The American Beagler Forum

Don't laugh but I was wondering if anyone feels as if our sport might be coming to a close and us beaglers are a dying breed duck hunters pheasant hunters quail ect...It would take somone with more smarts than me but dont you think it might be time to have a rabbits forever and maybe as a group we can save our sport promote these little hounds to the kids they are the future maybe we could buy our own grounds to hunt and manage our own habitat just for bunnies just a thoughthttp://americanbeagler.huntingboards.com/posting.php?mode=post&f=17&sid=07b85c315f26e750777b3c4e6af55690#

I agree 100% this would be a great idea and I hope to see it happen in my lifetime.Size,speed,and pedigrees dont matter its about our sport!

Elmer,
No laughing matter here in WI.
Our DNR is more worried about turning everything into prairie land in the southern part of the state the last couple of years.
I see them bulldoze and burn relentlessly the public land the last several years yet complain they don't have any money.

They just cleared out this excellent spot close to my home this summer. Last weekend I went to run there and I heard heavy equipment, so I went in to investigate.
Come to find out, they cleared an entire tree/brush line (about 30 yards wide and 150-200 yards long between two fields) for a horse trail! I questioned them who was the ignorant azz that decided to spend state money and time for a horse trail when they could have ridden the horses next to the tree line?
There response was it is a nice scenic trail down through the tree line instead of next to it! This is the same area that there are about 5 miles of walking/horse trails already through the timber.

I'm all for trails, but destroying widlife habitat when they could put the trail 30 yards to the side where it is already an open field is just asinine!

All they care about is pheasants (which aren't even a native bird in the USA), decimating the deer herd, and creating trails for tree huggers and horseman.

Sorry for venting but if your going to start a rabbits forever, sign me up.

RH

If I remember right there was a Rabbits Unlimited program started in South or North Carolina several years back. I think they even held field trials.
Have not heard any thing about them for some time.

John McKnight

We need an organizer. John wanna? I will do my part Swamp mans in Hey John I really love that little female you Gave me I bred her had 9 pups she hunts really hard the male went to new york he was areal good one we need to get scott back into these beagles went and gotem some coonhound pups he's a good guy but he needs some beagles I still have Blaster do you still have T that dog was a gooden I still got to get up there and run a swamper I really think you could get the ball rolling on this rabbits forever Idea

One of the best things you can ever do is: Take a kid hunting!! It works, once a kid realizes how much fun they can have they will be hooked. I feel bad for some people who think hunting is stupid. They have no idea what they are talking about because they have never gone hunting. I know a guy who in high school he made fun of people who hunted, now in his 30's got talked into trying duck hunting. He went out and bought everything he needed and loves it. He is now buying a bow to start bow hunting. Expose people to what we do and they will enjoy it, almost guarenteed!! Dont take them if its overly cold or if its not a great day to go. Take them on a day that looks promising, easier to explain an unsuccessful day after they have been on a good hunt.

Ive never met a kid that didnt like rabbit hunting i cant wait to take my grandson my kids are grown now i think i burnt them out to much dog running i bet they cant ever remember not having at least 10 beagles id keepem up all night in the summer running beagles by a camp fire they still go but now but only if they get to shoot a few so spring and summer im by myself somtimes wife goes she always has a good time and knows as much about beagles as i do we used to field trial some had three champions world bench champion clubs hunts just had a hard time i guess because of gas prices and folded if you cant find a kid you can always take me il go any time http://americanbeagler.huntingboards.co ... dd2fd555b3#

Count me in. I love to hunt, but I love to rabbit hunt. For years I had to beat the brush and walk rabbits up... but once I went hunting with beagles I was hooked. Seeing the excitement in those little dogs made me a beagler for life. My first beagle was a christmas gift from my college room mate. She ran the first rabbit I ever put her on. I was just as green as she was when it came to rabbit hunting with a beagle. My father was a coon hunter and once the dog treed the coon you followed the barks. I did the same thing with my beagle until an old beagler told me to stay put once she jumped a rabbit because most rabbits will make a circle.

Back in the day you could find rabbits in every ditch because farmers left some edge on their fields, didn't bulldoze every bit of brush and the predators were not as bad. Before any farmers jump on me I'm not talking about all farmers. Several of the farmers I know hunt so they leave some brushy draws, brush piles and crop edge for habitat. Maybe if we get enough people to work together we can convince our conservation departments to create more habitat for rabbits. Heck I would love it if they would dedicate some conservation areas to rabbits like they are doing for ducks, quail and prarie chickens.

Just my 2 cents.

Sounds like a bad idea to me.
enough lands is being dedicated to be called a "recovery zone"
Where no hunting is permitted.if they do something like that then 99% of pennslyvanias public hunting grounds will be off limits.
They probably will want ya to use steel shot also so the environmentalists will help support.

If the Goverment has anything to do with it your right my thought was rabbit hunters for rabbit hunters to make sure we always have land to run on the DNR here put most of our license and habit stamp money towards deer habitat in Iowa because its the money maker here small game hunters are over lookedhttp://americanbeagler.huntingboards.com/posting.php?mode=reply&f=17&t=72951&sid=ff474e49acea5caccf0fbeea260c5bea#

Swampman - feel your pain, your not alone.

Seems as though several governmental agencies are driven not by the people they serve, but by individual interest or lobbiest. Never mind having the cart before the horse, they're shooting the dang horse.

Here in MI, seems as though their are trying to promote hunting and fishing, trying to get the youth into it and mothers, Great! But why have the numbers of sportsman declined in the first place. Sportsman contribute millions of dollars annually to the economy. One another board a employee of the DNR was praising the agency or himself for some habitat improvement they did on the West side of the State, Not sure of the size of the project. Great that helped that general local. But what about the other parts of the state.

Haven't seen many horse riders or hikers spend $50 + for licenses that fund these trails.

I plan on selling my beagles and starting a wolf viewing tour company, you'll see wolf tracks, scat and if we see a deer I'll stop so all can take pictures. sorry little bitter. Used to really enjoy running in the UP, now I go to the casino after a day of running and no incidents, the day is coming.

Elmer Puckett wrote:maybe as a group we can save our sport promote these little hounds to the kids they are the future maybe we could buy our own grounds to hunt and manage our own habitat just for bunnies just a thoughthttp://americanbeagler.huntingboards.com/posting.php?mode=post&f=17&sid=07b85c315f26e750777b3c4e6af55690#

Isn't this what beagle clubs were all about?

come on over to my neck of the woods and check out the public hunting areas and you will quickly see that there is no shortage of rabbit hunters , IMO to many , i agree it would be nice to have something like that but i dont think it will ever happen , not for rabbits anyway , dont really have to do anything for rabbits , they can pretty much thrive in any cover , face it , rabbit hunting with beagles is for the most part a good ole boy sport , those other organizations are funded by very wealthy people , that couldnt care less about a rabbit , around here waterfoul a bird hunting has always been concidered a rich mans sport and with good reason , everybody is into the big game , deer and turkeys and money is tight , and it takes money , again it would be nice but ! BTW if all these other org. are doing what they are suposed to do it will benefit the rabbit as much or more , if the habitat is improved for every other species it can only benifit the rabbit !