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Death of nite hunts

It has been awhile since I entered a nite hunt. The last one I entered was last fall, and it didn't go well. There was no doubt that I was beyond rusty.

I would love to get out and run my dog, but I don't hunt during quiet time. In the past I would have just entered a nite hunt.

Well, tonight my wife told me that she read on facebook that clubs were having hunts. Hmmm that is the first I heard! So I thought I would see who was having hunts.

I am extremely disappointed. All any clubs are doing are catering to the 4 or 5 guys who don't have a problem spending $50.00 to $70.00 a night! Then the clubs complain about no attendance!!

On top of that the majority of hunters and clubs only communicate through facebook. Guess what, when my wife does see content on facebook it is censured, and states content not available. Wake up people!!!! Facebook is not a friend to hunters!

I have nite hunted off and on since the mid 1980s. I have always tried to give back to local clubs and the state association. Now, no clubs have a simple night hunt that a rusty ole guy can go and cut a dog and share an evening in the woods.

You can argue every which way you can, but it will not change the fact ... it is truly a sad state of affairs.

__________________
Larry Atherton

Aim small miss small

Htx hunt

Mayview coonhunters association is having an htx hunt tomorrow night. It's here in Mayview MO. But is only $10. Had a Bboa hunt at Marshall MO that I think the entry was $25 or $30 over the weekend. There are plenty of opportunities for all kinds of hunters to come out to our local clubs and have fun. We have club hunts that range from $5-$15, Htx hunts that range from $5-$15, and all kinds of Ukc hunts. We have lots of strong clubs around here that work hard to offer even the pleasure hunters a way to show off their dogs. I'm sorry it's not that way where you are. You may stop in to some of the local clubs and talk to them and make sure they have your number. I know my wife is the secretary of a club and she text the younger generation but calls all the old timers to make sure everyone has the opportunity to join in. Good luck. And you may check into the htx hunts.

https://www.ukcdogs.com/coonhound-events-calendar
Not sure what your talking about but I just looked up Michigan hunts on here all $20-35. The other kennel club just like this one all sanctioned events are listed on their respective websites majority of which are $30 hunts with a few legacy hunts here and there that will be $75-100 entry fee. There is something for everyone. Facebook is an excellent way for clubs to stay in contact with people and expand their reach and to reach many of your younger hunters.

__________________
Cheyenne & Jennifer Cummings
Seneca , MO
(417)317-4815
"TEAM MAFIA"
*NATIONAL GRNITECH GRCH GRNITECH(5) HALL OF FAME PKC PLATIUM CH REDNECK BACKWOODS SHACK
2014 OK STATE CH, 2015 MO PKC LEADER, 2016 PKC NATIONALS SEMIFINALIST, 2016 UKC TOP 20, 2O17 UKC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 3RD PLACE, 2018 PKC SENIOR SHOWDOWN TRUCK HUNT FINAL 4, 2018 MO PKC STATE CHAMPION, 2019 AUTUMN OAKS NATIONAL GRNITE CH, 2019 PKC WORLD CH SEMIFINALIST. 2021 PKC SENIOR SHOWDOWN TRUCK HUNT FINAL 4.
*PKC WORLD CHAMPION PLATNIUM CHAMPION GRNITECH SHACK'S HEATHER ISLAND SOUTHERN STOGIE
2021 OKLAHOMA STATE CHAMPION, 2022 PKC WORLD CHAMPION, 2022 MO PKC STATE LEADER PRO SPORT TRUCK WINNER, 2025 MO PKC STATE CHAMPION

RIP
*GRNITECH PKC SCH REDNECK MAFIA PKC HALL OF FAME REPRODUCER INDUCTED 2022
*GRNITECH CH PKC SILVER CH REDNECK SHACK ATTACK aka TAC 2018 OKLAHOMA STATE CHAMPION, 2020 MO PKC STATE LEADER

Went to a double header 1 hour hunts 6-20-2020, Dead line was 7:30 (it gets dark at 9;30) 1st hunt return deadline was 12:30.
1st Hunt $35. 3 NtCh dogs, 8 registered
2nd Hunt $35. 2 NtCh dogs, registered dogs (not sure)
No pay out, no food, No win slips.

__________________
T.Osborne..Homemade Kennels!
Home Of.
GrNtCh Hardwood Bean 11/28/03 - 4/14/14.
GrNtCh Big Money
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GrChGrNtCh T&R’s Homemade Trouble

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Homemade Tank.
GrNtCh Hardwood Bean (SEMEN)
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HomeMade Kennels
Newton N.C
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(828) 302-5480

Not a bad turnout but

quote:

---

Originally posted by nitehunter2004
Went to a double header 1 hour hunts 6-20-2020, Dead line was 7:30 (it gets dark at 9;30) 1st hunt return deadline was 12:30.
1st Hunt $35. 3 NtCh dogs, 8 registered
2nd Hunt $35. 2 NtCh dogs, registered dogs (not sure)
No pay out, no food, No win slips.

---

2 hour hunt $25..
1 hour double header hunt $60
Thats an entry fee increase of %140 for the same amount of time.
I ain't very good in math , but I know when sumthing don't make sense .
I personally can't justify supporting 1 hour hunts, not at that large of a percentage increase.

quite ironic I just saw a post on facebook from another Michigan member on the same subject..

I agree wholeheartedly that facebook is no friend of hunters, trappers or other consumptive outdoor users.. Fact.. However social media has overwhelmed the way most folks communicate and the percentages will only creep higher as the older generation fades out.. I'm not a big social media user, but I look at it every day and keep up with people and events from around the country.. Rarely post, but do occasionally. Very effective way to communicate, just a flawed vehicle we have available.

As an older hunter I've seen the game change tremendously from the first nite hunt I went to in 1979 I believe.. Autumn Oaks at Coldwater, MI if memory serves me right. Not too long after that we switched from a three hour hunt to two and increased the minus out threshold to 400 from 300.. I still say if you want the true measuring stick for a coon hound you would return to the three hour hunt with the three hundred point minus out threshold.

Unfortunately with the way today's dogs and handlers operate you'd kill off an old fat guy pretty quick.

I've hit several hunts the last two years, finished my current hound to NT Ch under the old system with two firsts and a second. Easier than if i'd have had to get the 5 wins as there was only one cast at each hunt.. Sad.. I've put 5 wins to grand on him and need three more so far.. Under the old rules for finishing I'd be done as there was only one cast on the 5 hunts I won.. Were a couple casts on some other hunts, but none I won.. So in effect the new way has been harder.

And I have to say the sportsmanship I've run across in these UKC hunts has been fantastic.. I've had two bad casts out of the 13 casts i've been on in UKC with this dog.. The same old game of guys trying to win with the card and not the dog.. But only two.. Far less head aches than the old days I believe. I live in IN on the border of MI and ironically i've put most of my wins on in MI as I think you all have the best hunting in the country and best access yet of the clubs i've found.. I've hunted a number of states with the dog PKC and nothing compares. Odd fact is my home club hasn't held a UKC hunt in three years, but we are having one this weekend. Solely due to the double header slam hunt format that is available. Yep they are all PKC hunters and won't hunt for a win slip or entry.. Crazy, but true.

To finish this long rambling diatribe off I'll say the game has changed again unfortunately and it's geared entirely to get struck, get gone loners and handlers who can keep the pace and want a check and to run up the dollars on themselves and a hound that allows them to hunt for huge prizes in the spring.

I will finish this hound good lord willing and I'm done with nite hunts.. I'll still hide hunt and enjoy my hounds and maybe raise a litter or two of pups, but I'm done handling and competing myself. I physically don't enjoy the scurrying around the woods tree to tree and keeping track of all the action.

UKC is trying to stay relevant and I think on the right track, but the hunters are changing or have changed and it's not coming back to the way most of us would like..

Mr Atherton

I think I can understand what you are saying, and it truly is a changing world out there. Maybe it just evolving too fast for the old stuck in the past coon hunters, maybe the old guys are just too stubborn to change ( I know that I am). Either way, I have found that since I quit going to the hunts I am not nearly as stressed out on the weekends. These days I don't worry about making deadlines, I don't worry about drawing people that go back to my hunting spots, I don't have to deal with people I don't like when I'm hunting, and my dogs are enjoying it as well. They don't get loaded up and hauled all over the country in the heat and cold, they don't spend hours tied to the back of the truck, they don't have to be concerned with rough dogs anymore, and last but not least if they do something stupid I just laugh about it and move on. I grew up pleasure hunting but forgot just how peaceful it is. When I quit the hunts I thought that I would really miss it but so far it has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I know that we all have things that we love about the sport and I do sometimes miss seeing some of the people that I only saw at the hunts. My wife even liked it a lot better for about 2 weeks, now she says I am around the house way too much and getting on her nerves. lol. For all the people that want to run the hunts, I wish you all the very best of luck and hope that you never have a bad experience. For all the ones that choose to stay home and pleasure hunt and just enjoy being out in the woods with your dogs enjoying the simpler life, enjoy it while it lasts, our way of life is slowly fading away I fear.

Larry we held an rqe in may and a 2 nighter 2 weekends ago all advertised on ukcs uocoming event

__________________
if its there eventually it will look

Mark Warner

"HOME OF PREDAWN KENNELS"

http://www.tekonshathunder.homestead.com

Nice post Mr. Hall. I agree 100%. Jr.Steelman

Thanks for the replies. In Michigan, we are not allowed to run our dogs from April 15th - July 8th (Quiet Time). Nite hunts were a way to legally have a dog in the woods during quiet time. My problem is now I don't have a way to do that, or I should say not willing. I don't have a problem with $25.00 for a 2 hour hunt, but $25.00-$35.00 for an hour hunt is what bothers me. So if I wanted to get the same amount of time it would cost me $50.00 to $70.00. So these new hunts literally are taking away my ability to take a dog out during quiet time. I am losing 3 months to run a dog. That is my problem with the new hunt formats.

As for Face Book if my wife is getting the message "content no longer available" on a recent notice that is not communication. It has happened 3 times in the last couple of weeks.

***********************

Howdy Warn,

Due to our great Governor, I was waiting to see or hear that clubs were having hunts again. Not that it hasn't happened often, but I have went to hunts only to find out when I got there it was cancelled. I hunted right up to April 15th, but not being able to get into the woods is really wearing on me.

How are things going on your side of the state? Hope everyone is well over there.

Larry

__________________
Larry Atherton

Aim small miss small

Our rqe was moved down the road 1 mile but still held it. Oh im sure its the same here as anywhere in the state .we have 1 hunt left for the season that will be in sept goodluck larry

__________________
if its there eventually it will look

Mark Warner

"HOME OF PREDAWN KENNELS"

http://www.tekonshathunder.homestead.com

So the problem isn't lack of hunts but the cost?

There are still 2 hour hunts being held, at least in my area. The 1 hour hunts are more popular though.

As far as cost, that's just part of life. Everything is increasing. Cigarettes are now $10 a pack in some places.

If you are pissed about hour hunts then start your own club and hold $15 two hour hunts. You might get a new appreciation for clubs and the amount of money and manpower needed to run them if you did that.

I'm seeing more people at the hunts now with the new changes than I have seen in several years so I don't see them going backwards anytime soon.

__________________
PKC CH GRNTCH Wright's Lone Pine Shine

At Stud: Gr. Nt. Ch. Wright's Stylish Lotto Bawls (click here to see ad)

Former Home of Gr. Nt. Ch. Bawling Rebel.

About the Facebook, when you see it say "content unavailable" it usually means it was shared (like a litter of pups for sale) but the original creator of the post has deleted it after it was shared. That's nothing to worry about, just Facebook being weird.

__________________
PKC CH GRNTCH Wright's Lone Pine Shine

At Stud: Gr. Nt. Ch. Wright's Stylish Lotto Bawls (click here to see ad)

Former Home of Gr. Nt. Ch. Bawling Rebel.

I sure don't go to the hunts for more hours of hunting time.
I know some fellows that always said they entered the hunts too have someone to hunt with because they don't hunt alone. Everyone is a little different.

We have held 4 events all 2 hour events 3 regular hunts that combined had 14 entries i believe 1 rqe that had 30 dogs. So i havent seen the increase in numbers with the new rules compared to last uears attendance with the old rules. What i feel greatly effects our numbers is neighboring clubs holding pkc events the same night. All clubs should work together not against 1 another or there will be no clubs open

__________________
if its there eventually it will look

Mark Warner

"HOME OF PREDAWN KENNELS"

http://www.tekonshathunder.homestead.com