dry ground hunting

[houndcrazy93]

hey everyone im tired of waitg for snow to come. i want to see im my hound can dry ground. i need help on how you guys find tracks. in dry ground. i cant go walk a track for ever cuz i got lots of brush. so i need all the info and help for it guys thanks

[arizonabeagle]

well you got the option of drivin up roads with your head out the window, lookin for tracks in the dirt or mud, usually one the shoulder of the road, or findin a low spot in a mountain, dumpin the box and walkin the dogs through saddles and up ridges where ever you think a lion would cross or walk, looks for kills and scrapes when you do this, findin one of those will increase your chances of findin a decent the track the dogs could take
either way you do it its a whole hell of a lot of walkin lol and for the most part a lot of cold trailin and dissapearing tracks. but that all depends on the trailing conditions and age of the track..scent usually holds up better on brush and in water i've been told..dont know if thats cold hard fact or not though
i'm a true believer that luck plays a huge part in it LOL and i aint got no luck
either way its always a good time! good luck!

[jasonmark]

Get out and walk the spots you know or have seen them cross if you still have snow on the north slopes walk the north slopes looking for a track they like to end up there on the timbered north slopes for the day good scenting for the dogs may even start one with the dogs and end up on a south slope and have to help the dogs to the next one too start with hope this helps enjoy your time Jason

[ChasinTail]

this is just my opinion, but most dogs that don't regularly run on dry ground have a hard time with dry tracks until they get on a few and experience the scent on lots of different terrain. Lion scent is lion scent, but when mixed with different kinds of soil or rock, it changes... All the others on here have given you great advice on where to look for tracks, but don't get discouraged right away if your dog doesn't do much with even a hot track on dry ground... sometimes the dog just needs to process what the scent is, and what to do with it, because they're used to smelling it in such a different setting (snow). I also think that dogs that hunt in the snow a lot, especially "lead" dogs become very visual as well.... they put 2 and 2 together and realize that those holes in the snow have cat scent in them... and run head up winding the hot scent just above the snow, following the actual track in the snow as opposed to the scent...depending on the freshness of the track, dry ground hunting is much different. Good luck, be patient, and keep us posted on your progress.

[jube baker]

Get on a horse and put some miles on, or drag some brush up and down the shoulder of a dirt road then check it the next day might have some luck that way i have in the past.

[lonehunter]

I have hunted dry ground most of the time here in New Mexico. I do it on foot or on my mule and I free cast my hounds. Try and pick areas where game are plentiful ( Deer, Elk) for this is where cats will be feeding. In my area the more rugged the terrain seems to hold the mulies, and this is where I tend to strike the most. It also helps to get away from the main roads, areas that are less frequented by hunters tend to favor game as well as cats. Look for three things 1) cover 2) food and 3) water, if you find these items you will find Deer and Elk and if you find them the cats won't be far away.
Good Luck with it.


Lone Hunter
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"I have never hunted a good dog that was a bad color"