BigGameHoundsmen.com

Andy: I talked to Tim he said he would drive me out if we can come up with the extra money for gas. I want a copy of your regulations on bobcats, maps with areas marked that have roads and bobcats, need to know the vegetation in those areas. I will start looking at Google earth to see the habitat that you mark and road systems. I want to choose the weather above freezing no frozen snow to tare up feet. Need to know if I can get around on a thaw. I will not run in dog killing bluffs, rims are OK. I want to know how many bobcats you have caught in the last 5 years. I need a note from your banker that shows you have enough to pay up. I will PM my address to send the needed information and a name of another hound man in your area or close that trees bobcats. Dewey

Merlo, most of us on the east side of the cascades hunt snow because we don't have a choice in the winter. It's pretty stupid if you ask me to throw a dog on the box or hood when the temp is usually anywhere from -20 to + 20.... This winter being an exception to that. Having a cold nosed dog has very little to do with them being a good rig dog IMO. I mean most guys rigging dogs are using running dog crosses and they are not typically known as dirty cold nosed dirt pounding dogs. Can rigging a cat be done here? Absolutely! Can a guy catch a cat doing it? Absolutely! Is it practical most winters? No. I have struck cats, roaded for cats, and put them on tracks. All 3 have a time and place. It's pointless to rig if it's -5 out. It's pointless to road if you average over 200 miles between cat tracks and it's pointless to try and find a track to put them on if you don't have snow. The further west I hunt the more likely I am to rig a cat because there is more brush for a cat to come in contact with and leave scent, not just a track. When I know where cats live and don't have snow I'll road the dogs where I think they might cross because I don't have ridge lines or drainage systems here, so there are none of your typical "crossings" like most places. Dewey has said it before, there are pockets of cats here and it can be many miles between those pockets. If you don't know where these pockets are, you will be doing a lot of pointless rigging. Bottom line is western Oregon is hard to beat when it comes to cat numbers. It's tough to make cat dogs on the east side when, a great year for most is anything over 15 trees. Not trying to argue with anyone here, just trying to give perspective as to why we don't just throw old cold nosed "stud rocket" up on the box and go to catchin lol.

Just my thoughts but you guys don't have a long enough season to make cat dogs. Just my oppion thou.

houndogger wrote:Just my thoughts but you guys don't have a long enough season to make cat dogs. Just my oppion thou.

It runs from Sept. 1 to Feb. 28. 6 months is decent but your right I'd like more.

Marshall wrote:

houndogger wrote:Just my thoughts but you guys don't have a long enough season to make cat dogs. Just my oppion thou.

It runs from Sept. 1 to Feb. 28. 6 months is decent but your right I'd like more.

In Oregon? Thought Montana was 3 months.
Here we have sept. 10 to June 15. Coons year round so my dogs are out 12 months of year.

Dewey, we have no maps of our roads that I hunt its a 40 mile radius of columbus limited to roads as most are private land they are all ranchers roads down ridges and so forth also hunt forest service around ashland mt. Shouldnt mater what I catch as you are the one with the rig dogs that can catch cats in this area that i cant bring your dog ill take you where I hunt and catch cats in the snow. As for regulations look them up under montana fish wildlife and parks. Cat must be caught from a strike from the rig no free casting. Andy

This rig dog discussion is being tainted by those that know and seen it and those that have not seen it, so they think it can't be done.
The fact of life is that if a dog can smell it , he can start it and run it. If he can't smell it he won't.

Weather rig, road or box or State is irrelevant.
The reason it is a waste of time to try to prove anything is because even with great conditions and good populations sometimes you just don't get a race,
Then it goes back to see I told you it can't be done!
It would seem to me that most people would look to see how to get this done instead of making excuses of why it can't be done.

This place has never been mapped?

Spot, did I say it hasn't been mapped NO I said we don't have maps it private not forest service. Go to google earth look at area radius I said. Andy

My first time with running hounds was with Mr. Lawson in OK. After seeing the woods he hunts I understand why he hunts mostly a running hound. I do see some differant's in how they hunt compared to a tree hound. I purchased 2 from him and tried them in Colorado with my pack and they didn't work out the way I wanted them too. So I went back to the drawing Board . Keeping in mind I have tree hounds that are the real deal and can get it done in style but I like what I see in the running dog and want to add some of there style to my pack. So got on the phone and got 3 westcoast cat breed hounds .[NOT TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL] just get a hound that's got a chance to make my pack stronger. I have ran these hounds this winter with my pack and oman i like what i see! TREEING is another thing but they are getting better every time we catch. But through all my hound trading I hit the JACKPOT! I got a little running walker gyp from the best hound dog trader in OK JACK FRANKS. Now I got many hounds from Jack and most I still got. He called me and said I need to come look at this gyp . I got there and I looked at a little flag tailed walker hound . The looks didn't impress me ! He said boy you need this hound you will like her . She came from a HILLBILLY in ARKANSAS that hunted any thing that moved. I said yes sir and paid and loaded my new project. Got home and started roading through the elk she didn't do anything wasn't trashy at all . So took her with my pack and turned her out on a lion and then I got to see what she has in her . This little running dog can run like a rocket and TREES like a machine gun. I thank GOD how lucky I am to have a hound like her. I killed a Tom lion and a bobcat this week and will post a few pictures of my Sugar hound ....

Well put Marshall couldn't have said it any better. I have hunted these dirty cold nosed running dogs in my country and I will stick with my tree dogs for success! I only see these bad ass coast dogs in our country when there is snow? Why is that? I am still out there giving it an effort to catch cats. Success is limited but the try is there. Just my opinion and what I have seen.

Everyone needs to SLOW down and read posts better first off just to prove a point in my last few posts I never said there were no maps of area and second off I have never said a hound can not rig here. What I did say I have no maps of the area and second I said rigging cannot be done (consistant) enough to make it worth ones while! So everyone has to stop putting extra wording into what one says to make it sound the way they want it to read, slow down read and soak in what is written lol. Andy

Maybe to put things into perspective a little better i will throw this out here so guys can come to their own conclusion. Of all the masses of hound hunters up and down the west coast of Oregon (west of the Cascades to the ocean) there is a very small percentage of them that can rig and catch on bare ground with any consistency.

Whatever happened to just askin a guy for a place to sleep when you go to his country and hunt? Now we wanna see his bank statements, how many cats he catches. Geez what's next?

To separate the talk from BS. If he is willing to pay a huge price for a dog I want to know if he means it. In a area with no or few bobcats it will be pretty hard to strike and tree one every day. Just because it is hard to strike and tree a cat in his area does not mean it can't be done. I know it would be very hard to do but I am tired of hearing it can't be done. Dewey