BigGameHoundsmen.com

Do you consider your self a houndsmen?
At what point does a guy give himself the title?
Is it when a guy buys his first hound?
Is it when you don't bother carrying a gun?
Or is it when your phone rings and some one want you to hunt with them so they can be successful?

At what point did you except the title of houndsmen and what does it mean to you?

Most guys that get into hounds don't last 5 years, so I think to be a houndsmen you should be catching your own game for a minimum of 5 years. If you hunt in the west not carrying a gun is not a good idea, areas I hunt there are numerous species in the woods that can kill you or your dogs at will.

i put the word houndsman in the same catagory as the word operator (as in heavy equipment operator). In my proffession everyone calls themself an operator whether its their first day or been at it for 20 years. but an operator is someone who can do anything and everything that is asked of them perfectly. which i believe is impossible. i think that falls in the same as the "houndsman".. i know for sure i DO NOT know everything about hounds and in my case heavy equipment. I "RUN" the machine and i "HELP" my hounds to my best ability to get them to chase the game of my choosing.. The day i stop learning something when im out with my dogs ill call it quits.. and the first person to tell me they know everything about working with hounds i call BS

interesting, to me it would mean that a person has got to the point that in most cases he or she knows for the most part at any given time what there hound is doing right, wrong or indifferent and knows what changes to make at that given time. he or she knows when they open the kennel door what type of mood there hound is in and hunts them accordingly or when he or she puts just as much time into finding hunting area and researching the game of there choice as they do in the woods with there hounds. he or she enjoys taking others along, not to show off but just to show because he or she is proud of what he or she has in there box. is willing to share knowledge and keep an open mind and as bbde said, he or she knows there is always something to learn.

I view the term "hounds man" the same as I view the term "friend". You use it to describe someone else never yourself!
JMO
John Sumrall

A hounds man to me is exactly that! There are people who hunt hounds and there are people who are houndsmen. Same as a cowboy, just cause you dress as one doesn't mean your one! A buddy of mine is a houndsman, he can take a hound and start it from scratch, have the patience to work the dog and get the dog to hunt the game he allows it to hunt.

I hope no one ever refers to me as a hounds men. All the self proclaimed hounds men I know leave their dogs on a chain 9 months a year, feed half a cup of old Roy twice a week and own most of the blm and all of the forest.

icehole wrote:I hope no one ever refers to me as a hounds men. All the self proclaimed hounds men I know leave their dogs on a chain 9 months a year, feed half a cup of old Roy twice a week and own most of the blm and all of the forest.

Not far off.

A houndman is a person who loves dogs and chooses to hunt with them because of that love.They don't use them as a tool just to kill something.Whatever game they decide to pursue they WILL NOT take it(kill ) by any other means EXCEPT over their hounds . They won't kill everything their dogs tree.They don't fabricate stories to impress others and they won't lie about a dogs ability to sell it.They'll help out the young guys by giving them tips on the do's and don'ts of hound hunting.They take care of their dogs to the best of their ability .Probably one of the most notable traits of a true houndman is the light and laughter that shine in his eyes as he listens to his dogs burn a jumped varmint around the mountain in a fast,furious race to the tree!

Just like any title in life's it's earned not given, if your doing all the right things, making the fight decisions, and in it for the right reasons, others in your sport will start to take notice and word gets out.

Just like 1bluedog, he one of the best.

1bludawg wrote:A houndman is a person who loves dogs and chooses to hunt with them because of that love.They don't use them as a tool just to kill something.Whatever game they decide to pursue they WILL NOT take it(kill ) by any other means EXCEPT over their hounds . They won't kill everything their dogs tree.They don't fabricate stories to impress others and they won't lie about a dogs ability to sell it.They'll help out the young guys by giving them tips on the do's and don'ts of hound hunting.They take care of their dogs to the best of their ability .Probably one of the most notable traits of a true houndman is the light and laughter that shine in his eyes as he listens to his dogs burn a jumped varmint around the mountain in a fast,furious race to the tree!

Interesting topic. I think if you have more than 6 hounds you're a houndsman. I usually only keep 2 hounds so that eliminates me. Actually I do think if you are handling hounds you are a houndsman. There are great, good, bad etc.. houndsmen. I agree that a great houndsman would be one who knows what the dogs he is handling are doing most of the time and knows how to handle each dog as their personality requires. Meaning knows what each dog needs. Really knows and understands dogs and gets the best out of the individuals. As with the equipment operator analogy, A great operator 'reacts without conscious thought' to his machine and is usually right. That's what reaction is, a trained response through experience. Seems to me that people think it's an honor to be called a houndsman. I think it's just a title.

I don't feel it has anything to do with how long you've been doing it or level of experience. I think it's when you love doing it, day in and day out. You're dedicated to it. It's your life basically. You never stop wanting to learn something new. You put more work into your dogs than most people do their job. You strive to have the best line of dogs that you can, and you're not afraid to cull one thats not gonna make it instead of passing your problems on to someone else. You're always willing to take someone along that, young or old, is interested in the sport. You're dedicated to preserving the species you pursue and the habitat they live in. You're willing to fight for your right to keep running dogs. Very rarely do you take an animal bcuz you know that's one you can run another day. And you leave a legacy behind you. People talk about you and your dogs in a good way and the guys that hunt with you are thankful they did and the ones that didn't wish they could have.

Bayemup34 wrote:I don't feel it has anything to do with how long you've been doing it or level of experience. I think it's when you love doing it, day in and day out. You're dedicated to it. It's your life basically. You never stop wanting to learn something new. You put more work into your dogs than most people do their job. You strive to have the best line of dogs that you can, and you're not afraid to cull one thats not gonna make it instead of passing your problems on to someone else. You're always willing to take someone along that, young or old, is interested in the sport. You're dedicated to preserving the species you pursue and the habitat they live in. You're willing to fight for your right to keep running dogs. Very rarely do you take an animal bcuz you know that's one you can run another day. And you leave a legacy behind you. People talk about you and your dogs in a good way and the guys that hunt with you are thankful they did and the ones that didn't wish they could have.

Very well stated.

Bayemup34,
You have had your eyes and ears open while hunting with the men in your group and have learned a lot of lessons on the right way to do things. I am sure they are proud to have you with them. Excellent post with a lot of wisdom in it. Good job.