EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I've always been more of a.....fundamentalist, maybe, when it comes to my hunting style and the dogs I use. I am strike and bay dog kinda guy. I have NEVER used rough dogs. In the past...if I bought a pup and it turned out rougher than what I like I would move it. I've moved 3 such dogs in the past year or so and the new owners loved them. The pups just didn't suit my style.

I hunt with a few different people...usually on their spots. The only place I hunt that is accessible to me at almost anytime is a public piece of land. I'll use it when my buddies are busy/out of town/previously engaged...whatever. The place holds a fair number of hogs, ive only had a couple dry runs out there, and there is always a chance you'll end up on a GOOD one because there are some REALLY GOOD ones out there. Sounds great right? Well...there are SOME drawbacks.

Because its public...the hogs do get pressured but its not that big of a deal. It HAS educated the hogs though and they use the terrain to their utmost advantage. That is the BIGGEST problem on this place. There are 2 creeks that run paralell...not that big a deal...creeks are creeks. Then there are the yupon thickets  :(

These things are nasty...basically like a mangrove swamp without the water. They are around the creeks and a couple sloughs....they are usually a few hundred yards to a quarter mile wide and a hundred or so yards deep. It takes usually 45 minutes and A LOT of energy to get through one. Those Yupons are enough to make some guys quit hunting the place.

Another deterrent is the lack of motorized access. There are no vehicles of any type allowed in the place and only 3-4 legal spots you can park and access the property so cutting distances down is still a chore.

Im still going to hunt this place because of the good things about it. That being said...... These big hogs I've been running into the last few times out....they don't get that way being stupid. They know what dogs are and although they have all bayed up initially, they ALL ended up on the run and they never stopped, which brought into play all the bad things about this property.

I think I will always stick to my fundamentalist roots concerning my hunting style and dogs. I REALLY enjoy the strike and bay style dogs. I am currently working on putting a little more of that nut grabbing mentality into my dogs but there is a fine line between nut grabbing dogs and rough catchy dogs so Im being careful there.

So....until I get my "mix" the way I want it.....I am seriously considering by 1 means or another...Adding a couple RCD's to my yard....strictly for hunting this one place. This will be new to me and depending on the outcome the first few times out, it may or may not last.

Why does everyone thing rough dogs is the answer... especially in that thick ass terrain? "IF" they do catch a bad one in that stuff, what are you going to do when it takes you forever to get to them?

Good luck... them hogs didn't get that big and bad from being dumb. ;)

I hear what your saying Mike. That's why I said it may not last. Help a brother out! Lol
Give me your advice on hunting this place...knowing what you know about me/my dogs/the property.

You need a dog with a lot of bottom and try cold packing the hog after it's been run a while. It's tough on dogs when there in 1,000's of acres of thick, nasty crap. The hog can get way ahead, catch it's breathe and go some more, even the fastest dogs can't blow through a thicket.

If it was that easy... there wouldn't be any hogs left. ;D

One thing you have to think about when hunting rough or RCDs is you have to be able to get to them quick or things can get ugly real quick... My dogs are rough so when they open up I try and get there quick... So hunting a place where you have to walk hunt may not be good... I have one spot I have to walk hunt and I don't let my dogs get over 100yrds from me...

RCDs + big hogs + walk hunting + rough terrain = disaster waiting to happen

I'm like you, I'd much rather walk to a bay than run to a squeal...

Cold packing would probabaly be a pain in the butt walk hunting...

My eggs would be in the "bottom" basket...

Yeah...cold packing this place would be next to impossible. but....an organized hunt, everyone's dogs loaded on everyone's GPS.....3-4 groups from 3-4 different directions. There would be some pork caught....and some big ones at that. Now if I can get 4 guys to committ to a hunt like that on this place....lol....would probably have to wait till January though...not to many guys eager to hunt this place while its green.

Bottom bottom and more bottom that will stay bayed till you get there. I have been in stuff that you can barelly crawl through and I am glad they wasn't caught the whole time. JMO but rough catchy dogs will eventually make your looser dogs catchy.

How long are the dogs running the hog now ?

ROUGH DOGS ALL THE WAY  ;D

While I am a fan of rough dogs with a RCD in ur situation I wouldn't want to run my dogs. The trick to my combination is speed in my mind. Getting to them fast and before the get tired. As tough as this place sounds I would want loose solid bay dogs that would put just enough on him to keep him still and 2 good CD's that I could lead well. I'm like others that place sounds like a train wreck with a RCD and rough dogs. A man may can do it a while with no issues but sooner or later u would be toting out collars without dogs in them.

Bout the only way you going to get them in a place that bad without the RCD are the really ruff dogs is .  I would think dogs with big big bottom looser type of dog and just run the hog till he falls out are stands his ground .  If that place is that bad to get into for dogs,  it presents problems both ways .  Because how are you going to get a catch dog to the hog and vise versa how are you going to get to the RCD's if you run them and then how are you going to get there onces the catch dog is caught ?

It sounds like problems both ways.

I say stick with what u already like. U can't catch them every time. I just brush it off when I loose a good hog and just keep trying with what I like. I like the loose dogs myself but want them to catch the small ones that way if they are all bayin it is either a group or a descent size hog. Jmo of course

Centex...the last three big hogs I've lost on that place.....the dogs were on the hog and the track for long enough and far enough that I/WE were ready to quit....not the dogs. I/We called them off.

We catch hogs on this place but the BIG runners are the ones we lose. This last one we were able to get a solid 4 dog bay going...we were only 75 yards out when it started. We tried to close a bit but the dogs went quiet for a second and started back up full bay again...so we stopped and unsnapped. We waited...

At first I thought the hog broke before the CD's got there but looking back...it's possible he broke right when they got there. Don't know for sure.

How do you keep up with them to get close enough to call your dogs off? A runner to me leaves the country JMO

I would use 2to 3ruff strike dogs that help catch then a lead in rcd an catch dog in to 150 yard an let the rcd slam first in case the hog trys to break he will have enough speed to shut him down or to slow the hog down for the catch dog, being that its thick.. but hunt them hard an give them hell..

Kevin  ,  That's the same thing that was happening to us.  You just could not hardly get a catch dog to the big hog and could not get very close maybe 75 yds are he was gone .  Then the big boar would either hear it , smell them , sense them, smell us are have ESP I don't know  but they would bolt and I do mean bolt and run forever after that just hard to get them stopped again and even harder after that .   Putting a real good RCD are two that will stay with and hunt with the Find dog was the answer to our most all our problem over here when it came to the bad ones  .  It was strike dog bark boom RCD right there with others latching on and we release the CD on the spot  .  That little bit of time they hold the hog that give the catch dog time to get there then us. 

Of course man its a chance either way you look at it so only you know what you want to do .

Kevin I was thinking about this myself after we hunted that place.  I was leaning towards some well bread stock dogs with lots of bottom but also thought a pair of jagds would be fun.  They could burn up the brush and they're some nut grabbing sob's.

Little different definition on a runner I guess...that last hog broke and didn't stop inside 2 miles. That's enough to be called a runner to me. Dogs were around 1.15 I think when I started calling.

Jimmy....it is frustrating on those good ones....

Josh...those little jadgs are interesting...don't know that I'd want to put up with their attitude on my yard though....not good pack dogs from what I understand.

Your dogs can hear you calling at 1.15 miles?

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They obviously could on Sunday.

Have you never heard your dogs from that distance!?

Not always of course...there was no wind and the woods were quiet...my "WHOOOPING" was echoing through the bottoms, lol

Hey Kevin I see what your saying on how you hunt and every one is different I walk hunt most of the time and I mean walk my lead dog is loose and will go on and on so walking it can get long some times cuz he don't stop cuz you want but the rest of my dogs are rough and my main two buddy's dogs are the same we catch some good pigs and the one that run my lead dog will re find them or stick with them till they stop them it's time for the land sharks. Since my roughest dog got cut up and bred my numbers went way down that's why I say you need a good mix of dogs and should fit the terrain you hunt as well for me rougher the better with few loose dogs works good hardly ever have to use the catch dog but got em if we need