Hunting outside your area?

twist · Post by **twist** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 5:24 pm

How many of you houndsmen hunted outside your area? I am talking a whole different climate and region or state what ever it be. This meens taking your own dogs not just riding along and saying yep old so and so could catch cats here I am talking take your dogs to that area and catch cat consistantly right out of the box with no aclaimating what so ever. Please lets here your stories. Andy

BrandonCombe · Post by **BrandonCombe** » Thu May 01, 2014 1:37 am

Andy I have often wondered this same thing. How would a dog do dumped out in unfamiliar terrain thats nothing like what they are use to. I am hoping a few guys will share there experiences as I have never hunted any were that wasn't some what like the terrain I hunt all the time. Hope everyones doin well.

dwalton · Post by **dwalton** » Thu May 01, 2014 2:58 am

My area is the USA. We have four types of ground you can hunt coastal brush, high cascades, central Oregon with pumice soils and sage and juniper deserts here. I have hunted it all with my dogs. I have also treed lion and bobcats in Washington,California,Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona. I have hunted with other dogs in Arkansas and Texas. I have hunted from 15 below to 95 degrees. A bobcat dog is a bobcat dog no matter where you hunt him. That said in the deserts as long as there is ground moisture I do fine. My dogs do fine in or out of the snow. In western Oregon with the brush I can do fine any time of the year, it actually is the easiest in spite of what you may read. The bobcat in the desert and pumice ground are very easy to tree in the snow, harder without but have done well in NE California when we had training seasons there until the end of June. Different dogs will handle different areas and scent conditions different. I could bounce back and forth from snow to bare ground east side to west side with the dogs in the same week and do well. That said I think it would be hard to train a box dog in the desert country but ones trained on the west side box do well where ever I have hunted them. I feel all dogs need to be trained on bare ground hunting. Dogs that I have seen trained in snow areas take a while to catch on on bare ground. It takes good rim dogs to do well in real rocky areas but you will loses a few to bluffs. Good dogs will do good in any hunting conditions anywhere bobcats can be caught. I have never hunted my dogs in the southeast. Finny Clay hunted with me for a few days and gave me big compliment. He invited me to Florida and said " Your dogs would do good down there." I wish I could of hunted with him there. A good bobcat dog is a good bobcat dog anywhere. You will see different dogs handle different conditions some doing better at one place than another. Dewey

johnadamhunter · Post by **johnadamhunter** » Thu May 01, 2014 2:31 pm

Well stated, Dewey. I agree totally.

dwalton · Post by **dwalton** » Thu May 01, 2014 2:35 pm

Thinking back over the years every where I have hunted I have run into what and what not could be done. I share a few with you guys. In my late teens hunting for Cap Atwood in Colorado lion was the game to hunt. I saw a lot of bobcat sign there. I went out on days off and treed bobcats. I got $90 dollars a cat more than I made hunting for Cap. All the locals could not believe they could be caught without traps. A few years latter hunting Nevada for Lion with Roland Wilson seeing a lot of bobcat sign asking the local guide why he did not run them, his answer was you could not tree them. We brought in 3 the next day. Well you can't box them like you do in the wet climate of Oregon. We took him out and showed him different. In the late 1980's I hunted southeastern Arizona a place Dale Lee sent me, we treed lion and gray fox which talking to Dale was not done, there the fox were trash but it had not gotten across to the young dogs yet.. When I started hunting the NE part of California, most locals only hunted snow. I went down with one and hunted in May treeing 4 in 5 days. Hunting in Eastern Oregon and Eastern California I have heard that you can't catch bobcats on the ground, they will beat you to a hole, some did, the 20012- 20013 season 19.8 percent of the bobcats I caught was caught on the ground before they got to a hole. Hunting here in Oregon bobcats are hard to catch for some of the hunters, you just can't tree all of those educated bobs, last season I jumped 1 bobcat that I did not tree and 3 the season before. The point of this is one I like the challenge of hunting new areas and what is common beliefs or knowledge may not be what is so. I know if ones mind is made up for what can or can't be done that will be true for you. I did not post this to brag I know of better dogs and better bobcat hunters out there most have enough sense to keep quit. People don't KNOW what they don't KNOW but are quick to JUDGE on what they do know. Each to their own and hunt what works for you. Dewey

dwalton · Post by **dwalton** » Thu May 01, 2014 2:38 pm

Thinking back over the years every where I have hunted I have run into what and what not could be done. I share a few with you guys. In my late teens hunting for Cap Atwood in Colorado lion was the game to hunt. I saw a lot of bobcat sign there. I went out on days off and treed bobcats. I got $90 dollars a cat more than I made hunting for Cap. All the locals could not believe they could be caught without traps. A few years latter hunting Nevada for Lion with Roland Wilson seeing a lot of bobcat sign asking the local guide why he did not run them, his answer was you could not tree them. We brought in 3 the next day. Well you can't box them like you do in the wet climate of Oregon. We took him out and showed him different. In the late 1980's I hunted southeastern Arizona a place Dale Lee sent me, we treed lion and gray fox which talking to Dale was not done, there the fox were trash but it had not gotten across to the young dogs yet.. When I started hunting the NE part of California, most locals only hunted snow. I went down with one and hunted in May treeing 4 in 5 days. Hunting in Eastern Oregon and Eastern California I have heard that you can't catch bobcats on the ground, they will beat you to a hole, some did, the 20012- 20013 season 19.8 percent of the bobcats I caught was caught on the ground before they got to a hole. Hunting here in Oregon bobcats are hard to catch for some of the hunters, you just can't tree all of those educated bobs, last season I jumped 1 bobcat that I did not tree and 3 the season before. The point of this is one I like the challenge of hunting new areas and what is common beliefs or knowledge may not be what is so. I know if ones mind is made up for what can or can't be done that will be true for you. I did not post this to brag I know of better dogs and better bobcat hunters out there most have enough sense to keep quit. People don't KNOW what they don't KNOW but are quick to JUDGE on what they do know. Each to their own and hunt what works for you. Dewey

Big N' Blue · Post by **Big N' Blue** » Thu May 01, 2014 4:15 pm

Very well stated Dewey!! That's why we love you!! No BS , just facts! Look forward to seeing you and Dena soon! Take care!

twist · Post by **twist** » Thu May 01, 2014 4:46 pm

Great answeres Dewey, but what i was wanting to get out of the post is withthe same dogs not has one caught cats in different area with diffrent dogs. I am talking same dogs go to othet climates and conditions drop the box and cat consistant. Believe me i am opened minded on this have seen with my own eyes many times dogs have been brought to this area that have put up big numbers in other areas and they stand and loom at a smoking hot track in the snow ike its not even there. Also have put these dogs on the box and driven for hundreds of miles with out starting or catching a cat. Yes i know it can be donehere if one gets lucky and finds a cat that has just crossed a few minutes ahead of you but i call thatlucky notconsistancy. Now yes the dogs that i have seen come here and not know what to do ith whati call a smoking track in thesnow with time do learn to aclaimate but itdoest happen over night. Andy

Unreal_tk · Post by **Unreal_tk** » Thu May 01, 2014 5:56 pm

Andy,

Why not put Dewey up at your place next fall when your season starts ?

dwalton · Post by **dwalton** » Thu May 01, 2014 7:25 pm

Andy: The blood and type of dog goes back 33 years. The current dogs I have I been loaded into the dog box for 7 hours from western Oregon to the desert of California next to Nevada and tree three bobcats before dark. I have left western Oregon at 550 feet elevation 6o degrees and tree several bobcats in below 0 dry snow the same day, 9 in 4 days. I seen the same dogs take a cold track in 15 below run the track, jump it in the rims and tree it. I have struck bobcats time and again in the desert of California in 90 degree dry July. I driven two days to southern Arizona and trail game the next day. It makes no difference with my dogs. Will the same dogs strike off the box yes, will they strike bobcats below freezing in dry snow? I have never boxed them in cold snow conditions but have struck several out of inside the box. Maybe there is a difference in a bobcat dog and one that will catch a bobcat? I am guessing a lot of people have never seen the difference? Andy conditions can mess up a hunt at times who knows what going on with the dogs. As far as boxing bobcats in Montana I would bet any amount of money you can afford to lose that it can be done. I seen and hunted in all conditions, maybe not in Montana,as soon as you make it legal for me to hunt bobcats there I will be on my way. Dewey

twist · Post by **twist** » Thu May 01, 2014 8:52 pm

Dewey, Have no doubt boxing here cant be done but one would wear out a truck if he was determined he could do it on a consistant basis. One of the dogs i have seen come from a different climate and area did not even know a smoking hot bobcat track in the snow existed until he got aclaimated to the different conditions which took quit a few tracks for him to figure out there was a cat track even there. The dog i am talking of you know him well he has produced some nice cat dogs in your area. Yes i believe there are exceptions in some dogs but for one dog or several to go anywhere they set their feet down and catch cats with out aclaimating to the area and condition is hard for me to believe. I am not winging this from the air i have seen many dogs look good in one area or climate go to another and look like a dud not saying that same dog with time will not come around and prove it can catch cats in that area but for the most part they need to aclaimate these are just my findings over the years. Andy

jcathunter · Post by **jcathunter** » Thu May 01, 2014 9:32 pm

My dogs are so fast they often end up in a different climate but they are so good they will steer the cat back to favorable conditions when the going gets tough. People are often amazed by their talent.

al baldwin · Post by **al baldwin** » Thu May 01, 2014 11:53 pm

Dewey, with respect I ask this. How many dogs have you had to go thru to find packs that were as good as you say. Dogs like you describe surely cannot be easy to come by, never knew anyone who had dogs that never lost a few critter especially bobcat. The few people I have ask how dogs have done they had from your breeding have never described dogs as good as yours. Tim does say his male is a good one. Realize proper exposure is a must & all do not make it. Al

dwalton · Post by **dwalton** » Fri May 02, 2014 12:39 am

Al : I have had better dogs than these but not as many good dogs at one time. I miss cats just not many during hunting season. I know of a good cat hunter that is close to 90 treed or caught cat in a row this year. It is do to several things mostly a good well trained pack that moves a track fast and no dogs that take away from treeing bobcats and has something to add. No dog is perfect I don't mind a dog as long as it does not take away from the pack catching cats. Know what adds to a pack and what takes away is one of the keys to bobcat hunting that is hard to spot. Bobcat are not hard to catch with the right dogs and the right hunter. Do you think maybe I keep the best and have a little better knowledge and time to train and condition them to peak at the beginning of bobcat season. It is a little different when you do it as your job. Dewey

dhostetler · Post by **dhostetler** » Fri May 02, 2014 3:38 am

Dewey, I have never heard of anybody catching 90 of anything in a row. I would probably spend a lot of money for the opportunity to go hunting with someone like that. One issue I run in is my dogs trashing out on a lion. I assume you guys have lions in Oregon???? There is no way I can catch 5 bobcats without popping up a lion in one of the turnouts. Our kill season lasts only about 3 weeks with a limit of four and I have a problem catching my limit before it shuts down the main problem is not finding tracks. I have hunted all day in perfect snow conditions and not found one track. You guys must have an amazing population. I know guys that hunt close to where Andy hunts and I believe the bobcat population is a little better down there than NW Montana but even then I believe you could drive around all day without getting one strike. If you hunt somewhere you can catch 90 in a year how many do you accidently run over a year driving around. Do they run in packs in Oregon?