First Day Out This Year !!

[George P]

Looked for a cat track for a couple hrs and only found one very small one that i didnt want to run.Only found 2 coyote tracks.One looked pretty decent.Turned my Diamond dog down on it.She went 20 feet and started opening.I dont think I have ever seen a better open mouth cold trailer than her.She hasnt been out since last March but didnt miss a beat.She got out about 50 yds and I turned in the dog I got last weekend,Rolley.She went right with her but didnt open.They trailed almost out of hearing then jumped.One quick circle back then straight out of hearing.We drove around and found them a couple miles away just a driving every breath.I have never ran in this area so wasnt sure how to get around on them.I had an older guy thts never been before with me.Tobey,it was Barry who brought whiskey to you.
They had been running about 2 hrs when we found a trail into them that I could drive down.Got out of the truck and they were coming right at us.I ran up the trail and must have turned him because they did a 180 right before crossing the road.Took it out of hearing again.Half an hour later they came driving back.I was ready this time and gave him a 3 1/2 inch load of #4 buckshot as he ran across at 40 yds.Flipped him end for end but he kept going.Plenty of blood and both dogs just screaming him.Diamond was about 50yds behind and Rolley another 50 or so.They took it out of hearing again.I had Barry follow the track while I beeped from the trail.He went about a quarter mile and said both dogs were hammerin and not moving.He hjas never hunted with hounds before.I told him go see what they are doing as I already knew.A minute later on the radio"holy sh**,they have him bayed up in a brush pile and they are going nuts " I said ease in and finish it off.He called on the radio a minute later.I cant get them to back opff so I can shoot.I said grab the dogs and shoot after.I was laughing my as* off picturing this in my head.A minute later BANG and it was over.he said the dogs were inches froim the coyotes head and it snapped at him when he reached in to pull them back.Wish I had my camera there.
Medium yote.I am trying to post apicture below.diamond is on the left with Barry,rolley with me on the right.

 

[George P]

Kw, I think it would be safe to say that no one in Maine has ever killed 6 coyotes in a day.The most I have ever heard of was 4 and that was just only one time that I heard it has happened.To kill 3 or 4 coyotes a day in Maine things would have to be about perfect.Deep snow,good bait piies and a bunch of guys to do that.I only know of a couple guys that have ever taken more than 2 a day.
We dont have any fields where we hunt.It is all mountains and thick stuff.same places I tree bears we coyote hunt.It is the same with cat hunting.I hear guys out west talk about taking 3 or 4 bobcats in a day.I have heard of 2 or 3 guys in Maine that have taken 3 in a day ever.I have seen pictures of dogs baying cats out west and you can see 5o yds out where they are caught.Most of the places where cats are taken in Maine I think a guy would be lucky to be able to see 10 or 20yds.I know when I ran with Tobey last year the cats were coming by 20 or 30 yds out and there was no way you could have seen them.You couldnt even see the dogs and you knew where they were by the barking.I couldnt believe it when I ran in NY a couple years ago and saw where bobcats were crossing fields and hanging around farm country,I couldnt believe it.
Tobey, has Paul been out yet.Tobey,his buddy Paul and their crew took the most cats of any group in Maine last year I believe.Think they got 16.That will be some hard to beat this year !!!

 

[George P]

i know what you mean Boomer.around here it is a big deal for everyone that goes to pens to tell everyone that the owners dont want them running there anymore because their dogs are too fast and kill all the coyotes.I think everyone I know in the northeast tells me that but they all keep going back.I have only run in pens a couple times.It was alot of fun but nothing like real hunting.A 300 acre pen is nothing for a coyote to travel in.we routinely go a mile or so on cold trails before they even jump around here.Then going another 4 or 5 miles is nothing.What is hard here is when the yotes go over mountains.Then it is usually a long ride around to get back into the hunt.With 2 or 3 vehicles it isnt too bad but if youre by yourself it is a pain.Do you notice dogs that run pens alot do a lot of cutting and slashing to get ahead?? We saw alot of dogs at the pens like that,cheating.I have seen the exact same thing when I used to field trial beagles.I do wish we had pens closer here to keep the dogs in some kind of shape when you cant run on the outside.I think as long as you didnt overdue it they would be fine,what do you think??

 

[George P]

Hey Kw.We dont have any pens in NH or Maine .New York has several.Both coyotes and foxes.Ther are a bunch in Ontario Canada that guys here go to sometimes too.I wish we had one closer as they are fun to run in,especially when you cant run on the outside.I think they would be grate for conditioning hounds but the important parts of hunting arent seen in pens,in my thinking anyway.Hardly any coldtrailing,no deer to meess with and dogs can just cut to each other rather than using their noses alot to keep a track going.Just my thoughts !!!
Both of those dogs are running walkers.One is reg the other not.Dont know wheteher they would tree or not.Probably never will either.You guys must have a ton of game out there to call that many in and guys catch that many yotes in a day. I checked the state of Maine game summary for babcats killed, 2 years ago was the newest records I have.All cats have to be tagged in Maine.They are very very strict about it. That year there was a total of 87 cats taken in the whole state !!! That was by all methods of hunting.Probbaly a few of them were deer hunting kills that were out of season and waited till season opened to report them.I know of at least 20 cat hunters personally in Maine.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 12-11-2001 19:49: Message edited by: George P ]</font>

 

[George P]

Hey Boomer, Forgot to tell you.When my buddys catch a coyote in a pen they throw them over the fence as quietly as possible ??? They hid one in a brush pile one time.Pen owner came by later to shoot the breeze.Heard the dogs fighting over the dead yote.Tried to figure out how they killed that yote when they hadnt even been running while he was there.Over the fence after that incident!!!!LOL

 

[George P]

Boomer, that must be a good way to start pups.You can get them right on the good game.I cant believe you have that many pens near you !!! It must be a huge sport out your way? You are 100% right.Some dogs can do both pens and gun and some cant.It was exactly the same way with the beagle field trials.I had a couple real good gun dogs that were also pretty good trial dogs.Then there are alot that are useless in the woods but look great in a trial and vice versa. Do you get the pens to yourself if you reserve them or is it open to whoever shows up???Do you gun on the outside Boomer or just catch and kill with the hounds???