Run to catch
Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 11:03 pm
How many of you have hounds that frequently run down their rabbits and catch them? I'm talking cottontails here as I've never run down a hare in the open.
In the past three weeks my hounds have run down and caught 4 grown cottontails after hard pounding runs.
First one was a 45 minute run. Was running all 4 of my females.Rabbit was circling in very heavy weed field and popped out twice for a big circle in more open woods.Dogs were driving him hard with very short checks.Third time he circled in to the woods I could tell they were looking at him and they caught him.By the time I got there all 4 had a section of rabbit and were inhaling him.
Couple of days later was the next time this was a 20 minute hard run along the rail road tracks and to my surprise they caught him in the thick stuff. and again all 4 dogs were munching down by the time I got to them.
Ran in a big corn field last week and after an hour of pouring it on him where the rabbit never left the corn they caught this one.
Today I went to a piece of TVA ground along the lake that I'd never hunted before .Just had Josie and Fly with me.Jumped a rabbit in the open hay field and he immediately went right through a section of woods and in to a large swampy peninsula.Super thick in there and very hard for a man to get around in it.They were putting multiple circles on him in the swamp.He finally came out and made a huge circle around the perimeter of the hay field and back in the swamp where he continued to circle.He came out in the hay field several more times but would quickly head back for the swamp.Saw the rabbit half a dozen times.
The two females were driving him very hard and after an 1 hour and 40 minutes [ this is a long cotton tail run for my hounds ] I heard the squeel and they had caught him in the swamp.I busted my way in to them and by the time I got there there was little more than a head and a foot to take away from them and hang in a tree.Guess I'll have to invest in some tape worm meds.LOL.
These are 15" females of the faster type.
Just curious as to what other's experiences are?
P.S. When during gun season I shoot a rabbit dead my dogs barely give them a second look and go back to hunting never trying to eat them. But, if i wound a rabbit and they run it down or like in the scenarios above they run one down they are going to eat that live rabbit every time unless I'm right there to get it away from them.Thoughts?
In the past three weeks my hounds have run down and caught 4 grown cottontails after hard pounding runs.
First one was a 45 minute run. Was running all 4 of my females.Rabbit was circling in very heavy weed field and popped out twice for a big circle in more open woods.Dogs were driving him hard with very short checks.Third time he circled in to the woods I could tell they were looking at him and they caught him.By the time I got there all 4 had a section of rabbit and were inhaling him.
Couple of days later was the next time this was a 20 minute hard run along the rail road tracks and to my surprise they caught him in the thick stuff. and again all 4 dogs were munching down by the time I got to them.
Ran in a big corn field last week and after an hour of pouring it on him where the rabbit never left the corn they caught this one.
Today I went to a piece of TVA ground along the lake that I'd never hunted before .Just had Josie and Fly with me.Jumped a rabbit in the open hay field and he immediately went right through a section of woods and in to a large swampy peninsula.Super thick in there and very hard for a man to get around in it.They were putting multiple circles on him in the swamp.He finally came out and made a huge circle around the perimeter of the hay field and back in the swamp where he continued to circle.He came out in the hay field several more times but would quickly head back for the swamp.Saw the rabbit half a dozen times.
The two females were driving him very hard and after an 1 hour and 40 minutes [ this is a long cotton tail run for my hounds ] I heard the squeel and they had caught him in the swamp.I busted my way in to them and by the time I got there there was little more than a head and a foot to take away from them and hang in a tree.Guess I'll have to invest in some tape worm meds.LOL.
These are 15" females of the faster type.
Just curious as to what other's experiences are?
P.S. When during gun season I shoot a rabbit dead my dogs barely give them a second look and go back to hunting never trying to eat them. But, if i wound a rabbit and they run it down or like in the scenarios above they run one down they are going to eat that live rabbit every time unless I'm right there to get it away from them.Thoughts?