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Does anyone here own of Del's dogs? I was thinking of getting one out of his upcoming litter.

Don't waste your money. Put 700 bucks back in your pocket and buy a 100 dollar hound. It will be just as productive and you will be able to buy food.

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There are three guys i know of two in the flathead valley Casey Stutzman and Brett Wesphal. Jim Harrell at Harrels high lonesome blueticks is in the swan area i believe and Brets is High Mountain blueticks

Big Blues, why do you feel that way about his hounds or price ?

You can find just as good of dogs or better for a fraction of the price from guys that hunt their stock. Del's dogs are only breeding dogs not hunting dogs. When's the last time Del has hunted any of his hounds? Not trying to knock Del, I think his blood lines are fine. But from my experience the cheap or free crossed up mutt's that you can get from dogs that get hunted will make fine hounds. And you can take all that money you saved from the pup and the hauler and put it to use elsewhere.

I know for a fact that the female of this upcoming litter treed a lion for Del, just a few months ago. I also know Del still spends, lot's of time with his hounds, more time, than anyone I could think of during a lifetime. He's smart and knows hounds more than anyone I know.
You MAY be right you may be able to find a hound that might hunt better, but breeding stock, It may be much harder to find.
I doubt that you will ever find another bluetick breeder with hounds that have treed more Bone and Crockett bears and lions than have been treed with Cameron hounds.

JTG

There is a reason why so many guy's use his name to sell their dogs. I've never owned or hunted any of Del's dogs . But have sat at his dinner table, You'll be hard pressed to find anyone that knows more about dog breeding and hunting them then him. If it doesn't come from Del is it really a Cameron hound ?

I have owned 4 dogs that were either full Cameron or half. The most money I spent on one was 63 bucks. The others were either free or around 50 bucks. Like I said before, spending 800 bucks on a pup that might be complete shit is ridiculous. Hell you can go buy a proven 1 year old for around the same if not less. Good luck with buying the name!

Oh and I also live on the other side of the hill from Del. Those dogs don't get hunted.

Since you live close to Del, why don't you ask him if what I am saying about that female is true? The four Cameron's you bought, who did you buy them from?
You are right, buying a hound from anyone is a risk and some times things just do not work out and that's part of having hounds.

JTG wrote:Since you live close to Del, why don't you ask him if what I am saying about that female is true? The four Cameron's you bought, who did you buy them from?
You are right, buying a hound from anyone is a risk and some times things just do not work out and that's part of having hounds.

Bob Laursen out of Huson. They all turned out nice and I don't have any complaints. As far as his dog treeing a lion this year, I don't care. My buddies beagle treed one last summer, that doesn't take much. After reading through my posts I realize it seems like I am bad mouthing Del. Well I didn't want it to sound like that. I think what Del has done for his blue dogs is awesome and one hell of a accomplishment. I just could never figure out why in the hell someone would pay that kind of money. I would rather go to the pound and get a dog than pay that kind of money. But I guess if this guy wants to buy a hound with a name and start breeding them than have at it.

These days,most other types of working dogs and even dogs that aren't, often fetch $1000 dollars or more. Maybe their bred well enough or they're from good enough stock to justify the price, most likely not. But some certainly are. Houndsmen are notoriously cheap when it comes their flexibility on the purchase price of a pup. Why the stereotype seems to hold true to this day is beyond me. In reality, what Del has been charging for his pups is by most modern standards...slightly below average, when one looks comparatively at what other working breeds go for as pups.

Have to agree with bigblues I've heard from several people that del isn't hunting his own dogs anymore. The only way his dogs are hunted is that they get sent to a guide to be hunted and only God will know the truth on what that dog did. I spent a lot of money on the cameron line and was not impressed at all I had 3 pure Camerons and 2 cameron minisink utchman cross dogs. The male I owned had hardly any drive, extremely slow for a 50 lb dog, didn't tree worth a flip but what he did have was grit he loved a bayed up hog and bear. My Sadie gyp would have been a dog of a lifetime but she was completely insane (bi-polar) 40lb bullet, fast, treed ok, plenty of grit, extremely good nose could really move a track but one day she went off the deep end and never hunted again. 3rd one was a full cameron gyp and to be fair she never got the chance to prove anything she died 2 days after she was dropped off to me. The 2 crosses were terribly inconsistent on hunting and not much grit but we're super tree dogs. This is my opinion and I don't want any I'll feelings but i wasted a crap load of money on the cameron line. The only way I will ever own another one is if it's given to me as a pup free. I kicked the Camerons to the curve and now own some fine mutts. John Ray bred hounds!!! The best change I've ever made when it come to bear dogs. There is more drive, heart, nose, grit, and speed than the average hunter needs. These dogs can flat out produce game at a high success rate. Do some more research before you go broke on Camerons there are plenty of other lines of blue dogs that can be purchased a heck of a lot cheaper and can get awesome results

Joe, from who did you buy your Cameron bred dogs from?

I have a 1/2 cameron 1/2 utchman female. shes not super fast, or the best locater on a cat tree. but she does grub out a old track and move it forward.has enough grit,also a great strike dog from the rig. i wouldnt want a pack of them, but one in the pack helps out from time to time...