C’mere deer!

[Ed Kennell 40,306]

11 hours ago, adsm08 said:

@Ed Kennellyou will have to give me some tips to get my two morons into shape.

 

I had one staring right at a rabbit and not know what to do about it back in November.

Like Don noted above, the instinct to track and hunt is primarily genetic in the hound breeds.   All my beagles were offspring of hunting dogs and 90% were good hunters.

Some had no desire to hunt and became great indoor lap dogs. 

I did introduce all the pups to the scent and sight of rabbits early by using a roll cage. 

I made my own from two 12"dia. plywood ends with swivels and handles that I could use to roll the live rabbit around the yard with the pup following.  Where I worked there were plenty of rabbits that I live trapped and used for training pups.

 

After they were accustomed to and enjoying following the rolling rabbit,  I left them in the pen and rolled a trail leaving the cage within their  sight.

 

The next step was to start the rolled trail within thier sight but then dissappearing behind a building requiring them to actually use the scent to find the rabbit.

 

Next step was to release the rabbit within their sight

 

Some would trail slowly by track scent not moving from a track until they knew where the next track was.

 

Some would trail faster by body scent sometimes being 5-10 feet downwind from the ground track.

 

I could ID each one in a pack of five by their distinct voices.  The bark, bawl, bay, howl, chop, and whine.

 

 

 

[adsm08 2,573]

5 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

Like Don noted above, the instinct to track and hunt is primarily genetic in the hound breeds.   All my beagles were offspring of hunting dogs and 90% were good hunters.

Some had no desire to hunt and became great indoor lap dogs. 

I did introduce all the pups to the scent and sight of rabbits early by using a roll cage. 

I made my own from two 12"dia. plywood ends with swivels and handles that I could use to roll the live rabbit around the yard with the pup following.  Where I worked there were plenty of rabbits that I live trapped and used for training pups.

 

After they were accustomed to and enjoying following the rolling rabbit,  I left them in the pen and rolled a trail leaving the cage within their  sight.

 

The next step was to start the rolled trail within thier sight but then dissappearing behind a building requiring them to actually use the scent to find the rabbit.

 

Next step was to release the rabbit within their sight

 

Some would trail slowly by track scent not moving from a track until they knew where the next track was.

 

Some would trail faster by body scent sometimes being 5-10 feet downwind from the ground track.

 

I could ID each one in a pack of five by their distinct voices.  The bark, bawl, bay, howl, chop, and whine.

 

 

 

 

The older of my two seems to have the idea, but he is a flight risk in the field. I think he gets scent-locked on deer, because I have had to chase him down over a track of several miles before.

 

The younger one, I fear I may have missed the prime age to train him last summer while I was laid up and unable to do anything that wasn't 100% necessary.

 

If the weather holds tomorrow I may take them down to rabbit-row at the farm and kick the brush for them, just to see if we can kick one up.

[adsm08 2,573]

@Ed Kennell

 

So I did get the boys out to the farm today and we walked the road. Saw two rabbits. They jumped the first one and chased it, but it was too fast and too close to a group of burrows where we frequently lose rabbits in that area, and so it got away. They never even had a chance to try and turn it.

 

The other one was dead, frozen solid, and missing a leg, so we just left it alone.

[Pullstart 64,388]

@Ed Kennell and @WHX?? have their annual Deer Tails threads.  I should call this my “Cotton Tales”

 

 

[Pullstart 64,388]

They have finished hauling stumps.  The pile is massive and I couldn’t be happier about it!  I’ll see about getting a good picture of the complete pile.

 

 

[Pullstart 64,388]

This is a clip of a video of the drone screen this morning.

 

The tree line to the left runs north and south.  This should be a great wind block, most the time.

 

 

[The Freightliner Guy 1,335]

must be nice to not have to leave the property to go hunt! 

[Pullstart 64,388]

17 minutes ago, The Freightliner Guy said:

must be nice to not have to leave the property to go hunt! 

most days, yes.  I want to challenge myself though to scout and hunt spots on state land.  I am 10 to 40 minutes away from over 16,000 acres of public hunting land.  I should figure out how to use it, to help grow my deer herd.

[Handy Don 13,266]

10 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

grow my deer herd.

I wonder, are your neighboring land owners as eager to see an increase in wildlife population--in particular deer?

[Pullstart 64,388]

32 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

I wonder, are your neighboring land owners as eager to see an increase in wildlife population--in particular deer?

There are plenty who are hunters, most my immediate bordering neighbors enjoy watching them but son’s hunt them.  The farmers want them decimated.  I’d love to be able to look at a good handful and pick out the healthiest one and decide which to shoot.  Rather, I often need to make a decision on the fly:  Do I want to eat that deer, or maybe not see another one this week?

[Pullstart 64,388]

 

 

[Pullstart 64,388]

Has anyone ever done such a thing?  Antler trap?  I’ve seen it in the past, never tried it myself.

 

 

[WHX?? 50,561]

At spike camp I done it plenty of times back when we could legally feed & before this YT guy was born. Found a rare nice matching set once and mounted them. Plaque says this one still out running. Hard to find both sets. Rodents will carry them off quickly to naw on them for the calcium.  

 

Wrapped chicken wire around this feeder. 

 

Now it's just boots to the ground. Nice wouldda been eight pointer came in the other day missing one side. Got Cindy got off the couch and went looking with no luck.

One side missing I have observed them shaking their head trying to lose the other side.  

 

All sheds we have found. 

Edited February 9 by WHX??

[Pullstart 64,388]

After @Ed Kennell mentioned Hasenpfeffer I stepped outside the shop to take a look under a tree.  Lookey there a rabbit!

 

 

[Ed Kennell 40,306]

On 2/8/2025 at 1:06 PM, Pullstart said:

Has anyone ever done such a thing?  Antler trap?

In Pa baiting  big game for any purpose is illegal due to the increased risk of spreading CWD and other diseases.      The one exception is in well defined urban areas where there is an overpopulation of deer that can only be controlled by baiting and culling the doe.

[WHX?? 50,561]

14 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said:

baiting  big game for any purpose is illegal due to the increased risk of spreading CWD

Same Here in most areas. . if CWD is found in a county baiting and recreational viewing feeding is banned along with adjacent counties. Food plots are still allowed go figure. 

Personally I don't believe in CWD. Mother nature's way of culling. Wolfs & severe winters take more toll on the whitetail population than anything yet wolfs are still not able to be managed by the states. 

[adsm08 2,573]

Dad and I did our last tandem rabbit hunt for the year this morning. We went to his friend's place that we get to hunt once a year. Not a ton of action, we saw one three times in 10 minutes (reasonably sure it was the same one). It got away. Then we went through the same spot on the way out about 90 minutes later and got one. I moved it, it ran right towards dad and the dogs, saw them, stopped, and both of us shot it at the same time.

 

I may or may not go out by myself next weekend. We'll see. I also have an older friend who is a big-game guide who wants to come along on a rabbit hunt just to observe, maybe I'll see if he is free.

[Pullstart 64,388]

I saw tracks heading into the coop, but not out.  I decided this one should move along.