EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

There's a close couple of friends that I hunt with occasionally that have real good dogs, the best I've ever actually seen to tell the truth... one of which is the source I got my bird cross dogs from.  I'd have to say that, besides me of course ;), they're the most serious dog-men I've ever met.  Neither uses a computer, they just hunt hogs and worke cattle, as did their families before them. 

All this talk of line dogs doing(or not doing) leads back to the same subject that all working dog men eventually come back to... "what proves a dog?"

These couple of friends I speak of live too far from me to hunt together on a regular basis, only on special occasions do we get to hunt and compare dogs...   So... the banter of "you have got to see what this dog is doing" is usually communicated via a cell phone call, after a good hunt.   

On to the subject at hand... when the occasional dog shows to be becoming "above average" the smack talking is sure to follow ;D ... as are the challenges to "test" the dog in front of other "dog men".... for us, this means known properties that are hard on dogs....

This is something I've been thinking a lot about..... You can catch thousands of hogs with a particular dog and still not have a true hog dog.  Anyone that has hunted different places knows what hogs truly "test" your dogs.  One hog might weigh 450#'s and have 6" of teeth, but if it doesn't know what a dog is, a single walk in pound-pit could catch him and it'd be a done deal... the other hog may have been dogged his entire life, been caught numerous times and finally figured out how to beat a dog... this is the type of hog I judge a dog by

This coming up weekend, these friends and I have decided to bring all the dogs to the "testing grounds".  A particular piece of property full of hard running dog killers.... Not the type of place you go to hunt for fun, but will sure as hell show what you've got... or had.

They're asking me to bring Shiner... which I probably will... but I plan on working Snapps and Chub the majority of the time...  Time to swim or drown.

good luck on your quest my friend..

you are right as rain. I have done just what you are taikng about. The biggest boar in the world is the easiest hog in the world to catch if he has never been dogged. And a 200 lber can kill every dog you got if he has been dogged and figured out how to getaway.

man i love to load up a few an join ya i like a good challenge ;D

Sounds like a great time to be had. Nothing better than a challenge ! Make sure you keep us updated.

Bring your bay vest........

Yea, I have heard stories about hogs that put men out of doggin in one hunt. That hunt should prove to be a real adrenaline rush. I wish you the best of luck.

I like my easy going dumb hogs, I have a hard enough time with them...plus they makes my yellow dogs look better and my internet muscles bigger  ;D even though I never take pictures or drag them back to the truck where my camera is!

Jesse, you're welcome any time, Caught'n'hobbled, I won't own any bay dog I have to put a vest on... either they figure out how to back off or not...

There's two places that we're going to test at, one is full of big, toothy barrs that have learned how to rally... your dogs catch a shoat... you might not have anything left but your dog collar when you get to them... locals have learned to send the catch dog in on a rope to pull a hog out, just to keep from getting dogs eaten... no chit.

The second place is just straight up, run, bay, wreck dogs.... then repeat...

Neither place is fun to hunt, always stressful.

good luck. What part of the state are you headed to?

noah what type of country are yall hunting where they are runners and hard to catch?

These particular spots are in south west FL.  The biggest danger is the rally aspect of the one property, these hogs will come to a bay like your best dog... catchy dogs, or any dog that doesn't watch it's back is gonna get whacked big time here.  Both places are swamp land, saw grass... which is hell on dogs.  Tunnels through thick grass that leave dogs little room to move.

Jesse, the biggest problem I see is property size, rarely do we get to run a property over 5K acres...and there ain't no gettin' around to the other side... people 'round here either keep your dog, or kill it.  Around here, it's all about stopping power.

To be frank, the hunting team I'm working right now are nothing but "meat dogs" to me... I can go about anywhere and catch a few sh!t hogs... just not the "trophy team" I had in Ellie and Snappa.... Shine is... but she's still on restriction... ;D

Good luck man it's make or break time for the team I guess

good luck noah,hope everything works out for the good. take lots of pictures if you have time to.

Joe, if you run out of dogs, let me know... I'll get you a dog

I hunted a place like you are talking about Noah. Over 60 dogs have been killed on this orange grove in 10 years, but it seems like every hog we took out of there was a big toothy boar hog.

A lot of the places down there have been hunted for a long, long time, with, basically, RCD's. ... either you shut a hog down quick, or he'll make you pay for it... these are the types of places not many people get to hunt.... As a Seminole Indian friend I met down there on an invited hunt told me after meeting me for the first time.... "you've either got a deep wallet, a bad-ass swamp-buggy... or the best dogs in the county to even be here...."  .... I guess I was invited because of the latter... ;) ;D

One more thought while I'm still in a thinking mode... This is South Florida I'm talkin' about.... what most people don't understand around this part of the country... is you've got to be invited to even "have the chance to get your dog beat up" around here....  To be allowed into the "inner circle" of old school Florida hog doggers is a rare thing... sounds gay I know... but it really is a priveledge to be requested to even show your dogs.

Hunt for the trophy or settle for the show ribbons! Good luck Noah! I know exactly what you mean about those "circles" and wish you the best at staying in them.

Hey Noah, I used to hunt in Hillsborough and the surrounding counties. When you say SW, do you mean USF country, or the glades... I've heard some real horror stories about world class dog wreckers down there.

The one spot is just north of the glades, rarely do you get on anything under 200#'s, and they all got teeth.  How long ago was it you were over here Waarheid?  Who were you hunting with?

You are 100% correct about the hog hunting circles down here Noah. But once you are in you are good to go.

Noah you are crazy, I wasnt sure if you were B.S.ing to some degree but I can tell you are not... just reading it makes me want to stay home and have dogs to hunt next wkend, take a shower and enjoy a tall glass of water and watch the cowboys...Good luck it sounds like no matter how good your dogs are you need it. ( rope on a cd--INSANE) Let us know how you do!

Noah good luck to you and yours. Know just the kind of place you are talking about. We have some like that here on the coast of TX. One place The only way to get to it is by boat.More than one team has gone in with dogs and came back with out not one dog. It is growed up so thick with bay bushes,Salt grass,and vine thickets. If the hogs dont get you the rattle snakes,alligators,Will.It is not a place to go for the weak of heart. If your not willing to sacerfice Dogs and man .

 :o Seriously!!!!  If you catch thousands of hogs with a dog....then he IS by definition a hog dog..... I will go further than that and say if you personally catch thousands of hogs, do you not consider yourself a hog hunter? Or because you only hunt in a portion of Florida you are not a true hog hunter? I have caught hogs since I was 9yrs old (caught my first hog at River Ranch in Central Florida where I am from) (and I am 35 now) in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Oklahoma....and I don't consider myself anymore of a hog hunter than you or anyone else on here. So to say a dog isn't a "true" hog dog especially after it has found "thousands" of hogs, beacuse it has only hunted on an easy or familiar place is crazy.......

You know what I'm saying Pecos, if your dog has hunted feed lots his entire life... how much of a hog dog is he?  I'm talking about a dog you can take anywhere and catch hogs, not just a grass patch dog.... not that there aren't some real nice grass patch dogs, but still not the definition of a well rounded hog dog.

Noah, i'm a sw fl boy.....grew up huntin all these ranches....which one ya'll headed to?  how long you gonna be in town?

Gotcha....  ;D

Good to meet you Dan, give me a call(my #'s by my signature).  I'll be down next wnd, Sat and Sun... only hunting one of those days, spearfishing the other... Maybe we can make a hunt one of these days.  What kind of dogs you runnin'?

Noah,  are you mark chessner's buddy?  He's spoke of a gentleman named noah with a wolf dog and bird dog crosses.........

I hunt south florida dogs.....ranch stock crossed over birddogs mostly.....I've bred 4 generations of them....they are what it takes to get it done down here.......

you better wear a wet suit.....if yer goin spear fishin......i believe i would wait until about april :)

Mark may have used the "gentleman" term loosely.... but everything else sounds about right ;D

We definitely need to get together, sounds like we have a lot in common...

All these florida guys, which one of you is gunna start the FDHA? Or do we all gotta chip in and pay one of these smart texas fellers to do do it for us?

Noah, you should get with Dan and I for a hunt soon. Dan was up here at the house two weeks ago and we went hunting, caught two with his dogs. After deer season I will have some private places to go, maybe the three of us can get together one Sat and run the dogs.

Dan is a good guy....just doesn't like to walk much..... ;D That new Polaris Ranger already has him spoiled I think!! Course, it was his swamp buggy before that!

You two already have something in common, you both hunt cur/bird dog crosses.

Good luck on your upcoming "challenge" hunt. Let me know how it goes.

I moved to the mid-west about a year and a half ago (just waiting for the pig numbers to build up here now ;D )

I didn't hunt with anyone famous in FL... some straight lacers and some outlaws, mostly just local Plant City / Lakeland boys.

That is my country... I am a Polk County boy...I grew up in Davenport/ Haines City area....hunted River Ranch and Avon Park Bombing Range...Used to hunt Reedy Creek behind Mickey Mouse's house til we got run out...... LOL!!

pecos21, me and a buddy took Noah to hunt on a private place by Reedy Creek Swamp. Caught one small sow with Monkey and Spur, they left on another hog and we lost Spur in Reedy Creek Swamp (with all the gators) for 26 hours. He got over into the state land with "Posted- Trespassers will be SEVERLY Prosecuted" signs on every fence post.......

It took until the next day for us to get permission to go get him, but we did and he was okay, just worn out. He was 1.7 miles, by GPS in from their gate........and probably 2.5 miles from where he left us on another hog. Most of the time you are tripping over him in the woods, but now and then he will get on a  running hog and pull out.

Not sure if Noah will come back after that.... :o

Funny how those dogs can't read No Trespassing signs...... ;D We used to have that happen at River Ranch....they would get on that WMA there on the Kissimmee River (where we used to be able to hunt by that old one room school house) and we would have to go get them.... ;D

Its times like that when I question if I REALLY want more range!!

I have never hunted River Ranch or around it. I have hunted 3 Lakes WMA off of hwy 60 years ago, back when I bowhunted some. This was like in the 1980's............saw some BIG rattlesnakes down there then too!

I have gone into two palmetto heads and been met by a rattlesnake there.....we killed one that went across an F-150 (with 33's) tailgate and nearly touched the ground on both sides....I wish I could find that pic....I would scan it......