BigGameHoundsmen.com

al baldwin wrote:...do not tell others what great dogs they own, they don/t have to, we know who those folks are. Just something to think about. Al.

Sure have enjoyed reading this thread. I like your comments also Al, except that last statement I have found is not always true.
The people who don't communicate; we don't know who they are. There are people who will not brag but they find others and educate others to do it for them. This is a way of broadcasting that seems more tasteful, but the results are the same.

We all need recognition on some level. And those who are secretive about their cat hunting have found recognition somewhere else in their lives. But there are cat hunters you and I will never know about. I have stumbled on to this type, and found it hard to beleive that no one ever heard of them (because the level of their accomplishment deserved fame. But they want to remain unknown, or known only to a very tight and small group).

We don't necessarily know who they are.

David, I agree with that last post whole heartedly. But isn't that the truth not just of cat hunter but all types of hound hunters. Unless someone is competing in field trials or selling tons of pups or high dollar dogs frequently it is hard to hear of them. The guys your talking bout may be local legends but rarely ever have been heard of outside their area. The fox hunters I want to be like or more successful than will never have a name printed, a story written, a fortune made, or more than local fame. A good race or a catch is worth more than any dollar amount or trophy one could win.

I know several really good cat hunters who are good people,enjoyable to be around and just don't think too much about it, just looking for a good time.
They will go out of their way to help others and rather see others do good and just happen to have good hounds.Like all of us, have good and bad days.
I have a friend, a cowboy, who has two border collies, we enjoy hunting with each other and neither of us could careless ,who's dogs do what.
There are breeders, who love to see someone succeed, with one of their hounds, because they know what's it's like when they have high hopes for a pup to work out and they don't. So they breed hounds that are hard to mess up and train the person.

John ,I've always believed in giving credit to the men i've gotten good hounds from because i was thankful to get a good one but there are some that will tell you they've had those dogs for years when they buy one from a good hunter /breeder.That's to bad because good breeders deserve the recognition.

Hound hunters come in all types just like everybody else. Braggarts, secretive, both of which can be serious n hard hunting, and then there's the casual hunters, run fox with deer dogs when it's not deer season or just goes 1-2 times a month and there's those who always think theirs are in the front of the pack and those who don't care where theirs are at.
I've always found the secretive ones most intriguing.
I'm a semi-secret fox hunter. There are a lot of fox hunters here and limited area to hunt and fox not evenly distributed. I've found an area that's loaded with fox and been having outstanding running there for quite a while, don't want anybody else to find out or area will be full of hunters.
The semi part comes in if others are there I ain't scared to run with em if they don't have a bunch of deer runners and also when I get a hound that I think is special, I'll take it to the 3 day field trial n take one of them big trophies home, just to let em know I'm still around.
P.S. fox have been so easy to jump and running so good I haven't even tried to run a cat since last summer but I'll be after em May 1rst.
Been going 3-4 times a week right at dark, running 2-4 hr. race then getting home, in bed in time to get sleep and go to work next morning.
Life is good!

Wasnt saying that the good hunters are secretive necessarily, or not good friendly people, who enjoy hunting with others, or helping others. I was commenting that information about hunters rarely travels long distances, we have some names more available now due to the internet. But I'll be honest before this sight I had never heard of a single hunter from beyond the Midwest, and those names were duebto other sites. The names and breeds people post on here at times are as foreign to me as speaking Hebrew. I read and try to learn because it is interesting. I talk to a handful of people on here semi-regularly, and have a few others ive met thru contacts on here, all seeming to be good houndsmen in their own rights, however I had never heard of these folks before being here. I think it is hard (not impossible) for anyone who doesn't compete or sell pups to be well known across the nation, and that's okay in my opinion, bc most don't do this for money or recognition. Just outta love

From reading this forum for the past few years, there a lot of different ways cats are being hunted all over the country. In my part of the country (south east) cat hunting is done by a VERY small number of people. Most cats are killed by hunters hunting other game. Seeing a road kill is rare. I would only shoot one out for a young pack of dogs. I want a pack that can run one down and catch it on the ground, and it hasn't happened yet but I think it's getting closer if I can live long enough. The object of the game with me is to be able to have a decent cat race from time to time.