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Turning The Corner – Rabbit Hunter

huntinghoundsmen — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:05:22 +0000

Somewhere around about the middle of February rabbit hunters will notice a distinct change in the air. Sure, it’s still officially winter, and even your basic ground hog knows there’s likely to be six more weeks of snow and cold to contend with, but this is rabbit hunting, and I prefer to listen to the cottontails and hares, whose subtle switch from survival to procreation mode often means more, better running from now till the end of the season.
The reason for this is simple and has nothing to do with great beagles or brilliant hunters – it’s more about the way rabbits make more rabbits. Starting in February (even earlier depending on how promiscuous a particular female rabbit is feeling), both cottontails and hares begin looking for mates. Over the next few months male rabbits begin roaming the countryside looking for prospective mates, seeking a love affair that may last all of five minutes! Traveling males will cover a lot of ground, which is one reason why yesterday’s empty clear-cut is suddenly overrun with rabbits today. Plus, most female rabbits will consider dalliances with multiple males, which only adds to the fun – and the number of rabbits you are likely to encounter on any given day from February right through the end of the season (and well into spring, if you continue to train till summer’s heat puts an end to the festivities).
So, hunters who think that February is the beginning of the end for beagling may be surprised to find that great hunting will continue through this month and the next. In Maine, for example, the hare season does not close till March 31, one of the longest open hunting seasons for rabbits in the U.S. Females seeking multiple mates and males willing to travel several miles can only mean that rabbit numbers are bound to increase no matter where you hunt. If you can find a hidden honey hole somewhere, you may find yourself in the midst of the season’s best hunting – long after most other hound men have quit for the year.
Speaking of Maine, one February a beagling buddy and I found what has yet to be equaled as a rabbit gold mine. We found it by mistake, actually, while we were looking for a lost dog. Determined to find and discipline that obstinate rascal, we trudged a mile or more down some abandoned railroad tracks, hollering and whistling, trying to get that hard-headed so-and-so to come back to us.
At a point where the rails crossed through a huge expanse of alders and cedars, we heard the lost dog open up on a rabbit. This caused the rest of the pack to drag us off the railroad bed into the alders, where we found so many well-packed rabbit trails that the beagles were able to run without breaking through the crust! Rabbit sign was everywhere and conditions were perfect. For the first time in years all four dogs were running separate rabbits, and the shooting was phenomenal. Rabbits were hopping all over the swamp, some chased by beagles, some just getting out of our way. We could hardly tell which was which and, not wanting to shoot strays, we had to wait till we could verify that Rabbit A was indeed being chased by Beagle A – or B, C or D.
Our anger quickly turned to joy as we filled our limits. We let the dogs run free for the rest of the day. We returned to that same alder swamp every weekend that winter and every year since then, and we never fail to find a ridiculous number of rabbits there – and always beginning in February. By the way, we also gave that lost dog a ride home on the front seat!
One could say that deep snow and cold, plus the isolated nature of the spot was what made it attractive to those rangy snowshoe hares, but I have hunted rabbits in many Southern states and the Mid-West and have found similar situations in those places as well.
One of my favorite late-season spots is on a wildlife management area in Georgia where, by some miracle, there is not a single briar to be found and the woods are full of big, fat swamp rabbits. This was another February hotspot I found when my dogs vacated the power line clear-cut I wanted them to hunt in favor of a river’s-edge peninsula that, to me, couldn’t hold a rabbit if you hand carried it in there. As usual, my wise assessment was completely wrong, but at least I had sense enough to follow the dogs and let them do their job.
After I killed two giant-sized swampers in the first five minutes, I decided to let the dogs decide where we should hunt. We spent an entire afternoon in that nondescript thicket and I finally had to quit shooting because I had four over-sized cottontails in my vest and more than a mile to walk back to the truck. We hit that spot once or twice a week through the remainder of that season and never failed to take three or four rabbits home with us. Year after year it’s the same thing – come February, the rabbits move in and there’s nothing you can do to push them out.
I found the same thing in Ohio in a 100-acre CRP field that the farmer is managing more for deer and pheasants than for rabbits. By February interest in whitetails or birds has waned, so permission to run the dogs is usually granted. We do flush the occasional deer or ringneck that the dogs encounter while running a cottontail, but that’s no big deal because that field is chock full of cottontails. The good news is the dogs can safely run all day and often we’ll have several beagles on their own rabbits.
However, there is a down side to this particular spot. It is so thick with grass, weeds and brush that we can rarely see a rabbit to shoot at. There is only one bush-hogged path in the entire field and the cottontails are smart enough to turn back whenever they reach that opening. Every so often a rabbit will risk running across the path with (sometimes) fatal results, but the fun is all in hearing the dogs run while rabbits, deer and pheasants (plus the random coyote or two) do their best to avoid them.
One thing I’ve noticed at these heavily-populated late-season thickets is that they are usually very large and very thick. Some of those swamps and beaver flowages in the North meander for miles in the lower elevations, and rabbits tend to run perpendicular to the water flow, which can make it difficult to find a cut-off spot.
In the South, the highest numbers of rabbits are in the clear-cuts and brushy honeysuckle tangles, which is great for the dogs but not so hot for hunters trying to get a clean shot at a rabbit. There have been many occasions when I found myself standing 10 yards from another hunter and, when the rabbit came through between us; neither of us could get a look at him. In fact, it’s often tough to see the dogs as they go by!
In the Mid-West, the February rabbits tend to congregate in large fields where tall grass dominates. Generally referred to as “CRP fields,” these fallow lands are common on just about every farm, and it makes sense that the rabbits would favor them once the crops are down and the woods are barren and snow-covered. I do some winter deer hunting in the region and often see cottontails hopping along the edges of the CRP fields – making me wish I’d brought my beagles with me!
These late-season love nests can be hunted by a lone dog and hunter, but expect the rabbits’ circles to be much longer and wider than they were back in October. Snowshoe hares will often run the dogs right out of hearing and sometimes won’t come back around for an hour or more. Standing where the chase began is a good way to pick him off on the first go-round, but if you miss that opportunity it’s pot luck from then on. I remember one rangy snowshoe five of us started just after dawn that was still running at noon and no one had had a look at him. In fact, the chase went right out of the valley for most of the morning and we had no clue where the rabbit, or the beagles, had gone. The dogs finally lost him in an area where rabbit tracks peppered the snow, but we all agreed that the rabbit had earned his freedom.
I have noticed a few trends among late-season rabbits that can be helpful when deciding where to stand for a shot. What I look for is the bigger topographical picture, the lay of the land so to speak. When all the cover looks the same it’s tough to decide where the rabbit may go next, but when I look at the topography I focus on the gullies, creek bottoms, hedgerows and fence lines that rabbits use as travel lanes when hard pressed by the dogs. Most rabbits will make the obligatory small circle at first, hoping to evade the dogs with a few rudimentary escape tactics, but when they realize that the beagles are still coming the rabbits try to put some serious ground between them.
I’ll let the chase go through the first phase, where the rabbit is just toying with the dogs, but when I see that he’s no longer interested in playing I pick a cut-off point along a brushy “highway” that gives the rabbit some room to roam. Of course, if a cottontail heads out the back door early, I pick a spot near that escape route because, most often, when he comes back around he’ll use that same trail – at least once!
The trick in finding these late-season hotspots involves some research and careful consideration. Over the course of a long fall and winter it’s easy to forget all of the places we’ve hunted, and as time goes on we all tend to continue hunting the areas that produced best for us last time and the time before that. Soon the list dwindles to a mere handful of familiar hotspots that, by late winter, often aren’t quite so hot anymore. This is the time to revisit our list of options, back track to a few forgotten destinations and reconsider those spots that were too far, too thick or too difficult to reach back in October and November.
I’ll admit that it’s not particularly enjoyable to brave a bitter February wind while crossing a 100-acre hill-top cornfield to get to where we think the rabbits are, but one does what one must. It’s quite a mental challenge to reach the top of a wind-swept hill where snow and dust are sifting over the top, knowing that our destination is another 30 minutes beyond, dead into the wind. But, if that’s where the rabbits are that is where we must go.
One such spot is about a mile down an abandoned railroad bed with high, brushy banks on both sides. Walking down the tracks on a February morning is a brutal experience because the wind whistles down between those banks like a freight train. On one trip I backed all the way down the tracks because the wind was so strong, but when we arrived at our secret spot the place was full of rabbits. The high bank of the railroad bed offered the rabbits some protection from the wind, and the dogs had a great time running them back and forth along the lee side of the berm. The tracks provided a perfect place to ambush cottontails crossing back and forth over the bed, and we shot several of them as they ran along the brushy banks just 10 yards away. The only down side of this hunt is the walk back to the truck – the afternoon wind pattern switches around and is right in our faces as we head out at the end of the day.
One commonality among late-season hotspots is that they are invariably a little bigger and a little farther away from the road than the average small briar patch. A few minutes of study over a topographic map will reveal plenty of lowland swamps and wetlands where good rabbit hunting may be found this month. Between the old places you already know and the new places you discover there should be more than enough cover to hunt through the remainder of the season, maybe with a few left over to keep in mind for next year.
A little preparation goes a long way when you may be spending the day a mile or more from the truck. Be sure you have all of your necessary dog gear (collars, leashes and electronic gear) before you leave the truck. Remember to fill your pockets with ammunition and check to be sure you have your gloves, hat and license with you. Make sure you bring your shotgun, too – believe me, it happens!
Perhaps the most important item is water. Many of the lakes, ponds and creeks in the coldest areas may be frozen in February, and the dogs will need a source of water every couple of hours. I usually carry a dozen shotgun shells and save the rest of my vest and pocket space for bottles of water, just in case. When I get to our hunting area I’ll stash a few bottles here and there behind a stump or in a clump of grass so I don’t have to carry it all day.
Hunting conditions can be a little dicey at this time of year but as long as the rabbits continue to participate in their ancient February mating rituals the ambitious hunter should be amply rewarded. My records over the last 50 years show that I’ve never been skunked in February, which is more a testament to the rabbits’ determination to perpetuate the species than any great hunting skill on my part. All I ever do is drop the tailgate and turn them loose – what happens next is beyond my control. I do know that February running can be challenging but very productive if you find the right spot.
As Charley Lehman, my long-departed mentor, told me back in the 1960s: “You can’t win if you don’t play.” Turns out that advice can be applied to just about everything in life, but he was talking about late-season rabbit hunting, and decades later his words still ring true. Put the dogs out and see what happens – you may learn something new and have a good time doing it, too!

By : Stephen D. Carpenteri

Stephen Carpenteri Turning the corner PDF DOWNLOAD

2012 American Invitational Running Hound Classic – Hunters Horn

huntinghoundsmen — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:59:29 +0000

     The running of the Eighth Annual American Invitational Running Hound Classic was held on December 7-9 at the Hollywood Fox Preserve in Appomattox, VA. Thanks to the Hacketts for providing a wonderful field trial facility and their continued support and dedication to preserving fox hunting in Virginia.
The AIRHC is a GRADE I hunt for the HOY/SOY Leaderboard. We are appreciative of being held in this regard and intend to earn our keep. This is one of the final hunts in the showdown for all of the Leaderboard awards.
We started this year with 167 proven hounds from North Carolina, Virginia, Illinois, New York, Ohio and Maryland.   To find success against this caliber of competition speaks volumes for those that placed. Our goal remains to pick the “best of the best.”
As always, we were fortunate to have some of the best judges in the country help us sort through an outstanding field of hounds. They included: Master of Hounds – Jerry Towler; judges, Donnie Adams, Blair Dalton, Page Allen, Cameron Owen, Gary Otey, Kevin Mundy, Kelly Meadows, Craig White, Derek Doss, Trevor Smith, Jack Jackson, Wayne Smith, Kirk McAden, Rooster Boyd and Brent Davis (computer). These guys worked hard in a professional manner and provided us with a great service. Thanks to each and every one of you for your time and effort.
The AIRHC places great pride on attracting the best dogs and the best judges, but it also seeks the best facilities. For the past eight years we have been extremely fortunate in what we have been provided. Thanks to the Hackett’s of the Hollywood Fox Preserve for providing such an outstanding facility to hold a field trial. Thanks to Jennifer and the ladies in the kitchen for keeping everybody well fed for three days. The food was excellent.
I also must extend thanks to Roy Neighbors for providing dog feed (Tracker, Pride); Wally Johnson, Midway Telemetry and Custom Collars for providing gifts for the top winners. Thanks to Dru Runyon for her work on the HGA jackets. It is hard to get support at hunts these days with the economy the way it has been. Support these guys when you can.
Thanks to Chris Wright for cooking for our traditional pre-bench show Friday night meal. Thanks to Wally Johnson for the pork rib appetizer Thursday evening. This crowd likes to eat.
Congratulations to Brian and Don Lassiter on their new Bench Champion, AIRHC (b) Turkey Run Apollo and to Davy and Jennifer Hackett for Best Opposite Sex with Country Oaks Brenda.
Congratulations to Shane Bonavita and Jay Craven for their new Champion and winner of the J. Percy Flowers Memorial Speed and Drive Challenge Cup: AIRHC (f) B/C Pat. Congratulations to Robbie Davis for winning the Combination with Whiskey Creek C.R.
Congratulations to all that placed and thanks to all that attended and aided in making this hunt a success. David Parker’s term as president has passed and James Ray has moved in as your new President. On behalf of David and me, we would like to extend a big thank you to the Board of Directors. They’ve been a great group to work with. We would like to thank David for his effort during this term. We also look forward to having James as President as he will do a fine job.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the ninth annual running of the American Invitational Running Hound Classic, December 6-8, 2013 at the Tar River Fox Preserve in Creedmoor, NC.
FIELD TRIAL
HGA: 1. B/C Pat (Ch. Bonavita’s Flake ex DM Fancy), B/C Kennel; 2. Whiskey Creek CR (Ch. East Coast Dylan ex D&S Cinnamon), Whiskey Creek Kennel; 3. Hill City Rebel (Ch. East Coast Hollywood ex Ch. Hill City BG), Hill City Kennel; 4. Al’s Triple Trouble (Ch. Al’s Zinger ex Mason’s Double Trouble), Hound Holler Kennel; 5. Opie’s Tonya (Opie’s Tony Wayne ex Opie’s Daisy), Opie Kennel; 6. East Coast Daytona (Ch. East Coast Dylan ex Runyon’s H-K Try Girl), East Coast Kennel; 7. Ch. Atkins’ Lucy (Webb’s Deuce R. ex Webb’s Louise R.), Virginia Breeze Kennel; 8. No Mercy’s Roxy (T’s Reaper ex Hillcity Mercedes), No Mercy Kennel; 9. Oakview’s Master P. (Oakview’s Peanut ex Hogwild Carly), Oak View Kennel; and 10. W.T’s Brickhouse (Ch. Whisenant’s Jimmy B. ex W.T’s Trixie), W.T. Davenport.
Bench Show
Best in Show: Turkey Run Apollo, Turkey Run Kennel.
Best Opposite Sex: Country Oaks Brenda, Country Oaks Kennel.
Male: 1. Turkey Run Apollo (Ch. Turkey Run Streaker ex Turkey Run Flashy Mae), Turkey Run Kennel; 2. Ch. Opie’s Fat Boy (Ch. East Coast Dylan x Ch. Opie’s Latina), Opie Kennel; 3. Ch. Hoehner’s Mac (Ch. Hoehner’s Bold Ruler ex Sullivan’s Nightmare), Hoehner Boys Kennel; 4. Ch. Foxcross Casino (Foxcross CJ ex Foxcross Obie), Foxcross Kennels; 5. Ch. East Coast Crown (East Coast Sea Captain ex East Coast Sadie), East Coast Kennel; 6. Ch. P.K. Alltell (D&S Mighty Man ex Pine Valley Alltel), Pressure Kennel; 7. Whiskey Creek Hotty (Ch. East Coast Holiday ex Brinson’s Mattie Jeb), Whiskey Creek Kennel; 8. Phillips’ Charger (D&S Mighty Man ex Hackett’s Lightning), Phillips Kennel; 9. Whiskey Creek CR (Ch. East Coast Dylan ex D&S Cinnamon), Whiskey Creek Kennel; and 10. Spears’ Mtn. Big Mac (Hoehner’s Double C. ex Wright’s Veronica), Spears Mtn. Kennel.
Female: 1. Country Oaks Brenda (Hoehner’s Geronimo ex Hoehner’s Tid Bit), Country Oaks Kennel; 2. Ch. Al’s Milkshake (Ch. Kannon’s Ziploc ex Little Bit of Trouble), Hound Holler Kennel; 3. TRK’s Midnight (Ch. Lofton’s Jeremiah ex Ch. East Coast Renee), Turkey Run Kennel; 4.   East Coast Dream (East Coast Repo ex East Coast Sadie), East Coast Kennel; 5th Opie’s Linda Lou (Keystone Kettle Stix ex Keystone’s Seetie), Opie Kennel; 6. Ch. Opie’s Baby Girl (Ch. Opie’s Hammer ex Sticker’s Jill B.), Opie Kennel; 7. Atkins’ Lucy (Webb’s Deuce R. ex Webb’s Louise R.), Virginia Breeze Kennel; 8. Opie’s TNT (Ch. Opie’s Gigolo x Ch. Opie’s Kitty), Opie Kennel; 9. T’s Lil’ Bouncy (Ch. East Coast Holiday ex T’s Bouncy), T’s Kennel; and 10. Country Oaks Jet Lag   (Ch. Hoehner’s Slinger H. ex Gill’s Mini Jet), Country Oaks Kennel.

By: Brent Davis

Brent Davis PDF DOWNLOAD

Masterpiece Cabin – Hunters Horn

huntinghoundsmen — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:50:36 +0000

It was a particularly hot, muggy summer day in 1948 and we were chopping cotton in the west field. I was nine, due to reach adulthood of 10 in November. Dark clouds gathered to the north, with the promise of rain, but they were different kinds of ominous clouds, soon casting an eerie yellow hue over our field, and sucking the oxygen from the air. The birds quit singing and there was only silence.

Daddy, with calm concern said, “Boys, we had better head home–it looks as if a bad storm is coming.” We hurried the quarter of a mile to the comfort of home, just in time to see the large pecan tree in our yard bend to the furry of the wind, but stand firm in defiance, as we quickly retreated to an inner room for safety. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, torrential rain followed in sheets, taking the storm and oppressive heat with it.

We excitedly ran outside to determine any damage, finding none, but a rearranged yard full of storm driven debris. Soon learning that a tornado had touched down on the Fulton farm, some seven miles to the north. They had a huge barn constructed totally of tin, and the storm had dispersed it to the four winds.

Within days, we noticed sheets of tin scattered throughout the forest, near the Beulah cemetery. The idea of building a cabin with this tin from heaven was just a natural process for us, Ashton, my younger brother, and Kenneth, my cousin. We gathered the least mangled tin, headed out for the discarded slab lumber at the old saw mill on my great grandfather’s Alsobrooks road, knowing we had a five gallon bucket of nails gathered when we tore down the old Alsobrooks barn. Many of them handmade square headed, pre civil war, but at my house we ” wasted not and wanted not.”

We picked a high spot below the Cemetery where a bubbling spring provided wondrous water for drinking, while cutting a little branch going north toward Clear creek. We had a hammer, hand saw, nails, lumber and tin. We were very fortunate kids.

Ashton and Kenneth were born talented builders, with Ashton developing upscale sub-divisions with spiraling staircases in real life. I loved to read books about Lincoln and our founding fathers, but I was stronger and able to do the work, coordinating our young ideas of a cabin in the woods at no cost.

We soon had her done, complete with a makeshift bed, an old stove for heating, a refrigerator made of tin, insulated with saw dust dug into the cool, moist earth. You may think we build it to keep food cool, but you would be wrong. We heard that one could ferment wine with Muscadine’s, so we smashed up several quarts, burying them for constant heat in the old saw dust pile, breathlessly waiting the prescribed weeks for fermentation, and one heck of a cabin christening, partaking of the fruits of the vine. We wanted cool wine.

We spent many happy nights sleeping out in our cabin, usually with our pot licker hounds providing the music the Angels stoop to hear, running the long running smut faced fox that denned forever in the Alsobrooks field, a short distance to the east.

Life was good.

By: Gene Chapman

Gene Chapman Masterpiece Cabin – PDF DOWNLOAD

Hot Tracks and Cold Trails – Hunters Horn

huntinghoundsmen — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:45:57 +0000

Got home last night from the Eastern Carolina hunt at Foxhunter’s Paradise in Pamplico, S.C. and had a wonderful time as usual.
The 2012 Hound of the Year was decided there with a spectacular hound from Louisiana named Coot winning the hunt and the HOY. Tinker Atkins’ Lucy had a great hunt and placed in speed and drive and endurance, but didn’t have enough score to crack the top ten HGA. Both of these fine hounds performed the way we all hope that hounds will perform on a consistent basis and are worthy of any and all accolades that they get. The full report of this hunt will appear in a later issue of The Horn.
As most of you know, this was the last hunt to be held at Pamplico. The lumber company that owns the land decided not to lease it any more to the pen owners, so dog running there is over. I was a very sad person when I pulled out of that front gate for the last time.
The many memories that I have of this place include running hounds in the very first Eastern Carolina that was held here back in 1985. At this event, we kenneled the hounds in a tobacco warehouse over in Pamplico. There was a big turnout for this hunt which was won by the late Larry Yates. At this time, the pen had not yet been ditched and about half of the pen was under water.
I remember serving as a Master of Hounds for my first time at the 1987 Atlantic States, which was the first Atlantic States hunt.
In 1989, South Carolina State President, the late Mac McElveen had me to serve as the Master of Hounds. As the first day unfolded, I remember it being incredibly humid with mosquitos as big as buzzards attacking me everywhere I went. Then, later in the evening, Hurricane Hugo passed through and made the hunt a one day event.
I was able to attend all 6 All American’s that were held here even placing fourth in speed and drive in 1999. I can remember serving as Master at the 2008 All American which I will always believe was one of the best field trials that have ever occurred in the history of our sport.
I have been fortunate enough to have been able to help officiate here when the last 3 Hounds of the Year were decided. Certainly OTB Coot, Kyle’s Remington and Touchdown Super Sport were worthy of winning this high honor. I have also been able to watch hounds like Ward’s Quick Lips, Big Oaks Ellie May, Lakehill’s Ike and the incomparable Howard’s Maggie perform at this venue.
I have been able to enjoy many delicious meals here that were prepared by several different cooks that were always headed up by the lovely Lottie Poston.
I have been able to make many friends here over the years that, if not for attending events at this facility, I would never have met. I also cherish the memories of the legendary hunters who were regulars at events here. Ebbie McElveen, Hubert Clemons, Jimmy Brown and Larry Yates are a few of those that helped shape the direction of this place.
Finally, I will always appreciate the hard work that the pen owners did over the years to help make the Foxhunter’s Paradise a true foxhunter’s paradise. My good friend Charles Graham was at the top of this list and also qualifies as a legend. Some of the others included current pen owners Stewart Evans, Ludie Poston and Clayton Poston. Ray Poston, Nelson Evans and several others were heavily involved at some point and there were many folks who worked behind the scenes to keep the roads and other facilities in top shape. I will always have respect for these folks as they helped a lot of people truly enjoy themselves for the past 27 years.
On a somber note, I am sad to report to you the passing of R.A. Keith of Creedmoor, NC.
R.A., along with James Ray, helped make the Tar River Fox Preserve one of the top field trial facilities in the country over the past eight or nine years. When he and James took over, they invested a considerable amount of time and money to pour the game into the pen and to upgrade the kennels and the bunkhouse. R.A. took it upon himself to use his farm equipment to add much needed paths to the pen and to keep the roads clean as well as the other facilities. Because of this, I have been to several hunts there where 1000 points in speed and drive would not get a hound in the top 10. R.A, will be sorely missed.

By: Bill McGee

Bill McGee Hot Tracks PDF DOWNLOAD

Barking Up The Right Tree – Full Cry

huntinghoundsmen — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:40:54 +0000

Happy February to all! By the time you read this, Christmas and the New Year will be behind us. Here’s hoping 2013 will be much better for everybody.
My friend Mark Jordan and I talked a little today. Mark has been very busy this year doing work for the Bentonville Police Department. He told me he had some good luck deer hunting and he was bringing me some deer meat. He always brings me meat or sweet potatoes. I feel a little guilty not being able to return the favor yet anyway. Mark’s squirrel dog is coming along well. He’s a good guy and a credit to law enforcement. I’m proud to have him as a friend.
Another good friend is Mike Wedgewood who transferred from here to Punta Gorde, FL. He will serve there as a deputy sheriff — the same position as he did here for several years. He is well satisfied with his transfer. I hate it that he moved but the pay is better and that means a lot this day and time. Mike and his wife Nancy have been good friends for years. We will miss you guys. Good luck, Mike. You and Mark have a very dangerous job. Both of you be very careful.
My brother Gene McCoy and sister-in-law Pat have been fishing the Laramie River and Gene was showing Pat how to run a Rapala and she caught a two pound walleye. It was Pat’s first time to plug fish. Gene also picked up a two pounder and he said she caught the fever. The reason she had not plug fished before was that she didn’t want to lose the plugs. Ha, ha.
My sister-in-law Pat sings Western music and plays the guitar. She has over a half a dozen songs on CD that she has written. She entertains at nursing homes in Wheatland and Torrington, both in Wyoming. She sings and plays very well. She sent me her CD. Thanks, Pat. You are sounding good. Keep up the good work.
Another friend Ivan Kirkpatrick, Cassville, MO wrote a good lengthy letter and sent some good pictures of himself and his favorite dogs. Ivan lives in the mountains and loves it. I like hunting in the mountains also — that’s where the game is. You probably remember a few months back I sent a picture that Ivan sent me. It was of his mailbox blown all to the devil. Whoever did this is very mean people. I figure the readers would see just how mean some people can be. I will quote some of Ivan’s letter.
“Hello, Mr. McCoy! Greetings from the mountains. I hope this letter finds everyone at your house well and in good health. You asked of photos of my dogs. You printed that my dog’s name was Eh. His name is Eli. I thought that since he came from an Amish breeder I would give him an Amish name. I will end this letter now. I have enclosed a photo or two. Take care, Ivan. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
Thanks, Ivan, for correcting me on your dog’s name. I do make mistakes and the readers know that just by reading “Barking Up the Right Tree” for almost 30 years or better. As I promised at the beginnings of the last column, I would try hard to do better I’m like people I do make mistakes. Ivan’s dog’s name is Eli.
Ivan has caught more coon this year than last year. He mentioned that the armadillos seem to be more plentiful. He thinks that they must have had three litters. He said the coon must to have moved nearer to the lake. He also noticed some wild hog sign. They split his Plott hound’s belly open a few years back.
I’m sending a picture of Ivan and his dog, Eli. Eli is what I call a combination-hunting dog. That is the kind of dog a person needs especially in the mountains. I think by just looking at him that he can do it all. That’s my opinion if it is worth anything.
Thanks for the news, Ivan, and the pictures. I have picked out the one with you and your dog Eli together for the readers to see. The best of luck to you and your dogs.
Another friend Kirby Bell dropped by and we visited while sitting on his pickup bed tailgate. He had just sold a big brown goat that he had. It could stand flat footed and looked over a five strand barbed wire fence. Kirby knows all about goats and I know nothing. I can image though that it could be a good hobby.
He looked over my hideout and thought it to be pretty good. It didn’t take him very long because it’s awful small. He asked for a picture of my Red mule. I didn’t have one handy but will hunt one up for him.
This reminds me of a story I wrote several years ago.
The Birtchfield Place and The Fight with Billy Goat
It was the year 1943 when my folks and I moved from our neat Cedar Bluff cabin to a place they called the Birtchfield place. This was about one mile south of Clifty, AR. My brother Lewis Gene was born that year. I was six years old. The house was longer in length than the Cedar Bluff home but it was also made out of oak lumber. I remember it set up on wooden tree blocks about three feet off the ground. It was located at the end of a long ridge. This is the year I started hunting with my father. We hunted feral hog and goats. We also hunted coon, possum and squirrel. I sure had a lot of fun that year.
I remember a few things very well and one was running down a steep hill path to the spring. The roots from the trees stuck out into the path and me being small I had to jump over each one. Well, under one of the roots lay a copperhead and as I jumped over it, the snake stuck, missed me but got its fangs caught in my pant leg. I remember running, crying and every jump I made while running that old copperhead was wrapping around my legs. It scared me half to death and I don’t know what happened to the snake but I might have killed it just by the beating it took before the fangs came loose from my pants. Boy, what an experience!
This was the year that I picked enough strawberries at five cents per quart to buy me a new pair of overalls, a shirt and a pair of lace up ankle high leather shoes. Boy, was I proud! We hunted mushrooms in the early spring, picked strawberries for Charlie Birtchfield to the north of us. We also picked wild blackberries and huckleberries for canning. We had to can enough for winter and make enough money picking strawberries, tomatoes and green beans to buy clothes.
In the winter of that year of 1943, I started hunting with my dad. I sure spent some cold nights with him. We didn’t have good clothes and me being only six years old it was really cold but I wouldn’t let myself quit. We used toe-sacks to wrap around our shoes and legs. I took to night hunting like a duck takes to water. Just treeing an old possum was a real thrill for me. I remember sitting watching dad skin possums. I would think, “Boy, I bet that really hurts that possum.” I guess because he had just been killed I thought he hadn’t been dead long enough to keep it from hurting him. We kept some of the coon meat for eating and sold all of the fur. No matter how small a possum was we kept the hide. We hunted with an old kerosene lantern and on the nice nights I carried some of the skins. When the dogs treed, dad would build up a fire and then walk around the tree holding the lantern at a slant to spot the eyes. Coon were not plentiful then but we caught one every once in awhile. We had stretching boards and they were made out of wide long oak shingles. Dad was good at splitting the boards and forming the board just right. He would tell me “Now, these boards have to be real thin so that the hide will look bigger for the buyer and we’ll get more money for them.” Dad was a trapper so the fur that I saw hanging were possum, coon, red and gray fox, mink and beaver. Those were sure the good times for hunting.
That year I learned some about shooting. Dad had a 12 gauge single barrel shotgun and I wanted to shoot it bad. Dad showed me how to draw a bead and had me shoot at an old tea kettle about 25 feet away. I was unaware that the shotgun kicked backwards almost as hard as it shot forward especially for someone six years old. I pulled the trigger and when I came to my senses, I had been knocked backwards and I was lying flat on my back and probably counting the stars. I’m not talking about in the sky either. This kept me from not wanting to shoot the shotgun for several years. I did find out what damage a shotgun can do if you were on the receiving end of the blast. I feel that it was a lot more than just a lesson from my dad. He wanted me to know how dangerous a gun can be.
Now back to the wild goats. It really bothered me when they would butcher. The neighbor told dad that the meat would be better to eat if the goat was hung up by the hindlegs and the throat was cut to bleed out. That was what he and dad would do and it really got to me. I would run and hide in the brush and hold my hands over my ears.
We had a big, old mean billy goat that ran loose and that goat would run around and watch and if someone turned their back that goat would butt them. It had big horns and I was really scared of that goat. One day I told mom and dad at the dinner table I could whip that goat. I guess I got on dad’s nerves because he said “All right after dinner,” (that was the noon meal to us). “I will just let you fight him.” I started having second thoughts but he held me to it and I couldn’t back out. He gave me a piece of iron off an old broken horse hame and told me. “Go get him.” Well, I slid out of the front door with my piece of iron and walked slowly towards the goat. The goat seemed to be a lot bigger now and as I got closer and closer, his eyes got bigger and bigger and he was looking directly into my eyes. He lowered his head and started his charge. I threw down my piece of iron and gave him a run for his money. Dad caught me in midair and jerked me on into the house. I wasn’t too proud to find out that I wasn’t as brave as I thought I was, but it was sure a good feeling to know that I got away. The end.
Here is something that might be of interest to several deer hunters in Arkansas. Arkansas Wildlife Code 05.26. It is unlawful to import, transport or possess in Arkansas any portion other than bonus meat from a cervid carcass originating from any area proclaimed by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to have an increase risk of CWD or taken from a captive wildlife facility or (outside of Arkansas.)
EXCEPTIONS:
1. Antlers attached to clean skull plates or cleaned skulls where no tissue is attached to the skull.
2. Cleaned teeth.
3. Finished taxidermy and antlers products.
4. Hide and tanned products.
5. Deer or elk harvested in commercial wildlife hunting resorts in Arkansas providing that CWD sample is collected.
I read this in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette Sunday 9, December 2012. I believe some might not know about Code 05.26.
Wild hog in Arkansas is getting thicker all the time. They have been seen in all counties. They are digging up the forest and grazing lands of farms and ranches. Deer, elk and turkey are having to compete for food. I hear that Savage arms offer a special hog-hunting rifle and ammunition manufacturers are making special hog loads. The wild hog represents some great hunting opportunities. The Game and Fish wants to get rid of them and so does the forestry service. I do understand the situation. Several hogs were planted years ago and now it costs thousands of dollars each year to try to manage the damage. I will kill every one that I see while I am hunting. They look like the devil but most are good eating. I have eaten some of six different hogs and the ones I have taken were delicious.
Reid Berch of Enola killed a 450 pound wild boar November 11, 2012. Reid is 15 years old. You did a great job, Reid. Hunters, keep your eyes open. They are not a dumb animal. You’ll be lucky if you get one.
Three more states adopt the “Right to Hunt” constitution amendments. Hunters in Idaho, Kentucky and Nebraska should be proud that their states have adopted measures to protect the hunters and sportsmen by guaranteeing those rights in their state constitution. These three states joined the ranks of many other states that have adopted these critical constitutional amendments. I hope all states throughout this country join in together which will protect sportsmen and hunters from now on.
My cowboy and cowgirl friends Joe and Lorraine Meurer, Kerrville, TX, wrote and sent a nice cowboy Christmas card as they have done for many years. I will quote a portion of their letter.
“Dear Max, it has been some time since we have heard from you and since you have not heard from us, guess as we get older time seems to hurry by much too fast.
“We have had three nights and days of really cold weather. I guess you all have had the same. My brother lives in Oklahoma and he said they were expecting cold weather, too. What we really need is rain, lots of rain.
“Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas.” Joe and Lorraine.
Thanks for your letter and the great cowboy Christmas card. Joe, keep on hunting squirrels and Lorraine, keep on taking care of Joe. Cook him up a big skillet of squirrel and squirrel gravy. Ha, ha. Joe, even if you have to sit on a log and let them come to you. The rain will come soon. Thanks for the years of friendship.
Another letter comes from the Duvalls, Torrington, WY and a picture of Amy, Michael and Ashley holding their new dog, PR McCoy’s Little Joe, Bluetick. I’m not sure but Little Joe may get spoiled with all that attention. Ha, ha. Thanks and happy hunting. I hope you all had a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thanks for the nice letter and picture.
I have been wondering about him and I want to ask a question. Do any of you readers know of a boarder collie that trees squirrels? I like the boarder collie breed and I have wondered about that for several years. I know they have the brains to do that. Drop me a line if you know anything about these fine dogs. I may get me one some day.
Yesterday my wife Donna and I spent the day squirrel hunting and cutting a Christmas tree. We had a good time. Then we stopped on our way home and had dinner still wearing our hunting clothes. I guess people thought we were working on the farm. Ha, ha. We’ve always had fun squirrel hunting together. She has hunted with me for over 40 years. She hunts with a Golden Boy Henry rifle. It’s a great gun and she’s proud of it. She can hit a squirrel in the head without any problem. The sights remind me of my 30-30 Winchester.
Many years I spent in law enforcement, I enjoyed most of the people. I did my best to serve the public no matter where I worked. I scored a 97% with my sidearm and was voted in by the people “Policeman of the Year 1967, 1968 and 1969. I gave up my job to make a better living for my family. One hundred dollars more a week helped me make the decision to change my occupation. It was very hard on my mind to do this. It was like giving up everything I liked best.
To this day, I miss law enforcement and think of it almost every day, so in my heart I am still a lawman. I am sending one of my pictures with this month’s column.
Let us not shift the blame from murderers to responsible gun owners. The gun saved my life, the gun is still protection for my family, friends and myself.
In closing, I wish the best of luck to all the readers of Full Cry, “Barking Up the Right Tree” and and many others. Thanks for reading. Happy New Year to all! I’ll see you next month.

By: Max McCoy Sr.

Max McCoy Sr PDF DOWNLOAD

American Leopard Breeders Association National Section – Full Cry

huntinghoundsmen — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:36:33 +0000

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I’m sitting here in my Lazyboy chair with my feet kicked up in front of my fire place with a nice fire burning, reflecting on the past year. The Leopards did a fine job representing themselves in the hunts and shows across the nation. They won on the plywood as well as on the hardwood so congrats goes out to all the winners!!! I’ve talked to several folks over the past year and they all seem to be enjoying their Leopards, and over this past year I got to stop in and visit with several folks who have a lot of years chasing these Leopards and got to learn more about the history of the breed.
This month I got the chance to sit down with Earl Wright and Billy Baird and visit and talk dogs; between them they have over 90 years chasing these hounds. I must say when a person gets the opportunity to sit down and talk to anyone with the kind of knowledge they have you need to take advantage of it. I got to look at some fine Leopards and look back in time at some of Mr. Wright’s Leopards of the past (I know my Leopards have a lot of his blood in them). I learned what Mr. Wright and Billy look for in a hound and what a lot of the crosses were in the beginning to make up what we have today in the Wright’s line of Leopard’s. I would like to thank both of them for their time and Southern hospitality, they sure make a guy feel right at home.
The first hunt we’re going on will be with Allen Sparks over in North Tazewell, VA. I got there around 5 PM on Friday evening and Allen showed me his dogs and we waited for it to get dark and then we loaded up his real nice female Leopard. She hadn’t been hunted for about two months due to her just having a litter of pups, (which are very nice pups) and we also took along a 10 month old male pup that is a littermate to a female I just got. We got to going down the road and I must admit I was a little nervous about where we were going to be hunting due to the height of the hills I was looking up at…lol.
We ended up driving through a gate and driving around on the side of a hill to a flat spot on the side of it and this is going to be our first drop so we get the dogs out. Well, we lead them to the upside of the hill, turn them loose and they get in the dark in a hurry. Needless to say, in my mind, I figure no matter what they do I’m in trouble lol. If they strike and go up it’s going to be bad and if they strike and go down I’m in trouble. Needless to say they didn’t strike and they checked in so we leashed them up to take them around to the other side of the truck and recast them on the downhill side (now I’m thinking down is good)!
But then I ask Allen if they get treed down there are we going to drive around to them and he laughs at me and says no, we are going to walk down to them and then we will walk back up the hill to the truck. Well my luck didn’t hold out cause it didn’t take long and his female strikes a coon and the young dog puts in with her and they work it around the side of the hill and they get treed. We walk down to them and sure enuff they got him so we shoot it out to them. Well, now the fun part starts. We get to walk back up the hill to the truck. After awhile we get back to the truck and load them up and head to our next drop.
Okay, this time we drive around the side of another hill and we stop on a ledge of what looks like a spot I’m thinking a guy needs to be part goat to hunt on. And this is when Allen has me thinking he needs to get his head checked! No way am I wanting to hunt this spot but he tells me not to worry, the ledge we’re on will open up around the bend, yeah right….lol.
After about 15 minutes the dogs open up on a rough track one of those type that you get to thinking hmm … this will be a good one, yeah right! Needless to say after this track I decided I’ve got to get one of those pups to take back to Oklahoma with me cause let me tell you it didn’t take her long to get this track worked out and treed and the young dog looked real good on this track also. We call it a night and head back to his place and I picked out my new pup!
This next hunt I’m going to share with you all will be a couple of drops my son and I went on. We load up Jug and two young females and head down the road. We make our first drop and right off we strike a good track, it doesn’t take long and we’re treed so we start to them and to me there’s nothing better than working a young dog and watching them come on and develop into a coon dog! We get into the tree and they have him so we shoot it out to them. I laid a track for my young females and they work it around and tree it so it’s a win/win for us. We load them up and head back to the house and switch out my young female for my other young female and we’re back down the road going to another spot that I call the swamp and I drop my son off with the dogs and I drive around to the other end where I will pick him up at. This drop ended up taking a little longer to get all the way through and the dogs work a rough ole track and Jug and the Maggie female end up treeing on a den tree. While Randall and the dogs are working through the woods I drive back home and pick up Cain for the next drop.
Once I get back I pick Randall up and we head down the road to another place I call the pecan bottom which is usually a good drop for a quick tree with a coon on the outside. We get the dogs out and sure enuff we turn them loose and they strike right off so the race is on. After about ten minutes they make a lose and I figure the coon put the slip on them. Well, after about another five minutes Cain and Jug drift out and pick it back up and slam it on a big pecan tree and he’s sitting up there looking down on us when we get there, so needless to say out he comes and I work them real well and laid another track for my other young female and she does real well! I’m real proud of my three young females so far and by the end of the season I should have a hard time figuring which two females I’m keeping.
Folks, if you would like to share a hunt with me give me a call or email and send me some pictures and I’ll get them on here next month. Thanks again!
You can call or text me @ 304-694-1788. I do work Monday-Friday 8 AM-4:30PM and will not be taking calls during this time.
Don’t forget it’s time to get your 2013 membership this year the fee is $20 per individual membership and $25 for a family membership you can mail it into Dan Noble, 103 Washington Street, Covington, IN 47932.

By : John Cox

John Cox PDF DOWNLOAD

Huntin’ Cohutta – American Cooner

huntinghoundsmen — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:30:16 +0000

Nestled in the mountains of North Georgia is the Cohutta Wildlife Management Area. It is some of the best hunting to be found; that is, if one doesn’t mind hunting the mountains. I grew up coon hunting the mountains and feel there is no better hunting — period. Climbing the steep ridges is sometimes rough and there may not be the amount of game found in other areas or possibly the game is only spread out farther because of the vast amount of wooded terrain. The clean, fresh air along with the outdoor smells, hardwoods, evergreens and clear mountain streams invigorates one’s body. This is country that anyone would savor. The Cohutta WMA is open for coon hunting only several nights per year, and when younger, I tried to hunt it at every given opportunity.
On this particular hunt, my dad would be coming along. He had at one time been a hard hunter but at the time only occasionally hunted with me. He was a devoted Plott man, but he really liked JoJo, one of the young English hounds I owned and would go along just to hear him run and tree a coon. He said JoJo was probably the most powerful tree dog he had ever heard and every time he located a tree, it would make the hair on his neck stand up. My dad had taken me on my first coon hunt when I was barely old enough to walk. As I grew older, he made certain I had a top hound that I could tree plenty of coon with. He also instilled within my mind a firm belief that you can feed a good hound as easily as a worthless one. It cost the same to feed either.
On this hunt we would be hunting all English hounds, three males and a female. All four hounds would go hunting, get struck and treed and have game in the tree. They would also stay put once treed. As darkness approached, my dad arrived and I loaded Dual Nt. Ch. Nation’s Hardwood JoJo, Ch., Nt. Ch. Dutch Hollow Duke, Gr. Ch., Nt. Ch. Paxton Abernathy and Nt. Ch. Nation’s Tree Screaming Sheba. We had a good little drive to the place we planned to hunt, and as we drove, I thought about the hounds we were going to hunt.
JoJo was a two year old dark blue English hound that would go hunting and quickly get treed and stay put. He had one of the loudest mouths ever heard on a hound and was an exceptionally fast, accurate, one bark locator and a tree dog hunters dream about. JoJo ran no off game and was a pleasure to hunt. He ran track with a booming bawl and treed with a hard, heavy chop. His sire was ACHA World Ch., Gr. Nt. Ch. Hayes’ Hardtime Speck. I purchased JoJo from Jack Cowgill of Illinois. The only reason I was able to own him was because he was not from Jack’s breeding. I finished JoJo to Dual Nite Champion after he came to my home. He was also campaigned in some of the money hunts of the time and did a lot of winning with Mike Seets handling him.
Duke was a one year old Redtick that was as good as they get at his age. He hunted hard and would get by himself and get treed every chance he had. Duke ran track with a loud, high pitched chop that could be heard with the loudest of hounds. He located with one squall bawl and immediately turned it over to a never ending chop. Duke was an accurate, stay put tree dog that would absolutely stay treed no matter what. Duke was sired by one of the overlooked studs of the time, a hound called Nt. Ch. Christopherson’s Roper by Boyd’s Little Joe. I believe Roper was only lightly bred but he sure sired some good hounds and could have helped the breed if he had been heavily used. I bought Duke from Steve Dorrough of Clifton Park, NY. He was a Show Champion and I finished him to Nite Champion.
Abernathy, called “Abner,” was a completely balanced hound, a top strike dog, a track dog and a loud, classy, stay put accurate tree dog. Abner was Redtick in color and one of the best looking Redtick hounds to ever breathe coon scent. He was a hound that went hunting well, ran track the right way with a big bawl, had an outstanding locate and was a hard, loud chop mouthed tree dog that could tree any kind of coon. Abner was sired by Dual Grand Champion Penny’s Kentucky Kojak, one of the many good hounds from Kojak in that era. I acquired Abner from Mike DeGraves of Wisconsin who had attempted to hunt him on bear but with poor results. Abner was a top coonhound but not much of a bear dog even though he would still occasionally run one. It was the only thing he ran other than coon and something I preferred he leave alone. I made no attempt to finish Abner to Grand Nite but he was hunted in some of the money hunts, handled by Mike Seets and I, and he did his share of winning and more.
Sheba was a small Redtick hound that went hunting in a run, quickly got struck and could really move a track in the right direction and put a tree at the end of it. Coming on the tree, she gave a screaming locate and was a blow-down tree dog that would not pull. Sheba ran track with a loud, high pitched chop, squall and bawl and treed with a rapid chop putting on a show at the tree. She was another of the good hounds sired by Dual Grand Champion Penny’s Kentucky Kojak. I bought her with intentions to raise a litter of pups. She came out of Michigan from Jim Baumbach, the Walker man and owner of the great Dual Grand Champion Baumbach’s Pulpwood.
As we arrived at our first drop I thought, “If we didn’t tree coon on this night, they couldn’t be treed.” We were hunting as much dog power as anyone. Driving to the end of a narrow lane routed alongside a clear mountain stream, we prepared to release the hounds up the hollow into what looked to be prime coon country. I had hunted JoJo hard in the mountainous terrain of the surrounding area and he was accustomed to it and knew where to look for a coon track. Duke had also received much hunting in the mountains of my area and upstate New York, so he also knew how to hunt the mountainous terrain and where to strike a coon. I had not hunted Abner in the mountains but was sure he had been hunted in much more mountainous terrain where he came from so he should also do well. Sheba had probably not seen mountains like she was about to be subjected to, so how she would perform was a question to soon be answered.
All four hounds were released onto the mountain stream and immediately split up. JoJo shot up the stream. Duke crossed the lane following a trail up the side of the mountain and Sheba and Abner entered a hollow running parallel to the road we had driven in on. I had hoped the hounds would stay together and quickly get a track going but they were too independent for that. A lot of walking would be involved if each hound struck a track of their own. As luck would have it, they soon were going in three directions. Oh well, sometimes hunting the mountains is tough.
JoJo was first to strike opening only two or three times before his big coarse locate was heard followed by the loud, heavy chops. He was going no further. As we walked in the direction of JoJo’s tree, Duke was heard high on the side of the mountain working a track. At precisely the same time, Abner and Sheba opened far in the distance and they were moving. We proceeded to JoJo’s tree which was only a short walk up the stream and he was leashed and a large hardwood shined. The coon was spotted quickly and was given to him. The coon was a large mountain coon that JoJo had practically ambushed, but many of his coon were treed in the same manner. He did everything fast and efficient. Walking from the tree with JoJo leashed, not another hound was heard as they had all gotten out of hearing range. Our next task was walking back to the vehicle to check the tracker and find their locations.
Duke was close. He had crossed into another hollow and was treed solid. Sheba and Abner’s location was another story as the tracker was receiving a signal from neither. They had traveled a long distance or crossed the mountain. In time we would discover which. Duke was high on the mountain and only slightly over a ridge in another hollow. He was treed on a large white pine. Sometimes the white pines are extremely large and the coon hard to find if it does not look at the light. This was not the case as the coon looked at the light almost immediately and was swiftly given to and was dispensed by Duke. We now headed back to the vehicle to attempt to locate Sheba and Abner.
We were still unable to receive a signal from either on the tracker but we drove in the direction they had departed, only stopping at intervals to check for a signal. A weak signal was finally received from the two hounds and we drove towards their general direction. It is sometimes hard to get very close to the hounds if they are deep in the mountains because there is only a road or two running through the area. We were still unable to hear the hounds but the signal continuously became better the further we drove. Several miles up the road we came upon a group of young people standing at a large blazing fire alongside the creek. We stopped and checked the tracker, then we asked the group if they had seen the hounds. The group began talking all at the same time. They had seen two dogs probably an hour before and they had also seen a small bear they were running. Pointing in the direction that the hounds were headed, one of the youngsters said he lived nearby and knew the area well stating the dogs were in a deep hollow at the back of his family’s property and happily volunteered to show us an easy way to them. The youngster crawled in the vehicle with us and pointed us in the direction we needed to go.
“Go through the gate up ahead and we can drive into the hollow where the dogs were going,” stated the young man.
We slowed to make the turn into the gated area and Sheba and Abner were heard treeing loud and clear. We walked in to the tree and both hounds were leashed and the small bear was spotted sitting midway up the tree. The young man quickly pointed to Sheba and said, “That dog was nipping at the bear’s heels when he came by us and the other one was not too close up on the bear. We thought they were going to catch it but were glad they ran it away from us. I’ve never seen dogs run bear before but it’s pretty cool. We have a lot of bear around here.”
“Well, we aren’t bear hunting and are not supposed to tree them, so we need to get the hounds and get out of here,” my dad and I stated.
I briefly scolded both hounds as I didn’t want either to run bear because I only coon hunted and that is all I wanted my dogs to run. We went back to the vehicle and the young man asked what game we were hunting and we showed him the coon we had caught. He asked if maybe he could tag along and see a coon treed. We had no problem with the request and he promptly said he knew a place where there were plenty of coon. A few miles down the mountainous road, we came to another gated area where the young man opened the gate for us to drive to a small field of unharvested corn. The young man said his dad planted the field yearly for the wildlife. It was never harvested and the wildlife was abundant there. We came to a stop and all four hounds were released. All went hunting and soon had a track going.
Abner was first to open with a loud bawl joined by the chops and squalls of Sheba and then the shrill chops of Duke and the thundering bawl of JoJo. Duke and JoJo peeled off up the mountainside and rapidly ended their track when JoJo stole the tree away from Duke before he could get his one squall bawl locate out of his mouth. That’s how he operated most of the time, tight and right, not what I really liked but hard to dislike. Abner and Sheba ended their track at almost the same time and my dad said if they didn’t pull to JoJo and Duke, he would be surprised. JoJo was surely loud and my dad partial to him but he wasn’t going to pull Abner or Sheba as they were hooked to stay. The young man had a big smile on his face just hearing the treeing hounds but the smile was nowhere near what it would be after seeing a couple of coon up a tree.
We climbed the mountain to JoJo and Duke and shined the tree spotting another large coon lying in a fork high in the tree. Both hounds had a coon out to them so the coon was left to run again. With both JoJo and Duke remaining on the lead, we walked along the mountainside to Abner and Sheba’s tree. We arrived at a large oak, shined the tree and two coon were spotted. The smiling young man asked if we were going to take the coon. Being that Abner and Sheba had not had a coon, I replied, “We’ll take one of them. Do you want to shoot it out to them?”
The young man said, “Yes, I want to shoot the coon out.” He stood back and shot the coon out with a single shit. I think it was at that moment that a future coon hunter was made.
We returned to the vehicle and the young man asked why I wanted to take only one coon from the tree. I explained, “That was how I was taught. Leave some for seed and you will always have coon to tree. The dogs don’t know how many coon are in the tree anyway so one is enough.” I was glad to hear the young man ask questions.
It was decided by my dad that we would make one more drop before calling it a night as he didn’t like to hunt all night. I think the young man and I were just getting started but I had to honor Pop’s request. Instead of moving to a new area, we cut the hounds back in the direction of the cornfield. Within minutes we had another red hot track going and the hounds were taking it straight up the mountain.
Abner once again had gotten the strike followed by Sheba, Duke and JoJo. The hounds took the track high up the mountain before dropping into another hollow out of hearing and thus our long climb began. After climbing partway up the mountain we were able to hear the echo of the treeing hounds and proceeded in their direction. Once we caught sight, we found all four hounds stretched high on the side of a large hardwood. The tree was shined and a large coon was spotted. The hounds were given a little praise and led from the tree and the coon was left to run again.
Back at the truck I told the young man that climbs like that was the reason I hunted an accurate tree dog. Even though we didn’t take the coon, we knew it was there and were satisfied to leave it for another night. Hunting the mountains, one does not have to walk to many empty trees before they are ready to get rid of a slick treeing dog and get something more accurate. I have walked to a few of these and will never do so again. Walking to empty trees in rough terrain will make a person despise a slick treeing dog for life. The old timers didn’t walk to a lot of empty trees and there is no sense in doing so in this day and time.
Our night of hunting was complete and we headed for home. I gave the young man my information in case he wanted to hunt again and dropped him at his house. That night we made a coon hunter of him and he is still hunting today. The sport needs young people such as this to keep it alive. Give a young person the opportunity to experience this great sport and the sound of the hounds. You’ll be glad you did.
This young man hunted with many nights with me in the following years. He was thankful for the opportunity to hunt with good hounds just as I had been so many years before. My dad and I would still hunt together until I sold JoJo.
Duke and JoJo were sold at the same time and both were good hounds that treed all the coon one could ask to tree. Both were accurate and treed the tracks they struck and stayed put once treed. They were good hounds but I was looking for something a little more balanced and a little bit better. Both hounds were no aggravation of any sort and maybe they were as good as I was going to find but I never stopped looking for that hound with just a little bit extra. JoJo and Duke were replaced with one of the most powerful, completely balanced young Bluetick hounds of the time.
Abner and Sheba stayed at my home until the end. Sheba was killed by a bulldog while at a friend’s home and Abner did not live a long life but he was a good hound and the kind I liked to hunt. Sheba and Abner were only two of the many good hounds from Penny’s Kentucky Kojak at the time. The magazines were full of Kojak sired hounds being promoted at that time. I hunted with many good hounds from Kojak and felt that Abner was as good as any of them. LeRoy Penny, owner of Kojak, also said Abner was one of the better hounds sired by Kojak but he also stated that Kojak’s Talking Tom was possibly the best of the bunch. I never had the opportunity to hunt with Tom but I later owned several good hounds sired by him and knew he reproduced some good ones. If given the opportunity to hunt with Tom and he’d proven as good as LeRoy said, I would have tried to own him if he could have been bought. Good hounds of the past are only a distant dream now but more will eventually follow.
I hunted the mountains hard in my younger years and will again in the future but only at a slower pace. I always tried to hunt my dogs in an assortment of different terrains to have them accustomed to different types of territory. Try a variety of terrains — it will help improve the dogs’ ability and performance. The extra work will pay off in the end.

By : Gregory Bart Nation

nation_bart_huntin_cohutta PDF DOWNLOAD

Strike and Stay – American Cooner

huntinghoundsmen — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:25:10 +0000

Howdy, folks and Happy New Year! I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and a great 2012 – and that your 2013 is off to a good start. It’s hard to believe that another year is behind us, isn’t it? Seems like the older I get the faster time flies. But it’s a known fact that time waits for no one, and we must make the best of the time that we are blessed with. I certainly try my best to do just that and I intend to try even harder to do so in 2013.
But that’s enough of the New Year’s resolutions. Come on into camp, find you a place close to the fire, and let’s talk Plotts!
Before proceeding further, we unfortunately have some very serious news to discuss. Please remember Roy Howell and his family in your prayers as Roy is critically ill with cancer. According to Roy’s son, Jess, the prognosis is not good –six months at best – so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. As you probably know, Mr. Roy is the founder of the famous Bayou Plott line and his son Jess continues to perpetuate his esteemed father’s legacy today.
To make matters worse, Jess Howell, who is also the president and founder of the Western Plott Association, has endured some health problems of his own of late. But we are happy to report that he is expected to make a full recovery from his recent cancer surgery. Please pray for his speedy recovery and ask that God gives him strength to be there for his father and their family during these difficult times.
Outgoing APA President Roy Stiles reports that his dear wife Ann is battling cancer as well. Mrs. Stiles was first diagnosed with breast cancer in July and continues to valiantly combat the dreaded disease. Please pray for a complete recovery for Mrs. Stiles and please keep the entire Stiles family in your thoughts and prayers.
I’d also like to extend get well wishes to Texas Plott man extraordinaire Jeremiah Johnson, who was seriously ill during the later part of 2012, but now is making a complete recovery. I hope you are back to 100% soon, my friend!
My condolences go out to my friend John Jackson who lost two of his best and favorite Crockett Plott dogs in 2012 – Angel, a female, and Hootie, a buckskin male. Both of them were outstanding dogs. I profiled John and talked about Hootie specifically in my first book Strike and Stay –The Story of the Plott Hound. Hootie is pictured in the book twice and Angel once.
Both canines lived very long lives – especially for such fine dogs that were hunted so often. And I know that John takes solace in that. However, it’s never easy to lose a great hounds –much less two –so my thoughts go out to John on his losses.
Let’s move on to other less serious subjects. At the time of this writing – the week of Christmas 2012 – bear season is winding down in my neck of the woods. As I reported last month, the season began at a record setting pace in many parts of the region. However, things seemed to have slowed down quite a bit since then –especially for my friends up in West Virginia.
Eugene Walker reports that the super storm Sandy dumped more than 44 inches of snow on his favorite hunting grounds. And as a result most of the bears there have holed up for the winter. Nevertheless, Gene isn’t a man who gives up easily. Despite those horrid conditions, he and his famed Pocahontas Plott dogs still managed to strike four bear trails and treed all four. Pictures of some of his dogs, and hunting buddies, along with a bear they harvested are included in this article.
The weather hasn’t been nearly as bad here in North Carolina, and as a result our second half of season has been a little better here than that of our friends in the Mountaineer State. But even so, by all accounts, things have slowed down significantly from the record setting pace set during the first half of the campaign.
However, with all that being said, several of my buddies have enjoyed banner hunting seasons –and none more so than Rick Jenkins of Asheville, N.C. In my December column I included a photo and story about Rick’s personal record setting bear harvested in the mountains of N.C. earlier in the season. But Rick recently joined a party of hunters down on the N.C. coast that eclipsed his previous record by a long shot.
Rick was hunting in Camden County, N.C. with a host of veteran hunters that included among others – Bobby Barry, brothers Rick and Gary Pritchett and their father Dale, William Landrum, and legendary New York state Plott man Desi Alvarez. The bear population didn’t stand a chance against these seasoned nimrods!
According to Rick their dogs quickly struck a hot trail and the race was on. After a spirited chase the dogs finally managed to bay the monster bruin on the ground. Retired Camden County sheriff, Bobby “Shooter” Barry lived up to his nickname and quickly dispatched the huge beast with a shot from his 45/70 rifle – and what a bear it was!
This hunting party was no stranger to big bears as 500 pounders are routine on the coast. And all of them had killed bears weighing 500 pounds or more in the past. But even these experienced sportsmen were shocked at the size of the animal. It weighed almost 700 pounds –685 to be exact – and measured seven feet around at the gut. Its head was more than two feet in circumference. The bruin was what N.C. hunters often refer to a “Volkswagen” for sure.
Camden County wildlife officials confirmed this information and added that it was the biggest bear ever killed in a county known for huge ones. Congratulations to all in the party, and particularly to Mr. Barry who harvested the record setting bruin. Check out the photos that Rick sent me – they are incredible.
Meanwhile my good friend Roger “The Defender” Bryson , along with his son Clay, both of Jackson County, N.C., along with our pal, incoming APA president David Williams of Vonore, Tennessee, continue on a record setting pace as they hunt the hills of southwestern North Carolina. Roger reports that this has been one of their best seasons ever and photos of their latest harvest are included in this article.
While only a few folks are skilled enough to match or exceed these record setting totals, I nonetheless hope that you and yours had a great bear season and that your dogs performed well without serious injury. And I hope that you are having great success in chasing and treeing the wily Mr. Ringtail as well.
After all, while records are nice, that’s not the primary reason that most of us hit the woods. At the end of the day –or the season – it’s more about enjoying the great outdoors with family and friends as well as the intense satisfaction of watching the skill sets and personalities of our dogs’ progress and improve. To me, nothing beats seeing a young dog that you have bred and raised grow into something really special. And I suspect that most of you feel the same way.
With bear populations at a record high and problem bears being a bigger concern to the general public than ever before, the importance of hunting with hounds is no longer just sport, nor is it just an integral part of our heritage, or simply a way to put food on the table –though all of those things are very important components of what we do.
But our sport now has become much more than that. It has become a necessity if the public wishes to remain safe from rogue bears and reduce the odds of bear-vehicle collisions, as well as providing an environmental service in maintaining a healthy, disease free, bear population. And don’t forget that animal borne illnesses run rampant in excessive animal populations and usually negatively impact the human population too. We have seen repeated examples of this in recent years.
Yet despite these facts, we continue to lose our hunting rights in many states thus jeopardizing not only our own hunting heritage, but that of future generations as well. Personally I feel that our best chance to combat this is by educating the general public –particularly the non-hunting general public. I try to do this in my books, magazine articles, and by doing programs in schools and various types of clubs and civic groups.
We have been fortunate to do this for several years now, and I feel like we are making a positive impact – though we still have a long way to go. Recently I was named to the Road Scholar Program that is sponsored by the North Carolina Council of the Humanities. Basically they will sponsor me to provide a program on Plott hounds and our history to any public group in North Carolina free of charge. You can get further details at their website nchumanities.org.
I tell you this not to brag, but to encourage those of you living in the state to contact the council and book a program for your local hunting club or civic group. The Wilderness Society –a group that contrary to popular belief – is a very pro-hunting organization has already booked six programs with us for 2013. And at least three of these programs will be hosted by local hunting cubs along with the Wilderness Society.
If you live in North Carolina – or near us – it is my hope that you will support these programs and schedule others in your respective areas to better educate the general public about our sport. Once they understand who we really are and what we truly stand for, it is my belief that we can win their support –or at least the rational ones anyway. And that’s a big first step.
For those of you living outside of the Old North State, I would encourage you to start your own educational programs. We have already done programs in six different states and we will be glad to assist you in any way possible. Again, I tell you this not to boast, only to inform you of ways that we can work together to educate the general public.
Moreover, we must find ways to insure that we can perpetuate our hunting legacy for future generations. This is of the utmost importance and it is something that can only be accomplished by working together. Think about it, before it is too late. And if you think it can’t happen to us, just ask our friends in California, Oregon and Washington – they can set you straight on that.
And while on the subject of promoting our sport and perpetuating our favorite breed, I’d like to commend and recognize Tennessean Jason “Big Un” Bickford for donating one of his prized Plott pups to a young teenage hunter who had just lost his only hunting dog and had no resources to obtain another.
There are many adults that would have paid good money for one of Jason’s fine hounds, and as I understand it he often has a waiting list for pups from his kennel. So this was a very generous gesture on Jason’s part in not only helping out someone in need, but also in encouraging a youngster to participate in our sport. Thanks Jason for being a positive example that we can all aspire to.
Let’s get back on track and talk a little about hog hunting. Hog season is also in full swing in Western N.C. and in most places in our state the hogs have become such a nuisance that they can now be hunted year around. But as serious as they are here in North Carolina, it pales in comparison to the hog problem in Texas.
I knew it was bad there as several friends –most notably Dr. Joe Burkett, of Fredericksburg Texas, originator of the White Deer Plott line – had discussed the problem with me in the past. However, I read an interesting recent article that I thought you might enjoy hearing about.
The state of Texas now pays a two dollar a tail bounty on hogs, and despite the fact that hundreds are killed weekly, they estimate that the feral hog population in the state is rapidly approaching three million. Worse yet, the hogs breed like rabbits and wildlife biologists project that their population is now growing at a rate of 20% annually.
State wildlife officers and private contractors are employed full-time to trap the pigs and even shoot them from helicopters. Yet, despite the bounties and the aerial assault, the hog problem is only getting worse. Crop and property damages are now in the millions of dollars and hog/car collisions are at an all-time high. And the problem isn’t just concentrated in Texas either –it now ranges from California to Texas and across the Gulf Coast to Florida and up the east coast as far north as West Virginia.
Rest assured that if you aren’t dealing with this problem yet, then it is probably only a matter of time before you do. It is similar in many ways to the coyote population explosion here in the south.
A decade ago there were few, if any, coyotes in North Carolina. Today they can be found in all 100 counties in the state including big metropolitan areas such as Charlotte and Raleigh. And like the hog problem, the situation worsens daily as coyote attacks on livestock and domestic pets are now common. It’s only a matter of time before their next victim is a human. These are the type of facts that folks need to know. And perhaps then they won’t be so quick to consider outlawing hunting with hounds and will be more supportive of our sport in general.
Enough of my preaching, let’s move on to the mail bag and upcoming events. The mail bag gets bigger every month and I am thankful for that. And I am continually surprised at the locations we get letters and emails from. Just this month we heard from folks in New York, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, California, Washington State, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, Idaho and all over the state of North Carolina, as well as international mail from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Canada.
Words are not adequate to appreciate my thanks for your kind words and support. Rest assured that I read and respond to all of them. And please keep them coming as I want this to be your column.
Too many folks wrote to include references to each of them individually, but I need to make special mention of a few of them. It’s always a pleasure to hear from Curtis Faulkner of Nova Scotia Canada. His beautiful Christmas card was much appreciated and I look forward to hearing more from him in 2013. Curtis is as dedicated a Plott man as there ever was, and like my pal Duane Smith, Curtis is yet another of those rugged northern hunters that I so admire.
My friend and mentor C.E. “Bud” Lyon sent me some great pictures of his famous old stud dog Balsam Major. Major is up in years now, and can no longer stand at stud, but he remains a healthy and vibrant hound, still capable of treeing bear –just like his master!
It was great to hear from my old pals, Rusty Gill, Steven Rich, Linda Mack, Tracey Jones, George Ellison, Russell Messer, Gene Walker, Roger Bryson, Rick Jenkins, David Brewin, Steve McAdams, Danny Phipps, Trae Murden and Leroy Elmore as well.
It is always a treat to hear from Tennessean Danny Scoggins. I really enjoy Danny’s articles in Full Cry and particularly his sense of humor. His kind words and support are especially appreciated, as is his long time dedication to the Plott breed. They don’t come any better than Danny, that’s for sure. And the same goes for my cousin Shane Plott whose friendship and support is also treasured highly.
Again, thanks to all of the above mentioned folks – and those not mentioned as well – for your kind words and support. You’ll never know how much that means to me. Now, let’s check the event calendar.
We have a few big Plott dog events just around the corner. The first of them is APA Breed Days at Hickory Grove, S.C. on March 14, 15 and 16. As always, I am excited about attending this awesome event in that it seems like a family homecoming or reunion to me. And I am especially excited about this year’s Methven Award winner that will be announced there. Obviously, I can’t share the winners name right now, but suffice it to say that it is very well deserved and has been a long time in coming.
The NPHA Big Game Nationals will also be in Hickory Grove, S.C. – just down the road from the APA site. It is a beautiful location and will be held on April 19-20. I look forward to that event too, and I hope that the turn out will be bigger this year..
There is still no official word regarding an APA sanctioned hog baying event in Georgia in 2013 –though David Williams and Roger Bryson are working hard on getting it done. And I commend them on their efforts. I will keep you posted as new details develop.
Finally, Plottfest will be held in Maggie Valley, N.C, on June 22-23. It will be a great family event with music, food, a sanctioned bench show, a kid’s show, a mechanical bear treeing contest and a tribute to Plott breed pioneers. More details on all this later.
Let’s move on to and finish the column this month with some Plott history. Several folks wrote or called wanting to learn a little more about Herbert “Hub” Plott, who I mentioned in last month’s column.
For those of you that would like a more in-depth profile on Hub, I would encourage you to read my third book – Legendary Hunters of the Southern Highlands – in which he and the entire Maggie Valley Plott clan are profiled, as well as “Little” George Plott – who we will talk about shortly. And several other folks that were not Plott family members are also profiled. But for now, I hope this brief review and photos will suffice.
Herbert “Hub” Plott was born in 1893 – the youngest son of Robert Henry and Martha Plott – in Haywood County, N.C. The area is now known as Maggie Valley, but until 1926 was referred to as Jonathan Creek, Ivy Hill, or simply Plott. The Plott family owned most of the valley from Soco Gap to Dellwood and ran a post office out of their home named after them.
Hub was a great-great grandson of Johannes George Plott who brought the first Plott dogs to America in the mid-1700’s, and the great grandson of Henry Plott who first brought the hounds to the mountains to N.C. in about 1800. Henry’s son David, was one of the earliest settlers along Jonathan Creek around 1825. David Plott was Hub’s grandpa, and along with David’s brothers, Enos and Amos, were some of the most renowned pioneer bear hunters in the region.
All three of the Plott brothers – David, Amos and Enos – kept large packs of Plott dogs – at least ten dogs each. They hunted so frequently that they had to rotate them to keep them fresh and healthy. Contrary to popular belief this was fairly uncommon back then as most folks simply could not afford to feed more than a dog or two. Only elite hunters kept more than a few hounds –and the Plott brothers were among the best of their time.
David and his wife Sara, had three sons who carried on the Plott family hunting tradition. One of these sons – a giant of a man named Robert Henry Plott, was Hub Plott’s father. Robert was the last Confederate prisoner released from captivity by the Union during the Civil War. His two brothers died at Camp Douglas, the infamous Union prison where Robert was held and tortured for two years. His extraordinary story is told in detail in my third book.
Robert returned home after the war and later became one of the wealthiest men and largest landowners in Haywood County. He also passed on his love of hunting and Plott dogs to his six sons –none more so than his youngest boy, Herbert “Hub” Plott.
With a lineage like this it is easy to understand how Hub quickly became one of the best bear hunters and dog men in the Plott clan – though not nearly as well known as the legendary Plott icons commonly referred to as the “Big Five.” Most Plott dog historians agree that the “Big Five” – consisting of Von Plott, John Plott, Taylor Crockett, Isaiah Kidd and Gola Ferguson – had the largest impact on what we now refer to as the modern day officially registered Plott hound.
However, a good argument can be made that Hub Plott could be added to this group, and that the “Big Five” should be referred to as the “Super Six.” But Hub Plott cared little for fame or notoriety. He preferred instead to stay close to home, and during the course of his long life never traveled more than 200 miles from the mountains he loved so well.
Hub’s priorities were simple and admirable: God, his family and his dogs, along with bear hunting and farming came before anything else. He married his soul mate Nannie Campbell in 1916. Together they raised three children and built a wonderful life together farming and running the local post office out of their home –the same house built by Robert Plott after his return from the Civil War.
Hub was a talented blacksmith. And in 1929 he hand forged.the parts and cut the sheet metal to make a water wheel to provide electricity for their home. The water powered electrical plant produced electricity for the Plott family for nearly seventy years and likely was the first home with electricity in the area.
Between his family obligations, blacksmithing and farming, Hub stayed busy, but he always made time for his dogs and bear hunting. He and his best friend Gola Ferguson hunted all over the region, but mostly in the rugged area along the Big Bend of the Pigeon River known as Twelve Mile on the Tennessee/North Carolina border. In 1952 he was quoted in a Saturday Evening Post feature article on bear hunting.
Over the years Gola Ferguson and Hub developed their own notable strain of Plott hound. Hub took the bloodlines passed on to him from his own family and combined them with Ferguson’s dogs, who carried elements of the Plott, Blevins, Cable and Abel lineage. The end result was a bang-up super aggressive bear dog that was second to none.
Maggie Valley native Charlie Clement – a fine hunter in his own right – remembered Hub and his dogs well. Charlie was 90 years old in 2008 when he told me that most of Hub’s dogs were safe to be around, but some of them were dangerous both to man and beast: “They were great dogs, one man dogs, loyal only to their owner, but boy, were they mean! Most of the time you could not even let them hunt with, or get near, other dogs or else they would tear them up and try to eat them!”
I personally can vouch for the excellence of these dogs as I visited Hub and Nannie often as boy. And my Uncle Cecil Plott hunted with Hub and often obtained dogs from him. However, I must say, the dogs I saw as a child were not overly aggressive. I was able to pet them and play with them from the first time I saw them as a boy. However, in fairness to Charlie, these were not the exact same dogs that he was referring to either. These dogs were from the same bloodlines, but a few generations later. But make no mistake about it –they were indeed hell on a bear trail.
Another thing that I remember about Hub was his great sense of humor. He had many stories about his adventures with Gola Ferguson. And of course, Gola, even more so than Hub, was widely known for his superb story telling abilities. Gola thought so much of Hub that when Ferguson died in 1962 he left almost his entire pack of prized Plott hounds to Hub Plott.
Though a staunch and dedicated Christian, Hub, like a lot of Plott men liked to curse. He was what we referred to in our family as “a creative cusser” in that he could curse for an hour and never use the same word twice!
That is an exaggeration of course, but he was a colorful character for sure, and one of the finest men I ever knew. And his wife Nannie was a saint –such a wonderful woman! I am honored to be kin to them and to have known them. Hub Plott died at the age of eighty in 1973. His beloved wife Nannie lived on at the home place until her death in 1992.
Hub’s better known cousins – Von Plott and his oldest brother John – lived on Plott Creek, right over the mountain from Hub’s Maggie Valley side of the Plott clan. Despite being close kin, and despite living in close proximity, for reasons known only to them, the Plott brothers had little to do with Hub, and they seldom, if ever, shared dogs or hunted together.
And it should be duly noted that Hub was evidently more than satisfied with this arrangement, so there was apparently little, if any, desire on his part to interact with the more famous Plott brothers either. (But it should be duly noted that Hub’s brothers Cody and Homer, along with Hub’s son, Herbert Jr., did participate in a well-documented hunt with Von, John and Little George Plott on Hazel Creek in late 1941.)
It is likely for these unknown reasons, as well as his preference for staying close to home and out of the limelight that resulted in Hub never getting the recognition that he so richly deserved. In my opinion that’s a shame because Hub Plott spent more than six decades chasing bears behind his Plott dogs and perpetuating his family legacy the right way. And his was a legacy as impressive as any of the other breed icons included in the Big Five – he just wasn’t as well known.
Of course, I suppose the same argument could be made for several other breed legends as well. That’s an argument that I don’t want to get into, nor do we have time to do so here.
And I can not emphasize strongly enough that the recognition bestowed upon the Big Five is very well deserved –no one admires these breed legends more than I do. I devoted an entire chapter to the Big Five in my first book and did an extensive profile on Von Plott in my latest book. So, this definitely should not be misconstrued in any way as being disrespectful to them – especially since two of them are related to me.
But perhaps it is time that we consider adding another name or two to that esteemed list. And if so, in my humble opinion, one of them should be Herbert “Hub” Plott.
Now, let’s wrap things up with an additional nugget of Plott history. It usually takes me several days or more to write a long column like this one. And keep it mind that even though you are reading this article well into 2013, I actually started writing this on Christmas Eve. So please bear with me as I share a brief Christmas story and another piece of Plott history that I hope you will enjoy.
Like many of you, we enjoy traditional family gatherings during the Christmas season, and this year we added a bonfire to our annual Christmas Eve festivities. There is nothing I enjoy better than making and setting around a campfire in the great outdoors. So much so, that I have built a primitive fire pit under a tree between our three dog kennels. If I can’t be at a hunting camp deep in the woods, then this is the next best thing.
Despite the rainy, chilly weather, I was able to get a roaring fire going and was soon joined by beloved family members around the flames. We went around the circle and spoke of what we were thankful for and for our appreciation and love for each other. The dogs seemed to respect what we were doing and did not even bark or express their displeasure in not being able to join us by the fire. It was a special night.
Soon the rest of the clan retired to the warmth of the house, but I stayed by the fire alone to enjoy it a bit and quietly contemplate things. I have heard a camp fire often described as “cave man television.” I can understand why as it has always been easy for me to lose track of time as I study the ever changing colors and shapes of a fire while also enjoying the darkness and sounds of the wild that surround me.
Tonight was no different as soon there were no sounds but the crackle of the fire, the mournful hoots of a screech owl, our dogs bumping around in their houses, and a pack of coyotes howling in the distance. But yet tonight was indeed very different in that it was Christmas Eve. And as I focused on the flames I began to think about not only the living loved ones that had just went indoors, but also other loved ones who could not physically be with us that night, and especially those that had passed on.
The list of deceased friends and family members is a long one –and one that rapidly lengthens with age. Of course, in my family you can’t help but start with beloved family members such as my late father, a World War II veteran of D-Day who died when I was a teenager, as did my Uncle Cecil who took me on my first hunt, or a host of other illustrious relatives such as breed icons like Hub Plott and Von Plott –both of whom I was fortunate to spend time with as a child. I fondly remembered all of them as I warmed my hands over the fire.
But like every other Christmas Eve, my thoughts eventually circle back to a relative I never met, but one that I admire and think about almost daily – Captain George Ellis Plott, better known simply as Little George. Thoughts of him are never more prominent than on Christmas Eve as 2012 was the 68th anniversary of his death. He would have been 100 years old this year were he still alive. As I stoked the fire, I wondered how different our family, and indeed our breed, would be had he lived to old age.
It is entirely possible that the aforementioned Big Five would have had to expand their roster to include him. But we will never know as he died all too young on that cold, December night in 1944. Little George was the only son of John A. Plott, and a nephew to Von Plott. He was killed in action on Christmas Eve, 1944, while crossing the English Channel on board the SS Leopoldville. Little George Plott was only 32 years old.
Many of you know the story of his heroism and it is profiled in detail in my third book. But here is a brief recap for those of you unfamiliar with it. George’s ship was torpedoed by a German submarine, and though he could not swim, George bravely directed the surviving members of his outfit to a rescue boat, as he stayed behind to go below deck and rescue others. He made at least two trips below the hull – rescuing comrades each time – before making a last valiant final attempt as the boat sank.
802 American troops – including soldiers from 47 of then existing 48 states died on that tragic night, including three sets of brothers and two sets of twins. Captain George Ellis Plott was among the dead. His body was never found.
Though only 32, Little George not only died a hero, but was highly thought of and renowned as a great hunter and Plott dog man long before he began his illustrious military career. There are numerous newspaper and magazine accounts describing him as a talented young man of high character with many valuable skills.
He certainly left a big impression on baseball hall of fame member Branch Rickey who hunted with Little George and his uncle Von Plott on Hazel Creek in 1935. Rickey rightly predicted in a 1935 letter to Von that George was destined for great things and “would make his mark in the world in whatever he undertakes.”
In a colorful family known for their family feuds, Little George always remained a bastion of integrity, seemingly able to bridge the gap between feuding clan members and always providing a positive example for the rest of the Plott family to aspire to.
He was fiercely dedicated to the perpetuation of the Plott breed and was a master of animal husbandry skills. Many Plott historians – and I am one of them – strongly believe that as impressive as the Plott breed is today, it would have been even more spectacular had Little George survived the war and lived a normal life span. But unfortunately we will never know for sure.
However, one thing is for certain: Captain George Plott died an American hero on Christmas Eve, 1944. And for that reason alone, we are forever in his debt.
Regardless of what he might or might not have done had he lived, and regardless of the exemplary life he lived prior to joining the military, no one can ever dispute the fact, that like all of our American veterans –living or dead – Little George Plott was a hero of the highest order. And I always try and remember him—and all of them, including my late father –every day, but especially on Christmas Eve, the anniversary of his tragic death.
I looked to the heavens in salute to them and gathered a few more sticks of wood for the fire. The thought of all those brave Americans dying in the frigid depths of the English Channel sent a chill down my spine. I moved closer to the roaring flames, and thought to myself how it is strangely ironic, yet appropriate, that shortly before Christmas this year some new information surfaced on my hero, Little George Plott.
I think this research further validates what a fine young man he was and what a tragedy it is that he died all too young. And it includes actual quotes from the young officer. But before we get to that article, bear with me, as we need to provide you with a bit of background information to better appreciate the story.
By the early 1900s the Plott hound was starting to gain nationwide notoriety due in large part to writers such as Raymond Camp and Horace Kephart who extolled the virtues of these great dogs in their national newspaper and magazine art

By : Bob Plott

plott_bob PDF DOWNLOAD

National Plott Hound Association News American Cooner

huntinghoundsmen — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:44:36 +0000

Howdy, folks! I hope you and yours are well and surviving this endless summer heat wave. It has proven to be unrelenting here in North Carolina, with six straight days of over 100 degree highs – and it seems like a month or more since we have been lower than the mid-90s. Several mornings I have fed the dogs before going to work and it is already in the 80s and incredibly humid with the sun barely even up. Our only respite has been brief, but violent thunderstorms. However, instead of cooling things down, it just leaves us even more humid and muggy. Some people like this sort of weather —not me!
Again, I remind you and your dogs to be careful working, hunting and training in this weather. Heat stroke is serious stuff and is often fatal, so take extra precautions to avoid it if at all possible.
By the time you read this NPHA Plott Days will be history. I hope those of you that were able to make the trip to Indiana had a wonderful time there. The competitions are always fun and highly anticipated, but to me it is the family reunion feel of these events that truly makes them special.
Seldom will we have so much living Plott history at one location. It’s always wonderful to visit with old friends and make new ones, but it is also a unique opportunity to learn from many of the legends of our sport – folks like Harold Pace, Gene Walker, Orville Mansholt, Marion Allison, Wayne Allen and too many others to mention them all.
And it’s also a good time to reflect on all the missing breed icons – like Gene White, Berry Tarlton, Frank Methven and Lawrence Porterfield – that have recently passed away or that may have been be too ill to attend. We should never forget them and what they have done to perpetuate the Plott breed. Keep them forever in your thoughts and prayers.
Sorry to digress, but it is my sincere hope that you were indeed able to attend this great event and that you and yours had a wonderful time in the process. Congratulations and thanks go out to all the NPHA officers and for the Perry County Coon Club for putting on such a stellar gathering.
I know that my friend Danny Scoggins of Rock Island, Tennessee was there, and I believe that he picked up a couple of pups from Bill Harrell – another man well-known for his fine Plott dogs.
Danny has raised and hunted Plotts for over a quarter of a century, and his foundation stock originated with none other than other than the legendary Berlin King. The Harrell Plott hounds combined with the Scoggins/King dogs should make for a dynamic cross. I wish them luck in this process.
Speaking of pups, Charlie Markham sent me some more pictures of the first registered Finnish Plotts. I told you that story last month and thought that you might enjoy seeing some more of these photos. Thanks Charlie, for sharing them.
My buddy Rusty Gill of Old Town, Florida, reports that our newest litter of Von Plott pups is doing well and will be weaned from their mama by the time you read this. I bred Rusty’s gyp to my Bud Lyon bred Von Plott dog on March 31 and the pups were whelped on June 2, 2012. We are excited and honored to carry on this great tradition that was begun with Von Plott and continued for nearly half a century by C.E. “Bud” Lyon.
I think the hot weather and the fact that many folks are either on vacation or preparing for the trip to Plott Days has resulted in a slower than normal month for both mail and phone calls. And it makes sense as this is not only a busy time of year for most families, but as I said, it has been too hot to do much of anything but search for a shady, cool place to relax.
However, several folks did take the time to call or write and I wanted to mention a few of you in particular, as well as several that have been ill.
I hope that my friend Duane Smith continues to recuperate from his recent illness. Duane, you are in my thoughts and prayers and I hope we can talk or write again soon when you are feeling better. The same applies to Mr. Hoke Rawlins, and Bud Lyon as well. And I am happy to report that Bud is indeed doing much better – so that’s good to hear. I hope we can visit soon, Bud.
I heard from my friend Rick Jenkins, of Asheville, NC this week. Rick is a hard hunter and dedicated Plott man. One of his fine Plott dogs has been experiencing some serious health issues of late and I hope they are resolved soon. I saw the dog at Breed Days when he was just a pup a couple of years ago, and I was really impressed with his looks and performance. Good luck, Rick!
Steve Zimmerman of Wilmington, NC and me have been playing phone tag of late, but I hope to speak with him about his Plott dogs soon, and the same applies to Jim Wanta of Michigan and Oren Midzinski of Utah –both of whom I owe phone calls. I also enjoyed talking with Lynwood Jackson of Asheville, NC about his new Plott dog too. And it’s always a pleasure to hear from my old buddy Roger Bryson of Cashiers, NC –a guy who is continually willing to work hard to promote the Plott breed.
I had a delightful email from Jack Dobson recently. Jack is an avid coon hunter originally from Surry County, NC. He shared some great stories with me, as well as a lead on a living piece of Plott history that I recently contacted and interviewed. There will be more on that topic in upcoming articles. Thanks Jack, I hope to talk with you again soon.
In an earlier article I had commented on getting an email from Sgt. Larry Plott who is currently serving our country with the US Army in Afghanistan. And Jose Gardner –a hard core Alabama hog hunter and Plott man – is now out of the Marines and going to college after doing a combat tour of his own in the Middle East.
Jose is the son of Dan Gardner who has been a tireless supporter of the Plott breed for years. And Jose has followed diligently in his father’s footsteps. I think Jose is now attending college at Auburn and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Today my friend Gene Walker sent me a great photo of a young friend of his — Chris Smith – who is also serving our country in Afghanistan. According to Gene, Chris is a native of Indiana and an avid coon hunter.
Chris is also a strong supporter of Gene’s Pocahontas Plotts, and owns a dog that came out of Gene’s famous Cody II female, and Gus. He and his army buddies are pictured in the Afghan war zone with Chris proudly wearing his Pocahontas Kennels cap. I have sent Chris an email myself, and hope to learn more about him soon. But in the meantime, I would like to thank Chris, Jose, Larry – and all our American veterans past and present –for their service to our great country.
My dear friend Bill Carter of Fuquay-Varina, NC, surprised me with a gift this week. He sent me a book called War Dogs. It is the story of all the dogs that the U.S. Military has used in combat since World War I. It’s really a great book and I truly appreciate Bill’s kind gift and friendship.
Bill is a retired Special Forces Colonel who served in Vietnam. He owns a Plott hound named Robert that is out of my deceased Archie dog and John Jackson’s Sweet Pea.
Robert was one of the Plott dogs featured in the TV show that we did for the History Channel last year. He is a beautiful Plott specimen and extremely intelligent.
Being an army veteran, Bill is very patriotic and raises the American flag outside his home on a daily basis. He also taught his dog – Robert – to salute the flag when it is being raised. I know this may sound like a tall tale, but you can go to my website – www.bobplott.com – and see a short video of Robert doing this. Robert and Bill will be special guests at Plottfest next year, so please make plans to come out and see them.
It’s always great to hear from folks that like my books, and I was especially pleased to get a message from some members of the Orr family a few weeks ago. I had written about Will Orr, a famous western North Carolina hunter, in my second book and the Orr’s had enjoyed the profile.
I hope to meet with them soon to learn more about their family and particularly about their relative the late Andy Orr. Andy was a rough character from the mountains of Graham County who reportedly killed seven men and later died in the federal prison in Atlanta. He allegedly murdered four of his victims for hurting or insulting his hunting dogs. I hope to get the real story about him through the Orr clan and get a photo of Andy as well.
One of the great things about writing books – or any historical piece – is doing the research on the subjects in the story. I profiled another old-time hunting legend – Granville Calhoun – in my second book too. And I included a picture of him and some other bear hunters in one of my recent American Cooner magazine articles.
Calhoun was not only a great hunter and dog man, but he was a superb businessman and humanitarian. He lived to be 103 and I talked to him often as a boy in Bryson City, NC, where he told me of his early days as a hunter and fisherman on Hazel Creek. Calhoun was also a close friend of the illustrious writer and outdoorsmen Horace Kephart. Kephart wrote quite a bit about Plott dogs, local bear hunters, and all forms of hunting and fishing stories in his books and magazine stories.
Kephart is much more famous than Calhoun, and well known for both his literary work and for his efforts in the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But while perhaps lesser known, Granville Calhoun was an equally extraordinary man.
Recently an individual –who has asked to remain anonymous – contacted me to show me a collection of Granville Calhoun artifacts, photos and documents. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turned out to be the real deal.
The collection included Calhoun’s pistol, hunting knives, fly rod, creel and other hunting and fishing gear, as well as his gold pocket watch (that still works,) along with too many interesting documents and photos to mention them all. Needless to say, I was honored to gain access to this collection and I hope to write more in detail about it in the future.
But let’s get back to the mail bag. It was good to hear from my buddy Johnny Mash last week. Johnny is a farmer in Ashe County, NC, and long time Plott dog enthusiast. Johnny hopes to add another Plott dog to his kennels in the very near future.
Thanks go out to Mike Mehaffey of Clyde, NC, as well as to Joe and Henri McClees of the NC Sporting Dog Association for their efforts in protecting the rights of N.C. hunting hounds people. And thanks also to Irv Corbin, Pat Alcisto, Marion Diotte, and a host of other west coast dog men for their efforts in trying defeat the California SB 1221 – a bill that basically will outlaw hunting with dogs in California.
That about covers the mail bag for now. As always, I encourage you to write and share your photos and stories with me to include them in this column. I have said many times before that I want this be your column – but I can’t do it without your help.
I will close this month with a bit of Plott history regarding weapons used by well-known Plott family members and hunters that are still owned by several Plott family members today. I originally wrote this article back in 2009, but have updated it as more weapons and artifacts have surfaced and have come back into possession of the Plott family since that time.
All of these items are special, but none more so to me than the weapons of “Little” George Plott and his father John. They were returned to the Plott family in late 2011.
And seeing the battered Winchester rifle of none other than Von Plott will bring chills down the spine of any true Plott enthusiast. Man, if these weapons could only talk—what amazing stories they could tell!
But I am getting ahead of myself. Here’s the article, I hope you enjoy it:

PLOTT FAMILY WEAPONS
By Bob Plott Copyright 2009
If there is anything hunting houndsmen love almost as much as their Plott dogs, it is their hunting rifles. And a fine example of this is the arsenal of weapons owned by the Plott family – many of which still survive today. Probably the earliest and some of the best examples of these guns are the .32 caliber and .50 caliber muzzle loading rifles once owned by David, Robert Henry, and Herbert Plott.
David Plott, the third son of Henry Plott was the original owner of these weapons and he passed them down to his son, Robert Henry, who in turn passed them down to his son Herbert. They are of particular interest in that they both were originally flintlock rifles, later converted to percussion, and both – especially the .50 caliber rifle – were probably originally built in the late 18th century. Considering that David was not born until 1807, it is highly likely that these rifles were originally owned by Henry Plott (1770-1810) and later passed on to David by his father. If this is indeed the case, we are looking at a gun, or guns, once owned by Henry Plott, the man who brought the first Plott dogs to the Great Smoky Mountains around 1800. What a piece of Plott history!
There is an original powder horn and shot bag, with shooting accoutrements – bullet mold, priming horn etc. – accompanying the rifles. While these artifacts are almost impossible to specifically date, they are nonetheless at least 150 years old and are treasured Plott family heirlooms. They were used by three generations of the Plott clan – David, Robert Henry and Herbert Plott – all legendary bear hunters.
The hunting rifle of David Plott’s brother, iconic hunter and guide Amos Plott was a more ornate weapon, and it too, is a valuable piece of Plott history. The name of Amos Plott is engraved on the patch box and clearly it was once a top of the line gun. Before it was found and salvaged by its current owners, the Amos Plott rifle fell on to hard times. It reportedly was being used as a fire place utensil to “poke” the fire when found and purchased by a family member. This rifle dates back to the mid-1800s and was carried by one of the finest bear hunters of that era – Amos Plott (1805-1865.)
In addition to his rifles, Robert Henry Plott (1840-1926) also hunted bears with a muzzle loading pistol. This .54 caliber hand gun was captured by Plott during the Civil War. It is not known how many bears he killed with the weapon, but it was no doubt a significant number as he was a prolific hunter. Plott also captured a .44 caliber pistol from a Union officer which he used for personal protection. It is interesting to also note that Robert Henry Plott was likely the last Confederate prisoner of war released by the Union during the Civil War. Both of his pistols remain in the Plott family today.
Of course, there is no more famous pistol in Plott history than the hand gun owned by Montraville Plott (1850-1924.) This pistol was probably built about 1860. Plott used this weapon to kill 211 bears during his distinguished hunting career. And the Plott family still has the skinning knife that Mont used to skin many – if not all – of these bears as well.
Family legend maintains that Montraville Plott, or possibly his son Von Plott, traded a Plott hound for a Baxter Bean .45 caliber flintlock rifle. This may not be true as it probably was Mont’s father, John T. Plott, or even more likely his grandfather, Henry, who traded for the gun.
We make this assumption based on several facts. The rifle was a flintlock and was never converted to percussion cap as most early flintlocks later were. Since most flintlocks were not converted until 1822 and since a dog was so valuable, the gun would have to be of equal value to the dog. So it is highly unlikely that the Plott family would have traded an “antique” gun that was of little practical use to them, for one of their prized hounds. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the rifle was considered a high end gun worthy of trade, and that the trade was consummated in the early 1800s. In other words, a valuable dog would not have been traded for anything less than a premium weapon that was still highly coveted as a hunting rifle. And certainly a Bean rifle fits that description during this early time period.
The Bean family was some of the most renowned rifle makers in southern mountain history. William Bean, a hunting partner of Daniel Boone, first settled in east Tennessee in 1768. His son, Russell, was said to be the first white child born in east Tennessee in 1769. William Bean would later serve with distinction fighting the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain. He was the first of the Bean family rifle builders and he established a gun shop near Jonesboro, Tennessee in the late 1700s. The Bean family legacy of gun building continued until the late 1800s with a succession of prominent gunsmiths including Baxter Bean – who built the Bean rifle traded to the Plott family.
Baxter was the son of Russell Bean, and was born around 1790. He learned gun building from his father and grandfather and it is believed that the rifle now owned by the Plott family was built by Baxter Bean about 1820 –perhaps earlier. However, it is possible that the gun was traded at a later date with Mont or Von, and that the old gun was thrown in just to sweeten the deal as an after thought. But either way, the Bean rifle is truly a piece of Smoky Mountain and Plott family history. Due to its pristine condition and because it remains an original flintlock, the Bean rifle is extremely valuable and remains a prized possession in the Plott family today – along with several hunting bags and powder horns.
The favorite hunting rifle of Plott icon Von Plott (1896-1979) also still survives today and it is a testament to his hard hunting style. The rifle – a Winchester model 1892 38-40 – is battered and beaten due to extreme use. I have seen a lot of rifles, but few can match the battle scars of this historic gun.
The Winchester 38-40 was a favorite weapon of bear hunting mountaineers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was short, light, and easy to carry through rugged terrain. Moreover, it packed enough knockdown power to kill a bear—though not at long range. The lever action of the gun was very reliable and allowed for fairly rapid fire, while both pistol and rifle cartridges could be used as ammunition. This was extremely important as ammunition was often difficult to acquire back in those days and made the gun even more versatile and valuable.
Cody Plott, (1884-1948) the son of Robert Henry Plott, was a notable bear hunter and game warden, who helped introduce Isaiah Kidd to the Plott breed. Cody favored a more “modern” Winchester rifle – the Model 1905 .35 caliber automatic. This was an automatic firing weapon that while popular, never really caught on in a big way with local hunters. Perhaps it was the cost of a newer gun, or maybe they preferred the older lever action models, or even in some cases ancient muzzle loading guns. But Cody liked the rifle and he is thought to have been the only Plott that ever had one. His grandson still owns it today.
Cody’s brother, James Robert Plott, (1879-1967) enjoyed using a Spanish American War Krag rifle and it served him well on many bear hunts. Their brother Herbert “Hub” Plott primarily used his father’s old muzzle loading rifles to hunt with as Hub enjoyed preserving the old-time ways. Hub’s wife, Nannie Plott also was a crack shot and kept a vintage 1901 .22 caliber rifle in her kitchen to shoot varmints with.
Speaking of Plott women, nd while on the subject of Plott family weapons, perhaps we should also include a frying pan to our list. Julia Plott, wife of Montraville Plott, supposedly once killed a wolf with a skillet. The wolf had made the mistake of damaging her laundry and she was forced to take action.
Other notable weapons still owned by the Plott family – though not hunting related – include a World War I sword and .45 caliber pistol owned by Big George Plott. Big George was a veteran of the border war with Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, as well as World War I and World War II.
Another Civil War era sword, once owned by Verlin Plott, brother of Amos Plott, remains in the family, as do several Civil War muskets and a shotgun, along with multiple pistols. These guns were likely later used as hunting weapons as well – though no one knows for sure. Unfortunately several vintage flintlock hunting rifles once owned by John Amos Plott were reportedly stolen from his home after his death. And these were reportedly early Bean rifles too — similar to aforementioned Bean flintlocks.
Also thought to be missing or stolen were the hunting rifles of both John, and his only son, “Little” George Plott. However, as it turns out, only the muzzle loading guns were actually stolen. Three of these precious artifacts resurfaced in 2011 and are now back in the possession of the Plott family.
These weapons include a double barrel H Model Stevens 12 gauge shotgun circa 1900. John Plott (1874-1959) used this hammerless weapon as his preferred bear hunting gun and loaded it with heavy slugs to ensure a clean kill. This is the shotgun that John is shown holding in the classic 1928 photo of the Plott brothers – John, Sam and Von – bear hunting in Graham County, NC.
Also included in this collection is an 1890 8MM German Mauser. It is a top loading, short barreled rifle that holds a five round clip. This was “Little” George Plott’s favorite hunting rifle and he is shown holding it in several vintage hunting photos taken at the famous Hazel Creek, NC hunting lodge in the 1930s.
He was said to prefer this short-barreled weapon because it was easier to handle in the rugged mountain terrain – plus it had solid knock-down power. “Little” George Plott died heroically serving his country while fighting in World War II on Christmas Eve 1944 – his story is profiled in detail in my third book.
This rifle is in fine shape and can still be fired – and it includes two original clips and a box of original bullets, though I would be reluctant to fire them. However, we are considering taking the Mauser on one last bear hunt to honor Little George in the near future.
The final piece of this previously missing piece of Plott history is an 1873 .32 caliber first model Winchester repeating rifle. It too, was originally owned by “Little” George Plott and he hunted with it often. He reportedly loved the rifle but did not like its weight or longer barrel. Like the other two guns, the Winchester is in mint condition and can still be fired today. The Plott clan is honored and ecstatic to have these illustrious historical weapons back in the family fold.
Clearly the Plott family arsenal was as equally impressive as their dogs, and just as rich in historical value. We are indeed fortunate that so many of these weapons survive still today and that various Plott family members have allowed us to enjoy them as we imagine and appreciate their storied past.
I hope you enjoyed the article and photos. We’ll sign off for now. Until next month, may God bless you, your family and your dogs. Good hunting!

By Bob Plott

plott_bob_npha_news by Bob Plott PDF DOWNLOAD

2012 PKC Blue Ribbon Pro Hunt, Dupont, Indiana

huntinghoundsmen — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:37:12 +0000

My experiences with the Clifty Creek Coonhunters Association in Dupont, Indiana began many years ago as a teenager. Back in the spring of 1979, a few friends and I traveled to Dupont for a Coonhound event that we had seen advertised in Full Cry magazine. We had no intention of competing in the hunt, but we were all Hide Hunters and wanted to see what these hunts were all about.
We arrived in the late afternoon and the parking lot was jam-packed; we had to park along the county road. The treeing contest was in progress with about 75 entries and the winner’s pot and calcutta were worth several hundred dollars. We sat and watched a bench show with over 50 entries and stayed until the club put nearly 100 dogs in the woods for a three-hour Nite Hunt.
The Dupont club is also where I first got my taste for PKC hunting. In the late 80’s I was hunting a little female called Salt Creek Ann II. I entered her in her first PKC $25 hunt at Clifty Creek. There was a large entry that Saturday night and I was lucky enough to land a spot in the final four. Unfortunately, for Lee Ballard and Patch, their scorecard was back, but they did not make deadline. With the remainder of us splitting first, second and third, it turned out to be a great payday. I won about $158 plus jackpot money and I was hooked!
Many things have changed since those early experiences at Dupont, but one constant remains; this club knows how to put on a quality event. For about the last fifteen years the Clifty Creek CHA members have been hosting the PKC Labor Day Classic in North Vernon around the last week of August. It has been a top-notch event that many members look forward to each year.
On August 03, 2012 the PKC Blue Ribbon Pro Hunt tour made a scheduled stop at Dupont. This hunt was to be no exception to the club’s excellent track record. Clifty Creek has an exceptionally nice clubhouse with an outstanding kitchen and a very welcoming atmosphere. Bobby Wilson, Denny Wilson and all the club members went out of their way to ensure a good, quality hunt for everyone involved. If someone asked for anything, they provided it!
Thanks go out to a great group of judges! The full-time judges that stayed in the woods for two rounds each night were Clay Young, Jonathan Merritt, Darrell Eads and Dustin Troutman. Those helping out the club and judging one or two rounds were Rick Shafer, Dudley Jones, James Tirey, Steve Burkholder, Dustin Kern and Kevin Cable.
The Dupont guides did and outstanding job keeping the casts in good hunting. They are as follows; Allen Maschino, Austin Tungate, Calvin Royce, Chris Braley, Dalton Davis, Jerry Lemaster, Ki Roberts, Kyle Short, Lance Laymon, Larry Wahlman, Shane Stoner, Shawn Seals and Spencer Seals.
Congratulations to the Top Sixteen Semi-Finalists making it to the early round on Saturday. Cast one consisted of Youth Dakota Stephens hunting Eric Caudill’s Mo, Clyde Osborn hunting Ted Blaker’s Rueger and Dave Lawson hunting his dog Cobb. Ronnie Smith came out on top with Jerry Frazier’s Pack with 175+.
Cast two held Ladybird owned and handled by Ryan George, Homer owned by Travis/Axford and handled by Jeff Travis, Box owned and handled by Keith Husband. The eventual winner was Smirnoff Ice owned and handled by Nickey Hale with 450+.
The third semi final cast involved Kirk Reitz hunting Reitz/Axford’s Lady, Scott Allen hunting Allen/Allen’s Rocks, Kris Whitelock hunting Carmack/Bellar’s Purdy. Besting this field was Tyler Steury hunting Burkholder/Steury’s Bell with 325+.
Rounding out the Top Sixteen, cast four included; Hoss owned by Ronnie House and handled by Sluggo Payton, Barney owned by Ted Blaker and handled by Doug Bice, Jesse owned by Rory Cowles and handled by Jason Reisert. The leader at the end of two hours was Dandy owned by Charlie Ammerman and handled by Dennis Hensley with 250+.
Now it was time for the Final Cast. There were four good hounds and four good handlers with lots of nervous anticipation. Clay Young was the final cast judge with Ki Roberts doing the guiding. The panel in the woods consisted of Darrell Eads, Jonathan Merritt and Dustin Troutman. Jeff Travis was reporting from the woods to Tony Secoy doing the Play By Play at home.
The hounds were released at 2:54 AM EDT, Noff struck shortly after for 100 followed by Bell for 75. Pack went in for 50 before Bell treed for 100. Dandy is struck for 25 with a line while Noff covered Bell for 25. Dandy was found at the tree also and his 25 strike was deleted. It didn’t take long to find Bell’s coon, her and Noff are plussed up!
After the minute was walked, the six was applied to Pack and it got him for 50-. Bell, Noff and Dandy are released under a new set of strike points. Strike Pack for 100, Noff for 75 and Bell for 50. Pack is treed for 100 and Noff behind him for 75. Bell is treed for a quarter and Dandy is struck for 25 with a line.
Pack and Bell are handled in the ground, circle them up. Noff’s is found nearby split from Pack and Bell and is handled. Dandy is also handled at Noff’s tree, his strike is deleted and Noff is circled both ways.
All hounds are loose again and competing for strike points. Noff is struck for 100, Dandy for 75. Dandy is treed for 100 and Noff backed him for 75. Bell is struck for 50 with a line. Plus up Dandy and Noff Up!
Tree Bell for 100, making her 50 strike points live ones. Noff is re-struck for 25 with a line and treed behind Bell for 25. Pack is struck for 25 with a line. Circle up Bell’s strike and tree, delete Noff’s 25 strike and circle his 25 tree. Dandy was also handled at this tree, but was not struck in.
After the trio is released, Pack is treed for 100. Noff and Dandy struck for 25 each with a line. Pack’s raccoon is quickly spotted, plus him up!
Dandy’s 25 strike is minued just before the hunt expires and Noff’s 25 strike is deleted. What a great hunt. Here is how they finished.

First Place 300+
$4,000 Winner
Smirnoff Ice
Nickey Hale-O/H

Second Place 175+
$1,600 Winner
Blue River Miss Bawling Bell
Tyler Steury/Steve Burkholder-O
Tyler Steury-H

Third Place 150+
$800 Winner
Crooked Creek Dandy
Charlie Ammerman-O
Dennis Hensley-H

Fourth Place 75+
$400 Winner
Power Pack
Jerry Frazier-O
Ronnie Smith-H

Thank you to all who participated or helped out in any way to make this a great event!

By Jerry Moll

pro_hunt_dupont by Jerry Moll PDF DOWNLOAD

Mayview Coon Hunters Ass’n. American Cooner

huntinghoundsmen — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:28:10 +0000

On July 13-14, we hosted a UKC hunt and show and had a nice turnout even for the hot weather we are having. We had 14 dogs on Friday night, seven in the show on Saturday and 10 in the hunt on Saturday night.
Friday night winners were:
Nite Champion: Ruby, Bluetick female, Roy Clifton, Pleasant, KS, 200+
1st. Banjo, Bluetick English, Pat Mierer, Lexington, MO, 275+
Saturday night winners were:
Nite Champion: Stylish Joe, Rick Keele, Walker male, Sedalia, MO, 125+
1st. Whiskey, Walker, Brad Baker, Houstonia, MO, handler Larry Hicklin, 425+
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all of the hunters who hunted in the hunt. I am still in shock. I picked up a form to register a litter of pups and I can’t believe the way the prices have gone up. It used to be a breeder got a break on his pups that he wanted to register at the time. The price of the registration for a three generation pedigree has gone up to $20. Now if the breeder wants to register a pup they pay the full $20 to register it. The breeder is not getting a break for the hard work they put in raising pups. I don’t know who is making the decisions for all of these changes but they are about price the poor man out of the coonhound business and the hunts.
It seems as though all of the registries are making changes that only benefit the registry and not thinking about the hunters and breeders. This year ACHA has made the decision that dogs have to be registered with their registry if they want to hunt in their hunts. Are we making progress or just making somebody rich? Are they driving the poor person out of coon hunting? This is a dying sport with cities expanding and farms changing hands. The younger generation not having a chance to get hooked on coon hunting. I remember back in 1953 when I started hunting in these hunts all you had to do is bring your dog and pay your entry fee and go out and hunt and have a good time.
All registries put so much in their degrees, so what can you do with them after the dog has made them? Most have cheated to get the titles and some are made more honest than others, but in the end, they are just an ego filler and I like to fill my ego too. When I say they are made dishonestly, have you ever been on a cast when the dogs tree and you know there are no coon there and you circle the tree. This is a mild form of cheating and everyone has been on a cast like this including myself.
In all the years of my hunting in these hunts I have only been with two guys who said “minus my dog” when everyone else said “circle.” We need more hunters like them.

Mayview Coon Hunters Ass’n. by By Travis Benton PDF DOWNLOAD

One Dog or Big Pack? : Rabbit Hunter

huntinghoundsmen — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:04:53 +0000

It’s probably safe to say that most of today’s rabbit hunters (seeking hares or cottontails) started out with one Beagle, maybe two, that a friend, relative or neighbor happened to own. That’s how most of us learned how to hunt rabbits including how to “read” the dogs, where to stand, when to shoot and how to tell a good tailgate story. I am also willing to bet that anyone reading this story can remember not only his first successful shot at a rabbit but also the name of the dog that ran it to him. Stuff like that is unforgettable, as well it should be.
There’s not much in life that compares to a kid’s first hunt, first kill and first dog. Decades can go by and a lot can happen over those years, most of it easily forgotten. But, I can close my eyes more than 50 years later and still see old Smokey burning it up behind the first cottontail I ever saw. A 50-pounder at least (or so it seemed to me!), he hitched up and stopped just as I pulled the trigger on my trusty Savage 24DL, an over-under .22/.410 that was tailor made for boys hunting in thick cover where the traditional one-shot, one-kill rule was still in effect.
I’m certain (based on over half a century of tailgate talk) that you have a tale at least as good as mine stowed somewhere in the back of your mind. If you don’t have a memory like that burned into your head, go out and make one!
My point is simple enough: It is possible to hunt rabbits successfully using one Beagle, and there are many good reasons why owning and running one dog is a good idea. (I’ll talk about the advantages of running a pack of Beagles shortly, so bear with me!)
The fun begins when you decide it’s time to get into the grand sport of rabbit hunting with Beagles. The reasons are simple enough – longer seasons, higher bag limits, more fun and more opportunities to hunt. Every state has a rabbit season of some sort and for the price of a tank of gas you can hunt swampers, cottontails, hares and even jackrabbits with a Beagle. Just get there, turn the dog loose and start hunting!
For starters, get your home ready for a new dog before you bring him home. Have a bed, food, water, leashes and collars in hand before he comes skittering through the door. Eventually you will want a dog house or kennel, room for him to exercise and protection from other dogs. Also, consider where you want to take your new dog for veterinary services, which can add up even for routine visits. Expect to pay close to $300 per dog in vet bills annually; less, of course, if you do most of your Beagle maintenance on your own.
When looking at Beagle pups, do not go to the mall stores, puppy mills or similar fast-dog operations. You will pay too much (I’ve seen department-store Beagles “on sale” for $800!). These dogs are pure-bred Beagles, no doubt, but their hunting instincts are dormant if not bred out of them. Save yourself the money and aggravation and find a reputable breeder of hunting Beagles, ideally one who hunts or trials his dogs, and have him suggest the pick of the litter based on your needs. If you just want a stout, loud hunter with a good nose the breeder will have one waiting for you when you get there. If you have more particular needs, plan on spending a few hours looking at his dogs, watching them run rabbits in the training pen and observing them in action. Take your pick, bring him home and start training!
One advantage of having a single Beagle is that he gets all of your attention every day. He will learn to recognize you, come to you and respond to basic commands much faster than will a pack hound that may get lost in the crowd. If you plan to spend at least 20 minutes a day with your new pup in various types of play and exercise, he will become a loyal and trusted companion for life.
Part of your playtime should include a sock or rag soaked in rabbit scent. Drag this around the yard (starting with a simple straight line and graduating to more complicated patterns as the dog grows older) and then let the dog out to “find the bunny.” Be prepared for your pup to be excited but confused, slow and erratic in finding the trail. Remember, he’s a puppy – he knows nothing! He’s got instincts, interest and potential, but if you expect him to be a master rabbit chaser at 8 weeks both of you are likely to be disappointed.
Work with your pup every day, cheering him on while always adding a new element to the game. By his 6th month he should have the idea enough to start running rabbits on his own. Practice in the yard during the week and take him out on weekends to find and run real rabbits. Be patient, be persistent and praise him whenever he does something right.
After much stumbling and bumbling, one day your new pup will suddenly grow up. He’ll find his own rabbits, he’ll run them with flash and style and he won’t need any more classroom work. Now you are set for a lifetime (his, anyway) of great hunting experiences.
The down side of one-dog hunting is that you are putting all your money on a single Beagle. Dogs get sick, they get tired, they get injured and they get old. Having only one Beagle will, at first, seem like a great idea but be prepared for the bad days as well as the good. An injured, sick or aged hound will not perform well in the field and there will be times when you have to pull him out of the briars for one reason or another. With all your chips on one dog you are bound to have days where he can’t or won’t hunt. I had an excellent Beagle once that, near the end of the day, slashed his eyeball on a raspberry thorn. He was out of business for weeks while we treated him and when the wound healed he was still not his old self.
This is just one of the risks of owning a single dog. Accidents and ailments will happen, too many of them during the hunting season. If you are willing and able to assume the risk of losing days or weeks of hunting time, go the one-dog route. No bred-for-hunting Beagle will be a disappointment, but he will have his off days. Be prepared for that but don’t blame the dog! Every hunting Beagle I’ve ever know always gave 100 percent, but a sick or injured dog doesn’t always have 100 percent to give!
THE PACK
This brings us to the ins and outs of owning a large pack. The advantages are many, of course – more dogs, more options, more chances to hunt. After all, it’s a rare day when your entire pack is down from illness or injury. There’s always a percentage of Beagles that won’t be able to hunt on a given day, but that leaves the rest of the pack to take up the slack. Pack dynamics are such that there are leaders and there are followers, but there are times when the pack leaders aren’t up to it and so the followers suddenly step up and take over. Beagles develop their skills over time and with experience, and in a pack the level of ability ebbs and flows with the age and experience of the dogs. When you get to know your dogs intimately you will see the changes in them and you will start choosing specific dogs for hunting, trialing or training based on your knowledge of their past performance.
If one dog can be considered expensive in time and money, imagine what a pack of Beagles will cost you financially and in effort expended. More dogs means more money to acquire them, more vet bills, more food and more room to house them, not to mention the cost of collars, leashes and transportation.
Plus, a large pack of hounds will demand more hours on training and experience. If you don’t own your own kennel and training grounds you will have to find these facilities, often meaning renting kennel space and buying training time. Most pack owners have the connections to house and run their dogs on adjoining properties, on friends’ land or any number of other combinations. The point is that you may not want to acquire a pack of 10 Beagles if you live in a third-floor apartment and the nearest briar patch is 25 miles away!
Hunting and training a large pack is an exercise in logistics. Few hunters go out and buy a dozen pups and raise them together as a pack. In most cases there are old dogs, young dogs in their prime and a few pups coming up that, the theory is, can learn from each other and contribute to the chase based on their age, energy and expertise. There is no telling what can happen when six or more Beagles hit the ground. For example, on one hunt the more mature dogs took off in a scramble to be the first to find a rabbit while the timid young pup of the bunch went the other way on his own, looking, we thought, for grasshoppers or maybe a mouse or vole.
Sure enough, a minute later we heard yips, yaps and howls from the littlest dog that had, of course, jumped himself a rabbit. The pack came roaring back and took over, but guess who got to ride in the front seat on the way home? That pup learned all he needed to know in that little cameo appearance – from then on he was king of the strike dogs and more than earned his place in the pack.
More of the Beagles’ personality and intelligence is revealed when hunting in a pack. Some dogs are great at finding and jumping a rabbit while others are best at straight trailing. Some are masters of the check and others take over when the rabbit has ducked into a brush pile or log jam. The biggest, strongest Beagles know they can’t get into tight places as well as the smaller dogs, so they step aside and let the tiny females dig in and get the rabbit going again, shouldering them aside as the chase resumes. All in all, the pack mentality is an interesting and amusing dynamic. If only humans got along and cooperated so well!
One of the obvious benefits of running a large pack is that you have the option of matching your dogs up with the anticipated conditions. For a small training run in a confined area it might be best to release just two or three dogs, letting them run for a few hours and then replacing them with a fresh trio of hounds. In this way you can spend a day afield, run all your dogs and not have to travel all over creation getting them exercised.
On a long day of hunting through several locations, it may be best to release half the pack in the morning and run the remainder in the afternoon. This gives all the dogs a chance to work but no so much that they wear themselves out.
While any lone Beagle can be worked up to running all day over the course of the season, he’s going to have to rest a few days between hunts. This is another advantage of running a pack. By using two or three dogs each day you can rotate your pack and enjoy great hunts day after day. By the time the first pack has rested the others will be due for a break, but all the dogs can run at their peak and you don’t have to miss a day or two while worn-out Beagles try to recover.
Another important aspect of pack running is that it’s possible to include other dogs for training or observation purposes. A pack of hunting hounds is a fluid thing, always being tweaked, always being improved. Every hunter has his goals, be it faster dogs, moderate dogs, slower dogs, better strike dogs, better check dogs – the combinations are endless. Buying, selling or trading is much easier when you can see a Beagle in action and you can measure his performance against dogs you know through living, training and hunting them. In a pack situation you can see what skills or faults the individual hound has and decide whether or not he’s going to improve or enhance your kennel.
By the way, this is not to say that there is a better or worse way to hunt Beagles. On a good day you can’t improve on a one-dog or multi-hound operation, and when things aren’t going well you can’t give them away!
The sport of hound hunting is a special, personal experience that can be adapted to any number of scenarios involving any number of dogs. I know hunters who prefer the one-dog approach while others set the limit at two, three or 10 Beagles. It all depends on your point of view, your plans and your intentions. Some hunters may own only three or four Beagles in their lifetimes, while others buy and sell twice that many dogs every month. You may want to get into the “perfect pack” game, you may want to train and breed Beagles for sale or just own one or two “best” dogs for your own hunting pleasure. In most cases, Beagle owners morph back and forth between any or all of these, mixing and matching colors, numbers and goals, and are quite happy no matter where they happen to be on the beagling ladder.
Odd as it may seem, I am like many other life-long Beaglers in that I have come full circle. I started out with one fast, hot-nosed Beagle and, after 50 years of happy hunting am ready to go back to a one-on-one situation where my year-round best friend is also my best hunting partner. I’m sure a Beagle finds having just one owner much easier to train, easier to understand and easier to hunt with.
At this end of life I am happy to head to the nearest briar patch in late afternoon and let the dog run, maybe shoot a couple of cottontails for the Saturday night bean pot and then listen to the music till it’s time to head for home again. I’ve run the gamut of beagling from go to whoa and have enjoyed every minute of it.
I encourage any hunter to get a Beagle (or 10!) and enjoy the benefits of long seasons, high bag limits and low-pressure hunts where the ultimate “trophy” is having spent the day doing what we enjoy most.

By Stephen Carpenteri

One Dog or Big Pack? By Stephen Carpenteri PDF DOWNLOAD