Totally agree with you hedz,
i hunt a pack of beagles and when they get going you cant keep up with them, i'm not saying there as fast as foxhounds but they can get through thick cover,bramble,thorn,gorse etc before a foxhounds thinking about it
It's surprising how the smaller hound's can put pressure on "the drag" in thick cover
i'm certainly not knocking foxhound's in anyway, you need the right type of hound for the land you hunt and the one that suit's you,(kenneling,transport etc)
for example you wouldn't want a "heavy" built foxhound hunting the fell's, he wouldn't las