BigGameHoundsmen.com

Yard Dog wrote:Don't really care if guys want to cut tracks all night, many times (depending on conditions) they will run over one and not see it. Also, they will cut a road only to have a cat cross it later in the morning behind them. Where I do see a problem is these guys will not wait until legal hours to turn out. Happens on the bear pursuits to, I wish I had a dollar for everytime a truckload of dogs drove past our camp in the middle of the night trying to rig a bear. One particular night there were dogs treed from 3 a.m. till daylight less than a half mile below our camp. Not much fun for the guys trying to play by the rules. You might not like the rules, but they are the rules. When the fish and game crack down they do not make distinctions from those who follow the law and those who do not. We all pay the price for the actions of a few...

I've had the same thing here many times. Keep in mind bear pursuit opens at 5 am in Utah during the summer. Well before daylight. A bear caught at 3am could have very well been turned loose on during legal hours. I got up at 3:30 this morning and had another hound guy pass me as I was roading my dogs to let them clean out. I have seen, on many occasions, people turning out on tracks well before legal hunting hours. I figure it will catch up to them sooner or later.

I start at midnite most days so I can cut the first tracks.In my area I have to compete with a local guide who doesnt get out until day break. He charging $7000 for his hunters. Cats move alot more during the night and after a storm. I like hunting at night because you dont run into any other hunters.The danger aspect goes up alot but the catch ratio goes up to.

fortunately, here in Montana, the regs are pretty explicit. there is no law or regulation against being out there cutting a track, however, you cannot drop dogs until hunting hours. 30 minutes before official sunrise. I for one have "stepped out to pee" and erased the evidence of a cat track so I could go home and get some sleep before hunting hours.

I don't know if our reg is good for one guy or bad for another, but at least the explicit rules eliminate the possibility of unintentionally breaking the law or the law according to billy bob the fish cop.

Shadow hunter. It sounds like the officer was setting you up for failure. If you turn your dogs out and follow with a firearm in the dark, YOUR HUNTING! He would be the first one there to take you in! I once had a game officer tell us we couldn't run bobcats with dogs and it clearly states otherwise on the proclamation! Some of the game officers aren't familiar with the rules. I guess it all depends on what officer you run into in the field. Some seem to make up there own rules

would not want to walk around in the dark in my country Snakes

Laws here in Alberta define hunting as carrying a weapon. To be on the safe side it should be cased during non hunting times,which is 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise . there are not many laws regarding hounding specifically,except allowed species.

There are laws however that address interfering with the lawful hunting of game. Hiring someone to run the roads all night and stomp out tracks so a resident hunter can't find them is a direct violation of the law. Implying that you found them first,own them and will run them later at your leisure,again a violation of the law because you are interferring with a lawful hunt. Outfitters are stomping out tracks they don't ever plan to hunt with the intention of preventing resident hunters from hunting,illegal.

Why would an outfitter or his son be out there harassing resident hunters,stickin their nose where it don't belong if their intention wasn't to interfere with a hunt???