I received a call from a older guy who sells a few hounds now and then he told me of a lion kill someone had reported to him "he said he found it" I thought this as damn nice of him. the next morning I rode in and hit the track before the kill trailed it out through the rocks hit a couple rough spots was really enjoying myself . riding along a ridge top i hear hounds on both sides one group I don't recognize so I decide to check it out and loop down and say hello. just started don and my hounds start treeing so I decide to Wait on the social call and head back . get to the canyon my hounds are in ride down a slide working my way to them. my hounds get pretty quiet then i hear a couple shots so i haul ass as fast as terrain will allow. now I am worried this wasn't an area i hunted much or knew many people from. I get there my hounds are looking around a few heading back. and my new found buddy is loading up a young tom with the help of two other guys. I'm not happy still got blood pounding in my ears. but I decide to be civilized and find out what exactly is going on here.
it turns out to be about the damnedest plan I've ever heard of. this guy has these two buyers on the line for started cat hounds at $2000 apiece and they won't buy till they see a cat. he knows the area and figures there's a chance he can watch me, drive around close and dump his hounds and hang back a little and wait for his chance to close the deal. these two are so excited they don't even care that his pups haven't even shown up. I told him that he is pulling a chicken shit stunt, he tells me of his hard times and how he needs the money so bad. I tell the buyers they should really consider what they are getting into and round up my hounds and get the hell out of there.
This is boldest most disgusting act of dog jocking I've ever seen. this area doesn't have much of a road system and he is to old to walk in the hills but there's one ranch trail leading to the top that v's and goes down the back side and he was desperate enough to try it. I talked to the warden afterwords and he tells me this guy has some friends that had put a tracking collar on a lion in the same area a year before and were using it as a pup trainer/dog seller.
ever since I've been overly nervous about hunting near other hunters. it's been years but i still wonder whose hounds would have been sold if i hadn't shown up? I've met many great houndsmen but that one was enough to leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth. since then I've heard other stories and seen some of his attempts at selling hounds it makes me try even harder to show folks few houndsmen are like that.
I rambled on hoping to show that if we act unsportsmanlike it affects all houndsmen. I know he has sold a good many dogs over the years and doubt many were what he claimed and can only guess at some of the methods he used. and undoubtedly many beginners got burnt along with that many more in the general public probably heard about the shady dealings of the hound world. duck hunters don't claim a duck before it's in range and if your not trailing a lion i can't see you have much claim to it. my opinion
ps my w button doesn't always work and this was a damn long post so fill them in if missing
