trophy hog while testing a pup and a prospect.

[bigboarstopper]

Went and ran the dogs early this morning in san benito county with my friend Rob and my hunting partner. Rob picked up a dog (the glassed eyed darker catahoula) on a 30 day trial and we have been able to put it on 7?, I think 7 hogs in the last 2 weeks. Lets just say the trial is over and hes keeping the dog. My lead female is on the disabled list from the day before and I left her at home. So I decided to give a 10 month old pup (redished colored dog) out of my female that I recieved back from a guy I sold her to because it was a "dud".

So we arrived with a total of 7 dogs at 7:45am and walked the edge of a steep embankment With a brushy creekbottom below. It was flat fields on the side where we were walking and on the otherside of the drainage there was a steep mountain running parrallel with the creek. We walked for about an hour and the heat was comming quick. We decided to cross the drainage and walk the edge on the otherside back twards the truck because it was gonna be too hot soon to run the dogs.

We walked back and a few of the dogs (my partners dogs) headed up a steep draw up the mountain. We sat at the bottom hoping the dogs wouldnt strike because it was ridiculously steep, far and hot. 3 minutes later there was a faint sound and the dogs had cought up to one trying to crest over the mountain.

We headed up the mountain as about as fast as we could. I had my new pup on a lead and evidently it had never been leash trained. It ran in circles around me on the leash while I crawled on my hands and knees up the hill. I had the catchdog on a lead in the other hand and he couldnt hear the dogs over his heavy breathing and wanted to go a different direction. Rob with his prospect dog was well ahead of me as he is much younger and im no longer in my fighing condition (beer).

Rob and his dog crested the mountain almost 15 minutes before me and I had gassed out at least 3 times on the way up. When I get to the top of the mountain luckily there was a shallow bowl the dogs were bayed in just before it went down all the way to the bottom of the mountain on the other side. The dogs were blowing hard and I was still 10 minutes away. I snaped my pup loose and he vanished into the brush twards the bark.

As I was busting brush trying to close the gap I could hear Rob hollering for me. He is fairly new to running dogs and its a big no-no to be yelling around a hog bay if the catch dog hasnt made it because the hog will hear it and decide to break. I feared the hog would go over the bowl and the race would go all the way down the other side of the mountain. He kept hollering and I kept yelling for him to shut up. FINALLY I got close enough to let the catch dog go. Meanwhile Rob is still yelling. The catchdog busts a 100yds of brush, makes the bay and does his job.

When I get there I see Rob sitting on his but holding the hog from the hind legs like a wheelbarrow. He was getting dragged through the brush as the dogs are working him from his business end. Robs pouring sweat and it looks as if he has been on this ride for quite some time. I get up behind him and he gives me the green light to shoot. I make sure all the dogs are clear and shoot strait down between the hogs shoulder blades. It was done. I find out after that rob was hollering for help cause he snuck up behing the hog while the dogs were baying it and grabbed it by the rear legs and was getting dragged all over the mountain! Rob the catchdog!

My partners hunting dogs did 90% of the work although he decided to wait at the bottom of the mountain for me and Rob to do the dirty work. Robs prospect dog did great. Hes a keeper. Besides my pup needing some major work being walked on a leash he did fairly well and shows promise for a dog that was hunted 2 times and declared a "dud".

It took well over 4 hours to get this hog back to the truck. He was too pretty just to bone out in the field. I guessed his weight in the mid to high 200's and he had a little over 3" of teeth.

[DirtAddict]

Great post and pics BigBoarStopper. Glad to see your "Dud" showing some promise.

[coadycurbow]

Dang good hog! It would be time to holler when you get ahold of him with no catch dog on him. Lol

[wanchese]

nice hog, that dog aint to much of a dud

[dwa]

Nice, I take it Dudley may not be much of a dud!

[bigboarstopper]

I renamed him. "Return".

[dwa]

[nmplott]

resurection or lazarus would have been nice names as well

[dogemdownsouth]

damn nice hog any day of the week!