I'll play....
"A True Hog Hunter".....
Well, first off, I don't consider myself one yet... seen enough real ones to know I got a long way to go... Everyone's definition of this will be different based on infinite variables... terrain, amount of hogs on said terrain, climate, etc...
Now for "my" opinion of what a true hog hunter is... based on personal observations I've made over time...
First thing that comes to mind is a true hog hunter must love his dogs like family... but be stone cold when need be... He must also by virtue be an excellent animal trainer... Trainers as a whole are generally an aloof bunch.. Most good trainers I've met, I've initially taken them as being a bit arrogant... Only after spending enough time to get to know one do you realize that arrogance is nothing more than that individuals lack of focus on YOU and complete focus on what it is they are there for... TRAINING THEIR ANIMAL... A true hog hunter understands animal psychology, both from a dog's perspective, and sometimes more importantly, a hogs...
A true hog hunter cares about catching hogs... I enjoy hunting as much as anyone... but every true hog hunter I've met is pretty miserable to be around if they start to gettin' burned too much...
A true hog hunter wants to know their dogs can shut the trophy/runnin' hogs down... but once the dog has proven it can, would rather catch less damaging hogs "most" of the time
A true hog hunter figures out how to make things as easy as possible for his dogs to be succesful...
You could take a true hog hunter, strip him of his dogs... take him to any random city pound, tell him to pick out 5 dogs and in less than 5 yrs he would still be able to catch more hogs than you.... Wrap your mind around THAT
And as tnhillbilly said.... A TRUE HOG HUNTER NEVER STOPS LEARNING.
Noah's post is worth repeating again...as well as the paragraph below.
A true hog hunter cares about catching hogs... I enjoy hunting as much as anyone... but every true hog hunter I've met is pretty miserable to be around if they start to gettin' burned too much...
I think that a true hog hunter still wants to catch the rank trophy boars but wants the dogs to stay clear of the tusks. A true hog hunter worries every time he turns the dogs loose....worries if someone will steal their dog, if the dog will get crippled or killed by a bad boar, if the dog gets shot by a land owner or a leasee, or even if the dog gets run over on the county road.
