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What are the best lines for each breed? If some one was starting out which lines would you recommend that they pursue to get it done right the first time? And just to clarify what lines not what breed, Like I would recommend blackwater and pocahontus for plotts, smokey river and vaughn for blueticks etc.

totally depends on what game you are wanting to hunt!

Well, first off you would have to hunt with all lines to make a judgment.

this wasn,t answered by many. i feel this topic could be very helpful to younger /new hunters if everyone would give it thought and be honest. who would YOU turn to today if you had to totally rebuild your pack? and what and where you hunt if you want to help the sport, help the new guys. that said a plug for duncans black n tans and camerons blueticks they are very consistent.

what about salmon river, bearpath, and cascade? been around some and have a couple and they have all been good. about the only plotts ive had or seen but i like them.

I would start out with star mountain plotts very easy to train, lots of brain, enough grit to do the job. And they are natural handle dogs load easy end very easy to trash train.

whatevers workin for the local guys around you that hunt the game you want to
in alot of cases these are mostly local bred dogs...say "jim" has been huntin for 30 years. he will breed into his pack whatever catches game..be it a cameron bluetick or some old grade hi-tan dog.. i say get a dog off of "jim" before searching out these usually high priced dogs...less money at least.
but hell boys thats just my opinion..whatever dog you get good luck with em!
just remember, papers and names dont catch game. make sure you get started with a "straight shooter" type person.

theres my 2 cents

pegleg wrote: camerons blueticks they are very consistent.

I haven't been around more than a dozen or so. That being said, the only thing consistant about them is their inconsistancy. I've seen several very expensive cameron dogs that were culls.

Bearkiller wrote:

pegleg wrote: camerons blueticks they are very consistent.

I haven't been around more than a dozen or so. That being said, the only thing consistant about them is their inconsistancy. I've seen several very expensive cameron dogs that were culls.

well it dont matter the blood
there will always be culls

pegleg wrote: who would YOU turn to today if you had to totally rebuild your pack?

That's a good question and one that I couldn't personally answer. I would want physically tough hounds with good feet, lots of want and drive, dogs that would handle, trail and tree, and dogs that had a cold nose and loved to use it--and color is not part of there requirements for me in starting another pack. And papers don't mean shit! Grit is something that is too often over stated, but enough grit to stay with a rough bear would be mandatory.

In the end I don't have a clue as to who or where a person should put their faith on a project such as that. I've heard the nightmares of people who bought hounds from one of the local dog jockeys and they ended up culling those hounds. I do, however, like the answer that arizonabeagle gave about looking and hunting with hounds that are working for the local guys. If you can find a guy that gets it done, by the book, who will let you into his world to watch him hunt and run his hounds, then IF you can get your hands on some of those pups you are probably set.......

But some of these guys may well be like me and just not let many people into their world. I know guys that will jump in with about anybody, but most of those guys are either selling hounds and pups. Too many people understand that bringing others into their world only means the end of theirs, by training up a young person who will be cutting tracks on every snow next winter in every area that old hunter showed them. And odds are that person will have alot of friends who all just happen to want to kill a lion. So good luck to ever really get to know a man or his hounds, cause odds are his sport means alot to him and he has been shit on before.......

ike

your right i admit i havent hunted with a nonfamily member in six years " i hadnt thought about how long its been " but i guess if someone i really liked was truly interested i would hunt with them and take a chance . theres allways public areas a guy could hunt with out fear of "looseing" his good areas. however as far as hunting with different hounds that is sometimes not possible to the extent one would like . i just wondered what everyones recomendations were in their area. then the new guys might be better equiped to stay away from dog jockeys i cant stand to see a good hound rot on a chain so try not to sell a pup to any one i dont know well. and i haven,t had a litter in four years either. my cameron,s have worked for me for years. i haven't purchased any recently however, but like i said opinions on who YOU would start over with.

As was mentioned earlier, I think the single best advice to give any new comer about breeds or dogs:

Find dogs from someone in there area that hunts the same kind of country, same style and same game they are planning to hunt.

Wish someone would have told me that when I started!

And when you have chosen good genetics the most important factor comes into play. Are you good with training hounds. Until Feb. I had a top old hound and people liked to have his help starting pups. I remember one that could never seem to end up with a good hound. He would get good stock but he had no patience with them and I would call him cruel and abusive. Another young guy was hard up but another houndsman gave him a older hound that this houndsman wasn't particularily pleased with. This young guy was so gentle and cosiderate of this hound that it just caused a huge transformation in this hound. She literally blosomed under his management!! Any one can own a hound, but not everyone can make a great hound.

my .02 Mel

I prefer Cascade plotts.

Albert/Hicks Black and Tans

Yadkin River or Lipper Walkers

These are what I use and like for bear in Southeast TN and Western NC.

I have hunted with good Trackdown black and tans, Gantte and Weems plotts, Finley River Walkers.

There are many lines I haven't hunted with so its hard to judge.

This really wasn't that deep of a question.It wasn't about philosophy of what makes a big game dog.I think maybe to reword it ,"If someone asked you, what line of ******* would you recommend?" What would your answer be?
Mine would be as follows,
Black and Tan-Anything that goes back to Skaggs Black Slammer
Bluetick-Vaughnn
English-Northridge
Plott-Cascade and Bearpath Gunner
Redbone-Mark Bates and Broadies blood
Walkers-Strawberry Mt