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10 years ago, J.C. & I were sitting around a keg, drinking beer & whiskey till 2am. We started talking dogs & it got pretty deep. At that point we had already seen alot of success but hadent really figured it out yet or I hadnt anyway. Why do we run dogs J.C. asked, he went on to say after all the hard work and time in the brush our prize or reward for all the hard work is a 10lb lump of fur in a tree. Grown men that could dedicate their life to anything and be successful, but we choose a bobcat in the tree as our prize. WHY?

I dont know if he remembers that nite or not, but I never forgot. And the question has haunted me ever since. WHY!

Now I didnt say I was the smartest fella, but I did finally figure out why. Even if it did take 10 years. I finally realized its not about the bobcat, its what that bobcat represents. Every road, every cat tree, bad race, people & dogs. It all brings back memories. Memories of a life's work that is just getting started, but will never be finished.

To new hunters, keep at it. Its supposed to be tough. You will find out that the memories you hold onto forever were some of the hardest one's to get. So load up them dogs. Go make some memories that burn into your brain like a cattle brand. I am. John.

Thanks! I like your story.

I couldn’t agree more with what John is saying.
My first real memory of a cat tree was when I was about 7 years old. I know there were cat trees before that but I just can’t remember them. I was born into Cat hunting with hounds and don’t know any other way of life. I’ve had this addiction for the Spotted Cat and Hound forever. Nothing good comes easy. If all hunts were successful than Cat hunting wouldn’t be a challenge. If all our pups turned into super stars than it wouldn’t teach us much. The school of hard knocks is tough, but it also molds us to be the hunter/houndsmen you will later become. I know my Cat hunting education came from blood, sweat, and tears. No individual holds a Masters Degree at Cat hunting with Hounds and it’s a constant learning game. If you don’t think it’s not a constant learning game than just drive to a different region and try it. Just be prepared for the amount of crow a cat can feed you and your hounds when you think you got it all figured out. While going through the school of hard knocks, cat hunting with hounds has given me some of the fondest friendships and memories of my life. Those memories didn’t come cheap or easy. A lot was sacrificed to get them. A lot of sacrifices I regret, but learned from them. Respect your quarry and know that when or if you do decide to harvest, it’s for the greater good of the species and not to try and justify to yourself that you are making better dogs. That’s the great thing about hound hunting it’s the only true form of hunting that’s catch and release. Enjoy it while you can because many of Hound hunters know firsthand what it feels like to have it taken away!

u said it therr. its touph for this beginner

Good post!

Its something inside that takes hold for sure. As the years go by I love it more and more. It feels like an accopmlished feat when all your hard work comes together with fur in the tree.

John, well said. Andy

My reason is to see how these sorry mutts improve, then they tree or find a bush to bark at in the bottom of a nasty canyon and I ask myself why the hell am I doing this!

In reality good post.

CRA very good post. Maybe you could give us a little insight about the difference you have experienced hunting cat after moving from California to Arkansas? That would be very interesting. Take care Al

Mr. Al,

I have no experience hunting Cat in Arkansas yet. When SB 1221 took a serious turn for the worse, I sold out when I knew I was relocating. I have yet to rebuild a cat pack. Heck i'm still in culture shock. I went from an area in NE California that got an average of 5 to 6 inches of rain a year to an area that can get that much in one storm! To be honest i'm still lost out here. I get lost half the time coming home from town. Mr. Clay has given me a lot of good solid advice about this area. I'm actually only 18 miles from the Oklahoma border and about 30 from the Missouri border. So it looks like i'm going to be doing a lot of state hopping when I get started. I'm definitely going to miss this year of hunting. I can say that i'm going through some serious withdraws from hunting and miss it horribly. By next fall I will be up and running. I have been taking a lot of drives checking out all the new country and my eyes are always looking for Cat sign and Catty areas. It sure is some pretty country in these Ozarks with very nice down home country folks.

The dogs rigged a cat yesterday morning and trailed for 15-20 minutes jumped and ran it for maybe 15 minutes and sat down treed. I walked in and praised the pups up good and took sum video and pictures and went on hunting. About an hour later they hit another and started trailing on it, they trailed over a ridge and almost out of hearing so i drove around to a good vantage point maybe 2 minutes of drive time. I was out on the end of a long ridge with big draws on each side of me. This put me out in front of the dogs and they were trailing straight towards me at a pretty good rate, i listened for 15-20 minutes and they came up within 40 yards of where i was and on around the end of the ridge and up the other draw. They started moving the track better and in another 10-15 minutes jumped it in the bottom of the draw underneath me. This cat tried to pull out over the top but the dogs had alot of pressure on him at that point and he had to cut back down parallel to the way he came up. He got about half way down the draw and started to circle. He made 3 circles of probably 50 yards or so and lined out strait down the draw to the main creek,crossed it and straight up the other side and treed right on the edge of the road. The jumped race lasted 30 minutes and i had 8 dogs in it. When i heard them locate and settle in solid i caught myself looking to the sky and thanking the big guy upstairs! I had just listened to 8 dogs for over an hour do what they were bred for and what they love and heard evey bark everyone of them made except a couple minutes driving time. The tree was a tough one to see the cat very good so it was irrelevant. Then i thought back on the race and it dawned on me, THAT is why i love this addiction! Hope you enjoyed

Good story Mark, tell us a little about the breeding behind those dogs Al

Al

I have what Willie on here calls a hodge podge pack of dogs. I actually had 9 dogs yesterday in that race. 3 Kemp bred dogs,a Butch Nelson dog,3 dogs out of my stuff that goes back to some Blankenship and Luttrell blood, 1 10 month old Dewey Walton pup and a 11 month pup from Dewey's. All but 3 of those dogs i raised from puppys.

Oooops

A 11 month old pup from Dewey's cousin

Read this post and replies more than a couple times. My routine lately hunt, beat head against wall, read the post and start the cycle over.
Hope to break the cycle soon. Helps to hear that everyone has done this

kbe119 wrote:Read this post and replies more than a couple times. My routine lately hunt, beat head against wall, read the post and start the cycle over.
Hope to break the cycle soon. Helps to hear that everyone has done this

Thats the way it goes sometimes bud. Its ok to get frustrated , everybody does. Try to correct the things that are going wrong and try to dwell on the positive things that are happening. This is not an easy game to master if it even can be mastered. Keep in mind that you will just read about the successful hunts on here, and the occasional bad hunt. I have done this for awhile and there are still times when i feel the same way you explained. Always keep after it and never sway from your mindset of making it happen. Perservere!