jwatts
Well-known member
Yeah, I'm from Wesson and track all over Lincoln, Lawrence, Copiah, and Franklin counties. I know of a handful of Bavarians across the state. Great dogs, not many people use them though.
Kinda live Mississippi deer tracking thread
- Thread starter jwatts
- Start date
jwatts
Well-known member
Today I did my after season cleanup. I figured I'd do a box dump. Below is what I carry every time I leave the truck. From left to right:
Southside Outdoors briar jacket and Wrangler briar pants- I won't leave the truck without these. Inevitably you're gonna end up in briars. If you don't, consider yourself lucky.
Cheap LED Headlamp- I got it off Amazon for like $40. It's very bright. I can put the battery pack on my belt or in my back pocket. I can connect the light itself to a hat, or carry it over my shoulder, suspended by the cord.
Garmin Alpha 200i and 100- I run the 200i all the time. If my son is with me, he runs the 100. We can each track the dogs that way. We can also track each other and text between the 2 units if we are out of cell service. The 100 has a long range antenna. I found that in hills it loses signal a little past 700yd, while the 200i will get closer to 1000yd. The extended range antenna will reach much farther than that. I haven't found the limit on it yet.
Garmin TT15 collars- These are fairly old, but work great. They are a GPS collar, as well as an e-collars. A local guy that specialized in outfitting hog dogs sells an armor kit for them. I have it installed on mine. It adds a metal shield to the collar where the antenna itself leaves the unit to prevent it from flexing and breaking. It also has some thicker heat shrink material to protect the antenna.
Fixed blade knife- I keep a fixed blade Buck knife on my belt. If a deer is wounded bad enough I prefer to stab them in the heart for a quick, quiet kill. It's also handy for cutting a slit in the back legs to help drag the deer out.
"Tree Lead" leash- I don't know if it's the proper term, but we've always called that type of leash a "tree lead". It has a floating ring on it and another snap hook at the end. This allows you to wrap the leash around a tree and connect it back to itself to hold the dog in place. It's also pretty handy to help drag a deer out of the woods.
Taurus Tracker 44 mag- When tracking at night, it is legal to dispatch a wounded deer with a pistol. I keep this Taurus Tracker 44 mag with a Vortex red dot with me. It will put one down pretty quick with minimal shots. I also have a 9mm, but I find myself sticking with the 44.
CVA APex 35 Whelen- I carry this one in the daytime. It is legal to dispatch with a rifle during legal shooting hours. This gun is legal for every Mississippi firearm season, so you don't really have to wonder if you're ok to carry it. It's light, compact, and makes for a quick dispatch.
I have my box separated into 2 compartments. I have 12 volts wired to it. The front compartment has 2 USB charging ports and 2 cigarette lighter style 12 volt outlets. That allows me to charge collars and handhelds in the box between tracks. I keep a spare flashlight in case the hunter doesn't have one. The Kuiu pouch houses all of my chargers, cables, and adapters so they aren't rolling around the box. The tape is to attach my Homochitto National Forest dog permit to my back glass when tracking there.
The back compartment holds my briar jacket. My son also keeps his there. I keep a few thick, button up long sleeve shirts back there too just in case I need a spare or if I get my jacket too wet. The jackets are waterproof and during early season you can sweat one up pretty quick. I have a 30 foot lead for situations where we end up tracking near a busy road or highway, or if I need to keep the dog on lead at the track for some reason. I can easily drop the lead and let the dog go if needed. It desn't see a lot of use though. I keep a bag with a first aid kit for the dog. I keep staple kits, suture kits, clotting agents, and water/saline solutions in there. I also keep a pair of Frog Togg hip high chaps with rubber boots. I typically track in the same hiking boots I hunt in. I keep a pair of knee high waterproof boots in the back of the truck, as well as the Frog Toggs in case I get to a spot where I know we'll encounter water. The lid of the box has 3 LED strips. I can turn those on to help me get things together before the track and put everything up afterwards.
Southside Outdoors briar jacket and Wrangler briar pants- I won't leave the truck without these. Inevitably you're gonna end up in briars. If you don't, consider yourself lucky.
Cheap LED Headlamp- I got it off Amazon for like $40. It's very bright. I can put the battery pack on my belt or in my back pocket. I can connect the light itself to a hat, or carry it over my shoulder, suspended by the cord.
Garmin Alpha 200i and 100- I run the 200i all the time. If my son is with me, he runs the 100. We can each track the dogs that way. We can also track each other and text between the 2 units if we are out of cell service. The 100 has a long range antenna. I found that in hills it loses signal a little past 700yd, while the 200i will get closer to 1000yd. The extended range antenna will reach much farther than that. I haven't found the limit on it yet.
Garmin TT15 collars- These are fairly old, but work great. They are a GPS collar, as well as an e-collars. A local guy that specialized in outfitting hog dogs sells an armor kit for them. I have it installed on mine. It adds a metal shield to the collar where the antenna itself leaves the unit to prevent it from flexing and breaking. It also has some thicker heat shrink material to protect the antenna.
Fixed blade knife- I keep a fixed blade Buck knife on my belt. If a deer is wounded bad enough I prefer to stab them in the heart for a quick, quiet kill. It's also handy for cutting a slit in the back legs to help drag the deer out.
"Tree Lead" leash- I don't know if it's the proper term, but we've always called that type of leash a "tree lead". It has a floating ring on it and another snap hook at the end. This allows you to wrap the leash around a tree and connect it back to itself to hold the dog in place. It's also pretty handy to help drag a deer out of the woods.
Taurus Tracker 44 mag- When tracking at night, it is legal to dispatch a wounded deer with a pistol. I keep this Taurus Tracker 44 mag with a Vortex red dot with me. It will put one down pretty quick with minimal shots. I also have a 9mm, but I find myself sticking with the 44.
CVA APex 35 Whelen- I carry this one in the daytime. It is legal to dispatch with a rifle during legal shooting hours. This gun is legal for every Mississippi firearm season, so you don't really have to wonder if you're ok to carry it. It's light, compact, and makes for a quick dispatch.
I have my box separated into 2 compartments. I have 12 volts wired to it. The front compartment has 2 USB charging ports and 2 cigarette lighter style 12 volt outlets. That allows me to charge collars and handhelds in the box between tracks. I keep a spare flashlight in case the hunter doesn't have one. The Kuiu pouch houses all of my chargers, cables, and adapters so they aren't rolling around the box. The tape is to attach my Homochitto National Forest dog permit to my back glass when tracking there.
The back compartment holds my briar jacket. My son also keeps his there. I keep a few thick, button up long sleeve shirts back there too just in case I need a spare or if I get my jacket too wet. The jackets are waterproof and during early season you can sweat one up pretty quick. I have a 30 foot lead for situations where we end up tracking near a busy road or highway, or if I need to keep the dog on lead at the track for some reason. I can easily drop the lead and let the dog go if needed. It desn't see a lot of use though. I keep a bag with a first aid kit for the dog. I keep staple kits, suture kits, clotting agents, and water/saline solutions in there. I also keep a pair of Frog Togg hip high chaps with rubber boots. I typically track in the same hiking boots I hunt in. I keep a pair of knee high waterproof boots in the back of the truck, as well as the Frog Toggs in case I get to a spot where I know we'll encounter water. The lid of the box has 3 LED strips. I can turn those on to help me get things together before the track and put everything up afterwards.
