Long race and read

[Hunter]

I hunt with several other guys and tho we don't hunt together much we try to talk to each other and let them know what's going on. We have a bear that just won't stay treed. They hate him cause their dogs end up lost for a day or two each time they run him. He's a big old smart bear. Sat. the dogs cold trailed him and finally jumped him. He ran a good race crossing the trail once right behind me and treed a short distance later. I noticed he was laboring when he crossed the road. I stayed on the ridge above them watching proudly from a distance and all the sudden he came sliding down the tree. I guess he caught his breath and it was time to beat it. He shook off the dogs pretty easy and headed for "the hell" where I believe he knows he has the advantage. They kept pressure on him and I could hear them catch him and he finally treed again. This time I didn't get there before he bailed and entered "the hell". The hell is a deep hollow that to get there requires an almost vertical descent threw blown over pines and dead falls. The bottom is full of the thickest larual imaginable with not one single road or trail to access it and at best it take 5-6 hours just to walk to the bottom and back out so we named it the hell. Well the dogs slowed down once they hit the vertical stuff and finally started filtering back out. The next day I took them back and struck from the truck at 7am. I found the track and turned loose two dogs. I listened to them and new where they were headed so I drove around the corner and turned my last two in as the first to crossed the road. Sure as sugar they treed but, I didn't go to them instead I headed in the other direction in hopes to get to where he entered the hell the day before. As they came just into hearing they treed again and again I kept moving. He was treed 5 minutes tops before he came out. I could hear them moving him around the ridge I was on and then I could see him. He was headed straight up the ridge towards me. I stopped and he passed me so close I could have touched him. He entered exactly at the same spot. As the dogs came past only one noticed me standing by the big oak and she gave me a glance. I started laughing. I bet she thought "dang man alittle help here would be nice". Then it got interesting. I had fully expected the same ending from the day before. Slow down and loose the track and come back but, that's not how it happened. Instead they went out of hearing and I sat there and listened as tree switch after tree switch went off. Now I had a delima. I had to be at work at 11 am so I slowly started out. When I left I know they had treed him 7 different times. I called a friend and asked him if he would just go by and check them out. He called me back and said that they were still in there and even came back into hearing once and he could hear them treed (8 times now) but, went back out of hearing. After he left my wife went up and sat for 4 hours listening and said that again they came within hearing and she went towards them and managed to call back two of the four. She left and after work I went back up and sure enough I could hear the other two treeing not far from where she caught the others. I went straight to them threw all the broken pines and blow downs and found them treed. The tree layed out over a big bluff and I guess he had had enough. He was laying flat on the limb and only once opened his eyes at me. I leased the dogs praised the heck out of them and then started out. I got back to the truck at 5 am. 22 hours of running and treeing. I don't think anyone could ask much more from a 2 year and 4 month old dog and a 17 month old pup.

[Jason Waterhouse]

Sounds like some great dog work.Thanks for sharing

[JDAWG]

Neat story thanks for sharing

[STUNTMAN]

Great storie, how are your dog bred Hunter?

[Hunter]

The two that stayed the longest are plott. The oldest of the two is some local registard stuff with some pocahontas and crockett in them. The youngest is Allison Bear Creek Plott bred top and bottom. I have 2 more from Mr. Allison reserved if his females catch after bear season this year. I just found out the other day that my neighbor has two from his stock and from what I can tell they are all natural starters and all are bear crazy. The other two are 1/2 plott x 1/2 leapord and 1/2 plott x 1/4 mountain 1/4 kemmer.