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I was thinking this morning about all the times I called Mr. John Wick and asked him all kinds of questions. I know I must have bugged him to death but he was always helpful and as nice as could be.
Most everyone knows he had a pretty bad stroke and is recovering but things are slow. If you would like to help put a smile on his face and show Thanks for all the years he helped us. Just write about an experience you had with him on the phone or one of the training tips he has wrote about. I will see in Mr. Mark Zepp could help by getting this printed out and sent to Mr. Wick.

I know one time I had a buddy come down from up north and his dog was way better than mine. At the time I didn't think a dog could outclass mine the way he was doing. I remember calling Mr. Wick asking if had ever heard of someone putting something on their hound to repel your dog and make it not perform. I can here him now and since I have come to know him a little I can see him. Give that little smile and say "anything is possible". He always answered my questions in a way that prompted me to thing a little more on the subject.

Anyway if you would like to help brighten up a fellow Coon Hunters day. Post your comments here.

If you really think about this his thoughts or ideas have touched about every Coon Hunter.

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Registered: Feb 2007
Location:
Posts: 614

John and I went to Eddie Fender's for a hunt. The first night hunt didn't happen and we stayed at Eddies. He had a fold out couch that he claimed everyone rolled off of during the night. John and I lay down at the same time and both of us just lay there a minute and looked at each other, then got up and got on the floor. There was a steel bar that hit us right below the shoulder blades. The next morning Eddie walked in and said "yall rolled off too huh, It don't look like it slopes that bad". We just smiled and never said a word. The next night we got our hunt with the famous Eddie Fender.

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Registered: Apr 2013
Location: michigan
Posts: 112

I have never met or talked to Mr Wick but his books sure have helped me alot! Every pup I get I go read those books while I'm waiting on the pup to be old enough to start. It really clears my head and builds my drive to go spend countless nights in the woods with a dog that knows next to nothing about hunting. And when I run into snags I'll use it as a reference guide at times also. He has made a huge impact and contribution to our sport. I hope and pray for a full recovery! If you read this Mr Wick, thank you!

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Registered: Aug 2004
Location: North east Texas
Posts: 323

I never met John Wick in person, but I feel like I know him through his books "Walk with Wick". I ruined a few young dogs before reading the book and trained several after reading the book. A big thanks and you will be in our prayers. Oh yeah, I still have one old pair of the toughest coonhunting boots that you could ever put on your feet; made by Wick.

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Registered: Oct 2013
Location: Maryland
Posts: 2633

Over 700 people have looked at this thread and only 4 have posted....and that is a shame, I give credit where it's due, if it wasn't for "Walk With Wick" I would have long been out of this sport!!!
One of the chapters in his book refers to "lots of frustration in the beginning"...I too started out like he did, nobody in my family hunted and there weren't many coon hunters in my area to begin with. I just knew I really loved hounds and coon hunting.
I can definitely relate to that chapter, as I am certain so many of us can. When I got my copy of that book I was able to learn so much and make a lot of sense out of things I just didn't get. There were a lot of "less than honest" guys in this sport back then and he did a lot to educate many of us then newcomers about just how most of them operated. He might have made some enemies along the way, because up to that point so many of those people just "got over", but Mr. Wick sure has way many more friends he don't even know exist.
I still refer back to that book and have probably read it cover to cover 5 times over. I still wish I could get a pair of the original froglegs, and I hope to see him one day at one of the bigger hunts. This time I will have my book with me and trouble him for an inscription. Thanks Mr. Wick for what you've done for so many of us!!!!

I should add that I remember his wife Linda taking the time to make me a couple custom things back then, and his daughter Monica always answering the phone and taking orders...nice folks, first rate service, I was sad to see it go.

Last edited by msinc on 11-17-2015 at 02:51 PM

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Registered: Mar 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 338

Never met Mr Wick or talked to him on the phone but like others I have read his books many times. Lots of good ideas and tips. Gets you thinking and helps with problem solving. The books are treasured

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: Menard,TX
Posts: 1158

I was fortunate enough to meet and visit with Mr. Wick at Autumn Oaks a couple of years ago. He is extremely knowledgeable about tree hounds but most of all he is a person with a lot of class. I pray that he has a speedy recovery and is able to get back to hunting as our sport greatly needs him.
Adios,
Gary

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Registered: Mar 2009
Location: ILLINOIS
Posts: 599

I too met him at Oaks a few years ago. He was just as everyone described... nice and down to earth.

I also own both books and am ever thankful he put all his learning into a book for greenhorns like myself.

Prayers for a speedy recovery!!!

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Of course, she is a hound … the moment she realizes that I’ve been bragging her up… and has an audience…..she’ll go trash on a deer or pull some other equally idiotic stunt..

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Registered: Mar 2007
Location: Michigan
Posts: 148

There was no one that wrote about coon hunting that I enjoyed reading more than John Wick. I have read and referenced his books and articles numerous times. Years back a buddy of mine had a female out of Wick's Thunder that was one of the best track dogs that I have seen to this day.

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Mr. Roy Tramble had a male named Wick's Hawk. I owned several pups out of old Hawk and like what he threw. That was back in the 80's

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Registered: Feb 2007
Location:
Posts: 614

There was a picture in Johns old black book of him roasting a rabbit over a fire. Scott Springer and I (me standing)were along for that hunt and decided we would go up to Johns if Febuary to hunt with him. It was about 6 degrees and snowing so hard you couldn't see 20 feet. I ask John if we could tree a coon in that mess and he said "Of course not". I said, then what are we doing out here. He answered " Well if them dogs bark we can whip em cause they are messing up, and it's dark so we need to be out here." I think he hunted like 362 nights that year.

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Thats good stuff right there David. Put on your thinking cap and come up with some more. Maybe I should say Memory Cap. God Bless.

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Registered: Feb 2007
Location:
Posts: 614

Bruce, if you want John to smile be sure to have printed any of these words.

Moonlite Major

Chick Carlton

Bill Ohaver

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Registered: Feb 2004
Location: Whitmire,SC
Posts: 425

I have known John for a long time and there isn't anyone out there knows more about coonhound training in my opinion.
Last year at the Grand American he was asking me about my grandson and he told me he had brought him something. I told John that Wil was actually with me so he told me to go round him up and bring him over.
He gave Wil a leather braided leash that he had made for him. Needless to say it is hanging up in my office and hasn't seen the d-ring of a collar.
Praying for you recovery my friend!

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Registered: Sep 2009
Location: Monticello, Wi
Posts: 744

John and I go back to the early 70. We are about the same age and I first communicated with John before he lived lived in West Plains, Mo. We spent countless hours discussing dogs and training. I had a female from Roy Jackson's Queen and Paul Tinsley breeding and had decided to make the perfect cross onto Rollin Hills Dan, who was also out of a Tinsley female. I drove from Lewis, Iowa to West Plains, Mo. We hunted most of the night and talked dogs. Linda Wick was sewing a pair of chaps on an old treddle foot operated sewing machine and had been up most of the night doing it, yet she still made us a breakfast fit for kings. John and I travelled down alot of the same dead end roads looking for that perfect dog. John and I didn't always agree, but most of the time we did. John would never say anything negative about an idea even though I'm sure he often thought different. The last time I saw John was at Autumn Oaks this year in the Garmin booth. I showed him my Penney dog and told him that she was the dog that we both had spent over 40 years looking for. He just smiled and said she looked "Preacher". Penney had just won the Grandmaster Slam event. Get well John and I'll be down in the spring to show you one of the best dogs that ever took a breath and breakfast is on me this time. 'One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is to believe in them" Thanks for the gift John! May GOD heal and comfort you.

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Registered: Sep 2013
Location: West Columbia TX
Posts: 112

I have never met John but his books have tons of very knowledgeable information and I agree with everything in the books. If I didn't when I read it I do now after some experience and then rereading the book. I wish everyone in every breed had the expectations John has before breeding 2 dogs. It blew my mind the first time I read about turning a male dog loose with a female in heat 30 yards away and making sure the male went hunting. Also going a year without shooting any coons out to a dog to make sure they don't slack up in their job. WOW! I think we would have a lot better dogs if more people took his advice!

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Central Michigan
Posts: 6539

I have seen Mr. Wick down at Autumn Oaks a couple of times, but have never spoke to him. Many may not know this, but I am on the shy side. I usually find what I think is a good excuse not to approach people. It was always easy to see Mr. Wick looked plenty busy as it was so it was easy for me to say not hmmm today.

I think I have come close to reading every word Mr. Wick has wrote and published through the years. I still have a Wick hunting coat that I use waterproof spray on twice a year. I can't tell you how old it is.

For years I was a walking Wick ad with my coat and froglegs, leashes, collars you name it I got it from Wick Outdoor Works. Even today when I roll that great big goofy collar on my Wick coat up against the wind i think of Mr. Wick. It was by no means stylish, but it sure was functional.

Thank you Mr. Wick for your thoughtful insights through out the years. I know you tried very hard to spare me many mishaps and heartbreaks despite my penchant to learn things through the school of hard-knocks (smile).

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Aim small miss small

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Registered: Aug 2012
Location: OHIO
Posts: 862

when I was a young kid my parents went threw a pretty bad divorce, about the same time I got my first "coonhound" and I would read in my friends magazines the stuff John would write.. I was about 10 and I called him, we talked for a long time. and I bet I called him hundreds of times.. one day a "walk with wick" book showed up in the mail and there was a note written to me. I didn't have the money to buy the book, and I think he knew that.. for a couple years he would call and see how I was doing.. this year at autumn oaks I walked up to him and he remembered me.. I thanked him for all he did for me, and he apologized to my wife for helping create this monster... lol get better buddy

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Missouri
Posts: 4321

The first Walk With Wick book helped me out in a couple ways that I credit with keeping me in the sport. I was (and still am) too independent to learn from other folks very well or pester those who have the answers. So, being able to read a book or magazine column was a good way to get info., for me.

One of Wick's thoughts was how to break into this sport if you don't have alot of money or knowledge. His suggestion was to save up money and buy a well started, well bred female. He said she should be able to tree coons on her own. Almost anyone can finish such a dog and then she would be breeding material that could keep you in coondogs and pay for herself in pups, over the years. That worked out to a "T" for me.

Another idea I got from him wasn't from something he said, at all. It was some pictures, lol. In his book, he had several pictures of Art Hunziker's B&T's. I figured Wick was endorsing this line of B&T's. I was desparate for a B&T that would just make something to tree a coon. So, I got a pup from Art that was pretty natural and that was the first real coondog I owned.

When my 2 boys were young, I took them to the UKC world youth hunt in Ohio. John Wick spoke to all the kids for a few minutes. I didn't realize he was such a big man, lol. He shared some sound advice and some of his life experience with a bunch of youngsters.

A true icon in the sport, like no other.

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Registered: Jan 2004
Location: Northwest Georgia
Posts: 1621

Mr. Wick also gave me great insight to coon hunting, No one in my family coon hunted so I was on my own, except for the help I got from J. Wick articles, which gave me confidence in what I was doing. Never thought many guy's gave sound training advice, but could always count on Mr. Wick! Thanks for your Help!

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Striving to breed balanced Treeing Walkers.

"Life is short boys, Hunt an intelligent hound"

Born in sin, convicted by the Word, saved by Grace.

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This is good stuff here. Please keep it coming. I talked to a couple guys on the phone this week that don't do much on the computer and they shared some stories from the early days back in PA. About an old van John had and the night he broke down at a hunt and the friendships that developed from there. They asked me to let Mr. Wick know they were praying for him.

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: Kansas
Posts: 42

I only had the pleasure to meet mr wick one time about 15 years ago. A freind of mine was taking a female to mr wick to breed to banjo and I tagged along in hopes of maybe getting a hunt in with him. Well it all worked out and we had a blast but what stood out to me the most was his respectful but truly honest opinion. I still laugh at his comment at the end of that night,my buddy asked him, well what dou think of my little female? Mr wicks reply was I think she is a me-tooing idiot! I darn near fell over laughing I had benn trying to tell him that for a couples years. Mr wick get well soon and thanks for your commitment to the sport we all love you have helped many people and hounds as well

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Registered: Oct 2015
Location:
Posts: 132

I remember many years ago buying the first book John came out with and using all the different breaking methods he recommended like rolling a dog in a 55 gallon barrel with breaking scent squirted in q small hole and get the dog as sick as possible to making a box just wide enough to get a dog in and hole in front to squirt the breaking scent of your choice to hole in side of box to use a electric cattle probe to shock dog when it smelled the scent.
Pulley still in my barn where I use to have a cage on pulley that I would trap a fox and put in cage and let the cage down onto a 4x4 cage that I would have a dog in and shock the dog ever time the fox would be let down on the cage.
All these methods would still work today but now with all these new gadgets, Garmin's and shock collars people don't want to go back to the poor boy way of breaking and training dogs.
Opossum breaking has always been my hardest problem to solve for what works on one dog may not work on a different one.
Get well soon John coon hunters that don't think they know it all will always need your advice and there are thousands of people that have read your books and copy cat your training methods and all on a sudden in just a few years they are experts that know more than you do that always gets my goat but nothing anyone can do about those arm chair quarter backs lol. most coon hunters are like the US congress they can't agree on nothing anyway.

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Registered: Jun 2014
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 3369

In the early eighties I had a dog that was bad about running deer. I called John and got his breaking method. I set it up and broke her off deer. I also broke a rabbit dog for a fellow worker. One day we were talking about it at work and a non hunter asked, " Will that work on newspapers. I have a blue healer that shreds my neighbors paper every morning." I put him in the cage and gave him 5 or 6 treatments a day for one week. He never got near another newspaper. John's breaking worked on deer, possums, armadillos, and even newspaper.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Dog House
Posts: 4112

I never was much of a Wick fan. I never saw where he won very much or trained anything special. All the better known dogs he was ascociated with he bought. He never wrote anything on training that wassnt pretty much elementery.

And then I got the chance to visit and spend a little time with him several years ago and came away thinking that if someone would say i was half the man John Wick is id be as happy as a pig in mud. He is a true icon in this sport and I sure hope he makes a full recovery and continues to be the great role model to our youth that he has been for many years.

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