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Today is my first post, I have been trying to hunt lions now for a few years and have caught a few in the snow and one in the dirt. I thought the dogs were getting better and progressing, and then a couple of days ago the dog were trailing one and I seen it running across a canyon so I went over and called the dogs to it . when they got there they acted as if they could hardly smell it,they opened a little but could only take it a few hundred yards. needles to say my heart sank and I thought I was going to be sick. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I wish we got more snow in Arizona but we don't. A legendary AZ lion hunter once told a friend and I that running lions in the snow is kinda like kissing your sister,hats off to you guys and gals that get it done in the dirt.

This is half-way normal. Just when you think you have a slam-dunk; the dogs will pretend not to know anything. Some days they are on it, then other days... I find that it has to be the dog's idea, not yours. As annoying as that is. In the AZ dirt, everything is stacked against the dogs, and lions can get away, at any moment; none of it is easy.

I am glad I am not the only one this has happened too. LOL! Heck I have to string along with old Dale Lee at times it seems like they can just turn the smell off especially when spooked or slipping up on something.

there are so many variables when hunting lions on the dirt and the dirt itself can be really good for a ways and then just change say from loam and sand to hard clay and the track just seems to disappear. This is where dogged persistance pays off and you have to get down and helpt them dogs tie them back if you must so they don"t track that area all up and get down and find that lion"s track and carry it a ways by sight and this can take hours but it can lead you to better tracking and a possible catch. the more your dogs work the dirt and have some success you will find certain dogs begind to figure these deals out quick and they begin to swing out and drift to better track ing and pick it back up and call the pack and light out of there.
I am lucky enough to get to spend some time each year with some of those old Arizona lion guys you talked about and even some of these old New Mexico dirt hunters. One thing we all agree on is it usually takes more than one type of dog in your pack to consistantly catch dirt lions. So if you see a lion hunter out there and his truck is not all full of the same type dogs and you scratch your head when you see some of the possible weird combinations just remember this old saying.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.



Good luck and stay after em!

Dadgum! I love my sister, but I sure don't have any plans of layin around and smootchin on her!!
The more time you spend hunting lions on bare ground, the more you will learn that the ONLY consistency is it's a challenge! Keep at it and those pot kickers will have no choice but to get better.

thanks guys for the glsss of water to help swallow that pill.lol. We went back for a couple of day and those same knuckle heads cold trailed the first day a couple miles and on the second day trailed for six hours and went miles. their noses are raw, but we still cant catch. We will never give up.Benny my name is RAY, Blakes buddy, nice to hear from you .Mike I met you and some other greats at a gathering a couple of years ago over in the blue .My buddy and I came with MR. Hindrix. man when I am around you guys iam like a little school girl going to a Justin Bieber consert. Happy thanksgiving and happy hunting.

I remember that meeting Ray up at the shipping pens on the Blue. If you see that wiley old Larry tell him hello from my wife and I. Sounds to me you are doing fine, and remember you have to trail them to catch them. While those dogs are pounding you are enjoying the best of it,anybody can catch a hot tracked jumped lion.

I talked to a good friend of mine awhile back and he was up in that rim country. Now this guys has some of the best dirt dogs alive, and he said. Mike i have been trailing for 2 weeks. I mean trailing not just a bark here and a bark there TRAILING. He said I just can"t seem to get a break and put one up, but heck I am seeing lots of beautiful country, lots of good dog work and the trees will come. Sure enough it will just stay out there after em you are making real hounds and those lions up the bush are icing on the cake.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

thanks for the advice Mike, you are right about the trailing if it was all about catching lions we would have been done a long time ago, heck I have wore out a couple pairs of boots following are little dog into some of the most awesome country out there. them lion just take you there.We hunt mostly between Kingman and Bagdad. We started with a couple of eight week old pups and it is amazing to see them progress from just loading up to getting around in the rocks,dealing with cactus and passing on all the trash to now grinding on a lion track all day,and then want more. thanks again Ray

Not a lot of people have enough patience or determination to run lions in that country! I commend you for your endurance and wish you the best of luck! Would rather catch 1 dry ground lion than 10 any other way. God Speed!

Big N' Blue wrote:Not a lot of people have enough patience or determination to run lions in that country! I commend you for your endurance and wish you the best of luck! Would rather catch 1 dry ground lion than 10 any other way. God Speed!

You got to love the process and not necessarily the results... its just a matter of time and distance...with the right hounds

Ha Brett.. I met you also that day in the blue, In the mean time I will just watch your trials and tribulations video. great video and how true it is,it makes us think that all the things that we go through also happen sometimes to the people that can catch lions.

i don't know if it's right or not. but one thing i learned or have come to accept. if my hounds are trailing however slow i will not pull them off and try to cut ahead. i could give quit a few examples of trying to get them ahead biting me in the backside and a few where i think it helped. but in the end i figure it's like shifting gears to fast and if those hounds are struggling on a track there may very well be a reason apart from them being junk. so while i sometimes have a hard time sitting still , i do try my best not to interrupt forward progress. now if they flat loose it or hang up i get in on it but try to limit it to that. if someone hasn't had a cat walk away from in front of their hounds nose once in awhile i really wonder about their memory.. but just for future thought if you have that scenario happen again try putting the dogs down further back on the trail where they have already trailed it. i don't like doing it because of the whole encouragement to retrail a track. however that said it is az and if they catch that lion i bet they probably earned it. and it's usually young dogs or dogs run on bear etc. or poor noses that will really open on that track the second time around but they sure know it's there. and you don't know until you try.