BigGameHoundsmen.com

Not meaning to rain on anybodys post, but anybody that has run lions with hounds for any length of time has ended up with some kittens in a tree. The deal to watch is turning loose on a track deliberatly when you know there are kittens of this size traveling with the female.

Yes it is illegal in many states and even if it is not one should think long and hard before they do it. Yes the lion's first line of defense when pursued like this is to climb, but these kittens have no real concept of what they are up against. In pinion and juniper or cedar country which makes up a big portion of lion country in the west they usually are still within reach of a handy tree climbing hound.

Many times houndsmen kill kittens and never even know it. There is no fight with a cat this size they die easier than an alley cat. Boom they are dead, and the dogs go on after the female.

Not meaning to be an old crank here but the next time you do it you may want to think about that bug burley game warden showing up at your front door with a dead kitten under his arm. He saw where you turned loose on that queen and kittens, and I walked your track out and found this little guy. Don't think it hasn't happened.


Do the right thing for the sport.

Damn, you seem to have more than your fair share of unsavory types around there...

Once again Mike, right on. Even if the female isn't being followed by kittens, she could still be pregnant or have kittens stashed somewhere. Even in the middle of winter they can have tiny kittens.
I took this picture on Thanksgiving day a couple of years ago. These kittens are less only 10-15 lbs.

ike

Ike wrote: Each of us should figure somebody is watching ever time we go to the field, and with that in mind most of us will always make the right decisions........

There used to be an oldfashioned word for that..."Integrity".

Mike L,

I agree totally with your comments. I wrote about it in some length in bearkillers post "some people never grow up" I guess that some people never do, until they get their privileges taken away by law enforcement, or their pictures turn up in some environmental propaganda to end their hunting, but by that time it will be to late.

I for one have nothing to be jealous about or prove nor do I need to look over my shoulder when I am out in the field. The narcissistic behavior and ego of some is hard to understand.

There is not one thing on this site that can't be seen or read by anyone in the world but people keep posting junk that does nothing but put hound hunting in a bad light. Most state try to make thing in their fish and game regulations voluntary in hopes that most will conform, if it does not happen then they make it law.

Well I stood on this soap box long enough call me a big tom turner outer, a tree huggin' fool, jealous or what ever you want I am comfortable with who I am.

As judge Judy say's " you can't fix stupid "

sourdough

Agreed here as well...Not ALL kittens get stretched but they sure as hell have a lot better chance of getting stretched...It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that there is a real possibility of it happening. . Like you said Mike, we will all end up with Kittens in a tree but not real sure why some guys think it's funny or like to brag about it?!!

And I don't call a male kitten with balls a tom....I call it a kitten.

I'm with you there Mike and be careful about runnin females with kittens i haven't been runnin dogs long and i can't say i've never treed a kitten but i can say that it wasn't intentional and the one time it was a good thing i got there when i did because my dogs love to clime and were reel close to pullin him out then the other day while looking for tracks i walked right in on some kittens at about 20 yd and they just stood there and looked at me for a little then ran a little and stopped again and i just thought to my self if my dogs were behind those kittens and they act like that they wouldn't stand a chance plus if they did tree with the kind of trees we have where i'm at the dogs can clime way to easy so be carefull and good luck hunting!!

things must be slow on the Watering Hole today lol

Mike- I certainly agree. Nobody wants dead kittens. The thing is when you turn loose on a single track, that is nothing more than a little pock mark, filled with snow in a snowstorm... sometimes you end up with mama treed, or kittens treed, or both. Dead cats don't leave tracks for hounds to follow.

I just thought it was funny how everyone was saying they all get stretched on the ground.

Take care.

ike

I turned out on a female with kittens on purpose once. It was in 8 inches of snow and Judging the track I figured them to be 6 month or more old kittens so i didnt figure in any danger of putting them up a tree. Treed the three kittens, all were spotted bout the size of the ones in Deans picture above. They treed in a small pinion lucky i had only turned two dogs loose. The kittens werent harmed and I was lucky.

I learned that day that lion kittens are like hound puppies all feet when there small. So i should have looked at the tracks a little harder but they were almost as big as the female just toe size was a little smaller. Good lesson learned. Havnt and wont intenionally run a female with kittens again.

Have treed a few more unintenionally and havent had one harmed. But i have a couple of buddies that have had there dogs catch and kill kittens on accident

I agree with all that you guys have said and think it's probably a good idea to mention things like this. Some folks just don't think things can turn out badly.

This post should of been on the "members only" page. Giving the anti's information is bad for all of us.

This post is Horse Shit if you are refering to Rockcreek and Poser turning out on a female and a kitten. I have caught many female with kittens and I had no idea there were kittens involved, until the tree.(LIKE THEY DID)
Anyone that knows anything about lions knows a female will make a kill bring her kittens to the kill and leave them, sometimes for days until she makes another kill and can bring the kittens to that one. You might be 2 to 3 days out on a female with kittens and most times you will never see the kittens, just the female.
What really amazes me is these so called Dry ground lion hunters saying they only catch Toms...HORSE SHIT AGIAN. Big talk about the ledgends of El Gato, Look what the F@%$ they are killing.....KITTENS.
You know these guys(Rockcreek and Poser) should be applauded, because their dogs were leashed up and held back so no harm could come to these kittens. They had them pulled back and made sure they were in good shape before they left. Sounds to me like they did nothing wrong, they had nothing to hide and did everything they could to make sure their sport stayed alive.
Then a bunch of idiots that sit in a freaking coffee shop and bullshit everyone about how they kill all these big toms.
Maybe before you go off on these guys you should find out the story and pm them ( if it bothers you so much)about it before you start accussing them of horse shit.
Maybe target those guys that are really turning out on kittens and strecthing them on purpose.
Sure is funny that the guys that say they are free casting their dogs on foot and horse back are the ones that are jumping these guys. Freecasting dogs you have less controll than out of a box, and are more likely to catch a female with kittens on her side. Oh but I remember yours will only catch TOMS.
I got Rockcreeks message perfectly. I got that even though kittens are caught accidently, it shouldn't end up with them stretched. You should leash your dogs up and leave them in a tree to run in the future. And I honor them for sending a message like that instead on making a movie of them killing kittens and making alot of money off it like El Gato& 2 did.
I am done with this post and will not say another thing on it. So All you larry's go ahead and start beating.
And Mike if I took this wrong then I apolgize.