Re: Thinkin of gettin a hound(s)
[Re: M.S. Pickins]
#7444776
12/29/21 03:45 PM
12/29/21 03:45 PM
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Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 28 Iowa
bigboy
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 28
Iowa
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LOL I guarantee you will think all hounds have an "attitude" if you are used to spaniels. They don't hunt for YOU, they hunt game for THEMSELVES and if you want to help them out all the better LOL. They will be considerably hard headed, slow learning, and independent compared to Spaniels. Make sure you have a lot of ground to hunt and are able to walk many miles, in my type of open country a coon can cover 3-4 miles before treeing. They also are very vocal and loud, not great for someone in town but it can be managed if you take a lot of time and energy. I have generally hunted coon and bobcat with one dog but a pair is ideal. When a coon is trying to drown a dog in the water its harder if they have 2 dogs to deal with at once. I have always loved hounds though and hearing your dogs baying in the distance is a wonderful sound. You will also want to invest in a shock collar and tracking collar so you don't lose them in the woods. This is about the most spot on advice I have read on the subject and should probably be printed in the "coon hounds for dummies" book. That being said, there is nothing like a coondog, I am partial to blue ticks, but to each their own. They operate on THEIR timeline and desires, not yours, no matter the level of training. As a dog owner, handler, there are times they will make you pull your hair out when they won't come, or stay, or go, or whatever but when YOU learn that they are doing their thing it becomes easier. I promise they heard your command, they are just going to finish sniffing the last 15 trees before heading to the truck even though you are ready now. I always prefer a pair. One is great, but I like the security of a second dog. Watching the battle in the water isn't an experience I would wish on any pet owner, thankfully I haven't lost a dog but I've gotten wet many a time pulling the coon off the dog myself when only running one hound. The bark/bay is something that once it's in your soul, it never goes away. And the last bit of advice is fantastic as well. Shock collars are one thing, they never seem to phase mine, but the gps ability is something I won't hunt without. Like bird dogs, some hunt close and some range, well especially in the dark, that range can get long in a hurry if they're running a track or god forbid a deer. Being able to head the right way and have some idea where they are going is invaluable. I personally run the garmin alpha but I am sure there are other options to check out.
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Re: Thinkin of gettin a hound(s)
[Re: K9BeavCoon]
#7444787
12/29/21 03:59 PM
12/29/21 03:59 PM
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Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 16,951 OH
Catch22
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 16,951
OH
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I do miss hearing a hound but once you hunt with a cur, it's awesome'er lol. They listen a lot better and are easier to handle imo.
I wonder if tap dancers walk into a room, look at the floor, and think, I'd tap that. I wonder about things.....
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Re: Thinkin of gettin a hound(s)
[Re: Catch22]
#7444815
12/29/21 04:35 PM
12/29/21 04:35 PM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 16,609 Oakland, MS
yotetrapper30
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 16,609
Oakland, MS
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I do miss hearing a hound but once you hunt with a cur, it's awesome'er lol. They listen a lot better and are easier to handle imo. That's one opinion. We have a cur and a redbone, and I do like hunting with the cur, but it can't come close to competing with the sounds of the hounds running a track. As others have warned, once you hunt with one you'll likely never get it out of your blood. I can't give any advice because the advice given above says it all. I can tell you about my hunt last night for a indication of how it goes sometimes. I dropped her in a spot we hunt at least a few times a month. Almost right away she ran over the dry lake bed 0.7 miles to the east. Since the lake bed was not dry enough for me to walk across, I drove over there, but having to go around it was more like 3 miles driving. By the time I got there, she was 3/4 way back to where we started, lol. So back I go, and when I get back, she is now 0.6 miles to the west of where we started, treed, also across the dry lake bed I can't walk across. Another 3 miles driving got me to within 1 mile of her.... then a mile walk in, and another mile walk out. On the walk back, she almost got nailed by a cottonmouth I luckily saw just in time. Coon hunting with hounds is a blast... but it's not for the faint hearted, lol.
~~Proud Ultra MAGA~~
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Re: Thinkin of gettin a hound(s)
[Re: Catch22]
#7444816
12/29/21 04:37 PM
12/29/21 04:37 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,928 Oakland, MS
Drifter
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,928
Oakland, MS
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I do miss hearing a hound but once you hunt with a cur, it's awesome'er lol. They listen a lot better and are easier to handle imo. X 2 I have a mountain cur and the wife has a redbone. No comparison on listening. The cur I have is a close hunter and no way I would go back to a hound. Before you decide on the breed you want do some serious research. There are a ton of breeds and bloodlines out there. A tracking collar is the ONLY way to go like was stated earlier.
Some individuals use statistics as a drunk man uses lamp-posts — for support rather than for illumination.
Andrew Lang (1844-1912) Scottish poet, novelist and literary critic
Life member NTA , and GA Trappers assoc .
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Re: Thinkin of gettin a hound(s)
[Re: Yes sir]
#7444857
12/29/21 05:30 PM
12/29/21 05:30 PM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 16,609 Oakland, MS
yotetrapper30
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 16,609
Oakland, MS
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If you get one and end not hunting very much for whatever reason you will probably wish you hadn't went down that road. I also can't say I agree with that. Even if I never hunted mine, I would still want my redbone. She's my best friend and follows me around like a lab. (Until she finds a trail to run, that is.) I actually use her to hunt squirrels in the day more than I do coon at night. She one's heck of a squirrel dog, as is Drifter's cur.
~~Proud Ultra MAGA~~
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Re: Thinkin of gettin a hound(s)
[Re: K9BeavCoon]
#7444924
12/29/21 07:10 PM
12/29/21 07:10 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 551 WV
redsnow
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 551
WV
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One thing that nobody has mentioned, hounds are good pets too. Good watch dogs too.
My first puppy was a Redbone, kind of partial to them. I had a Black & Tan, she was a good dog. Had a Walker, and an English, both of them were good dogs. An Elkhound and an Elkhound/Redbone mix, both good dogs. Had a beagle too, and she was a good dog. Most of them are hardheaded, once you cut them in the wind, you're playing on their time. And most of my dogs were housebroke and very good around kids and friends. They are smart.
But I kind of look at it like this, once you set a trapline, you've committed, you've gotta be there tomorrow. And the next day. For a guy with limited time, it's fun to just take the dog out, shoot out a coon or 2 and go home. I lost my dog in the road this past summer, boys I miss her. First time in my life that I've never had a dog.
I've been looking around, I'll wait till after trapping season, but I'll have a dog before the end of March.
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Re: Thinkin of gettin a hound(s)
[Re: Catch22]
#7444951
12/29/21 07:50 PM
12/29/21 07:50 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 4,942 Idaho Falls, ID
Grandpa Trapper
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 4,942
Idaho Falls, ID
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I do miss hearing a hound but once you hunt with a cur, it's awesome'er lol. They listen a lot better and are easier to handle imo. X2. I have a mountain cur. Very good listener.
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