Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

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Originally posted by OLD TIMER
First hound bought as a pup for $3 from a cousin, 1/4 Walker 3/4 Bluetick. Turned out to be a heck of a tree hound with good nose BUT loved a deer if she hit them first. Hunted with the milkman who picked up our cans off the farm and many a morning my mom would have to drive me where I left my jacket and she would be laying on it the next morning. Did break her by getting some breaking scent from Bill Boatman and pouring a little on the inside of the bottom of her ears and a little down her face and locking her in her house. Left her out to eat and go to the bathroom and on the 3rd day she rolled her lips up and growled at me and she never ran another. We had hogs and would “slop” them by mixing ground oats and skim milk in a barrel overnight and that’s what she got along with table craps. Later a foxhunter gave me a “recipe” he had the local feed mill mix and we would bring water to a boil and add tallow then the feed and let it set overnight to cool.
Hunted with a Single 22 and a hand held flashlight
Really glad I got my start that way:
Taught me how to shine a tree.
Taught me you don’t need to buy high price dog food.
Taught me you don’t need to pay big money to have a coonhound.
Taught me that a big price light will not show you a coon if your hound didn’t put it there.
Taught me to know what a hound is doing by their voice and not by a “screen”.
But the best is it taught me to have fun and be happy.

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

quote:

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Originally posted by OLD TIMER
First hound bought as a pup for $3 from a cousin, 1/4 Walker 3/4 Bluetick. Turned out to be a heck of a tree hound with good nose BUT loved a deer if she hit them first. Hunted with the milkman who picked up our cans off the farm and many a morning my mom would have to drive me where I left my jacket and she would be laying on it the next morning. Did break her by getting some breaking scent from Bill Boatman and pouring a little on the inside of the bottom of her ears and a little down her face and locking her in her house. Left her out to eat and go to the bathroom and on the 3rd day she rolled her lips up and growled at me and she never ran another. We had hogs and would “slop” them by mixing ground oats and skim milk in a barrel overnight and that’s what she got along with table craps. Later a foxhunter gave me a “recipe” he had the local feed mill mix and we would bring water to a boil and add tallow then the feed and let it set overnight to cool.
Hunted with a Single 22 and a hand held flashlight
Really glad I got my start that way:
Taught me how to shine a tree.
Taught me you don’t need to buy high price dog food.
Taught me you don’t need to pay big money to have a coonhound.
Taught me that a big price light will not show you a coon if your hound didn’t put it there.
Taught me to know what a hound is doing by their voice and not by a “screen”.
But the best is it taught me to have fun and be happy.

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

quote:

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Originally posted by pamjohnson
Unfortunately I had deep hunting dogs even back in the 80's with out any tracking equipment so I did a lot of dog hunting and laying the coat out. I don't miss them days at all.

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

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Originally posted by honalieh
Equipment List 1:
Value of your dog = ???

Equipment List 2:
Value of accessories to hunt your dog:
(1) Dog Box To Haul Him in = ???
(2) Tracking System for Him = ???
(3) Light to Get Through the woods to follow him = ???
(4) Hunting Clothes/Boots = ???
(5) Gun to shoot coon = ???


Think about this before complaining about the price of a good dog (the most important ingredient for successful hunting).

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

quote:

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Originally posted by pigsit
I am 73, my brother and I started with a crippled running walker female that our milk man, guy who picked our milk up, we milked eight cows morning and evening year round, gave us. She would tree lots of possums, we left the house using a two cell flashlight for a walking light and carried a seal beam light slung on our braided bailer twine lead to shine with. We hunted any where within walking distance, all the neighbors knew us and we could hunt any where. Then a skinned possum was worth from fifty cents to a dollar, the first year old Spot treed one coon, we'd never seen one before, took it to the co op and weighed it and showed it off. The coon brought $4.00, not bad when you consider wages was a $1.00 an hour. We hunted in our regular chore clothes, but we wore old worn out brogan boots with holes in them to let the water out, we tried to keep them dry in the winter too cold to get wet. We hunted that way until the old female passed and we trained a young dog. We stopped hunting when high school sports and going to the service got in the way. I came home from Viet Nam the last time in January 1970, in short order I accumulated a wife, a mortgage, and a full time job, so I didn't get back to hunting with hounds for several years.

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

quote:

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Originally posted by Bruce m. Conkey
When I started back in the 60's. You couldn't even carry a gun at night in the part of the state I hunted. You climbed the cypress trees with tree climbers on and you had a telescoping aluminum pole you knocked them out with.

Thing is I would not hunt without the equipment I have today. Back then your never missed it. The dogs were pack dogs and they hunted and stated together. The crazy ones you lost and never missed.

Probably 15 years ago I went to a night hunt on a Friday night. Got there and had left everything at home. Boots, Light, tracking equip. I went to the store and brought a 2 cell light. Hunted in my tennis shoes I was wearing. I picked up a night champion win.
Next night I took my stuff but used the 2 cell light, tennis shoes but did put wildlife tracking collar on. Picked up another win and granted him out. Wet feet both nights but heck I did that for years. It is all what you are use to.

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Registered: Feb 2015
Location: NW Arkansas
Posts: 1110

Hunted very little by myself back then. It was a social deal. When I did hunt by myself usually hunted two dogs. Seems like everyone had a full time hunting buddy and then sometimes there would be 3-4 of us. Just a lot of fun. And yes I have seen 4-6 dogs turned loose together many times. Just the way we used to do it.

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Tom Wood

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

Man i would have loved to live back in a simpler time like yall did...

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Registered: Mar 2016
Location: Central,illinois
Posts: 569

Coonhunting is still not complicated, it's simple, some folks try to make it that way, go load one dog up by yourself and go turn him loose.....it gets simple real quick, shhhhhh turn your light off! Lol

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Registered: Jul 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 2154

quote:

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Originally posted by FLYbyNIGHT
Soo hunting a dog solo didnt go on much??

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Registered: Sep 2012
Location: WV
Posts: 197

Started dating my wife in 1955. The only catch was I had to go coon hunting with her dad before I could see her. Carbide lights and all. Aiiso her dad was a Baptist preacher. I had to listen to what was good for me and what wasn't. We'll soon be married 60 yrs. and I'am awfully glad I stuck it out. Not only that-I still coon hunt.

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

quote:

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Originally posted by DICK B.
Started dating my wife in 1955. The only catch was I had to go coon hunting with her dad before I could see her. Carbide lights and all. Aiiso her dad was a Baptist preacher. I had to listen to what was good for me and what wasn't. We'll soon be married 60 yrs. and I'am awfully glad I stuck it out. Not only that-I still coon hunt.

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Registered: Dec 2019
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 246

The reason there wasn't many coons is because everyone and his brother was after them not just coon hunters but trappers which caused a whole other issue for coonhunters and dog people in general. A green coon hide of average size say 9 pounds could bring $12 and the meat brought another $5. That was pretty good money especially when you only bought home $150 a week working 40 hours. And a possum would get you $2. When I was a kid I would $2 the fur trader to death. In the late 70s my varmint dogs bayed up near a beaver pond when I got to them I thought they had a nutra rat bayed I shot it turned out to be a otter I had never seen a otter before. I got a ride to the fur dealer didn't even skin it he gave me $75. I was rich I bought my dogs some real dry dog food the only thing they ever got was corn meal mush as we had a endless supply of corn meal

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1542

Was the year I averaged $66 for coon and $80 for green.

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OLD TIMER

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Registered: May 2015
Location: IN
Posts: 2760

quote:

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Originally posted by OLD TIMER
Was the year I averaged $66 for coon and $80 for green.

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Registered: May 2019
Location: Ohio
Posts: 45

Yes, we hunted one dog quite a bit during kill season. Dad always kept one good hound, said that is all you need if it is a good one. I always started with a pup and broke my own dogs. (I have never bought a finished dog in over 60 years.) Hides were worth money and a good hound was not cheap. The most we ever got for a extra large coon was 50 bucks. I was making $1.55 an hour so we hunted for hides. If a hound was not a coon dog, they were gone.
Someone asked about laying your hunting coat on the ground. Most of the time your dog would be laying on the coat in the morning. They were normally dog tired and happy to see you.

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Registered: Nov 2016
Location: Bath, NC
Posts: 49

These are some great stories, thanks for starting this thread.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1542

Coon harvested was in the 50 something

That female I wrote about produced a litter of pups from that fox hunters bluetick that he had shipped up from OK on rail that he said came from a Kennel who advertised his stud having “a heart” on his side. He said as hard as Jackie treed and as good a track hound Bruiser who wouldn’t tree, that would be a good cross. Being just a kid not knowing you are only suppose to breed “the best to the best” the cross was made and out of the litter I kept one of the better hounds I have ever followed—naturally straight (which I proved many nights to others) could strike out of the dog box on country roads, had that extra sense to know where to find a track and put the fur in the freezer and along with his brother and sister treed the biggest coon I have ever harvested in 65 years, 56 lbs on a scale, and I took him on his last hunt on the farm and had to carry him home because of old age, but he give his all that night and did tree with “the meat”. He passed in his sleep and I buried him at the base of the tree the 56 pounder
came out of.

He died without ever being in a comp hunt so there was no Titles in from of his name, but I have hunted with a lot that did and I wouldn't have traded him for any of them.

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OLD TIMER

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Registered: May 2015
Location: IN
Posts: 2760

quote:

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Originally posted by OLD TIMER
Coon harvested was in the 50 something

That female I wrote about produced a litter of pups from that fox hunters bluetick that he had shipped up from OK on rail that he said came from a Kennel who advertised his stud having “a heart” on his side. He said as hard as Jackie treed and as good a track hound Bruiser who wouldn’t tree, that would be a good cross. Being just a kid not knowing you are only suppose to breed “the best to the best” the cross was made and out of the litter I kept one of the better hounds I have ever followed—naturally straight (which I proved many nights to others) could strike out of the dog box on country roads, had that extra sense to know where to find a track and put the fur in the freezer and along with his brother and sister treed the biggest coon I have ever harvested in 65 years, 56 lbs on a scale, and I took him on his last hunt on the farm and had to carry him home because of old age, but he give his all that night and did tree with “the meat”. He passed in his sleep and I buried him at the base of the tree the 56 pounder
came out of.

He died without ever being in a comp hunt so there was no Titles in from of his name, but I have hunted with a lot that did and I wouldn't have traded him for any of them.

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

quote:

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Originally posted by OLD TIMER
Coon harvested was in the 50 something

That female I wrote about produced a litter of pups from that fox hunters bluetick that he had shipped up from OK on rail that he said came from a Kennel who advertised his stud having “a heart” on his side. He said as hard as Jackie treed and as good a track hound Bruiser who wouldn’t tree, that would be a good cross. Being just a kid not knowing you are only suppose to breed “the best to the best” the cross was made and out of the litter I kept one of the better hounds I have ever followed—naturally straight (which I proved many nights to others) could strike out of the dog box on country roads, had that extra sense to know where to find a track and put the fur in the freezer and along with his brother and sister treed the biggest coon I have ever harvested in 65 years, 56 lbs on a scale, and I took him on his last hunt on the farm and had to carry him home because of old age, but he give his all that night and did tree with “the meat”. He passed in his sleep and I buried him at the base of the tree the 56 pounder
came out of.

He died without ever being in a comp hunt so there was no Titles in from of his name, but I have hunted with a lot that did and I wouldn't have traded him for any of them.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1542

First was when I took a coworker with me and we were roading Spook( I tell you how he got his name later)down a field road between two corn fields and a fox ran out in front of us and he just kept hunting and then a ways farther down 3 deer come out and ran down the road in front of him and he just kept working and then opened in the corn and treed on the edge of a field next to a creek with a ringtail looking down. Rodney said I would never had believed that if I hadn’t seen it myself. As I said earlier, he was born straight, never corrected and was used as a check hound early on. His partner who was out of Mr Deans early Blues was a deer crazy sucker and Spook never ran his trash. The second time was again we were roading him with the son of the foxhunter who talked me into this cross and Spook was out in front of the truck and all of a sudden he stands on his hind legs like someone lifted him by his collar and goes into the woods a good 100 yards and starts to tree and when we get there old ringtail is rolled up sleeping. Again the guy with me, Louie, said he had never seen that before.

Spook got his name because as a puppy he was really spooky. His mother died 3 days after she gave birth and my mom and myself bottle fed them in the house and kept them next to the stove to keep them warm. We saved 3 out of the 7 and as they got older we moved them into the dairy barn and when I would go in to feed or play with them, he would go in the furtherest corner and hide. So I told my Dad I was keeping him and was going to name him Spook. At the time he was my only hound so we walked the woods behind the barn and that fall he was 9 months old when he treed his first coon and as they say, he didn’t look back. I started hunting with hounds that packed and checked back and that was a long time ago but they are the only type I will hunt, coon or coyote and I still hunt 99% of the time by myself. Early on I had a guy who wanted to “try” it and now I get the grandkids that will go, but for me I like to get under the stars and find an old stump or log and just listen and enjoy the chase, the locate and the look up to see a ringtail looking back.

Have fun and enjoy the hunt, not just the tree😉

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OLD TIMER

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Registered: Mar 2020
Location: E North Carolina
Posts: 134

I can just picture every story your tellin...im telling ya...you need to write a book ...strikes ....stumps ...and stars

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Registered: Mar 2009
Location: OKLA
Posts: 1132

quote:

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Originally posted by FLYbyNIGHT
I knew another old hunter that said that they mostly hunted possum until the coons started comin round...thats crazy....yall didnt know what a coon was ???

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Registered: Dec 2013
Location:
Posts: 1514

As I read these, I have a smile on my face with a tear in my eye. I am 72 and I don't remember not running dogs. I can relate too every thing these guys have written about, Clovis when I got my Texas 5 cell, bought the two battery extension now a 7 cell. BIG TIME. It was good until my uncle hit my fox running bluetick it the head with it, batteries went every where. When I started hunting by myself, I was a track star running to the trees (dogs would not stay. I am not sure how there can be any worthless dogs left. I owned everyone of them. I am sure the worst thing a guy can do is own a top hound, nothing else will satisfy. I borrowed 2k in 1973 to buy that hound. the cheapest hound I ever owned, bought higher dollar ones but they were'nt the same. HUNT as long as you can. They may beat my dog, but they never beat me having fun. TRUMP 2020

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Registered: Dec 2019
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 246

Roy, I called myself a coonhunter when I was a kid but I guess I was more a possum hunter or really a varmint hunter and my dogs didn't have a drop of hound blood in them. But them suckers could get you some game I always came home with something. I can remember the first coon they treed I came running home and woke my mom and dad up to show them they wasn't as excited as I was. And the first deer I ever saw I killed it had to wake dad up to drag it out I was like 9 or 10 he was mad but we dragged it out and had to sneak around skinning it in the middle of night

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