unplanned hunt

[KawValley 131]

Yesterday I took my Bull X Russell bitch, Darby on a long walk and we ended up at a soccer complex with many outdoor fields. No one was around so I let her off the lead, and before I knew it she took off. the soccer fields are at the edge of town and bordered by pasture and woods, and she was headed for the woods. much to my surprise there were a few silos and old stone foundations right inside the woods. darby was digging at a piece of sheet metal, and when I lifted it up, two mice ran out - and she didn't see either one LOL. a few minutes later Darby was checking near the old foundations in a pile of concrete slabs. She soon disappeared under a slab and i could hear the distinct growling of a coon and darby working. The slabs were much too big to lift, so I just let her work for 20 min or so in a very tight spot, until she must have lost grip and the coon came running out from behind the slab. Darby struggled to get back out from under the slab giving the relatively slow coon a long head start. The coon made it to a huge hollow log on a very steep hillside, and when I got there darby was working the coon inside the log. the log was pretty rotten and I was able to pull/break off chunks and widen the opening. Darby pulled the coon out of the log and that's when I first got a good look at it- HUGE! They were battling and tumbling down the steep hill and fell into the Wakarusa river which was right at the bottom of the hill. Now, wakarusa is a Native American word for "crotch deep", but this part of the river is probably 8-10 feet deep. Darby was in the deep water with the coon balled up on her head. she refused to give up her hold, and there were a few times that the two of them went under for what seemed like a long time. I was scrambling along the steep bank following them as they floated with the current. Eventually, they went under for a LONG time and popped up about ten yards apart. Darby looked like she was in trouble, so I called her back to the bank and she barely made it. The coon was floating/swimming fast with the current, I saw it get out and enter a hole under some tree roots on the bank. Darby was staggering, so I clipped the leash on, and she threw up a bunch of river water. I gave her some time to re coup, and we walked over to the hole that I saw the coon go into. It was a very large and shallow beaver hole in the sandy bank and I could even see the coon in the back of the hole - Darby seemed to instantly recover LOL, so I let her go. She finished it in the hole and we walked back home. I'm sure it was the biggest coon I've seen. Darby is a big girl at 22 lbs, and the coon had to be every bit of that.

[darrell jnr 16]

good write up there fella,nice to hear hunting accounts from across the pond.well done the dog...all the best...darrell.

[patterdale666 1,620]

Good write up and good result bud

Fine looking dog ya have there

[rc1 21]

Sounds like you have a good one...If you ever get to Illinois look me up...

[clachan 72]

Nice right up mate.Ive heard several stories about coons leading dogs to water and drowning them,with little or no effort.Sounds like yours had a lucky escape.Keep at them .clachan

[BOLIO1 1,078]

I love large beaver holes......sorry I couldn't help myself

 

Well done that bitch

[Dux 5]

Plucky lil dog! Know the feeling of watching the coon push your dogs head under water. My 60lb DD has gone through that many times.

 

Fall and winter can see 35lb plus coons up here. Bigger if near dumpsters. Have even had some so large and fat that my dog couldn't lift 'em off the ground to give a proper shake. This is a dog who jumped a 3-1/2' fence with a 32lb.

 

ATB

[Mosby 355]

Great story. The dog sounds like a good one. My buddy lost two dogs in one week to coons drowning them. We're to the point of swimming after if the dog is a good one.

[Dux 5]

Sorry to hear about your buddies dogs Mosby. I've been on the bank shuckin boots n coat a few times. Consider myself fortunate he's always sorted things out on his own.

[Attack Fell Terrier 864]

Nice one mate, I'd love to get over to the USA for some of this.

 

Well done the Dog .

[micheal rennicks 17]

class post dude.