Post by drobinson on Jan 5, 2013 18:56:26 GMT -5
This is for you folks that want to know more about Coonhunting!
Ten Things Every Coon Hunter Should Know
June 4, 2012
1. How to learn the fundamentals of coon hunting.
I ran into a couple of kids the other day on the parking lot at the local Walmart. They drove up in a Ford Ranger pickup with a beat-up dog box in the back. They saw my dog box and wanted to say hello. I walked over to the truck and greeted a pair of genuine country boys, evidenced by the faint smell of wood smoke on their camo clothing. I asked if they were coon hunters and they said yes. The next logical question to them was, “what kind of dogs do you hunt?” They told me they had an old Walker female and a young Bluetick. I kidded them by asking, “why a Bluetick?” The smaller of the two kids was sitting on the passenger side and answered, “Cuz that’s better than a Black and Tan.” We all laughed and they asked me the same. I told them I was probably worse off in the dog department than they were in that I hunted a Plott. I told them I had my dog in the box and they wanted to see him. Of course that gave me a chance to show off my training skills as I let my three-year old male Hoss out and put him through a few obedience paces; sit, stay, down, come, and kennel. They were impressed and said they had never seen a dog handle like that. I told them that all it takes is patience and time and they could have their dogs handling like that, too.
Our conversation turned to places to hunt in the area, inquiries about other hunters that they knew and wound up with the smaller fellow asking me how much I would charge him to train his young Bluetick. I jokingly said, “I’m 65 years old. I seriously doubt I’ll live long enough to train a Bluetick,” and we all laughed. I then told him, no, I wouldn’t take the dog for training but I would be glad to go along with him and show him methods that have worked for me in starting young dogs. I gave him my phone number and I’m waiting for him to call. I hope he does because there’s nothing I like more than working with young people in this sport. The thing that makes this opportunity so appealing is that these fellows are totally innocent and haven’t been spoiled by many of the current approaches to training that are out there, methods that are supposed to make instant coon dogs out of six month old pups. This was supported by the fact that neither of these kids had ever seen a coon hunting magazine.
I was fortunate to be the son of a real woodsman. I learned at an early age where to go to find a coon track in an area where coon ere extremely scarce. I learned what feeds coon were on at certain times of the year and how to distinguish the type of game my hound was running by the sound of its voice, or by the way in which a track traveled. A hound running in short circles in a weedy or thick place was probably running a rabbit. A hound trailing cold and then hot alternatively up a creek bed was probably running a mink. A hound cold trailing in a circle without treeing was likely to be working a grey fox. A wider circling running track that went in and out of hearing and crested the ridges was likely to be a red fox. A hot track that rapidly went out of hearing and headed toward a body of water was most likely a whitetail deer. Skunks and possums were obvious.
I learned that coons feed on sweet corn in July but rarely touch hardened field corn until midwinter after the fall acorns and other mast crops are gone. I learned that coon will flip cow pies over in search of beetles in the summer, will work a branch for spring lizards (salamanders) and crawfish about any time, love blackberries around pasture fields and old roadways in July and August, love the fence rows where wild cherries are ripe in August and September and will be storing up winter fat in the oak woodlots and on the ridges where the wild grapes strangle the trees in October and November.
I learned that coon will “lay up” for hours feeding on acorns and wild grapes and that it takes a dog that can wind them laying up there without smelling a track on the ground to tree them accurately. I learned that some dogs can trail a cold track and tree a coon off that track that cannot figure out which way a hot track is going, lacking the brain power to put “direction” to the track. I learned that some dogs open quickly on scent, even scent they cannot make forward progress on while others can cold trail with precision giving very little mouth in the process. I also learned that some dogs bark a lot on a cold track and “shut up” as the track warms, hoping to catch the coon.
I learned that the coon sitting higher in the tree is usually the boar, that when treed on a steep hillside the coon will usually be on a limb on the downhill side, that a coon sitting with its nose pointed toward the moon will rarely look no matter how much you shine and squall unless he happens to be sitting on a vine you can shake. I learned that in extremely hot weather a coon will likely come down for water in the hot afternoon and lay up until the wee hours of the morning when things cool down to stir and feed. I learned that on the coldest, snowiest nights of dead winter, if I just have to go hunting, the best place to strike a coon is along a body of water. I learned that moonlight nights usually produce coons treed in dens or in evergreens and that trash tracks are more abundant on these kinds of nights than are coon tracks.
I learned that a hound develops into a better cooner if permitted to learn at its own pace. Attempts to “fast-start” some hounds fail and those pups are culled when a little time and patience, exposing the pup to opportunities continually without “pushing” often results in a better hound. Dogs are like kids. The ones that are permitted opportunities continually but are allowed to develop a love for learning usually make better students in the long run.
Stud dog ads are largely responsible for creating the need for pup buyers to push a pup beyond its ability to process the training. If he’s not a six-month wonder like the other pups in the ads, he’s a loser. If nothing else in this article clicks, please take this one to heart. Remember the Ernest and Julio Gallo commercial – “We will sell no wine before its time?” Apply that philosophy to pup training. Don’t cull that pup until you are sure he or she is mature enough to process the opportunities you are presenting them.
2. How to find places to hunt.
Most coon hunters will agree, the most severe threat to the sport of coon hunting is the decline in places to safely run our hounds. The current economic downturn has somewhat stemmed the tide of building that was the case a few years ago. Urban sprawl is taking a breather for now and with the decline in building the demand for hardwood timber is somewhat diminished. A downside to the poor economy for coon hunters is that land owners, including the big timber companies with hundreds of thousands of acres across the south, and small farmers alike are looking for tax breaks. They have learned they can offset their tax burdens by leasing the land. Leases usually involve deer and turkey hunters that generally hold dog hunters in disdain. Combine that with hunting seasons that exclude dog hunting, like Mississippi’s spring turkey season for example and you see that finding opportunities to run dogs can be a challenge.
Many states now have recreational trespass laws that require written permission. Many landowners will give permission to hunt but don’t want to put it into writing for fear of repercussions should someone get hurt on their land. When I lived in Michigan I devised a written permission statement and carried copies in my truck. When I approached a land owner about hunting I showed them the form that stated that I would not hold them responsible for injury or death incurred while on their property and that if my dogs or I were responsible for damage to his or her property while engaged in hunting or training dogs, I would be fully responsible. I signed it along with their signature allowing me to hunt their lands. I never had a landowner refuse to sign the form after I had signed it in their presence.
Your demeanor when asking for permission has a lot to do with the answer you get. I usually went on a Sunday afternoon. If possible I took my son or my wife with me. I washed my truck before I went. I put on presentable clothes. I wanted to present a wholesome look. If I appeared with a three day growth of beard, dirty jeans and t-shirt and drove a vehicle covered in mud the landowner was likely to draw many conclusions, one of which could indicate that I had been up all weekend digging ruts in some farmer’s field with my 4×4. I usually make the point that my dogs don’t run livestock and chase deer and that I have the means, via the GPS unit and the Tri-tronics to control them at all times. I ask if it’s okay for me to come at any time during the night or would the land owner prefer early evening hours before he goes to bed. I assure the land owner that I will not climb his fences except when absolutely necessary and then only at the post, I’ll close all gates behind me that were closed before I arrived, that I won’t drive across his fields and that I will not leave anything behind me that was not there when I arrived. I have to continually remind myself that I am a guest and that I must behave on the landowner’s property just as I would behave if invited into his home. Learn this lesson and develop this attitude and you will find that most farmers will let you hunt.
3. How to select the right kind of gear
We’ve often joked about the guy at the hunts with the $40,000 truck, the $1000 tracking system, the $800 dog box, the $500 shock collar, the $400 light, the $200 boots and the two-dollar dog. But there’s no denying it, the equipment you choose will not only enhance your enjoyment of the sport but will also improve your odds of having a successful hunt, whether for pleasure or in competition. Here is my list of fundamental gear items that I have with me on every hunt:
First, you need a quality light source. I am absolutely sold on the new, lightweight LED lights that are on the market today. In my view there is no longer any need to carry the weight of a battery box or pack on the belt. Secondly, in order to have a comfortable hunt, a good pair of well-fitting rubber boots with water resistant chaps properly sewn to the leg of the boots is essential for wading briars and nettles and for crossing creeks. John Wick once said, “When your feet get wet, the fun’s over,” and I agree. Thirdly you will want to invest in a Garmin GPS-enhanced tracking system and learn to use it. It will help you recover your dog, keep the dog out of harm’s way and take you to the truck at the end of the hunt. If you are a young hunter, electronic gizmos offer no problem to you and you will catch onto the use of the Garmin quickly. If you are a geezer like me, ask one of the kids at the club to show you how. Next in order is a Tri-Tronics Trashbreaker trainer. Read all you can about the use of this trainer and never turn your hound loose without it. Its applications are too many to list here but trust me and don’t leave home without it. Of course you will need a 4×4 pickup and a dog box to round out your list of essentials. I would add a good quality coon squaller such as the Zepp and a good pocket knife. For some of you, a stop at the corner store for some chew is also an essential. I’ll pass on that, thank you very much.
4. How to buy a coonhound without getting burned.
Coon hunters are human and humans by their very nature will lie. I have a friend that teaches in public schools. I have heard her tell of watching kindergartners doing some type of negative behavior and when asked, “Johnny, why did you do that?” Little Johnny says, “I didn’t do it.” The teacher replies, “I was standing here watching you do it,” to which Little Johnny says, “It wasn’t me.”
If there’s one thing that brings the urge to prevaricate to the surface in the human race it’s this thing we call coon hunting. Coon hunters, like fisherman can’t resist the temptation to lie. Do you think that’s harsh? Consider this scenario, one I’ve witnessed many times over the years.
Time out has been called or the hunt is over and a dog has not been handled. The owner employs the tracking device and leaves the cast to retrieve his or her dog. Upon return, what does the handler say? You go to the head of the class if you get this one right and get to wear the dunce cap if you miss it. I’ll bet you a dollar against a donut that the handler says, “He was treed and had the coon.” I have never heard a handler in that situation say, “He was treed slick.” Why does the handler think he has to lie? Unless lying is that hunter’s best friend, the answer lies in one word; pride.
When we put our nameplates on these coonhounds they become extensions of ourselves. An average dog becomes a “number one coon dog” because to admit anything less would be to admit that we either don’t know how to train a coon dog or we were dumb enough to buy an “average” dog when the world knows we hunt nothing but the best. This type of lying is generally harmless to our fellow hunters (I’m not going to venture my thoughts on what the Lord thinks about it) unless we employ it to help us sell the dog to the unsuspecting buyer. This is where lying becomes larceny and unfortunately for us, there are a lot of folks out there that are making a living by it.
There’s only two ways to keep from getting burned on a dog deal. The first is to go and hunt with the dog, not one night but as many nights and under as many different types of conditions as you can. The second is, if you do not know the owner of the dog personally, and have not had previous dealings with the owner of the dog to the point that you know that you know that you know that man to be absolutely honest, don’t take his word for it. In case you missed that, I’m saying: “Don’t take anyone’s word as to the ability of a dog unless it’s a guy you would send to Vegas with your credit car andd the deed to your home.” Get the point? Why? Because when it comes to dogs most coon hunters just can’t help but lie. If this offends you, you either are absolutely honest or the truth hurts.
And as a footnote to this item, a new coon hunter should buy a veteran cooner as his or her first dog. You will be surprised in this world of “pups” how many good coonhounds, many of them with Grand Nite Champion titles are for sale once they graduate out of the pup-hunt stage of their lives. Buying an older, finished coonhound will serve to teach the young hunter more about coon hunting that all the articles like this in the world and they represent the best buys in the coonhound market. Then, once you have the “feel” for the sport, find a good-blooded pup of your liking and train it with your veteran cooner. That’s probably the best advice you will read in this article this month.
Ten Things Every Coon Hunter Should Know
June 4, 2012
1. How to learn the fundamentals of coon hunting.
I ran into a couple of kids the other day on the parking lot at the local Walmart. They drove up in a Ford Ranger pickup with a beat-up dog box in the back. They saw my dog box and wanted to say hello. I walked over to the truck and greeted a pair of genuine country boys, evidenced by the faint smell of wood smoke on their camo clothing. I asked if they were coon hunters and they said yes. The next logical question to them was, “what kind of dogs do you hunt?” They told me they had an old Walker female and a young Bluetick. I kidded them by asking, “why a Bluetick?” The smaller of the two kids was sitting on the passenger side and answered, “Cuz that’s better than a Black and Tan.” We all laughed and they asked me the same. I told them I was probably worse off in the dog department than they were in that I hunted a Plott. I told them I had my dog in the box and they wanted to see him. Of course that gave me a chance to show off my training skills as I let my three-year old male Hoss out and put him through a few obedience paces; sit, stay, down, come, and kennel. They were impressed and said they had never seen a dog handle like that. I told them that all it takes is patience and time and they could have their dogs handling like that, too.
Our conversation turned to places to hunt in the area, inquiries about other hunters that they knew and wound up with the smaller fellow asking me how much I would charge him to train his young Bluetick. I jokingly said, “I’m 65 years old. I seriously doubt I’ll live long enough to train a Bluetick,” and we all laughed. I then told him, no, I wouldn’t take the dog for training but I would be glad to go along with him and show him methods that have worked for me in starting young dogs. I gave him my phone number and I’m waiting for him to call. I hope he does because there’s nothing I like more than working with young people in this sport. The thing that makes this opportunity so appealing is that these fellows are totally innocent and haven’t been spoiled by many of the current approaches to training that are out there, methods that are supposed to make instant coon dogs out of six month old pups. This was supported by the fact that neither of these kids had ever seen a coon hunting magazine.
I was fortunate to be the son of a real woodsman. I learned at an early age where to go to find a coon track in an area where coon ere extremely scarce. I learned what feeds coon were on at certain times of the year and how to distinguish the type of game my hound was running by the sound of its voice, or by the way in which a track traveled. A hound running in short circles in a weedy or thick place was probably running a rabbit. A hound trailing cold and then hot alternatively up a creek bed was probably running a mink. A hound cold trailing in a circle without treeing was likely to be working a grey fox. A wider circling running track that went in and out of hearing and crested the ridges was likely to be a red fox. A hot track that rapidly went out of hearing and headed toward a body of water was most likely a whitetail deer. Skunks and possums were obvious.
I learned that coons feed on sweet corn in July but rarely touch hardened field corn until midwinter after the fall acorns and other mast crops are gone. I learned that coon will flip cow pies over in search of beetles in the summer, will work a branch for spring lizards (salamanders) and crawfish about any time, love blackberries around pasture fields and old roadways in July and August, love the fence rows where wild cherries are ripe in August and September and will be storing up winter fat in the oak woodlots and on the ridges where the wild grapes strangle the trees in October and November.
I learned that coon will “lay up” for hours feeding on acorns and wild grapes and that it takes a dog that can wind them laying up there without smelling a track on the ground to tree them accurately. I learned that some dogs can trail a cold track and tree a coon off that track that cannot figure out which way a hot track is going, lacking the brain power to put “direction” to the track. I learned that some dogs open quickly on scent, even scent they cannot make forward progress on while others can cold trail with precision giving very little mouth in the process. I also learned that some dogs bark a lot on a cold track and “shut up” as the track warms, hoping to catch the coon.
I learned that the coon sitting higher in the tree is usually the boar, that when treed on a steep hillside the coon will usually be on a limb on the downhill side, that a coon sitting with its nose pointed toward the moon will rarely look no matter how much you shine and squall unless he happens to be sitting on a vine you can shake. I learned that in extremely hot weather a coon will likely come down for water in the hot afternoon and lay up until the wee hours of the morning when things cool down to stir and feed. I learned that on the coldest, snowiest nights of dead winter, if I just have to go hunting, the best place to strike a coon is along a body of water. I learned that moonlight nights usually produce coons treed in dens or in evergreens and that trash tracks are more abundant on these kinds of nights than are coon tracks.
I learned that a hound develops into a better cooner if permitted to learn at its own pace. Attempts to “fast-start” some hounds fail and those pups are culled when a little time and patience, exposing the pup to opportunities continually without “pushing” often results in a better hound. Dogs are like kids. The ones that are permitted opportunities continually but are allowed to develop a love for learning usually make better students in the long run.
Stud dog ads are largely responsible for creating the need for pup buyers to push a pup beyond its ability to process the training. If he’s not a six-month wonder like the other pups in the ads, he’s a loser. If nothing else in this article clicks, please take this one to heart. Remember the Ernest and Julio Gallo commercial – “We will sell no wine before its time?” Apply that philosophy to pup training. Don’t cull that pup until you are sure he or she is mature enough to process the opportunities you are presenting them.
2. How to find places to hunt.
Most coon hunters will agree, the most severe threat to the sport of coon hunting is the decline in places to safely run our hounds. The current economic downturn has somewhat stemmed the tide of building that was the case a few years ago. Urban sprawl is taking a breather for now and with the decline in building the demand for hardwood timber is somewhat diminished. A downside to the poor economy for coon hunters is that land owners, including the big timber companies with hundreds of thousands of acres across the south, and small farmers alike are looking for tax breaks. They have learned they can offset their tax burdens by leasing the land. Leases usually involve deer and turkey hunters that generally hold dog hunters in disdain. Combine that with hunting seasons that exclude dog hunting, like Mississippi’s spring turkey season for example and you see that finding opportunities to run dogs can be a challenge.
Many states now have recreational trespass laws that require written permission. Many landowners will give permission to hunt but don’t want to put it into writing for fear of repercussions should someone get hurt on their land. When I lived in Michigan I devised a written permission statement and carried copies in my truck. When I approached a land owner about hunting I showed them the form that stated that I would not hold them responsible for injury or death incurred while on their property and that if my dogs or I were responsible for damage to his or her property while engaged in hunting or training dogs, I would be fully responsible. I signed it along with their signature allowing me to hunt their lands. I never had a landowner refuse to sign the form after I had signed it in their presence.
Your demeanor when asking for permission has a lot to do with the answer you get. I usually went on a Sunday afternoon. If possible I took my son or my wife with me. I washed my truck before I went. I put on presentable clothes. I wanted to present a wholesome look. If I appeared with a three day growth of beard, dirty jeans and t-shirt and drove a vehicle covered in mud the landowner was likely to draw many conclusions, one of which could indicate that I had been up all weekend digging ruts in some farmer’s field with my 4×4. I usually make the point that my dogs don’t run livestock and chase deer and that I have the means, via the GPS unit and the Tri-tronics to control them at all times. I ask if it’s okay for me to come at any time during the night or would the land owner prefer early evening hours before he goes to bed. I assure the land owner that I will not climb his fences except when absolutely necessary and then only at the post, I’ll close all gates behind me that were closed before I arrived, that I won’t drive across his fields and that I will not leave anything behind me that was not there when I arrived. I have to continually remind myself that I am a guest and that I must behave on the landowner’s property just as I would behave if invited into his home. Learn this lesson and develop this attitude and you will find that most farmers will let you hunt.
3. How to select the right kind of gear
We’ve often joked about the guy at the hunts with the $40,000 truck, the $1000 tracking system, the $800 dog box, the $500 shock collar, the $400 light, the $200 boots and the two-dollar dog. But there’s no denying it, the equipment you choose will not only enhance your enjoyment of the sport but will also improve your odds of having a successful hunt, whether for pleasure or in competition. Here is my list of fundamental gear items that I have with me on every hunt:
First, you need a quality light source. I am absolutely sold on the new, lightweight LED lights that are on the market today. In my view there is no longer any need to carry the weight of a battery box or pack on the belt. Secondly, in order to have a comfortable hunt, a good pair of well-fitting rubber boots with water resistant chaps properly sewn to the leg of the boots is essential for wading briars and nettles and for crossing creeks. John Wick once said, “When your feet get wet, the fun’s over,” and I agree. Thirdly you will want to invest in a Garmin GPS-enhanced tracking system and learn to use it. It will help you recover your dog, keep the dog out of harm’s way and take you to the truck at the end of the hunt. If you are a young hunter, electronic gizmos offer no problem to you and you will catch onto the use of the Garmin quickly. If you are a geezer like me, ask one of the kids at the club to show you how. Next in order is a Tri-Tronics Trashbreaker trainer. Read all you can about the use of this trainer and never turn your hound loose without it. Its applications are too many to list here but trust me and don’t leave home without it. Of course you will need a 4×4 pickup and a dog box to round out your list of essentials. I would add a good quality coon squaller such as the Zepp and a good pocket knife. For some of you, a stop at the corner store for some chew is also an essential. I’ll pass on that, thank you very much.
4. How to buy a coonhound without getting burned.
Coon hunters are human and humans by their very nature will lie. I have a friend that teaches in public schools. I have heard her tell of watching kindergartners doing some type of negative behavior and when asked, “Johnny, why did you do that?” Little Johnny says, “I didn’t do it.” The teacher replies, “I was standing here watching you do it,” to which Little Johnny says, “It wasn’t me.”
If there’s one thing that brings the urge to prevaricate to the surface in the human race it’s this thing we call coon hunting. Coon hunters, like fisherman can’t resist the temptation to lie. Do you think that’s harsh? Consider this scenario, one I’ve witnessed many times over the years.
Time out has been called or the hunt is over and a dog has not been handled. The owner employs the tracking device and leaves the cast to retrieve his or her dog. Upon return, what does the handler say? You go to the head of the class if you get this one right and get to wear the dunce cap if you miss it. I’ll bet you a dollar against a donut that the handler says, “He was treed and had the coon.” I have never heard a handler in that situation say, “He was treed slick.” Why does the handler think he has to lie? Unless lying is that hunter’s best friend, the answer lies in one word; pride.
When we put our nameplates on these coonhounds they become extensions of ourselves. An average dog becomes a “number one coon dog” because to admit anything less would be to admit that we either don’t know how to train a coon dog or we were dumb enough to buy an “average” dog when the world knows we hunt nothing but the best. This type of lying is generally harmless to our fellow hunters (I’m not going to venture my thoughts on what the Lord thinks about it) unless we employ it to help us sell the dog to the unsuspecting buyer. This is where lying becomes larceny and unfortunately for us, there are a lot of folks out there that are making a living by it.
There’s only two ways to keep from getting burned on a dog deal. The first is to go and hunt with the dog, not one night but as many nights and under as many different types of conditions as you can. The second is, if you do not know the owner of the dog personally, and have not had previous dealings with the owner of the dog to the point that you know that you know that you know that man to be absolutely honest, don’t take his word for it. In case you missed that, I’m saying: “Don’t take anyone’s word as to the ability of a dog unless it’s a guy you would send to Vegas with your credit car andd the deed to your home.” Get the point? Why? Because when it comes to dogs most coon hunters just can’t help but lie. If this offends you, you either are absolutely honest or the truth hurts.
And as a footnote to this item, a new coon hunter should buy a veteran cooner as his or her first dog. You will be surprised in this world of “pups” how many good coonhounds, many of them with Grand Nite Champion titles are for sale once they graduate out of the pup-hunt stage of their lives. Buying an older, finished coonhound will serve to teach the young hunter more about coon hunting that all the articles like this in the world and they represent the best buys in the coonhound market. Then, once you have the “feel” for the sport, find a good-blooded pup of your liking and train it with your veteran cooner. That’s probably the best advice you will read in this article this month.