khester7923
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Oct 2003
Location: soddy daisy,tennessee
Posts: 448 |
took Oak to where i thought we could have a couple hours of easy hunting. WRONG.. Oak struck while on the lead walking in. Cut him loose and he worked a good track about 250 yards or so and located, then located again. few tree barks then located again. something new for our short time together so i started easing into him. there he is again, same spot, locate...tree....just doesnt sound like he wants to hook but he is treeing. as i get close i see whats happening. oak has worked that track right up to a bluff with a straight up rock face about 75 or 80 feet tall. oak is treeing up an hickory sapling that grows right against the bluff and im standing right at the top of the tree. looks to me like the coon prob climbed there and made his way out the top. good lesson for the young dog. so in my stupidity, i go get him and and we walk a long way around the bluff to get back to the top. before we get there i cut oak again. like a bullet he heads back in the direction i was standing looking down at him. strike oak. race is on now. he works that coon like hes looking at it about 300 or 400 yards right down the edge at the top of that bluff. left turn and back down the side of the gulf he works headed to the creek at the bottom. anybody that hunts these mountains, knows what grows along these rocks at the bottom. mountain laurel and huge hemlock trees. coons love a big hemlock. as i stand there kicking myself for letting him go again, TREE OAK. and i mean tree him hard and every breath. now i have to figure out how to get to him without killing myself. i ease down the slick, rock covered side of the gulf zigging and zagging till i get about 150 yards from him. rock face and boulders big as a small house everywhere. it has taken way over an hour to get this close and i still got another 100 to go. Oak treeing every breath. finally im there. Oak is right on the creek, treed up a giant hemlock tree prob 80 or 90 ft tall and too big for 2 of me to reach around. i squall and look but cant see anything over ab 20 feet from where im at. if you know these hemlocks you know you cant find an overweight elephant in one of these unless you get lucky or you can get far enuff back to see the top real good. neither of these was happening for me tonight. i shined and squalled what i could and let oak tell the entire mtn he was treed for a bit. now getting here was one thing but gettin out is another. thank goodness ive got oak walking out on his own cause i need three hands to climb out. well up and out we go. finally there is the top and there is the truck. i tell oak to load and i sit down on tailgate to catch what breath i have left. long story short, Oak did his job and did it in style. Learned a valuable lesson from a smart ole coon so maybe next time he will remember it. each night this 2 yr old bluetick is getting better and better. he hunts and handles like an old dog with sense. he trees his big ole heart out when he trees. maybe next trip he will get one up a tree so i can do my part.
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