Ten Things Every Coon Hunter Should Know - Huntinghoundsmen ...

dog and beyond that, knowing just how many points youneed to win the cast. Good handlers know that and unlikeBubba, who at the all-you-can-eat-for-a dollar buffet, ordersthree dollars’ worth, they claim only the number of pointsthey need to win or to protect the score they have.Gary Hern, who has won World Championships in tworegistries told a young hunter in Michigan, “Everyone in thecast knows your dog treed first but that doesn’t mean youhave to take every first tree.” That’s good advice. Withoutwriting a book on handling I’ll simply hope that you rememberthese points:a. Know the dog you are hunting inside and out. This isonly accomplished by hunting that dog several nights, weekin and week out.b. Strike your dog on or before the third bark when it isopening honestly. Don’t be the guy that strikes his dog off thechain on a babble. It will come back to bite you.c. Don’t pitch you dog on the tree. Recognize your dog’slocate and tree him when you are reasonably sure he willstay. You don’t have to be first. Sometimes, on a questionabletree it’s better to take last tree to simply protect yourstrike points from being minused if the coon is seen.d. Be aware of the scores of the other dogs in your cast. Ifyou are safely ahead, don’t make foolish calls. John Wickimpressed me with his talk to the young hunters at the AKCYouth World Championship when he asked them to repeatthe most important thing they should have learned fromwhat he told them; “Don’t put minus points on your dog thatit doesn’t deserve.” That’s good advice for any handler.9. How to maintain the health you need to participate inthis sport.Although vigorous at times, coon hunting does not providethe degree of cardio-vascular workout activity that is essentialto good health and a long life with the sport. I am a perfectexample of that. I have never weighed more than 165pounds and weigh about five pounds less than that now. Ihave never been a smoker, don’t drink alcohol other than anoccasional glass of wine with dinner and rarely eat fattyfoods. Nonetheless, I suffered a heart attack in 2006 whileparticipating in a UKC Nite Hunt in North Carolina thatresulted in double bypass surgery at Duke UniversityHospital. The villain was my genetic history of high cholesteroland triglycerides combined with too many hours sittingin front of a computer monitor at work. I was one of thelucky ones in that I did not die in the woods but the coonhunting history books are full of the names of guys that didjust that.If you are going to coon hunt, and you are not in shape,you are flirting with disaster. It is essential that you maintaina steady regimen of proper diet, daily exercise that buildsand maintains your heart rate and an annual checkup withyour family doctor. Walking to trees on an average coonhunt will not keep you in shape regardless of where youhunt. Consider the condition of your health if you want tocontinue to enjoy the sport, and your family and friends, intoyour retirement years.10. How to avoid the pitfalls that many coon huntersfall intoIf you have chosen coon hunting as your chief recreationalactivity you have not chosen an easy sport and that’s evidencedon many levels. It’s a given that you will lose lots ofsleep, your patience and your bank account will be sorelytried and at the end of the day, or night as the case may be,you will wonder how in the world you of all people got intothis crazy sport. You are not alone.One to the chief pitfalls that young hunters make is that thelure of the woods at dark-thirty becomes all-consuming tothe detriment of things that should occupy a higher spot ontheir priority lists. Many are the tales of once-married coonhunters that left a lonely girl at home too many nightsbecause come hell or high water, when it got dark they weregoing hunting. I once sat in a breed association meeting inIllinois on a Saturday afternoon with a well-known hunterfrom Ohio that has since passed away. He said, “Steve, I’min big trouble. My daughter is getting married tonight inOhio and I’m not going to be there.” I’m still shaking myhead at that one but with some coon hunters, that’s the wayit is. Don’t be that guy either.When we were raising my son, travel was an integral partof my job at UKC. I missed birthdays, important ball gamesand family gatherings because of the weekend travel. WhenI was home I always put family matters ahead of hunting,always. If the family wanted to do something on the weekendof a hunting trip I planned, I cancelled the trip. Familywas vitally more important to me than hunting. Anyone whois thinking otherwise needs the proverbial check-up from theneck up.Secondly, don’t make promises you can’t keep. It bothersme that coon hunters seem to get a pass when it comes tocommitment. Just ask any hunt director on the night of thebig hunt when it’s time to put the guides on the scorecards.Sure, clubs can be demanding, especially when they schedulebig hunts, but if you tell someone you will be there, barringany emergency, you should honor that commitment.Otherwise you will be labeled a liar. Harsh, maybe but that’sthe way I see it.If you tell someone you will buy a pup and whether theyrequire you to send a deposit or not, don’t blow it off whenyou change your mind. You told them you would take thepup, now take it. If you tell someone you will be there at acertain time, be there. I have been guilty of this. I’ve alwaysseemed to have several balls in the air at all times and oftenhave been 15 minutes or more late in meeting a huntingbuddy for the night’s hunt. Now, if I’m going to be late, Icall. It’s not fair to use someone else’s time because I didn’tplan properly.If you put enough faith in someone’s stud dog or the litterof pups they are offering for sale to purchase one, don’t bea pansy and ask for a guarantee. You are the one that madethe decision to buy the pup and barring any obvious healthissues that were present in the pup when you bought it youshould assume full responsibility for your decision in buyingthe pup. God only knows whether that pup will turn out. Ifyou made the decision to buy, that’s your decision and youneed to live with it. Some will disagree with me. I had onefellow in Texas that bought a pup from me tell me that hehad bought 30 purebred coonhound pups and never hadone that started. He wanted me to refund his purchase pricebecause the puppy was aggressive in the food dish. I toldhim I would but he would have to return the pup in goodhealth. I never heard from him again. I wonder what he didwith all those pups?Don’t be a slob hunter. Don’t hunt where you don’t havepermission. Don’t leave gates open and litter behind. Don’tcut muddy ruts in the farmer’s field. Don’t shine your headlightsinto a farmhouse window when you turn in the drive.Don’t kill coon out of season. Don’t kill every coon out of atree. Don’t bad-mouth your hunting buddy’s dog. Don’tbrag on your dog to the point of making everyone at theclubhouse nauseous. Better yet, just simply follow theGolden Rule and that will help you to avoid all the pitfalls ofthis sport that may come your way. Thanks for reading.