BigGameHoundsmen.com

TomJr wrote:I don't call myself a Houndsman. I have never been sprayed by a skunk altho I have had a dog rub on my pant legs after it was sprayed that count? I killed my first Lion at 14 years old, 25 years ago... didn't make me a houndsman. Since then I have taken several lions and to many bobcats and foxes to remember.

Now so far this year my dogs have put up 6 bears all of them mulitple times. In the last three days my dogs treed 2 differnt bears and pushed a third right to me in some brush, at one point I was 5 feet from a 300+ lb bear. I called the dogs off after that and went home, maybe if I was a houndsman I would have let the dogs keep pushing it until they either treed it or got ate up... Point is while my dogs tree alot of game I don't consider myself a "houndsman".

All of my dogs are nutered for one. And some are not even hounds or even what most would consider biggame hunting dogs. Thier main job is just to keep bears out of our orchard. But during lion and furbearing seasons I do take them out to run in the canyons around the orchard every morning. We tree a number of bobcats every year and last year got alot of foxes in and around the orchard. We also tree a few lions every year but the last one I took was 5 years ago. Only took it because it was inside the fence, smallish male about 100lbs.

When I think of houndsman I think of someone that is breeding or if not acualy doing the breeding, a part of a breeding program ie running dogs that if they prove out will be bred to improve a line or continue a good one. They are also likly heavily invested in dogs and equipment. Ie dog box tracking collars ect. I have non of those just some dogs that like to chase stuff... only thing I don't allow them to run is deer. We have alot of fun though and I realy admire those that make the sport pay a little or atleast break even

Ike wrote:You guys have brought up some interesting points and s on what you believe a houndsman might be, and it shows how different we all are for sure. I found the comments made by Tom interesting because in some ways money investment and equipment bought would surely prove a person's devotion to the sport. Most of us have used up a couple trucks, and ATV and snow sled, have bought or own a dozen tracking collars and two or more receivers, and most likely own a four or six collar shock collar system. I would support the idea that when a guy has invested fifty to a hundred thousand dollars in equipment and hounds he probably has earned the right to be called a houndsman......that is if it was a sacrifice and didn't come out of a rich man's pocket.

But to me, being a houndsman is about the man the dogs and not about the game they chase, the game they catch, the game they kill or other people. The sport has nothing to do with others but rather the connection between the man and his hounds, and everything else is outside of that connection....

keep'em treed,
ike

papa wrote:I believe some of the differences in real houndsmen and the rest of the folks can be seen in dry ground lion hunting. The successful dry ground lion hunters that I had the opportunity to observe put just about as much work and savvy into the deal as the dog does....seems like it takes a better houndsman to consistently catch lion on dry ground....