also,
Dont fall into the purists trap thinking modern houndsmen are cheaters, not a thing easy about this game near as I can tell.
still boils down to you and the dogs, the garmins are real nice and I really like them but its still up to you.
Take care and good luck
Ken

[mondomuttruner]

I'd be willing to bet the garmin has saved many a dogs life when running near busy roads.
Priceless for that reason alone....

[Sammiller03]

I guess maybe I should have added some more to this. I run a garmin an love it for all the reasons mentioned. I have just seen a few people glued to it and have no idea when there dog is treed except that the garmin tells them it is . They
Miss hearing there dogs voice change as the track changes miss the locate and don't know when there dog is treed but they love to stare at that screen, the garmin is probably one of my favorite inventions but it drives me nuts when hunting buddies stare at them all night long.

Sam

[2ndhound]

Well there Sam apparently I misunderstood the gist of your post,
If your buddies style bugs you then thats pretty simple. new buds or hunt alone,
not much different than going with gator packs, tree fighters, and trash runners,

If it bugs you make a change or go alone. you and your dogs will be happier and better for it.
just my 2cents cant buy nothing with it
Ken

[dawger]

I find the Garmin has the opposite effect for me. the dogs i'm running now always seem to zig when I zag and I would hear the start of the race and sometimes the middle, never the jump, locate or tree. Now I'm able to stay close enough to the dogs that I'm hearing most of the races in there entirety.

[box rocker]

I've seen more bear run across the road and more bear blow the bark off of a tree with a garmin in the last three years than the 15 years running behind the dogs before. I missed a lot more of the hunt back then. I was always walking to tree and not getting in front of the race.

[007pennpal]

I can't see anything the garmin takes way from the hunt. Only adds to it. Except paying for it. Every once in a while I go old school with one or two loud mouths just to walk down memory lane.

[slowandeasy]

I've seen more bear run across the road and more bear blow the bark off of a tree with a garmin in the last three years than the 15 years running behind the dogs before. I missed a lot more of the hunt back then. I was always walking to tree and not getting in front of the race.

box rockers statement has a world of wisdom in it! (LOOKING AT THE FRONT END INSTEAD OF BRINGING UP THE REAR) i have always wanted to bring this up but didn't want to hear the crap from the know it alls. thirty five years ago i was involved in judging large pack on hare feild trials. you would be looking at anywhere from twenty to one hundred and twenty five dogs at once on the ground running. it was the judges job to eliminate dogs from a pack that could not keep a run going for five minutes due to the crazyness. now if you say a rabbitt has nothing to do with big game just keep marching down the road you are going, because you don't need this information. but the rabbitt is a wild animal and behaves just like any other animal being trailed. doing this thirty five years ago before garmin. taught us that buy being out front you can see the hounds that are causing your loses and get rid of them. now it was much harder before electronics, we even glassed when running big game, but what we were able to see sure made us build a smooth running pack. i have always felt some were way behind on this . but i think electronics have opened many eyes to the fact that seeing the animal being chased than watching the hounds that are doing the work, and the ones causing the loses is very helpful. take care!

[BIGBLUES]

I always enjoyed hunting without any tracking equipment. But with the wolves its nice to know exactly where to head.

[Sammiller03]

I think after reading everything posted and thinking about it myself I prefer to hunt a hound that you could hunt without a tracking system but use one just I case. It's great to be able to jump out of the truck in an unfimilar place and know you can get back to it. But I still want a hound that does not require a tracker at all times to find it

[Rig2Tree]

I own one garmin collar for about four years now. I use it but still rely on my knowledge I have gained through the years to follow my dogs. I'm not saying it isn't useful but I think if your going to be a houndsmen you should be able to follow your dogs by just listening to what they're telling you.

[hunter22]

I have hunted coon since i was 5 years old with my grandpa 25 now and never used tracking equiptment until 3 years ago i got the garmin...but the astro stays in the truck and i follow the dogs. at first i was glued to the screen and i then realized hunting wasnt very much fun. theres nothing better than listening to the big bawl on track and hearing the big ol locate and choppin the tree down. i didnt get that when i was glued to the screen...but if i didnt have the garmin i probly wouldnt still have all my dogs. and i agree it is a great tool to use when training pups to see if they are proving themselves or just chasing the old dogs.