We check the wind and always come in from down wind if we can , move quiet, no noise or talking. I think that a more bays than we think are broken by the hunters themselves.
X 20^ Agree 100%.
It is my opinion that if a hog will stand bayed for 10 mins then he will bay for 10 hours unless some outside factor causes them to break bay, as long as the dogs stay hooked. Now as far as outside factors bustings bays... that clould be 4-wheeler noise, noise from the CD coming in, winding the hunter, adding dogs to a bay, ect. My rule of thumb is if I hear a bay then the 4-wheeler stops or stays where it is and I walk. Then again I dont have catch dogs to hual around and don't mind jogging or walking a few hundred yards to a bay, but I am never in a hurry to get to a solid bay because if the hog is really bayed solid and I do my part in getting there w/out letting the hog know I am there then the bay will be there when I get there. I can tell you many times I have had the dogs bay across the river and in the process of finding a boat and getting it across, a few hours might pass, and the dogs stay bayed sollid. And then we get across, head to the bay, only for the bay to break as we approach. I can assure you that its not just because of bad luck or the hog randomly decided he wanted to leave....... its because we busted the bay for what ever reason.
I've heard old timers say it and I beleive it to be true, that the longer a hog gets bayed the longer they will continue to stand at bay. If you read the Big thicket Legacy one of those old timers says "the longer a hog gets bayed the tamer they get" I can say with all certainty that cattle are definately that way.
Chris..... A couple/three hundred yards is probly safe. But, I think that wind direction is more important than distance, and often not used as an advantage by hog hunters. If you approach the bay on your rig from down wind it could buy you some walking distance. It will also give the catch dogs the advantage of having a smaller chance of the hog hearing or smelling them as they come in. Some might not think that they will notice untill its too late but If a hog can hear me step on a stick from 40 yards while being bayed he can hear a catch dog coming for sure. It might take you longer to get there but if they have been bayed for 30 mins or more what difference will 5 or so mins to loop around make?
Waylon
