IFC Branko's Heli-Prop

[WELLS WOODS]

I was running dogs tonight with an old friend & he talked about a great beagler he used to spend a lot of time with running dogs up north; the late, great Terry Mc Bride. Terry liked a hard going, aggressive hound with plenty of hunt. Terry was really high on the FC Getemout Jim-Beau dog. He said he was a tough hound that had more hunt that most dogs he'd ever seen. A lot of dogs we run in the Mid-West go back to Jim Beau in their pedigrees. The Otterbrook Top Dog stuff such as FTC Mikerma's Super Dog & others I can't think of right now.
Anyway, I ran across an article in the Feb. '07 issue of Better Beagling that had quotes from Terry. He had many great compliments of hounds running cottontail such as IFC Theisen's Den-Rod Smokey, FC Duffy Moon of Sugar River, FC Mountaineer King & said IFC Champlain Bucky & FTC Kingwood Stormie Day were incredible on hare.
He went on to say that one of the finest hounds to ever run in Canada was George Steeve's IFC Haunted Hill Whitey. She won numerous awards; too many to mention & produced several FTC's & IFC's when bred to IFC Adirondack Bobby.
After all this said, he quoted " If I had to choose one hound to have on the end of my lead for either a trophy or just to run head to head with any other hound , it would be IFC Branko's Heli-Prop. If you ran your hound one on one against Prop, you didn't want a return match. Some people say that 'hounds get better after they are dead', but don't believe that. The statement is usually made by someone who just can't believe that hounds are capable of such wonderful work; since they've never seen great houndwork. That's one redeeming feature of being a LPH judge, seeing the bad, the good and the great ones."

[bfoster]

Terry McBride's thoughts on Jiggs




For those that haven't seen this I'll post it here.

[WELLS WOODS]

Thanks, bfoster, I hadn't seen that quote from Terry about Jigs, English Bobby & Adirondack Bobby. Actually, I had always pictured Jigs as a 15" dog, since he threw so many 15" male FTC's with Branko's Flying Spark,
;Armando's Northern Tracker, '' Little Conman & '' Zachary, etc..
Sounded like Jigs was fast & clean & could dominate most packs, but could get over competitive at times while English Bobby was the tough scenting day hound. Also, IFC Adirondack Bobby was fast & clean like Jigs, but a bit closer & a better line running hound. Good read!

[Shady Grove Beagles]

I always had a lot of respect for Terry McBride aka Boomer.
Here's a quote from Terry off the Better Beagling board dated 8/02/05 regarding Jack of all Trades and his son Heli-Prop.

"Branko sent Jack to me when he was 7 years old [nearly 8].It was the first time he'd been trialed [to my knowledge].I got him and his son Heli-Prop [16 months old] off the plane on a Thursday and entered them in their first LPH trial that Sunday.
Prop won it and Jack was second.I had them both for an entire winter and ran them on hare in the open.Jack was past his prime by then,but was still a hard hunting hound.He was clean with his mouth and had a super nose [better than Prop's].He was an excellent snow hound,as he stuck closely to the line and worked checks the way a hound should..Prop was far too quick for Jack at this stage,but I'd have loved to see them both as 3 year olds.Branko had told me before I got Jack"that Jack produced better hounds than he himself was", and how many hounds can you say that about? All in all,a great hound,and a producer beyond compare".

Just thought it might be enjoyable for some to hear reflections on these two famous hounds from back-in-the-day.

[HatterasBob]

I am lucky enough to call Terry a friend. He picked me up once lost in Canada and dragged me bad to his house to sleep on a cot in the basement. We sat up drinking beer and talking dogs way past a reasonable hour considering we had a trial in the morning. He told me and I think it has been quoted in the mags that Prop was the finest hound he ever saw run a rabbit. I was fortunate to own IFC Murray's Little Blazer (son of Prop) for several years prior to his early death ate 9 years old. I still have 3 females out of him and Fc Woodeye's Super Girl, in my kennel. I still gun and trial all 3. I also was lucky to call John Monkman a friend how told me that Blazer was the finest little male to come out of the eastern Atlantic (Nova Scotia) and was glad i was able to get him.

I have a close friend that has a classic photo of Heli-Prop and Jack on the winner's bench. Cunningham's Butch was 1st, Heli-Prop was 3rd and jack was NBQ. For those that don't know, Cunningham's Annie was the dam for Dingus MaCrea. Cunningham's Butch was one of their finest males. Great photo!

[bill (flint river )]

jack was a legend, the hounds he reproduced for trialing and hunting are not heard of in this day and age. some of the best of the best breeding.

[bfoster]

In the spirit of the late Carl Post who felt sharing information was important to improve the Beagle Breed, I’d like to share the pictures I’ve got on file for these great hounds we’re talking about in this thred and some of Terry’s hounds.

“HatterasBob” I’d live to see the picture you’re talking about if you don’t mind sharing it with us.

Branko’s Heli-Prop


Branko’s Jack of all trades


Getmount Jim Beau


Otterbrook Top Dog


Champlain Bucky posted by a young Terry McBride


Haunted Hill Whitey


Adirondack Bobby


The Elm’s English Bobby


Branko’s Flying Spark


Armando’s Northern Tracker



Terry McBride 1982 with an Ontario Jack Rabbit


McBride’s Iron Scooter


McBride’s Fly on Snowflake


McBride’s Fly on Rowdy (1983)


McBride’s Black Bonus


McBride’s Black Magic


Dobson’s Pet with Terry

[WELLS WOODS]

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

[John-PA]

Did you have those pics in your personal file or just copy them from beagles canada without permission?

[main event`s beagles]

I have seen pedigrees that list heli prop as a bluetick

[TrlBustinBeagle]

My uncle was fortunate enough to have Prop, Jack, Copper Boy, Ali Baba and others in his kennel here in Ohio and when I asked him who his favorite of all the great Branko hounds he said Prop. After talking to Mr. Mcbride a few times, him and my uncle had similar views on Prop so I have tried to keep as much Prop and Jack in my dogs as I can. Terry always said you could never have enough Jack and I believe I have alot of it. I have a 6 week old female that has 23 crosses of Jack in 7 generations so time will tell. I have line bred Prop before and had great success and plan to breed a granddaughter of prop to a grandson of Prop this spring.

[WELLS WOODS]

Prop was ticked, but not a bluetick. You can see a few ticks on him in his picture.

[BB Beagles]

I really enjoy these kind of posts. These past hounds have left a huge impression in the beagle world. Even though most of them are gone, they are still are brought up in conversations, used to compare hounds of today to, and used to base the foundation of many kennels out there. It's always a pleasure for me to read posts about the guys who had the privelidge to run/house these dogs. For myself on a personal note, not only do I enjoy working/running my hounds, but enjoy knowing the history behind them. That brings me to a question I've often wondered?

These very popular hounds of the past that have left huge impressions on many of us from far north to the deep south are still actively talked about. What about any hounds of this era? Why do we not hear as much noise from certain hounds of today? Is it because hounds of today are more consistent with one another? Are they promoted differently? Has the taste in judging changed? Do we have many more formats than before to run diff style dogs in? The last hound that I know of that has been an impression hound is Greenwells Reggie. I guess in a easier way for me to ask is, what does it take to be a hound of Jack, Prop, Ninja, Spur, Dingus, etc. caliber. I know that making one a titled hound is no way a easy task, I also know there are quite a few titled hounds out there, just wondering which one will carry on the legacy of being a ever lasting impression hound like the ones we talk about so much.

Again, I love the history of these hounds, and in know way shape, form, or fashion am I down grading hounds of today to the ones of back then. I have seen a few that I have thought were remarkable hounds, that performed great work. Just got to thinking one day what all it takes to be " one of those hounds"

[WELLS WOODS]

The ones that will be remembered are the producers. It takes a few decades in my opinion & many years after the hound is gone to be able to truly measure his impact on the breed. It depends on which hounds are in the pedigrees of the "best" hounds guys are running 20 years from now.

[Hurricane-Creek]

TrlBustinBeagle,

Maybe your 6 wks female pup and one of my 10 mos male pups should meet someday... *Correction: 16 crosses of Jack (11 Trimmer), 3 Dingus and 4 Anna's Ann in 7.

I originally counted seven gens on sire and on dam before realizing that was actually 8 gens. Their sire which I own has 13 crosses of Jack (18 Trimmer), 14 Dingus and 24 Anna's Ann in his 7 gens.