I have what i consider short range dogs. They hunt/"range" out 300-500 yards and that's the range they stay busy at-making circles and checking in. Anything over that and they are on a track. If the garmin shows anything over 500 yards than it's a pretty safe bet they are on a hog, and I no longer consider them hunting/ranging. I think longe range is sometimes confused with lots of bottom.
yep, these are good dogs.
another thing, a friend of mine was talking about dogs that hunt hard but miss a lot of hogs... He called these bush beaters. I have seen a few of these and I suspect some folks confuse these type of dogs as good hunting dogs because they are always busy.
I like a pack of dogs when they are free casted in the woods, if they come back in 15 minutes you can bet there are no hogs in the area. If you don't see a dog in 15 minutes you better pull the track and check the pack. If all or together they are bayed or tracking. Check in 2 more minutes and if not moving they are bayed or have one caught... and it is time to get to the bay.
