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The only time that I put tracking collars on my dogs is when the people I am hunting with have extra collars. It is not out of choice but I just can't afford collars at this point. I have never not got a dog back but I have spent some long nights wishing I could find them. I plan to buy collars sometime next year when I finish saving for them, and would advise anyone that can afford them to use them.

i turn my dogs loose all the time without collars you just have to be confident they will come back. my dogs always backtrack to the road so unstead of collars i just sleep in the pickup and always wake up to them scratchin at the box

if your dogs come back that soon you have problems, a good bear chase can go a long way and most dogs will stay for a long time (days on end), especially on a bay up, but maybe things are different elsewhere or I have hard headed dogs, I would never run big game without tracking collars, too many things can go wrong.

I have never had a bear run for longer than an hour before either getting bayed up or treeing. Its a good thing too cause I don't think my dogs would keep going for days on end and I would not want them to either. I run without collars. But I only hunt from my home and my dogs will return home in a few hours if I don't go get them.

This canyon is real steep so that might be why bears don't run far? Also lots of thick brush in some areas. Plus this mountain is not all that big I don't think a bear could run in a straight line for more than a day and not get into someones back yard.

for a couple of years before I invested in one. I wasn't hunting big game, only coon, but he did occasionally follow a bear track. That hound always came back eventually.
The current hound is pretty reliable, but there have been two times when I wouldn't have found him without it--once someone had tied him up in their garage, the other time he was treed in a deep hollow a couple of miles from where I'd turned him out. I would never have heard him if I hadn't known where to look.
The thing about trackers is that you don't need them until you need them, then they're essential. Occasionally, I don't bother to put the collar on, but then I always worry that he's going to get hung up in a foothold trap somewhere and I'm not going to find him in time. If you've got one, use it. If you don't, its worth saving up for.

stymie wrote:has anyone ever run their hound with out collars?
did hounds come to truck??

i never turn out hounds on big game with out a tracking system but i have never used one when coon hunting but i will have my own by Jan

If you really believe you can't lose a dog, then you are very green! Not trying to start any trouble, just the facts!!!!!!!

I hunted 17 years before getting a tracking system in the Mountains of West Virginia and the flat lands of Florida/Georgia. Yes, a smart will usually home well enough....however, outside influence (humans, roads) can and will throw a wrench in your plans! Bottom line, whats your dogs worth to ya???? At least get a collar as stated before, most dog people will help you find your dog!!!!!

Paul

Lost a plott for over a month one time.. Dumped him in on a hot coon and forgot to put the collar on. Ended up being a bear I huess. He was the only one that stayed on the track.. A guy found him a month later about 30 miles away. Used the collar tags to contact me. I felt like an idiot.

Save up and buy that tracking collar, but if you cant afford the box too, then just get the same frequency as one of your buddies boxes so that way if you do loose your dog you can call up your buddie and find that dog.
But depending on the country your hunting and how hard it can be on a dog, that tracking collar will save you time in finding your dog and will save your dogs life.
i lost one of my dogs earlier this year for seven days in some desert mountains from not having a tracking collar on him and the guy that found him stumbled on to my dog and said he was just about dead, couldnt even pick up his head to drink water. But now i have all the equipment needed to hunt right and smart.

I hunted several years without tracking collers and only lost two dogs that I never found.I tried real hard to not loose hearing of them back then. I know of some oldtime bear and lion hunters that still don"t use tracking systems and refuse to even consider it.
I use tracking collers and E-collers on every dog I turn loose. I think they are great.

i turned my dogs lose for the first time with out just a few weeks ago. Didnt even think about it when i dumped then as soon as they were gone i started thinking. um did i put my collers on i looked and there they wher what a sick feeling i had luckely they ran for about 30 mins and treed. thank god

no

I think i would be safe to say anyone that has had hounds for years would say they have ran hounds without tracking collars yes it can be done. you should take into consideration the area you are hunting and somewhat know the area. It is strictly up to the hunter if they choose to or not. Like i said i use to run the dogs for years with out them now i think every hound should have one on and with a TREE SWITCH, that is just one more added plus. Anything to make it alittle easier the older we get!

I hunted a lot of years without tracking collars and shock collars...I only lost one dog in all that time...It wasnt uncommon for me to lose dogs for 2 to 6 weeks when I was hunting the Blue area of south east Arizona..I eventually found the dogs , but I traveled a lot of miles and lost a lot of sleep over it. Not to mention , not having a voice left after yelling for the dogs all weekend.....When the tracking and shock equipment came out, It was like going from horse and buggy to cars to me.

I know the Mechams in Utah dont use them, but they usually hunt the same area all the time....I can tell you that I had two dogs stolen a little over a year ago..One I got back because he was branded and one I got back because of the tracking collar. They had put the collar in a tool box on their truck thinking it would not put out a signal....

Sure , you can still hunt your dogs without them, But why????...Thats like not putting power steering on your truck because you think its cheating or you arent getting your arms worked like you used too...

My dogs work their butts off for me and I expect a lot from them. I owe it to them to do whatever I can to make it safer for them by either getting to the tree in a timely matter, or to get them home....

You know, tracking collars arent just useful for finding your dogs. When Im in an area that I have never hunted before, I like to leave a tracking collar on in my truck so I can find my way back...I also make my kids have one in their saddle bags or packs when we they are out with me...


Ill tell a little story about another way to use your tracking collars ...My old partner and I were riding around one night and he was telling me that his wife him were having problems. He was sure his wife was seeing someon......She was always going out when he was at work and never having a good story where she was. He had caught her in a couple lies and was getting pretty suspicious. I told him to put one of my tracking collars in his wifes trunk when he left for work and we could track her up ....I showed him how it worked and he set it up....Long story short,,,The skank wife said she was going over to her sisters one night and my buddy put the collar in her trunk...She leaves and a short time later he leaves...He tracks her car to this house..He cant see inside the house , but can tell that there is some kind of party going on inside . He goes around to the back alley and does a little peaky boo through the fence..Low and behold, he sees his wife sitting on a couch next to a guy.There were a number of people at this party , but it was clear that the wench was with the guy....

My buddy was pretty cool about the deal, and did not bust in on the party. He waited and gathered evidence...Eventually he found out that the guy she was with was an old friend of his , and she had been seeing him for awhile. He ended up leaving the sweet girl , and to this day, she hasn,t figured out how he kept finding her... .....

So you see, tracking collars are the way to go....( saved my buddy thousands ).......Good luck to ya....Coop

haha thats a great.