BigGameHoundsmen.com

Who's using running dogs and what are you hunting? Do you hunt running walkers, Triggs, Julys, Goodmans, Hudspeth? Where are you located? I hunt bobcats in TX with mostly running walkers, some have a little Trigg and some have a little treeing walker but more running walker than anything.

I run trigg running walker treeing walker crosses.run bobcat out here in oregon.Im going to san antonio next week i will be there and some town called hurst.be there for a month would be cool if i could ride along with a hound man if you know anyone around those parts

The only Hurst I know of is about 5 hours north of San Antonio, between Ft. Worth and Dallas. Texas is a big state.

Hi Derek,

How difficult is it to get permission to hunt cats in Texas?

Thats the hardest part of comming across a cat track. At least here in south texas. The land is all cut up now and these hunters from the city that own alot of it think a dog will run the deer plumbout of the country. Thats not the case as I've seen it and especially not when they've got it all high fenced. However you can't explain that to them. Most of them don't even think they have cats on their property because they've never seen one.

Derek where do you live? I'm in Cotulla.

Shorty,
I'm an hour west of Ft. Worth, in Lone Camp.

RIFLEMAN,
Getting permission is a constant battle. Like Shorty said all the big places are getting cut up. If they haven't been cut up you can bet someone is paying a fortune to lease the deer hunting and they don't like the idea of someone else setting foot on it. Most of the bigger places seem to have been bought by bigwigs from Dallas or Houston or somewhere.
Derek

I live in Central Illinois and I hunt mostly coyotes here. I hunt almost year round and run at night from early April til early September. From early November til early April I run in the daytime. I like a hard hittin swingin track dog. I dont want them pissin around lookin for the track where they lost it. I want them gettin ahead and finding it where it went not where it was. I know that them kind of dogs that can do it right are rare but I have owned em so thats all I look for. I own three male July dogs right now that I hunt. One is 5, one is 3, and the other is gonna be two. The five year old is deer broke and the other two are well bent but have ran two deer this winter. The best coyote dog I have ever seen overall was a big Walker male dog though. He is absolutely the best track dog I have ever seen by far but he knows where coyote go and he catches coyotes that shouldnt be caught.

Hello Fellow Bobcat Hunters!

As the username implies I am my fathers Dogboy. He is E. Finney Clay, formerly of Brenham, TX now residing in Glenwood, AR.

Dad started Bobcat hunting exclusively in 1958. He began Coon and Cathunting from the time he was 10, in 1940. In the early years he and his hounds partnered up with an old Black Gentleman who worked for the family to Tree Coons and as he says follow Bobcats. dad is now 79, fighting Prostate Cancer and mad that there are only 7 nights a week to hunt!

In 1968 Dad decided that the Foxhounds that would make Bobcat dogs were getting harder to find (and this was before Pens) so he launched his breeding program based on Mr. Hinkle Schillings Ch. Mark S. He bought a Gyp(a hell of a Grey Foxdog) who had Mark S. as a grandfather and three greatgrandfathers and mated her with an own son of Mark S. This produced Seven puppies who were"SURE NUFF" Cat hounds! Our last litter of Pups go back to Mark S. 189 times in 12 generations. We do not breed brother to sister and vice versa but cousins and Aunt to Nephews and Uncles to Neices are OK. Culling is a must when you do this and this means hard terminal culling.

Dad has bred for nose and BRAINS! The Mark S. hounds have consistantly replecated these traits and thrown in some powerfull mouths. In the 1970's & 80's he found a man in West Virginia and another in Virginia who were line breeding Mark S. as well. These three were able to keep the line breeding going. As any true Bobcat hunter knows a Cat can not out run hounds like a Fox or Coyote but he will reach into his bag of tricks, find the nearest creek, thickest briars and proceed to give hounds fitts, hence the priority on BRAINS!

Shorty if you are married to Phil Lynne's daughter, your Grandfather in Law Mr. Joe Rufus Lynne was one of only two men who have probably caught more Bobcats than Dad.
Mr. Joe kept one of the, if not the best pack of S. TX Bobcat dogs. He used to come to Lousianna and hunt with Dad and used to joke that he bought his first pair of rubber boots hunting in S. LA with Dad when Mr. Joe was in his 60's.

Dad does not buy or sell dogs except here lately in trying to get a treedog that can tree up a 70 ft tree, but has been known to give his retiries to friends in need of and older dog this is generally at about age 6. If your breeding program is working each generation should be better anyway!

Dad has caught Bobcats from S. TX north to S. Kansas and East to FL., GA., and the Carolinas. The best Running Cats he has found are here in central AR and N. FL. The large multisection clearcuts as well as plenty of big year round creeks with lots of h2o mean there is plenty of rabbits for feed an miles of bad cover for Bobcats. This mean if you draw the right Bobcat you can get the opportunity to hear FINE Hound work for several hours! That is what we go for, to hear the Music that only the"Grand Ole Hound Opry" can play.

If you catch a cat that is OK but unless you have recorded the race you will never run him again. Having said that if you have the right kind of hounds you will catch your share as with Running hounds you tend to catch 70%+ on the ground. Dads Hunting log book shows he has averaged catching 2 Bobcats a week since 1960 when he stared keeping records (does not include those treed and left to run again).

Now about getting permission to hunt private property the #1, #2, & #3 thing to do is to DEER break your dogs. Hunting with trashy dogs is no fun anyhow and not only are you hurting yourself but everybody else. You can love em and break em as well, then you and them will be happier! Also we have found that Turkey hunters are almost as fanatical as Deer hunters so point out that the wild turkey is the food of choice after rabbits for bobcats. In our area one study suggests that Bobcats are the #1 Preditor of wild tukeys. We have used this to gain access to several large hunting clubs and now have others calling and asking Dad to come help manage their Bobcat populations.

Well I have rambled on too long so GOOD Running to ALL.

C. John Clay

Dad's Dogboy

Thanks for the replies, guys; that is what I was afraid of.

My parents live in the Hill Country and have been pressuring me to move back there, as my job allows me to work remotely and live where ever I want. I have permission to hunt several ranches totaling about 30,000 acres out here in California, and that is hard to walk away from...especially if it is difficult getting permission out there.

I run hogs, bear, cat and coon out here, but am seriously thinking about focusing on cat and fox only were I to move to the Hill Country. I run Treeing Walkers, and while they don't have the range of your running dogs, I think I would be equally impacted by the hardship and challenges you guys face in securing and maintaining permission.

Rifleman

We have a good friend who Bobcat and Fox hunts in CA. Jerry King I think lives around Santa Rosa. Mr. Jerry used to live in OK just west of us and hunted with Dad quite a bit. He is a Gentleman of the first Order and a good Houndsman.

Another friend Bill Curtis, who now lives in OK City keeps a camp I beleve in Southern CA and makes a trip out each year for Cat and Fox. Another top Gentleman and good hunter @ 85 or 86 years young!

You all sure have some pretty country out there and lots of Game so if you have permission to hunt that much Private country, you are in good shape!

C. John Clay

I have been around a few that run bobcats they are super nice trail dogs, maybe even above average but treeing is a big problem. They do no not want to stop and tree they just keep hunting and trailing. If you got one that has tree power it would be great dog but I think they are few and far between jmo.

Dogboy,

Yes Mr. Joe Rufus is my grandfather in law. I never got to meet him though I've heard numerous stories. Every time I meet one of his old hunting partners Phil my father in law makes them tell me about him. I believe in one of your posts you said your dad was writing a book. Please put me down for three of them. When I read this I wanted to ask if he knew of Joe Rufus although I didn't want to sound erigant or cocky. Glad to hear they were old hunting buddies. If your ever down our way let me know.

Great advise on getting permission to hunt, I agree 100%. If your dogs are not deer broke word gets around fast. Nobody wants a dog chasing their $5,000-$1,000,000 deer. And yes people have paid that much for breeder bucks. The deer in Texas are not just something you hunt. They are big business and worth lots of $$$. Anyway, great to hear from you and great advise.

Shorty

Anytime you are passing thru this way stop by, we have a guest house and there is always room at the table for another Cat hunter! We can try to jump you a cat while you are here.

Mr Ray Melton from Uvalde is writing the book. He will be here next week to hunt and get some stories, several Joe Rufus ones I am sure will be told! I would guess he will have his own chapter.

We have some friends in common I would think. Dan and Carl Kinsel are great people from your neck of the woods. Mr. Jerome Robinson of the PBR did me a big favore one time, another 1st class Gentleman!

Again stop by sometime we are about 30min North of I-30 right on US hwy 70, Glenwood, AR.

Good Running (both Bobcats & Bull Ducking)!!!!

C. John Clay

John,

I thank you for the offer and would love to take you up on it. I hardley would call myself a cat hunter though. I have a young and small pack of hounds. I do get them out alot but with limited sucess. I am trying to concentrate more on lions than bobs although I don't mind running one. I need to get ahold of a good older dog or two if you ever come across one that you wouldn't mine owning yourself. Not being picky just don't like feeding one that isn't worth a damn.

The Kinsels and Mr. Robinson are all great people. I sure enjoy Jeromes stories and knowledge. He's sure seen alot of things over his lifetime. I'd sure enjoy getting to meet you and even go hunting if we had the chance. If you get down my way bring the dogs if you can. Mr. Lyne has alot of cats to run as I haven't caught many of them. Take care and looking forward to some good times.

Dogboy,

I am not familiar with Jerry King, but have heard of Bill Curtis. My great-uncle, Fay Pembrook, ran cat and fox in Oklahoma and if his stories are even half-true, Oklahoma is a varmint hunter's paradise. My mom's side of the family hails from Oklahoma, and it is pretty country for certain.

Yes, California is hard to beat when it comes to the country and game...it's just the number of people and the crazy politics of the city folk that ruins it for the rest of us.