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Recently here in montana (at least in our part) we are experiencing a major lack of snow i haven't chased in a week now and thats a long time for me lol i was wondering how other people were doing around us here in western montana and i was wondering has anybody tried using cross country skis for following dogs? is more of a pain than its worth? i have always just used snow shoes when i can just use boots. A does anybody have any tips for me when weather turns like this thanks for the help.

roadin' and riggin' - thats what we been doin. Dam snow it'd hold up an elephant!

alright i haven't tried that one yet.. is there any tricks to riggin? have you been runnin'? have you had any problems with feet? i have a walker with pink feet and i was always told they were the worst but she hasn't shed a drop of blood yet.?. thanks for any info

hounder, I tried one this morning and two of the three dogs were bleeding afterwards. This hard snow was hard on their feet today. I knew a guy who used skiis, but he had a lot of trouble when we got into nasty country. Snowshoes would be the ticket on this snow right now I think. Good luck to you, hope you guys are getting some snow like we are right now.

MTBlackandTan thanks for the input my hunting partners b and t's will bleed often is this breed or breeding? and scince you said snow i just peeked out the window and its clear as a bell so i'm jealous again thanks for the info it all helps

I have two B&T's and only the one was bleeding today. She spent a night on the mountain a few weeks ago in minus zero weather. I noticed her feet have been a little tender since then. The other one was fine today. The third dog was my buddies bluetick, and her feet have bled a little before. I have seen walkers get bloody feet the most, not sure what it is. I guess some bleed and some don't.

We have gotten close to two inches in the last few hours. I'd like to see it snow for the next few days.

DANG where abouts are you at??? I'm getting a hell of an itch.. i went out today and with a full time job i can't keep up on the tracks which ones are from which days and i couldn't find one that looked remotly fresh..

MTblack&tan wrote: I have seen walkers get bloody feet the most, not sure what it is. I guess some bleed and some don't.

Yea kinda weird, my Walker really only gets bloody paws when running on snow/ice.

ya thats what people keep telling me and all we have right now is snow with a horrible crust but my female is a digger when on her chain so i guess she's just got some tough pads????

Its been 3 weeks since our last snow and we finally got 1/2 an inch today so I'm going out tomorrow Its been a tough winter as far as temperature but little snow.

Hillbilly, it sounds like you are experiencing the same thing we are but we didn't get an inch so it looks another lazy day for my hounds tomorrow much more of this and my dogs will be fat as a tick and chasing the house cat 24/7

I take that back i just checked and its spittin snow so i'll post back how i did tomorrow

Woke up this morning pumped to go hunting and the temp is -22F and only supposed to get up to -15 today. Alittle to cold for the hounds.

Hey the reason them Walkers feet bleed is because they ran faster! No just kidding snowed all day on us yesterday in eastern or. cut some old tracks. would have been good today I reckon.

When I first started ( before i had a snow machine ) and had way more energy I made a harness and hooked up my lab and shorthair and set out on cross country skis . I caught quite a few lions that way . Make sure you carry your snow shoes also they make a good team .
Remember it is still a question of how much country you have to cover before you can cut a track, make a plan where you can find canyons that get passed up by those that have sleds preferable ones that will connect with other canyons that hold a good amount of deer so you can go up one and come out the other .
Lots of work but it is better than staying home.