November 14, 2009

Hello Folks!

I made it home from WI. Saw some beautiful country both in WI and IL. Ate some great Brats, Sausage, and Cheese in between trying to harvest one of the huge WI Bucks.

The area we were hunting is an “Earn a Buck” area so you have to harvest a Doe first. I got a med. sized Doe the first afternoon with my bow. Then passed on 120 to 140 class Bucks for a couple of days. Harvested a Huge Doe on day three.


Then played hide and seek with a 160+ Buck just before dark one night.

After 6 hard days Deer hunting I headed down to some friends in NW IL for a Fox/Yote hunt and to watch an Irish Harrier Bitch work.

Folks it was quite an experience! I am sure it was just like one of Mr. Mike Leonard’s Lion hunts. Just different!

I knew it was different when the “Beautiful “Ladies (36 riders and only 8 men) started pulling up in their Range Rovers with Brenderup trailers in tow. Yea there were some poor folks in their Mercedes’ with Featherlite Aluminums as well. Their attire was a little different than my Walls Coveralls. But a good time was had by all.

Tony Leahey is a Houndsman by anyone’s standard! He was hunting 17 couples this day (that’s 34 Hounds for us country boys). He has a great handle on his Hounds and they can drive their game. He catches around 100 Yotes in IL and GA each year. He shows great sport to the fields that are Horsy enough to follow his pack.

Tony Leahey about to depart the meet with the Pack in tow!


The Irish bitch I went to see really showed out at the beginning of the hunt, striking the Yote cold, trailing him up to where the some of the rest of the Pack could help, and then straightened a bad check out when the Yote crossed a road. The wind was blowing about 15 mph, so scenting was poor at best.

Here are some more pics of the hunt. We put the Yote in an old hand dug well at an abandoned farmstead. And could not get him out.

The Field moving out to block a road to keep the Yote from crossing.


Tony Drawing a Covert below a cut Soybean field trying to find a second Yote.


Tony was kind enough to send a 10 month old pup out of the Irish Harrier Bitch home with me for us to try with our pups. If he works out he may be our out cross answer. In about 5 years I might be able to tell you all if it is going to work.

We will be back to Bobcat hunting later this week, after the Deer Hunters Calm down a little here!

Good Running to All!

C. John Clay
Dads Dogboy

Yea that is a hole in the big Does hip.

My Barnett Predator XBow drove a Bolt from just behind her shoulder on one side all the way through out her off side hip. she was almost 60 yds out. The Barnett with the Red Dot is really great for us old farts with bad shoulders.

CJC

Looks like fun to me. Good pics and congrats on the deer. How does your friend go about training all those hounds to follow behind his horse?

bency,

They start teaching the Hounds to Pack Up as Pups by walking them out, working to keep them together. Then as they get older and are worked into the Pack, there are Horsemen who are dedicated to "Whiping In". They keep the Hounds together until the game is jumped.

There is lots of "Tradition" in this style of Fox Hunting which goes back literally hundreds of years! While some of their methods seem funny to us, they sure work for them. Some of the "Red Coated" Packs are more for show, however Tony's #1 goal is to catch game!

Different Stokes for Different Folks, there is a Style of Hunting to fit anyone, lets all work to find one for our neghbors and youngsters!

CJC

Sounds like a great trip,Looks like you had fun.

C John, You were in Wisconsin? What town were you near

Thanks for the pics. I dont know why people hunt in Wisconsin, a drive down the road will produce fresh deer on most any day. That is a huge doe though, either that or you are a little tiny southern midget. If she was feeding on that good Wisconsin corn, you are in for some eating.

Now you got me wondering about the outcross you mentioned. Why do you want an outcross? Why to an Irish Harrier? How does that work with the papers on your dogs? Are the breeds interchangeable? What is the actual breed name of your dogs on their papers? You might have already explained all this somewhere on here. I have not been able to keep up on things, so I appologize.

I love the legs on those dogs. Is the bitch you speak of in that close up of the dogs?

28 women on a coyote hunt? I knew I was in the wrong sport. Dang, I wonder if it is too late for me to learn how to hunt coyotes.

David,

We were hunting in Richland Co. in the Gillingham Community.

I am a rather small guy as my Dad started Hunting me too young. I am 6’ 1” and weigh about 280 field dressed.

Corn fed venison is better than the best beef, we had grilled tender loin for supper last night.

Go to the Bobcat Page and pull up my Oct. Cat Hunt Stories thread. Down a ways I posted the Pedigree Charts of the two Tale Female lines that Dad has kept going for all these years. He has only out crossed to Hounds that carried some if not a lot of Ch. Mark S. in their background. Unfortunately Dad had a young bitch die unexpectedly from one of these lines which now has us having to cross the two lines. This is fine for now, but 5 to 10 years down the road if there are some untimely deaths (we all know that with running any game you are one Highway crossing away from being out of Hounds) he may be backed into having to breed closer relatives than he likes to do.

There are very few Outside Hunters now who are running Grey Fox/Bobcat and fewer who are raising their own Hounds. Finding a “Good” Hound with some Genetic Probability to breed to is becoming a bigger problem all the time. Nose, Brains, and Mouth are the things that Dad is looking for. With any Out Cross it will be 5 or more years before you will know if you are headed in the right direction, the F2’s must perform as well as the base line and then be able to reproduce.

The Irish harriers are known for their trailing ability, distinctive mouths, desire, and BRAINS. By trying one now we will be keeping a second breeding program going for the next 5 years, farming the Pups out to a couple of Dad’s hard hunting friends to see if the F1’s are good enough to continue.

As to the Breed of Dad’s Hounds they are Running Walkers registered with the International Fox Hound Stud Book. This organization has some paper work we have to do to register the F1 Pups out of the Irish harrier Pup.

The Irish bitch is in the Pics. She is the July colored smallest Hound in the background of the Pic with the Horses rear.

Hope this Helps!

CJC

Thanks for the pics and story Mr. Dads Dogboy. Which horse did you ride

I'm always amazed at the conformation on those hounds, specialy when you consider that conformation is way down the list of traits they breed for

I am a little disapointed though. The best of breeding and training and you still chase deer

Riverbottom,

Dad says that my trashing on Deer comes from Mothers side of the family!

I rode a Ram....Dodge 4X4.

Tony breeds for conformation as one of three main factors, with nose and brains the others.

CJC

mr. clay,
i always enjoy your enthouziasm when you speak. though i have never spoke to you i feel you are a person with a real sense of humor. keep the stories coming. i live in southern oregon and hunt bobs and grey fox like you were talking about, it does take a certain kind of dog to do both. im not really sure what makes a dog that can do both, but i have two that do good on both. im not an expert by any means, but i think its harder to have a dog locate on a cat, rather than a fox. fox races seem to be a lot longer than a cat. cats seem to be harder to track. maybe im not wording it right but im sure you can figure out what im trying to say. anyways thanks for sharing the story and if you have an answer for me i would be happy to hear your oppinion.
jimmy

I think I see her, she has a shorter muzzle, softer facial features, correct? Will the pups out of that cross be registered as Running Walkers? Or?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge so freely.

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing them
I really like this one

sounds like a fun time, that would be cool to be able to go and do someday.

David,

The F1's will be registered as just that 1/2 Walker, bred back to a Walker the F2's will be considered Walker. Or so I understand.

The Chase who keeps the IFSB has papers that have to be filled out and notorized attesting to the parentage, breeder in Ireland, and who imported the Bitch, also her listing with the MFA.

All this we will do and pay the late penalties after the F2's have proven if they are worthy of continuing with.

Thanks and come see us soon!

CJC

PS We have been the last three nights and have treed one and had sorry luck the other two nights. Guess that is why it is "Cat Hunting"!