I have hunted the pa season twice with no success. The closest to actually seeing a hare, was watching the videos on here.
I left Erie pa about 1 am and arrived just before daylight. As I approached my first spot, a grouse flushed from the road. In my mind, this was a good omen, and I collared the dogs, strapped on my snowshoes and began. The crust was hard and neither me nor the hounds barely made a track. After about 2 hours they struck and picked at a track for a couple hundred yards and returned. About an hour later, all heck broke loose, and I saw my first hare in the flesh fleeing through the brush, with both hounds on a sight chase. I figured shooting my first hare on the jump would be like losing one's virginity to a prostitute, and held my fire. Unfortunately, once the sight chase was over, they pecked at the trail for a couple hundred yards and lost it once again. After a bit of hiking, I realized the road wasn't where I thought it was, and the GPS on my phone was not working. Using the compass on my sportdog tek, I headed south and to the road.
By now, the snow was getting soft and the hounds started falling through occassionally, but off to the next spot I go. This time I set the truck on the tracker, and worked my way about a quarter mile off the road. The hounds had been out of sight for a bit, but all was quiet, so I whistled and they both work their way to me. Something didn't look right with Winnie...
Using My multitool, I was able to remove 5 of the quills, but she was scratching me up to the point where blood was running down my hand, and the quills were breaking off. I was going to need backup. I drove to the local tavern and enlisted the help of a snowmobiler. We wrapped her in a blanket and I plucked the remaining 9 quills. The fellow wouldn't even let me buy him a drink for his troubles.
I called it a day after that...
The night brought about 3 inches of fresh snow, and we headed out at dawn. I decided to check out a different area. Once again, a grouse was wandering in the road, and I parked the truck. This looked like the best cover I had seen so far. The crust didn't refreeze, so along with the new snow, the hounds were practically swimming.
Within a hundred yards or so, I found some fairly fresh tracks. A minute or two later, Winnie struck. Soon the eager lounging turned to a distressed sound and I though "oh no not again" I get there and see she was in a hole created by melted snow around a pine and couldn't get out. I pulled her out by her collar, and the race was on. Both hounds were full cry with no checks more than a few seconds. I glanced to my right and saw a hare hop behind some pines. The shotgun was leveled with the safety of when it cleared the cover at a mere 12 yards. The 20 gauge barked and the shot was true. I had my first hare!
They ran another one, which I missed, and we called it a day. They never lifted their head the entire 5 hour ride home.
I would like to thank the members who helped me with this trip. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Brian
