BigGameHoundsmen.com

Lion season finally starts tomorrow. It will be interesting to watch social media to see if the same outfitters brag about taking females. It just blows my mind why they would brag about taking a female. If you are that desperate for money go get a real job. I do understand in some areas they are asking to take a few but in the areas they have asked to reduce the harvest use your head and quit thinking about dollar signs. If you love the sport of running hounds prove that it is not all about the money and make your clients harvest toms. Don't jeopardize the sport because of your greed!

I totally agree with you. Many of the guys taking females are also illegal outfitting. They are really hurting the sport and the rest of us. Many of these guys really think that it's a big deal taking a female. These guys have no idea what it is like to be a real Houndsmen. My buddies and I even let go the big toms, we just want to run our dogs, and we despise illegal outfitting. The problem with taking a few females out of areas where they want them reduced is the female harvest numbers all get lumped together at the end of the year. If the female mortality rate gets too high, over 40%, we may see a ballot issue soon. We must leave the females in the tree.

Dave, you should turn in anyone that is guiding illegally. The only guy I know around here that I've heard of guiding illegally took a guy named Bobby out a few years ago, charged him $200 under the table to catch him a bobcat, then got mad at him for not giving him a tip! Now all he does is complain about illegal outfitters. Ironic isn't it?

The problem is you better have solid evidence. There has been afew guys turned in and the DOW can't do much. We had an outfitter last year caught a cat and called a guy 200 miles away to come shoot it. This sport is so much fun but we are our own worst enemy. I am just tired of the female killing. There is no need. I have no issues running them and turning them loose but why kill them? That is why I think these outfitters kill them is just for the money. Hell the thrill isn't in killing in this sport its about the chase.

Plow dog yes it's is and awesome sport but like use we kill any lion cuz of them catching goats maybe some of them boys are in the same boat now the whole 200 mile thing that is horse shit I hate that people do that don't do no work but get all the joy


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Plowdog, You’re correct. And I should have added that to my statement “you should turn in anyone that is guiding illegally” as long as you have solid evidence.
A few years ago, I had fish and game show up at my door accusing me of guiding illegally. They came ready for a huge bust based solely on statements by another local houndsman that made assumptions without any facts. But it ended up only making himself look like an ass and turned into a great thing for me.
They laid down a couple dozen pictures of guys with cats and asked if I had guided any of them. I said yes and pointed out the ones that I had guided. I then walked back to my office and took out a copy of a legal contract for each one and laid it down on each picture. (I think a couple of jaws hit the floor about that time. How could this informant be so wrong). I have several outfitters that I guide for any time I want to take out a paying client. At the same time they were at my place, they were also questioning a bunch of my clients and customers. They wanted to know if I had also mounted their lions and how much they had paid. Apparently, according to this informant, I was taking guys out and getting them a cat then charging them 2-3 times the going rate for a lion mount. Fortunately, I keep impeccable records.
After every one of my clients had also showed them their own records, it proved the guy making the accusations was completely full of crap. But also showed them what low moral character this guy was made out of and that he has no problem lying to anyone.

When they were leaving after several hours, they thanked me for doing everything legally. What a waste of our game departments time when they could have been out working of a number of other issues.

Since then, several of my local game wardens have brought me taxidermy work along with several Colorado Parks and Wildlife park offices. And also since that time, I’ve helped them several times when they’ve needed help looking for a cat.
A few years ago, this same guy got busted for trespassing while he was out hunting. I think he should worry more about his own problems and lack of morals and ethics then complaining about everybody else.

I think its mostly jealousy that causes these guys to fabricate lies about fellow houndmen . We have houndmen working for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife that are informants for the State Police .It really irritates them that some guys have dogs that catch lots of game so they tell the cops these guys are outlaws .One person in particular has badmouthed local houndmen to the cops for years .Its a black eye for all houndmen that these types exist to cast aspersions on real houndmen !