[quote="david"]I only got a second or two, but I enjoyed the thread on the best bobcat breed of dogs. I would like to see some comments on the best bobcat breed of men (women too if there are some). I would like to see if there is any thing in common among men who have distinguished themselves as great bobcat hunters through the years. Not exclusive to, but in particular, those who hunted/hunt the streight bobcat dogs.
I know the dogs are important, but I kinda think the man is more important than the dog in many ways. One of the great bobcat men I was privileged to spend a couple days with was Dewey Walton. He caught a LOT of cats, but watching him for a couple days had me convinced that he didnt need a real good dog to do it with. He was a master hunter, master trapper, master woodsmen that opened my eyes to some things I did'nt even know existed.
In those huge trees out west, He is the one who taught me to look for the claw marks on the bark of the tree befor spening hours studying one of those huge trees where "you could hide a football team" (jcathunter quote). There were several things like this that he showed me that saved me a lot of time and frustration from that day on. He didn't really need a master locator in his pack, because he himself was a master locator. Not saying he didn't have one, but if he didnt he still would have harvested those cats. His woodsmenship was uncanny. I have never read a book on any legendary mountain man that made me think those guys had anything over Dewey. He moved through the wooods like a gost
Dewey Walton
I wished I`d of knowed him David, I believe ya, especially after orphone conversation the other day/ ya struck me as someone whos decated an sober minded and a student of dogs and hunters who follow em. Ya mightof made ole Dewey into the KING and he just might be ya reond ! I`ve known a very few hunters who kept streight cat dogs and yet I have found em each too be wounderfull woodsmen and totaly honest with their savey too what is from what isent a cat dog. I havent
Ya know there is different ways too hunt bobcat and lion or long tails no matter what their size or color and the area and terane usuall dictates how its done/ thats maybe the biggest differance between hunters who are successfull and keep a line of streight cat dogs David and you probably know that in your experiences. I walked as a youngster and as a young adult and ya know thats the onlyest times in my life that honestly I can admit that yea Jack thats when your dogs put every thing up and ya seen it up to know hey they got him ! I fell away from it and started getting lazyer and the truck was how I started hunten and chooseing hunting spots I could follow alot of the action from a distance and hear it still and then walked-in too the tree-ups.But things for me was changeing slowly by adapting too useing my hunten rigg alot.
I knew some hunters used horses or mules too go hunt off-of for the mtns.hunts and they was real dogmen`s-dogmen !I didn`t do it myself wasent in the position too horse trailor up into the mtns and hunt like that but really I just should of did it anyways/ guess even though I could ride a horse I didn`t want too chance a big wreck on one back up in the mtns. by my self and have a downed horse, worst even yet get mortally hurt in the wreck its self. As I hunted alone awhole lot, it sure might could happen and my folks said no ya don`t need that; and they had never lied oo me and their judgements was pretty streight right so I didn`t devolup that/ Mike Lennord, ole Ike and Tommy did and others.
So how a guy hunts cat isent the conclussion thought might sure make a big differance on successfull or not/ I mean , now days ya got tracken eqpt. and GPS yacan do hunten pretty much and be spot on, because of tech. advancements that a hunter can learn too uses and it just opens a whole bigger world on hunting and gained and gleaned info. I wish some of these boys today would advance all that in print here ? But to answer your other same qst. I`d say ( Tommy Barns,Boone Shockley,Cokey Tripplett,) was the best I knowd and I didnt but talk too Barnes and he was a hunten buddie of 1 of my few own hunten buddies. Also I will add that I dont know any streight bobcat hunters , not that they don`t exist cause they do/ thats why and only why I put Tommy Barns of Ore. at the front end of my list and because of my trust and respect for my ole friend Ralph Aston who just gave in his view Tommy was the King in his eves. And Ralph like me was not a streight anything hunter and run combination dogs cause we kiked fox,coon,bobcat & bear hunting over ourdogs. I`m adden just so some pinhead doo go sprouten this or that about me/ I do not see myself as a hunters hunter nor of haveing the best dogs nor as been the calaber of cloth to want too upstage in the woods anyones elses dogs/ I hunted alone mostly because I just focused on my own dogs too enjoy em and not get put into the tredmill by others being there with dogs also/ I knew ya have 2 hunters or 10 hunters with yaand ya comeback in from hunting and their each all on the phone telling every bit of last nights hunt too someone else. By the time you hear it its comeback around too ya it sounds like that many different hunts was had last night ~hahahaha (and) some guys in the wings not in your friendship net, hear these acounts as they pile up about it on different experiences and they take it personally and feel like hs moved-in on my held ground in standings and they might then just start bad plantedseeds asult on your chartor or intents locally !? not all do but it does happen
I add this above all in because I feel 8-10 hunters wount put-in on the questions ya asked em too submit answers too David/ and there must be a hundreed or so who sure could submitt a few names andbe totall accurate in discriptions and thats all ya was intending too do (pay tribete when tribute is do) !
jack
