DECEMBER STORIES 2003

December 1, 2003   FINALLY  ..The regular Deer hunting season in Maine ended this saturday past. I couldn't wait to get out there and do my thing with the hounds. I took Sue and Sophie and headed for Newfields, a place not too far from home. The place I decided to try we call the "HELL HOLE". The reason for such a dastardly name is because when we hunt this place in the winter time, it's a mile walk in and all down hill. BUT the up hill walk after hunting all day with heavy clothing on, snowshoes,dogs on leads and carrying a bunch of bunnies is indeed a hellish experience. At this time of year before the snows come, I can access it by vehicle from the opposite side without the big hill thing to walk. Nice day today. Thirty degrees, and partly cloudy, and a forecast calling for the upper thirties until about noon, then turning colder and windy.  I set up the collars on the dogs, got my stuff put on and headed down the tote road.  A couple hundred yards down the road I cast the hounds. Both hit the bush with "GUSTO" as they usually do and I continued to walk down the road. Ten minutes into this hunt Sue opens up and Sophie joins in and off we go. They ran sixteen minutes before a check and a couple minutes later recovered the loss to run another forty five minutes before I shot the rabbit. The hunt had gone out of hearing west to the far side of this particular cover where the hare had circled several times before I got a whack at him. This was a pretty good run and things were going well. I worked the dogs toward an old beaver flowage some several hundred yards away and Sophie opened a couple times and moments later was tongueing steady then Sue chimed in. This rabbit didn't last long as he offered me a shot after a fifteen minute steady run and ended up dead. So I put him in a tree beside the other hare I hung up earlier. I worked the hounds some more and Sophie got this start. Both hounds ran steady to the west and I took a stand on a good crossing and waited. A large circle began to form and this hare ran big. Almost out of hearing when the chase began to circle. They headed north toward the truck and because of a pretty good sized hill went out of hearing. I decided to move toward the truck as sometimes the hare will run up there and stay there. I got up there just in time to see the hounds cross the tote road we walked in on. Off they went for whence they came way back to where he was started a half mile away. I moved again to a good position and got to see the hare but couldn't get off a shot. The dogs came by on that line beautifully matched together and pushing with authority heading for the truck again. This time I ran up to where he crossed previously and arrived there just barely in time to get off a snap shot at him crossing the road. Clean miss. Right after that shot I figured he'd head back following that same pattern so I ran down the trail to get in position to head him off. I got to where I wanted to stand and noticed a small hole in the "tote road" where I was standing. Hmmm, curious thing to see in the middle of the road. I noticed 3 small rocks about the size of a golf ball spread in a semi-circular pattern just outside the hole about sixteen inches or so from the hole. The area from the hole to the rocks was sandy soil,smooth and flat. Right off it crossed my mind that maybe there was a trap in there. I took a branch and thrust it into the center of this spot and a number two double spring trap snapped the end of that branch right off. YIKES! Looks like a coyote trapper has traps spread out in this place. Well that finished my hunt. No way was I gonna leave these hounds down in this area with the potential for them to get into a trap. I cut in to them, downed 'em and walked back to the truck. Done for the day. Oh oh! The two rabbits I shot earlier are a mile away hanging in a tree. Rats! So I had to walk all the way down to get them critters and back again. I carry a hunting vest and could've put the rabbits in there but I figured why carry them all day, I'll just pick 'em up on my way out figuring that all the hunts would end up in that general vicinity. Guessed wrong again. We shoot plenty of game and never waste the ones we shoot. Just a policy we have, so I HAD to go get them dead ones. Nonetheless it was still a long walk for two measly bunnies. So be it in the life of a HARE HUNTER.

December 10, 2003  We got fourteen inches of snow dumped on us the other day but it could've been a lot worse. Points north where we hunt quite often received amounts measured in feet. Due to plowing snow and other mundane responsibilities to tend to, I haven't been able to hunt on this white stuff until today. But I have run dogs at the Beagle Club almost everyday between chores since the storm hit.  Christopher my grandson had only a half day of school scheduled for today so I promised him we'd hunt in the afternoon. Due to playing football and the subsequent deer season Chris hadn't been on a hare hunt yet this year. "Stevie" Mayo called and said he was game to come and do this hunt with us too. So we didn't leave the house until twelve fifteen and a forty minute drive didn't get us in the woods until nearly one o'clock. Three hours to hunt so we had to make the most of it. I had two males on this hunt, Timmy and Simon.    I sent Steve and Chris up the tote road to cut in to a favorite place to stand and I would work the hounds. Right off Simon opened up and Timmy was right there to go with him. There was fourteen inches of snow in the woods on the flat and some places deeper than that. The temperature was twenty five degrees and no wind. Should be pretty good except for the depth of snow.  Tough walking without the snowshoes on, but it's tough walking with them on too. A border line decision to go it without using them. A bit more snow and then there is no choice but to use them. Hate them snowshoes! The dogs ran off and on a while and each drive ended in a ckeck after a few minutes. Simon was wound up and his inactivity was showing. Twenty minutes later Chris gets a whack at the hare but misses. The dogs had put together a better run and their performance improved as time passed by. The hare took the hounds to the other end of the cover we were hunting and then he made a big swing back toward us. This time Chris didn't miss. Within a minute rabbit number two was being chased and after thirty five minutes and a pretty good run Steve put this one in the "creel". One more time the hounds found a hare quickly and this one they ran real well. Some checks but pretty steady run with Simon doing great. They got him circling a nice pattern and just bad luck kept this hare from dying. I saw him twice and Chris did too. We just ran out of daylight. Four P.M. and getting dark. I cut in to the dogs and caught them running. Both hounds tongued on the line frantically as I pulled them off the track. Another half hour and he'd a bit the dust too. Oh well! A short outing but a good time. Both dogs were eager to keep going despite the depth of the snow. Light powdery stuff, the texture of sugar wasn't a big problem for them to push through. But I suspect that before seasons end they'll be sucking wind on some of the tougher stuff yet to come.

December 13, 2003  WHOA..Winter is here for sure. We got fouteen inches on snow last weekend. Then the other day we get an inch and a half of rain in forty five degree temperatures. And last night everything froze up tighter than a drum. I'm heading out for a hunt with Christopher and it's twelve degrees out. The snow we have now is frozen crust and the wind is blowing hard at twenty miles an hour. We take Timmy, Sophie and Sue and head for the "HELL HOLE" once again. I figure that the coyote trapper has pulled his traps with this mid winter weather we've been having. We cast the hounds and get a start near the truck pretty quick. We're parked up high on a hill and the wind is blowing hard. The hounds run pretty steady for a short while and then check. Pick the check and go a short ways into another check. Now they buckle down and just trail the rabbit. No driving anymore. They run "bump and grind" style another twenty minutes or so and Christopher shoots the hare. Gonna be a tough day. After the kill, Sophie hunts in one direction and Sue and Tim in another. Sophie is an intense hunter and can be a hard handling dog especially in windy conditions. Sue gets a start and heads away from us and Tim harks to her. Sophie meanwhile finds a hare in the opposite direction and now I have a split going. With this wind they can't hear one another so I head for Sophie to catch her, and Chris waits on a tote road. I catch Sophie and put her in the truck and go find the other dogs. With all the rain we got the small stream nearby has turned into a mad running river. Tim and Sue somehow got on the other side of it, and I Had to go catch them. About an hour later I meet Chris in the road and we walk the two dogs further in. Too windy today to deal with Sophie so I just leave her in the truck. We get another start and the hounds run slow and deliberately for over two hours. I missed the hare twice and Chris missed him another time. We were cold and a long way from the truck so I went in and caught the two dogs. We headed back toward the truck a quarter of a mile then let them go for a final attempt to bag a hare while working our way out to the truck. The two hounds open in unison and we get a pretty good run going and a big circle forms. With the wind and icy conditions I decide to wait where they started and Chris takes a position a hundred yards down the tote road. Twenty minutes later the circle gets completed and I see the running hare almost getting by me some fifty yards away. I lift up the firearm and let 'er rip.BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG...and nothing to show for it. A fifty yard shot at a running hare is tough to pull off but I've shot a few in similar situations before. Plus it's fun to shoot at 'em anyway. Tim comes through twenty yards ahead of Sue and on out of hearing toward the truck they went. I meet up with Chris and we head toward the hounds. Several hundred yards from the truck I hear Tim picking the line just off the tote road and call him into me. Then Sue comes in and we call it a day. One rabbit, some shooting, alot of slow tedious running, and a good time nonetheless. Get the truck started, the hounds put up, the gear put away and we head out. Thermometer on the truck reads twenty degrees in the sun and the wind continues to blow. "Tough day HUH Pappy" Chris said. "Yup" I replied. Life of a HARE HUNTER.

December 18, 2003    SKUNKED  Lousy hunt! Steve called yesterday wanting to know if I was gonna hunt today. I kinda figured on working on the kennel some more but if he was willing to give it a try I was willing to give it a shot too. Rained hard yesterday into the night so I anticipated tough conditions this morning. I was not surprised to find a light crust covering the top quarter inch of snow, followed by a wet heavy snow beneath. We drove north to Newfields and hunted that same cover I hunted the last time with Christipher, the "Hellhole". The wind blew a gale and the temperature was thirty degrees with a light crust that supported the rabbit but not the dogs. Under the crust twelve inches of wet snow made moving around for the dogs quite tiresome. I had Tim and Sophie. We walked the dogs a half a mile in and cut 'em loose. The dogs had a terrible time motoring themselves about the woods in search for a rabbit. It took quite a while to get a start and the first run didn't last more than two minutes to a dead loss. There was just no scent for the dogs to work. I can't explain scent any better than anyone else and have my theories about it as does everyone else. Excuses, Excuses! We walked the dogs further in a few more hundred yards and just waited. Sophie opened and ran a short ways then Tim got in with her and they ran a bit more off and on. This whole hunt just stunk so far. A bit more of this run and drop stuff continued and Steve and I just talked and grew oblivious to what the dogs were doing which wasn't much. Then like flipping a switch Tim goes into a drive and Sophie hooks on and they run pretty good and pretty steady. Nothing much changed that I could tell but something was different. The hounds hit a check and picked it pretty quick with some authority and drove really well. Steve and I hit the bush toward some known stands and awaited the hounds to "bring 'em back". Fifteen minutes later Steve lets go two quick blasts from his Franchi automatic and I catch a glimpse of the hare crossing the tote road going a hundred miles an hour. I move up to watch the dogs come through on the line and Tim has a twenty yard lead on Sophie. Tim's a bit bigger and stronger and he could push the gluey snow better than she. He checks a few yards beyond the tote road and she comes down to where he is and takes the line right through without missing a beat. Wow that looked pretty good and off they go. Before long they circle again and I see the hare cross a clearing some sixty yards away, too far and too fast to offer a shot. For no good reason, this idiot rabbit decides to take off out of the area. Since we've hunted this place, only a few times has the hare done this maneuver. In fifteen minutes the dogs steady running fades to silence and out of hearing they go. Wait, wait, wait and wait some more! Nothing! Can't hear a thing! Put the "TRACKER" on them and nothing! I now know they're over this great big hill as the "tracker" won't read over a big hill like this. So I take off after them. Finally I get up to the top oh the hill which feels like a mountain and I'm sweating bullets. There I can hear them still going and maneuver myself closer to them. I'm so far away from where we normally hunt and were Steve is, I decide to catch the hounds. I call Steve on the phone and tell him I was gonna pick up and for him to meet me at the truck. So ended a very difficult day in the woods. Tough conditions, crusty surface, deep wet snow underneath, very windy, hard walking, and ZERO dead rabbits. Get 'em next time

December 20, 2003  7:00 A.M.  Heading for Newfields with Christopher to hunt with my best buddy, the ("sooper dooper pooper scooper TROOPER"), Reginald Van Gleason the Third and sometimes known as Reggie Cram.  I anticipating a tough hunting day today as its twenty degrees out right now and the weather is forecasted to reach no more than the high twenties. This would normally be considered a good hunting day but because of the rains we got a few days ago the snow ranges anywhere from glazed ice to two feet of crumbly, crusty snow and everything in between. Get to Reggies just before 8:00 A.M. and we share a pot of coffee as I listen to a few of his deer hunting stories, with the appropriate sound effects and all. He shot a big doe the last day of the season a week ago with his muzzle loader. FINALLY, we get our hounds and stuff put together and head out behind his house. Too far to travel to points north under these conditions so we hunt near home. We hit the bush with PETE, his brother TIM, and SOPHIE. Twenty feet into the woods there are nothing but deer tracks and an equal amount of turkey tracks. The deer and the turkey have been working the apple orchard near Reggie's house every day. Man let's hope that the four legged critters hunting with us today are on their best behavior and leave the TRASHY stuff alone. All have gone to "TRASH" school so we'll see if they remember the training they've had. Fifteen minutes pass by then Pete opens some three hundred yards away. A few minutes pass and Tim is in on it which is great as Tim is "dead nuts" straight. Then Sophie gets in and a hunt develops. Just after nine o'clock now and the hounds are in gear. Most of the snow is pretty deep, running about twelve to eighteen inches under a thin crust that supports the hare who doesn't leave a mark. In the low areas it's all glazed ice. The dogs gear down right off and are barely able to keep the run going. All bump and grind running that gets a bit better as time passes. It took nearly three hours to get this hare dead and the hounds did a terrific job keeping this hare moving well under very difficult conditions. The three hounds ran as a team and each did his/her share of the work. Sophie got out muscled by the boys to some degree but she managed to do some great work at times just the same. I nailed this one in some thick pine trees and a memorable run was over. We started to work the hounds toward the north and hadn't gone too far before Pete opens and another hunt was on. The three of us scatter to known stands and wait for the circle to develop. Too noisy on the crust to do much cutting so just take good positions and let the hunts come to us. The three hounds once again run in unison and steady under severe scenting conditions. KAPOOWW  KAPOOWW, Reggie's autoloader spoke and this hunt ended successfully. DEAD RABBIT!  We catch the hounds and notice a bit of blood on all of them and decide to work out towards Reggie's house. Before long Tim opens up pounding and the other two make it a trio quickly. This run went well and with a bit more authority but not much faster than either of the other two runs. The three of us had split up working our way out, I on the left, Chris in the middle and Reggie on the right and about a hundred yards apart. The run develops and makes a pretty good sized circle then heads back our way. Two shots are fired and NO HOOT. The hounds continue to run another five minutes and then not another peep. Reggie gets on the "walkie talkie" and asks who shot? A little PEEWEE voice (Christopher)comes onto the airwaves and says I did. Then the little voice says "Pappy I was squatting down and saw the bunny coming and when I shot the gun knocked me over, then I shot again while on my back! "CHRIS" I shouted head to where you saw the dogs go and see if Timmy has the rabbit. A moment later Chris HOOTS signifying the death of the bunny. Despite getting knocked over by the report of the Browing 20, he did manage to kill the rabbit after all, which Timmy was about to eat. As you can see by the photo Chris had his hands full salvaging his bunny. We checked the dogs and all three are bleeding a lot now so we leashed up and headed out. GREAT HUNT!

December 22, 2003  8:00 A.M.  Chris is off for Christmas vacation so we're hitting the woods again for a hunt. Pretty cold out at 22 degrees under overcast skies. We'll hit a small swamp I found a couple deer seasons ago that usually holds a bunny or two. We got Simon and Timmy today. After a ride north and a stop for coffee along the way, we get to the edge of the swamp where there is more snow than I figured we'd find. Because of the thick bushes and swamp grass, the depth of snow is twenty inches deep in places and the surface is crusty that again supports the rabbit but not the dogs. Simon opens and does a bit of cold trailing. Timmy gets into it a bit too and all we can do is wait and let the hounds do their thing. They get a few short spurts but its mostly picky going. Ten minutes of this and Simon puts some authority into it and the hunt picks up. This is a small place and we have one edge covered pretty well. The dogs have been making good progress and in about ten minutes I see the bunny trying to sneak by. KAABOOM, I fire a round and catch the hare with at least a few BB's. He flops around then runs by Chris and gets whacked once again. This time he's down and out. The dogs come running to the hare and we leash them up. We're outta here. Too much snow without the snowshoes. When we get back to the truck we're both sweating "golf balls".  We drive south to another town and the ten miles makes a difference as far as depth of snow goes.   There's a snow mobile trail here for us to walk in on, and it makes getting to the swamp easier. Simon cuts left and opens up pounding. No Timmy? What the heck is he doing, I ponder! About a hundred yards further and Timmy chimes in. GREAT! And they're off! They make a big swing nearly out of hearing then turn back towards us. Chris takes a position on the trail we walked in on and I cut in fifty yards to a well known stand. Dogs never miss a beat and run steady. Snow isn't as deep here but the crust still covers everything. Without even a momentary check they get closer and closer. I see the hare to my right and fire two quick shots with the over and under I'm carrying. I reload quickly and manage to zip a couple more rounds at the fleeing hare. I found some fur and a bit of blood but no bunny. The hare crossed the road we walked in on without Chris getting a look at him. The dogs continued to run steady and a while later Chris gets a shot but doesn't connect. Back across the road they went and headed toward the truck. I caught a glimpse at the hare again but couldn't get a shot. Almost up to the truck before they turn back for another swing. He crosses the road a couple more times and later on a dead run the hare went down. POW! POW! POW! Christopher let 'er rip and the hunt ended. We hunted a while longer but couldn't get another start so we packed it in. Had a great time again and Chris is really doing well. Four hunts and four hare for him so far since he started hunting a couple weeks ago. He's taken a liking to that fire power of the auto loader (browning 20)and now sports it around regularly. I still keep a close eye on the safety issues/gun handling etc., and it's going extremely well. Stopped for a pepsi at the store and headed home.

December 27, 2003  8:00 A.M.  I arrive at Reggie's house under clear skies and twenty degree temperatures. No Christopher today as he's visiting with his Dad in Tupper Lake New York. I got Sophie and Tim and Reggie will run Pete. We suck up a few cups of coffee and talk about last weeks hunt and how the dogs had done a very good job under pretty tough conditions. We have the same dogs and today should be better in that warmer temperatures are forecasted. HOWEVER it didn't work out that way. The first two rabbits we started were both run to dead losses after short runs of about a half an hour. Rabbit number three they ran an hour and forty minutes but all slow, picky, bump and run kind of going. Reggie shot this hare that had been running a long ways ahead of the hounds. (See Reggie in the photo coming out of the shadows with Pete and the dead hare).SCENTING is a hard thing to figure out. It should be that a day like today the dogs would run well but they didn't. Last week under much tougher conditions they ran ten times better than how they ran today. We got another run that was the best of the day but still had a lot of checks in it. Reggie missed the hare after a three shot barrage. Later I saw the hare coming, in some thick pines but when he got to the little clearing I was covering he shot by like a rocket and outran the two rounds I fired at him, with room to spare. A half an hour later we had to pick up the dogs running, as it was nearing four o'clock and getting dark. What I thought would be a super hunt ended up being a poor one. That's the way it goes in the LIFE of a HARE HUNTER.

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