First time back on here in a while, but wanted to say I sure hated hearing about you losing Hambone. I know what it's like losing a real good one. Sometimes they are more than just a hunting dog, and that just makes it harder to lose them. Hopefully one of your young dogs will step up and shine for you.

T-Dog you called it right. I have gotten pups from people that have had dogs for years and none of them have worked for me. I don't raise a lot of pups because I feel to raise them right it takes a lot of time and effort.  Monkey was only bred to 2 females in his life and I never bred Spur.
But I have hunted with people who catch hogs...but really don't have the dog power they think they do. Most have really good private land to hunt with lots of non pressured hogs on it.  Makes a dog look good, but take him to a deer dog club where the hogs are scarce and hunted 365 days a year and see how many hogs they find and stop.
There are a lot of different types of dogs and ways to hunt them. But, after 40+ years of seeing dogs in the woods on hogs, I know what I like and want a dog to do. I always said, I don't want to run a hog, I want to stop him.
I liked Monkey as he hunted solo...I don't want to have to put a pack of dogs on the ground to find a hog...and he was fast enough and gritty enough to stop a hog. He had scars from it, but I just rarely had long races with him. That's why I thought so much of him. Spur wasn't as gritty but worked well with Monkey.  Spur was about the only dog I hunted with Monkey as he knew Spur wasn't going to help him catch a big hog, so they would bay.
But most of the young dogs I have gotten from people and gone through are pitiful.  Won't leave your feet to go look for a hog, even when turned out with a dog they know or are penned next too. Some wouldn't go to a bay, a couple wouldn't bark at a hog, and a couple were downright scared of a hog!  And these were bred from dogs people hunted.
So I just have to wonder why they turned out like they did. And often other guys with littermates to the ones I had, would cull theirs too. So it wasn't just me.
What I like is a 100% silent cur dog. I don't want it to bark, squeak,  yip or anything else behind a hog. Run to catch or stop it.
If it's 100 lb or less, just catch it. If it's a big hog, shut it down and bay until help arrives.
And do that regularly...and with no other dogs to help.
That is a tall order but I have had 2 dogs in my life that were just like that, so I know they are out there.
I know of one ugly black leopard mixed up dog that is owned by a LSU fan that is a pretty good dog and comes close to the above. I have hunted with him several times and he is my type of dog. Just don't let anyone know I said that about a spotted dog...
The little black and silver dog I am hunting now will get out and hunt. Winds well and can find a hog. He is not 2 years old yet so still young, but seems to be having trouble stopping these running hogs. Just not quite rough enough to make one stop, that doesn't want to stop.
Hopefully he will figure things out.

Thanks everyone.  Sad end to a bunch of good years. I have been fortunate to own a few good dogs in my 40+ years of chasing hogs...and a whole pile of potlickers!
To say that I am picky about what I want a dog to do in the woods is an understatement.  I have some things I will tolerate and some things I won't.  Seems there are way more..non hunting...hunting dogs...these days than there were 25-30 years ago. I have been through 18-20 young dogs in the past few years trying to find something to hunt. Only ONE....has even had the desire to get out and look for a hog. That's a lot of wasted time and feed on the rest of them.
Anyone else noticing the same thing?

Lost my old Spur dog today. He had been going downhill,  hardly eating, rarely getting up and around.  When I got home this evening,  he was dead in his pen.
He and Monkey were a team to be reckoned with. When you turned those two loose together,  things were going to happen. Caught a lot of big hogs with those two. Maybe now they are off running hogs together again somewhere. 
I almost forgot to mention that Spur was  Monkey's son. He was going on 16 years old.
I will always remember the many good hunts we had together...and the wrecks!

I would just like to thank everyone that posted on this thread. It is kind of crazy how you get one dog that just has the whole package and you just seem to click. We always knew what the other was going to do. I had Monkey almost a third of my life. That's a long time. HE was always ready to ride, whether it was going to hunt, going to get feed, going fishing, he liked it all. He especially liked it when I went out to eat at night as he either went along and waited in the dog box for what I didn't eat, or if it was too hot to take him, he would be waiting at the gate for me when I got home. He KNEW when I went out to eat...somehow. He was way too smart.

I want to think everyone for their kind words and condolences.  I have had two GOOD hog dogs in my life, Dixie and Monkey. And a whole lot of SH*T Eaters!! When you get a good one, that just stands out from the others, and you push that dog, and they just keep stepping up the level of their game, you know you have a special dog. The others fall by the wayside or just never get it all together.

Unfortunately I have never been a big puppy raiser. I never bred my Dixie female as I hunted her 3-4 nights a week, year around. Even when she was  in heat as I was on a private ranch with no dogs around but mine and I hunted her alone. I have had coyotes mess with her when she was out hunting , in heat, and she would just came back to me. Sometimes those coyotes didn't make it back home as I kept a rifle in the truck!

Monkey was only bred to two females in his life. My old Spur dog (now 15 years old) is the only offspring of Monkey I have. I wish I had bred him more, just never had the females I wanted to breed and most guys that wanted to breed to him, just didn't have the females that I felt were on his level. I have always been a believer you breed a dog to get more like them. And breeding them to a dog with less ability is not the way to do that.  Not to say there aren't other good dogs out there, as there are. I have hunted with a couple dogs that I really liked.

Dixie and Monkey were not alive at the same time and I often wondered how those pups may have turned out if I had bred them together. Dixie had more nose and winding ability, Monkey had more run to catch and desire to stay on a rough hog. Rarely would either dog quit once they started a hog. Not many people ever hunted with Monkey but he was ideal for the way I hunted. He might not have suited everyone, but he put hogs on the dog box for me , consistently, for over a decade.

Again, I appreciate everyone posting a reply. I now have a little black dog about a year and a half old that I have started hunting, that is bred like Monkey top and bottom.  He gets out and hunts and hustles, but does not seem to be near as rough as Monkey was. I don't hunt much in the summer anymore, but I will put him in the woods this coming fall and winter and see what he is made of.

If anyone can remind me how to post a pic, I will post a pic of him. I don't even remember how to do that!   I must be getting old!!

I buried my best friend this morning. He turned 17 last month. He just got to where he couldn't stand up. Had been having trouble getting around for several months. Had cataracts and was deaf. Still, it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

I don't think I have been on here for a couple years, but wanted to let the old guys on here know that Monkey had finally reached the end of a long and enjoyable life.

For you guys that don't know me or Monkey just search Monkey of Crackerc and see some of the pics posted over the years. Monkey was a once in a lifetime dog for me. Ran loose his whole life, hated people (he and I never liked a lot of people!), and was a Hell of a HOG DOG. A one out kind of dog that didn't want or need any help. Was just as good solo as with another dog, maybe better. 

He and I caught literally hundreds of hogs. Private land, public land, special hunts, made no difference to him. Have had him bay hogs behind groups of dogs, in the middle of deer hound races, bay hogs laid up that other dogs walked by, just the whole package. I have seen him catch a hog and as soon as I legged the hog he would relay. He has caught 3-4 hogs out of a group like that several times. And these were on places that were hunted hard, not dumb hogs. He was very fast. If he caught a big hog and I legged it, I could just tap him on the head and he would turn loose and stand there and watch. If the hog got up on it's feet, he would re-catch it as he thought I was losing control. As long as it was on it's side he would just stand there and pant. Wouldn't even bark.  And once it was tied, he was done with it. You could leave it there and go hunt. He would never go back to it. You could load live hogs next to him in the dog box or tied on the 4 wheeler and he would never even look at them. I swear he had more sense than most people I have met!

Plus he went everywhere with me. A stranger could not touch the truck or 4 wheeler if he was on it. Ran loose his whole life and kept the honest people honest around the house.

I hunted him until he was about 12 years old. He was having trouble getting around the woods and had slowed down a lot. After he and Spur bayed a big barr in a thick cutover on a 43,000 acre deer lease on a late Sunday afternoon (I was alone on the place), and I had to shoot the barr 4 times with a .44 magnum to kill him, I figured that was a good hog to retire him on. Barr had 4" on one side and 4 1/4" on the other. Could have gone south quick.

So I quit hunting him and he has run loose and been pissed about not being able to go hunting since!

He was a Hell of a dog, my best buddy, and will surely be missed. Lots of memories in 17 years. RIP buddy, I will see you again one day I am sure.

I hunt one dog out a LOT. My favorite way to hunt. I used to hunt my old Dixie alone and used her littermate brother Rock as a lead in catch dog. Caught a train load of hogs with just those two dogs that way.

I hunted my Monkey dog that way a lot too, just didn't have a CD I trusted enough to just use him & Monkey. When a dog goes to Monkey's bay he is going to catch the hog and if the CD misses or doesn't catch it would be bad for Monkey. Plus, I hunt alone most of the time and at...ummm... NOT 30 years old anymore its tough to handle a cur dog, CD and a good hog by yourself without getting in a bind. Especially in the thick cutovers I hunt in.

But I am of a mind that hunting one dog out will show you just what kind of dog you REALLY have. If they can't find, run, stop, and bay a hog, by themselves with no help, they will never be a top dog in my book.

I have loaded Monkey up and drove two hours to hunt without taking another dog. That's how much confidence I had in him. Monkey turned 11 in June so now I need another one like that!!

I have been offered a pair of East TX yellow pups. Trying to figure out how to get them to FLA. I can't get off work to go get them, so hoping someone is headed this way. These are small pups, will be about 8 weeks old.

If I could get them to FLA or GA that would be a great help. Anyone that thinks they can help out just PM me.

Thanks!

Update: Pup is doing well. Smart as a whip and has NO fear...of anything so far. Alraedy VERY interested in the pigs at 7 weeks. Hope she is a Monkey Mini Me in the making.......



Who?? Me? I wouldn't get in trouble......run chickens run!!


Just wait until I grow up a little more.....then we will see who is the baddest cat around!

Well, as posted on here I lost my old Dixie female a while back. My Monkey dog will be 11 in June and I really don't have any prospects on the horizon (other than the black pup I got from my buddy Dan) to step up and replace the old dogs. The last few young dogs just didn't suit me and I am no longer feeding them.

I had contacted the ranch that Monkey came from over a year ago inquiring about another pup. They don't raise many dogs and it's hard to get a pup from them. Monkey has been a really good dog for me and I was hoping to get another one. Well, they didn't have pups at that time, the next time I asked they had bred a female but she didn't take. I just asked that they keep me in mind. Months had gone by and I hadn't heard anything and had about given up on a pup.

Then this past Sunday I got a message from them that they had a litter and I could have a pup. So Monday morning found me on a road trip south!!

I got a yellow bob tailed female pup, that is cute as a button. Her daddy is a half brother to my Monkey dog. So if she turns out, and Monkey lives long enough, I may have a pair to raise some yellow pups from. They would be linebred too, which is how I like to breed them.

Wish me luck!

Thanks everyone for the kind words. It definitely isn't going to be able to replace her, maybe impossible. I keep hoping one day, to have another dog even close to her. But I feel fortunate just to be able to know i had ONE.

Dixie was definitely one of a kind.

Couple more pics.

One of my favorite action pics of her. I had a young dog out with her trying to train the young dog, and they bayed in a pond one afternoon. As I tried to get close to take a pic, the hog broke and the dogs sucked it up. That's Dixie on the ear.



Dixie enjoying her retirement!!



Thanks again everyone. A lot of life has gone by in those 17 years. It just all goes by way too quickly.

Goose87, yep I remember posting a bunch of pics on Baydog back when JT had it.  Don't know if those pics are still on there or not. Those were some of the best times of my life.

I don't get on here much anymore but wanted to post something as a tribute to my old Dixie female. She passed away last night at the age of 17. She had actually turned 17 back on March 23. Just hope I remember how to post pics.

Dixie was, without a doubt, the best find and bay dog I have ever seen in the woods, and I have seen a pile of dogs in my time. She could wind a hog a mile away it seemed and I could never figure out how she could do that with tied live hogs on the flatbed truck, within two feet of her. She would never touch the tied hogs either. Once you tied them and loaded them she would jump on or off the truck and never even look at the hogs fighting the mule tape trying to get loose. No matter how they squealed or bounced around, she never paid them any mind.

She had an exceptional nose. We have put "good" dogs out in sign and have them trail around and leave, then come back. We would load them, turn Dixie out (without moving) and she would run the track like she was looking at the hog and wind up bayed......somewhere.

I always hunted her by herself as she would get catchy with another dog. She showed me what a true one out dog is capable of. She was my find and bay dog and her littermate brother Rock was my lead in catch dog. I hunted this way for about 9 years. Once, when I lived on the ranch and acorns were falling, we caught, cut and turned loose 43 BOAR hogs in two weeks with just those two dogs. And some were GOOD boar hogs. It just seemed that once Dixie knew we were looking for boar hogs, that's what she was hunting! And when Rock got there, they were both caught on the hog.

I am pretty picky about my dogs. I will cull one that doesn't suit me. And I have culled quite a few. Dixie was the ONLY dog I couldn't fault. I just couldn't find anything about her I didn't like. Guys that hunted with her regularly used to say I could take her to Central Park in NYC and she would bay a hog SOMEWHERE! She just seemed to be able to pull a rabbit (or in this case, hog) out of a hat when other dogs had given up.

I regret never breeding her. She was my main dog and we hunted about 4 nights a week. The only time I ever knew her to quit a bay was when she was in heat, I was hunting her (there were no dogs on the ranch but mine) and a couple coyotes went to her and got to messing with her. She quit the bay and came to the truck with the coyotes right on her tail. And they weren't looking to fight! I just never found a male dog that was her equal and I refused to breed to something that wasn't as good as she was.

I didn't even have a tracking collar back then. She would leave and we would just drive around and stop and listen until you heard her bayed. Sometimes she would have been bayed for hours and be hoarse from baying so long! One night she jumped off the truck heading west. We waited a while then drove that way... and drove... and drove....after about two miles and not hearing anything I said, lets go back east of where we started and listen. We went to our SE corner and if you stood on the dog box, on one leg and stuck your tongue out, you could just BARELY hear her bayed on the adjoining ranch. We had permission to go, but no gates so we walked in to just catch her. I had two guys with me, one was a young guy that hadn't been much. His daddy was the local game warden and I thought it might be good PR work to take him hunting..

Anyway, we walk like 30 minutes, middle of the night, and get there and she has a GOOD spotted barr hog bayed. And he is mad! No gun, CD back at the truck, Dixie is hot and tired, been bayed for like two hours by herself, middle of the summer. So we turn around, walk back to the truck, get Rock, walk 30 minutes back to Dixie, and catch the hog. There were no worries about her leaving the hog and following us out. She was there until you caught the hog, or shot it. Course, the young guy got a good taste of hog DRAGGING that night!

I could go on and on, but most guys wouldn't believe the things I have seen Dixie do. It just showed me what a GOOD dog is capable of. She got cancer about 7-8 years ago and had to be spayed. The vet didn't think she would survive the surgery as she had cancer bad. I retired her and she has been living on the screen porch for years.

Last night the cancer finally got the best of her. Rest in peace old girl, it was one Hell of a ride.

Dixie on the old flatbed we hunted off of. She was about 2 years old in this pic.


The type of hogs we regularly bayed with her. We actually roped this hog and wound up choking him before we could gte him tied. The funniest thing about Dixie was, she would bay a 2 lb pig. Then you could catch it and put it in the dog box with her and she would ride all night with it and never mess with it.


Dixie about a month ago showing the miles and years.

Good hog. Stout & wooly too!

Thanks guys. It was a good hunt. Monkey is getting old (and he isn't the only one) so I try to enjoy these hunts with him. I plan on retiring him this spring when it gets hot. He will be 11 in June.

lettmroll I raised Crash. He is sired by Otis, a male I raised & sold as a pup and is out of my JJ female. They are half brother & sister and I bred them trying to get a female pup to keep that blood. So she had three male pups! One is dead, one is someone elses pet and I have Crash.

Speaking of retiring Monkey, my buddy Dan from south Florida came and hunted with me a week or so ago. He brought three dogs and we just hunted his dogs at my lease so I could see his hunt. We caught a couple hogs, ran another for probably an hour but could never get it stopped. He has hunted with Monkey several times. Well....he knows my dogs are getting old...so he brought me one of his. Its about 3/4 cur and 1/4 bird dog....and BLACK! I have gone to the dark side!!    

I don't have kids (long story) so about noon Christmas day I had had enough Macy's parade, etc that I could stand. So I loaded up Monkey and my young dog Crash and just thought I would go to the woods and ride around...by myself as usual.  It had rained most of the day before so I just rode the roads looking for tracks and such and to see what I could see. I had Monkey and Crash on the scooter and every now and then I would let them out one at a time to run ahead of the scooter and just let them enjoy the woods. I hadn't seen any hog tracks/ sign made since the rain so I didn't really expect to get on anything at 2 PM.

I was a couple miles from the truck and saw a trail going off into some hardwoods where the acorns were still falling so I let Monkey out and just walked in a ways to see if anything had been on it. I saw a few deer tracks and one decent size hog track but the hog track had been walked on by deer so I figure it was old.  Monkey had gone ahead of me on the trail with his nose down and I could tell he could smell where the hog had been but it was old. He doesn't have a real cold nose, but what he does have is persistence!

I had left Crash on the scooter as he is going to be ROUGH and I didn't want him & Monkey out together. I checked the Garmin and Monkey was about 250 yards from me. I looked at the map and he had made a half circle and was coming back. He got within 30 yards of me and I saw him and even talked to him, but he went right on by me, just walking along and smelling.  He went by me and went out into an overgrown clear cut that was fairly thick. A good place for a hog to lay up.

I was just easing along and looking, saw a fresh scrape made since the rain (mental note- it IS still deer season!) and when I checked the Garmin again Monkey was about 550 yards away out in the cut. He was going north and the scooter was south (about 650 yards) so I figured maybe I better mosey back to the scooter...just in case I had to go find Monkey. When I got to the scooter I checked on him and it said "Lost communication". That told me he was moving...away.

I got on the scooter and headed north. Stopped to look at the Garmin and Monkey was .6 mile NW of me. I looked at the map and he had been making circles out in that cut...then a straight line.....which tells me he jumped the hog. He was moving pretty quick so I tried to catch up to him, but you know the roads never take you where you need to go! I drove out to the highway as he was headed right for it (which always worries me) and just about the time I started to run the scooter down the side of the 60 MPH highway, he turns & heads south.  So I turn around and head that way too. He is about 500-600 yards west of me in a big block and no easy way to get to him. I drive down to a spur road that cuts into the block a ways then dead ends. I was driving pretty quick (I think Crash still has jet lag.. and went down the spur road almost to the end. Turned the scooter off and heard Monkey bayed! And only 135 yards off the road. Hot dang!

I headed into the woods and was trying to get there pretty quick as he bayed like it was a big hog. I didn't turn Crash loose as I didn't know what he had. I got within about 60 yards (too thick to see anything) and I heard the hog run him...then break. Crap! Off they go. Monkey is 110% silent, he doesn't yip, bark, yodel .....or anything behind a hog so without the Garmin you wouldn't know where he was. I looked at the Garmin and he was over 400 yards away...headed north again!

So back to the scooter I go, back out to the N/S road I had already been on and head north. I have the Garmin out and as I am looking to see where Monkey is it shows him treed at about 630 yards west of me. I turn the scooter off and listen and sure enough, I hear him bayed. No road to him, so off I go, into a nasty overgrown clear cut.  Without my backpack....or phone...or more bullets......probably not good!

I am going over knocked down trees, under vines, through briars and brush...trying to get there quickly. I get within about 50-60 yards again and  slow down. I circle a little to come in from the downwind side and can see Monkey through the brush. He looks at me for a second then looks back at the hog, baying, but its thick and I can't see the hog. All of a sudden the hog comes to Monkey, and I mean he came right NOW! He ran Monkey just as hard as he could for probably 50 yards, peeled off and ran...again! It was a REAL good spotted hog but I couldn't tell if it was a boar or a barr hog. But he seriously had an attitude and wanted to hurt something.

Off they go and within seconds they are 300 + yards away . Then I hear Monkey bay again.  Hot dang! I hurry to him and he is bayed in a thicket...even thicker than before. I can just see part of him, but again, can't see the hog. This is where I need a 25 year old 6'3" 250 lb hunting buddy with a vested up sure enough catch dog! I ease around and can see part of the hog through the brush. I am only about 20 yards and as fast as that hog came to Monkey I am thinking there is NO way I am will be able to get out of his way if he decides to come to me!

So I lean down...Monkey knows what is coming and gets closer to the hog...I aim my pistol and ...BAM! Away they go!  am like...WTH? I didn't get a good look at the hog as it was facing me, but I thought I should have hit it in the head. Monkey bays pretty quick so I get there and see the hog and its a black hog....huh?? So I aim and BAM...again. Down it goes, Monkey piles on and I run in and grab a leg...and it gets up! Me, the hog and Monkey go round and round in knee deep water. I don't want to shoot it as Monkey has it caught. It is fighting Monkey and trying to turn around on me at the same time! I have the pistol in one hand, the hog by the leg in the other and things are starting to get interesting again!

I holster the pistol while trying to hold the hog and finally get it put away, get my knife out and stick it. I hold on (and so does Monkey) until it gives out and sinks down into the water. I finally get a chance to look at the hog and its a big old black sow!! Not the spotted hog he was on to start with. I don't know when he swapped hogs or maybe he just ran the spots off of it......but this hog was black..and a sow!

Now I have a dead hog...its 5 PM...I am miles from the truck....probably 3/4 mile from the scooter....and I am alone again! How do I get in these messes?? Oh well, sure beats sitting at home watching the Macy parade any day! LOL

I leash Monkey as at this point he is tired, I am tired AND I have to work the next morning... and head out. I just go to the closest road. Get out on it and look at the Garmin and its a long ways to the scooter. We head that way and get to the crossroad and turn north and the Garmin says it is 740 yards to the scooter.  We get there, I load Monkey and head back the way we came. I find an old 4 wheeler trail going off into the block where the hog is so I follow it. It meanders around and I am driving slow looking at the Garmin and low and behold I can drive within 130 yards of the hog! I grab some mule tape and go to the hog. I tie a piece around its snout, hook a lead to it and start pulling it in the water which is WAY easier than on land. i follow the water as much as I can and only have to drag it maybe 40-50 yards through the thick brush on dry ground.

I get to the scooter.....and try to load the hog....and try some more.....its like trying to load a garbage bag full of jello. A 160 lb bag of jello! Which is what the hog weighed once I got home! Finally got it loaded (with some redneck ingenuity) and headed to the truck. It's dark when i get there so I leave the hog on the scooter, load the dogs in the truck and head home. Still have to clean the hog when i get home, it is an hour and a half away and its already 6 PM. Going to be a late night!

Here is the only pic I have. Monkey is asleep standing up..he was wore out. Ran the hog(s) 4.38 miles on the Garmin. Crash is wondering where the hog came from and I a ready to go home.

Had to work today, but me and Monkey have another day planned tomorrow!! 

Those ringneck pups may have some Fla cur blood in them somewhere. Almost all my dogs have white on them somewhere and I get ringnecks in every litter! Just sayin!!   

I had posted this under a reply to my last post. Then I thought....most people on here won't even see it, as it's kind of buried.So here it is again.

I went back to the same place last Friday. Was late leaving due to ....uhh...overnight company.....so didn't get to the woods until about lunch time.  I got there, loaded Monkey and an 8 month old pup on the 4 wheeler and went to check out a feeder the bears had messed with a while back. Once I got off the road I let Monkey out. It was about 12:30 PM at this time. He trotted off ahead of me and I drove to the feeder which is out in an overgrown clearcut.

I got to the feeder, the bears hadn't tore it up...again...so I started filling it. I put a couple bags of corn in it and thought I better check on Monkey. There was corn on the ground from when the feeder went off that morning and it didn't look like anything had been there since the night before.  Anyway when I looked at the Garmin Monkey was over 800 yards away just beating the clearcut  down like a bird dog. Making circles  loops and just covering ground looking.  He was getting farther away so I drove back out to the main road (in the club) and drove to a crossroads, turned left and drove down towards where he should have been. I turned the scooter off and ..what's that?? Monkey bayed at about 712 yards from me.

I drove down the road until I was about even with him and stopped. I could hear him baying off in a thick clearcut planted in young pines about 15 feet high. This block is thick as hair on a dogs back! Briar patches, vines, dog fennels, pines, it's got it all.  I left the pup on the 4 wheeler and started in to Monkey. He was baying like it was a big hog. It was about 1:15 at this time and starting to get warm.  I tried to hurry to Monkey but it was so thick it was slow going. And naturally, I was by myself! I got closer and could hear hogs rallied up and talking. I like hearing that! I eased in and could see Monkey some but couldn't see the hogs in a thick patch of waist high briars. But I could hear them talking and heard teeth popping!

I tried to get closer without getting me or Monkey in a wreck. There were no trees big enough to climb as the pines were not very big around! He started crowding the hogs and a couple ran out at him. A couple big sows and another toothy barr hog! Then the hogs ran back into the briar patch. There were still a couple hogs that didn't come out so I would guess there were 5-6 hogs in that bunch, maybe more. All good big hogs.

I had my pistol but it was thick and I didn't want a repeat of the above hunt, so I got my hands on Monkey and left them standing in the briars. They were still talking as I led Monkey out, much to his dislike. He didn't want to leave those hogs there. Got back out to the 4 wheeler and Monkey was hot so I loaded him up and went to check another feeder. Got on a dim woods road and let him out to get a drink and just eased along headed to another feeder.  He pulled out and bayed about 300 yards from me. I drove close as I could and hurried to him. He had three sows and some pigs bayed in a swamp. Two of the sows had pigs but one was a fat young sow without pigs. A guy I know had asked me to get hima  good eating hog for Christmas and she fit the bill. One shot and she was down for the count. Now why didn't that work for the other barr!!

I could get the 4 wheeler close so I drove in and loaded her on the front of the scooter. She was probably 100 lbs or so and fat.  Was a good hunt. Glad I didn't have the young dog out on the first hogs as they were big & aggressive. Wished I had her out on the second bay! She is only 8 months so I am taking it slow. She will get her chance!

Here is Monkey and the young dog on the scooter with the sow.



Here is Monkey getting in a last bite after I gutted and loaded the sow on the truck. He is starting to look old.

That's the kind of hunt I need for my young dog! Not these toothy hogs!

Thanks for all the posts guys. It was an interesting hunt, no doubt!

I went back to the same place last Friday. Was late leaving due to ....uhh...overnight company.....so didn't get to the woods until about lunch time.  I got there, loaded Monkey and an 8 month old pup on the 4 wheeler and went to check out a feeder the bears had messed with a while back. Once I got off the road I let Monkey out. It was about 12:30 PM at this time. He trotted off ahead of me and I drove to the feeder which is out in an overgrown clearcut.

I got to the feeder, the bears hadn't tore it up...again...so I started filling it. I put a couple bags of corn in it and thought I better check on Monkey. There was corn on the ground from when the feeder went off that morning and it didn't look like anything had been there since the night before.  Anyway when I looked at the Garmin Monkey was over 800 yards away just beating the clearcut  down like a bird dog. Making circles  loops and just covering ground looking.  He was getting farther away so I drove back out to the main road (in the club) and drove to a crossroads, turned left and drove down towards where he should have been. I turned the scooter off and ..what's that?? Monkey bayed at about 712 yards from me.

I drove down the road until I was about even with him and stopped. I could hear him baying off in a thick clearcut planted in young pines about 15 feet high. This block is thick as hair on a dogs back! Briar patches, vines, dog fennels, pines, it's got it all.  I left the pup on the 4 wheeler and started in to Monkey. He was baying like it was a big hog. It was about 1:15 at this time and starting to get warm.  I tried to hurry to Monkey but it was so thick it was slow going. And nayurally, I was by myself! I got closer and could hear hogs rallied up and talking. I like hearing that! I eased in and could see Monkey some but couldn't see the hogs in a thick patch of waist high briars. But I could hear them talking and heard teeth popping!

I tried to get closer without getting me or Monkey in a wreck. There were no trees big enough to climb as the pines were not very big around! He started crowding the hogs and a couple ran out at him. A couple big sows and another toothy barr hog! Then the hogs ran back into the briar patch. There were still a couple hogs that didn't come out so I would guess there were 5-6 hogs in that bunch, maybe more. All good big hogs.

I had my pistol but it was thick and I didn't want a repeat of the above hunt, so I got my hands on Monkey and left them standing in the briars. They were still talking as I led Monkey out, much to his dislike. He didn't want to leave those hogs there. Got back out to the 4 wheeler and Monkey was hot so I loaded him up and went to check another feeder. Got on a dim woods road and let him out to get a drink and just eased along headed to another feeder.  He pulled out and bayed about 300 yards from me. I drove close as I could and hurried to him. He had three sows and some pigs bayed in a swamp. Two of the sows had pigs but one was a fat young sow without pigs. A guy I know had asked me to get hima  good eating hog for Christmas and she fit the bill. One shot and she was down for the count. Now why didn't that work for the other barr!!

I could get the 4 wheeler close so I drove in and loaded her on the front of the scooter. She was probably 100 lbs or so and fat.  Was a good hunt. Glad I didn't have the young dog out on the first hogs as they were big & aggressive. Wished I had her out on the second bay! She is only 8 months so I am taking it slow. She will get her chance!

Here is a pic of the sow and the dogs on the scooter.


Here is Monkey getting in a last bite after I gutted the hog and put it on the truck. He is starting to look old!