AR Bobcat Hunting Update

[Dads dogboy]

Hello Folks!

Sorry not to have given an update but when Dad has let me off I have been on here PMing with Perk. Ole Perk seems to be the real deal as pertains to being a Houndsman. He certainly knows "Come Here from Sickem".

I thought people were supposed to slow down when they get old. Dad did not get that memo, @ 80 he is about to kill me Cat Hunting. He got home from FL. Friday. While there he like to have wore Harold Parker, 20 years younger than he, plum out. Dad slept Friday night but we have been hard at it ever since!

Saturday night we had a nice 1 hr Race just ahead of a Bad Storm. As the Cat Treed the Wind, Hail and hard Rain set in, two Hounds layed out till the storm abated and I got home about 3:30 soaked to the bone.

Sunday and Monday night, to quote Dad "I am darn sure glad we are not trying to sell Hounds". Scenting conditions were horrible, instead of helping the rain Saturday night hurt. Our theory is that it had been so dry that the moisture went right into the ground taking all scent with it(if this is not the case it is a good excuse for sorry Hounds). Both nights we struck several different Cat. Most were probably Cat who had walked before dark and were maybe too cold. However two cat each night were hot, we managed to back track all four both ways, in fact one we back tracked three ways. Hounds just could not smell!

Dad fusses at me for telling you all about our foibles, but I feel that telling about the Bad times might help someone, and get you all to tell about yours so I can learn from them.

Now Tuesday night was a different story altogether, the Fates were smiling! We left early and Chickasaw, littermate to Choctaw and Cherokee, struck a cold Cat @ 8:45, just good dusk on a dead end logging road. You Cat hunters will know how cold this track was as when we put the Rig Dogs down they all ran up to a pile of Scat and went to flagging. Then they scattered to try and find the Cat, Cherokee ran back by the truck and stopped to Eat the Scat. When Cat Scat is real fresh Hounds will not eat it at all, so this Cat must have been there earlier in the afternoon when the Sun was well up to dry the Scat out enough to be eaten.

Choctaw and Cherokee went to the end of the road flagging but were unable to open. When they reached the end they along with Chick and Rivers went down a game trail out into a 6 yr old Pine Plantation about 100 yds before Choc opened(we were watching on the Garmin). They moved the track about 1/2 mile opening occasionally. We fed the rest of the Hounds into them as things warmed up. Then Rivers and Brandy(18 month old) jumped the ole Shortail out of his bed and the Race was on!

The Pack pushed the Cat up out of the Creek bottom that he was in, back out into the Plantation and over a ridge. The Garmin showed that we needed to go around to hear better so we did. When we pulled up where the Garmin said the Hounds were, shor nuff they were 160 yds from the road. Chick, Sandy & Brandy were running him like they were tied to him. At times you could not pick out an individual Hound, all Ten Hounds were barking at the same time, it was just a solid ROAR!

They had the Cat squating and ducking in some Bad briars along an SMZ out in the Plantation. We had two ole Pros, Rip and Queen along with us, but the youngsters did not let them dominate the Race. Sage, a 20 month old daughter of Rip made a couple of pickups, when she did the hair on the back of your neck would have stood up! Her screaming mouth was telling the world that SHE had the Cat and the Pack had better get to her!

For 40 minutes it just could not get any better! They were grabbing at the ole Cat , making his tail shorter and shorter. I started putting on my briar Proof shirt so I could go pick him up, when up is what he did (Al where is my Treedog?).

Folks until that Guy figures out how to make that "Scent Logic" thing work I don't know how we will be able to tell which nights to stay home. So until then I guess we will have to take the Bad ones with these few Good ones!

Good Running to All!

C. John Clay
Dads Dogboy

PS tonight , Wednesday night, we needed that danged Scent Machine, should have stayed home listened to recorded Races!

[pegleg]

I enjoy your hunts immensely and wish i had someone like your dad to learn from, Cat and hound knowledge comes hard when you have to learn as much as you can from personal experience. i wish more hounds people would contribute their knowledge in a thoughtful and sincere way. i think that different style hounds have their place and can look like hell in one situation but then turn around in another and just shine. i don't think beginning hunters understand the difference between what will work in their area and what works for a guy 800 miles away. I know there will always be the different camps that will swear their hounds will get it done the best. I think honesty is occasionally muted by pride and folks should acknowledge this quirk in houndsmen and try to move past it in the betterment of hounds, especially the non-competition type hounds.

[Big N' Blue]

Well said Pegleg.

Mr Clay and C John are a rare breed. I too am glad they share their hunts.

[Dads dogboy]

Update Part Deaux, (that is Cajun forII)

Wednesday was a Strike Out!

Thursday I got the Night off. I could not believe it, but Dad said that we would probably have a long weekend so I should rest up!

Friday was awakened by a knock on the door from young man we had sold some Goats to last year. This fellow lives in town but his Dad lives on the farm and tends to his livestock. It seems his Dad had just called him and advised that a"Mountain Lion" had taken two of their goats the night before. His Dad told the young fellow that the Fish and Game were there and had "Confirmed" that it definately was a "Lion". the young man wanted to know if we would bring our Hounds and get rid of the "Lion". I told the fellow nicely that I doubted that it was a Lion, and that our Hounds were Bobcat Hounds not Lion Dogs, but that our neighbor and friend George Hobbs had Big Game Hounds. That he needed to get the Fish and Game to write out a permit to dispose of the "Lion" and we would be glad to help.

Well the young man left, I called George and he agreed to come up for coffee and we would see what happened. About 30 min later the young man called back to say that the F&G said to kill the Lion and that the F&G wanted the body, but that they would not write anything saying that is was ok to Pursue, Tree or Kill the depredating Beast!

Upon arrival at the Dads house, the first thing said was that the day before a neighbor had seen three BLACK Lions laying in her yard! Then This young mans Uncle who lives across the road said that he had been hearing these Lions screaming at night for months!

Needless to say things went down hill from there. The final out come was that there had been some people there wanting to buy some Goats from the Dad and they were unable to agree on a price. Apperantly the prospective buyers decided on a cheaper price and came back at night and helped themselves. George and I found where the top Barbwire had been let down and the netwire pushed down, the goats missing were the gentlest ones on the place, there was no sign of a struggle, blood or hair anywhere in the area in which the Goats were confined at night so that was that. When we querried the F&G Officer by phone he said quote "The people wanted it to be a Lion, we did not want to argue". The Myth Busters busted another "Black Panter" tale, but doing it cost me a good nap and a bad case of Seed Ticks!

Good Running to All!

C. John Clay
Dads Dogboy

[pegleg]

Yeah, I love black cats myself they're actually my speciality. haven't been able to catch one in a while . Although the last one my dogs treed cost me big . It was a huge mature tom a real whopper 5lbs at the least maybe more. What a runner two miles through the thickest brushiest hell hole between Utah n the Rio grandee.!, maybe. Fight? He shore put up a battle! They tore up one shed, a hole in a picket fence and ever bit of insulation under the lady's trailer. My heart swole with pride to hear her tale. Blow by Blow the Fur n Blood fly'n it was a real fight! nothing like running a regular ol' cougar up a tree. Did make me decide its cheaper to run a hot wire around the top of the kennels , Can't risk my good hounds gettin torn up by a broom.
I guess Black Cats are a risk to hounds everywhere. on a serious note I believe a hound that can catch it's own bobcats in one area can catch mtn. lions in the same area but not necessarily the same in reverse. glad to hear your hounds got some excitement and a break. I do enjoy your post and keep them coming