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American digging.......


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Kye came for a visit, we had a good time hunting and although it started out a bit slow it gained some momentum and we ended up okay! Kye drove in on Thursday (Thanksgiving) night at about 7:30 pm (14 hours) and we got to bed about 1am and were off at about 5:30 am. Our trip started out in Wyoming with someone who has done little hunting and has some areas to check but hasn't had dogs on anything yet. With some cooperative weather and digging help, he will this winter I think! He was a fantastic host and I look forward to getting out with him again!

 

We took 2 or 3 cottontails with Kye's young bitch Tor on the lamp right out the backdoor which was nice. The amount of antelope and mule deer is staggering. We had to be careful with the staghounds because they were everywhere and it's illegal to run them. Kye is mindful of US hunting law having left his devious ways abroad upon finding true love on American soil.........staghounds.....lol :p

 

Tor's bunny....she will make a good one I'm sure....

 

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Our rabbit dinner..........it was REAL good...

 

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We got after a coon the next day but after realizing this tube went into a hollow tree, we called it off and kept looking.

 

Tigger chewing at roots trying to find a way....

 

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We saw a fox go to ground on our last day there and we worked for awhile to get the dogs to it. The soil was like granulated sugar which you can tell by the look of the sand on the snow. The sand kept falling in on itself and the dogs couldn't seem to really move it, just swimming in it a bit making it hard going.

 

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We never could get a dog up to it which was frustrating. We dropped a hole to Blanc at just under 4 ft and upon opening she wasn't moving and Kye and I both thought she was dead. She had just crammed herself tight and couldn't move. We decided better to let this fox live to see another day as it was about 12 deg and miserable. Good way to lose a dog so we called it off. :(

 

Blister and Blanc at the earth

 

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Tor and Blister waiting for a bolt

 

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Wyoming at 12 deg F

 

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We got back to Colorado about 7pm on Sunday and were on the road to Pawnee Grasslands to run some jackrabbits by 6:00AM. Ran a few, caught none but being the warrior he is, Kye allowed us to take him to a productive coon spot. We've taken 3 in one dig (twice) and 5 in one dig 1X. We entered Bricca and she bolted one then entered Blanc and she bolted another. This spot is about 13 holes and big for our area- it's an abandoned beaver den.

 

We went out the next day in hopes of getting some running in on the stags but ended up hooking up with a distant relative and letting the dogs tear off their stopper pads first thing. We just shot the air rifle for the day and took a good bag. Some shots out to 70+ yards- was a great time and a needed "day off".

 

Instead of getting some sleep, we went out lamping that night til 3am- called in a fox, saw a few others in addition to a coyote and about 300 rabbits. Didn't take anything as that would be illegal but saw lots of critters.... :ph34r:

 

29 rabbits and 2 prairie dogs

 

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Healthy rabbit- lots of fat in these things- living along a wheat field

 

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Hudson, CO on a shooting day

 

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We got to bed late, again, but were set to get out with some friends on a spot they have that has held fox before and with the weather getting cold, we thought we might find one in. First stop was a barn that had coon and fox problems. We let Bricca check under a wooden floor. She seemed interested right off the bat but couldn't get where she wanted to be so we let her check a stall and she slipped into a small crevice along the floor. She opened and we couldn't hear any growling so we thought FOX! She worked for just a few minutes and started mixing hard. Soon a cat's head popped out of the hole and we could tell it wanted gone but was hung up on Bricca somehow!! Kye broke her off and it disappeared into the ceiling somewhere.

 

We moved on to another spot and checked a few holes after watching some coyotes in the distance and ended up walking back down a ravine. I think it may have been the last hole we checked actually and Bricca showed interest. We entered her after a quick survey of the situation as it looked like an ugly spot. She went as far as she could and began digging and whining on. We sank a quick hole (1 foot of frost) and cleared away some dirt to reveal a large flat piece of sheet metal. We opened up the hole by removing an old oven and tossing it aside and giving Bricca the opportunity to move on. She opened and we heard a growl and knew we had a coon in residence.

 

We found another few openings and started working our way in from two different sides. Two guys through the windshield of an old Willy's Jeep I think and two more through the quarter panel of an old Ford with a 390 V8! We chipped and dug and chipped and chiseled and finally could get enough moved to see what was going on. We realized there were two washing machine tubs, or something that looked like you'd think they looked like in a big cavern between a couple buried cars and sheet metal. Kye was looking up one hole and screamed (like a little girl) that he saw three coons and two were real big ones (he thinks).

 

Anyway long story short, we worked for a couple hours and finally got two coons out and left a third for another day. The first one was 31 pounds and the second 25 pounds. The third was a bit smaller from what I'm told but was in attendance and I would imagine was a sow as the two big un's were boars.

 

Windshield of a Willy's Jeep and two hole entrance with nets set

 

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The coon (Kye's the clean guy!) :haha:

 

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Deep part of the dig- old oven on the right (Kye supervising the extraction...lol)

 

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A healthy coon- 31 pounder- Bricca knows someone is still home...

 

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both coons- 25 and 31 #ers

 

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Got a porcupine a few weeks ago and we got some pictures of that nasty thing as well. Took about 20 minutes to get maybe 100 quills out and they bleed like you've stuck a pig.......

 

Porcupine shots

 

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All in all, it was a good trip. As always, it was full of laughs and was good to have Kye here.......I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've never had my wife tell me so many times how good looking I am as when Kye's around......I look forward to the next trip! I don't for the life of me know though how Kye can get so much sleep and be so tired all the time!?! It was a great time, the pictures don't do it justice.......til next time......

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AND...the reason you hide your face in America is??????

 

Gangster

cos they are all bloody ugly thats why!!!!! :clapper:

 

 

sounds like an excellent hunt guys...great to read the stories. i have a query regarding those porcipines, do they dig on when your digging them or would you be able to dig them with a baying type of terrier??? do they face the dog in the manner of a fox, or do they try and force the dog out by charging it backwards??? cheers

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Gangster, for no other reason, other than the fact that we keep ourselves to ourselves...plus we dont want lots of irate husbands knocking on our doors, because there wifes have run off looking for us!..lol.

JD,..FR will be able to answer that one about the Porqupine...i dont have any exsperiance with them...all i know is that the Hound hunters in Washington and Oregon hate them!

It was a good time, and the hospitality that me and FR got in WY was great, plus what FR and his family showed towards me, was GREAT!...

Cant wait 'till next time.

Thanks again FR your a real terrierman and a true friend!

Kye,..

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Gangster, for no other reason, other than the fact that we keep ourselves to ourselves...plus we dont want lots of irate husbands knocking on our doors, because there wifes have run off looking for us!..lol.

JD,..FR will be able to answer that one about the Porqupine...i dont have any exsperiance with them...all i know is that the Hound hunters in Washington and Oregon hate them!

It was a good time, and the hospitality that me and FR got in WY was great, plus what FR and his family showed towards me, was GREAT!...

Cant wait 'till next time.

Thanks again FR your a real terrierman and a true friend!

Kye,..

WELL I AM SURE YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL MATE :blink: ..WOULDNT WANT THE ANTIS TO GET YOUR PIC AND PUT YOU UP ON A ANTI SITE WOULD YOU???? :ph34r:

YIS FELLMAN

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Gangster, for no other reason, other than the fact that we keep ourselves to ourselves...plus we dont want lots of irate husbands knocking on our doors, because there wifes have run off looking for us!..lol.

JD,..FR will be able to answer that one about the Porqupine...i dont have any exsperiance with them...all i know is that the Hound hunters in Washington and Oregon hate them!

It was a good time, and the hospitality that me and FR got in WY was great, plus what FR and his family showed towards me, was GREAT!...

Cant wait 'till next time.

Thanks again FR your a real terrierman and a true friend!

Kye,..

 

 

That, and you don't get no slagging from the peanut gallery :D

Nice coon

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AND...the reason you hide your face in America is??????

 

Gangster

cos they are all bloody ugly thats why!!!!! :clapper:

 

 

sounds like an excellent hunt guys...great to read the stories. i have a query regarding those porcipines, do they dig on when your digging them or would you be able to dig them with a baying type of terrier??? do they face the dog in the manner of a fox, or do they try and force the dog out by charging it backwards??? cheers

 

JD,

 

They don't dig on, just face their backside to the terrier, swat with the tail and wait for him to engage. Nasty things, wouldn't choose to work them with any kind of dog as the quills will migrate through a dog if broken off during pulling out or not pulled out and can kill a dog later when they hit a vital. They eat bark of trees and berries etc. and typically leave quills at the opening of dens but showed none this day.

 

PS-Kye is uncomfortably ugly, I'm actually dead sexy...... :clapper:

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