1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: Welcome to this country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trotlining and just in general country living. 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: my experiences in life lessons. This Country Life is presented 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: by Case Knives from the store More Studio on Meat 6 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best outdoor podcast that 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,319 Speaker 1: airways have to offer. All right, friends, grab a chair 8 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: or drop that tailgate. I've got some stores to share. Rabbits, beagles, 9 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: and a creature named blade. Rabbit hunting with beagles is 10 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,599 Speaker 1: a time honored tradition, not only in the South, but 11 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: all over this great nation of ours, and where it 12 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: lands on my list of favorites might surprise you. That's 13 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: what I'm talking about today, and I can't wait to 14 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: get to it. So well, that said, let's get to it. 15 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: From September the first through the end of February, rabbits 16 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: in Arkansas are looking over their shoulders and living on 17 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: the edge. That's when it's legal for hunters to get 18 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: after them. Now, in reality, they're already looking over their 19 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: shoulders because just about everything else eats on them year round. Cows, bobcats, foxes, bears, 20 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: and birds of prey, snakes, alligators, and even coons will 21 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 1: make a meal out of Silvilligas floriadnnis and Selviligas aquaticus. 22 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: The two types of wild rabbits found here in Arkansas, 23 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: commonly referred to as cottontail rabbits and swamp rabbits, both 24 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: are good to eat and fun to hunt. Gave an 25 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: overview of rabbit hunting back in episode two ninety three Rabbits, 26 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: Dogs and car Hoods. I talked about watching out for 27 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: botfly larvae and whether the rabbit that had one was 28 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: good to eat or not. They are, but I still 29 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 1: ain't been hungry enough to have to do it. Mentioned 30 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: that you should check their livers and spleen for white 31 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: spots and lesions that could indicate tularemia, but I didn't 32 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: tell you how to avoid it, other than saying you 33 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: should clean them properly. Well, let me cover that right now. 34 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: You all ready for the big secret? You ready wear 35 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: rubber gloves. That's it. You are to be doing that 36 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: anyway now. I don't always, but I'm trying to get 37 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: in the habit. It only takes one time to make 38 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: you wish you had. And I know some folks who've 39 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,519 Speaker 1: gotten sick from improperly cooked or handle game meeting. It's 40 00:02:53,680 --> 00:03:00,359 Speaker 1: no bueno. Tularemia's common name is literally rabbit fever. It's 41 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: as if the rabbits last actual defiance before being given 42 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: a one way ticket through your colon is to make 43 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: you think you've got the flu, pneumonia, leprosy, and raybes 44 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: all at the same time. It's like the old saying 45 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: goes hunting ain't no fun when the rabbit gets the gun. 46 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: Now wear gloves when you're skinning rabbits, and cook them 47 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: till they reach an internal temperature of one hundred and 48 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: sixty degrees fahrenheit and you're good to go. Simple. Just 49 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 1: the other day, Michael Roseman and his nephew R. J. 50 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: Nelson Howell, whom we affectionately refer to as Meldon, Brad Clark, 51 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: Randa Whitmore, and yours truly, set out on a rabbit 52 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: hunt on public ground here at Arkansas, using Michael's beagles. 53 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: The hunting rabbits with beagles is my favorite way to 54 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: hunt them. And y'all know that I like to hunt, 55 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: and I've said before that adding the dog to a 56 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: lot of things I chase just makes it that much better. Well, 57 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: I'll go one step further and say this, Of everything 58 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: I hunt using a dog, rabbit hunting may be my 59 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: absolute favorite. And I know some of you may be 60 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: looking at the radio right now like they just smelled 61 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: something terrible. But I'd hate to be held at Gunport 62 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: and made to choose a favorite two that didn't include 63 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: rabbits with beagles, coon hunting, squirreled hog, deer ducks, all 64 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: of it. A rabbit being chased by a pack of 65 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: beagles is as exciting to me as anything it may be. 66 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,719 Speaker 1: Because of everything I just named, rabbits with beagles is 67 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: the least of which I've done. My wife, Alexis's grandfather, 68 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: Buddy Deckleman, or Booed as she called him, was a 69 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: rabbit man from way back. Episode two forty eight had 70 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,160 Speaker 1: me giving y'all the lowdown on him. I never had 71 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: the opportunity to meet him, as he passed away long 72 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: before Alexis and I met, but everyone always said that 73 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: we would have gotten along really well, and I'm confident 74 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: that we would have. I saw the same shared experience 75 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: the other day when the group of narraw do wells 76 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,159 Speaker 1: I just mentioned and I assembled at the coon camp. 77 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: It was well before breakfast when we started to work 78 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: on the contents of the coffee pot and get everyone 79 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:27,239 Speaker 1: headed out the door for a rabbit hunt. Cookie, Chessie, 80 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: and Mandy would be doing all the work this morning, 81 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: and the rest of us were just along for the ride. 82 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: These three female purebred beagle hounds were being asked to 83 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: do something that their ancestors had been doing well over 84 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,720 Speaker 1: four hundred years. Find a rabbit, make that rabbit hit 85 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: the road, and that's all they had to do. We 86 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: and the rabbit were going to handle everything else. Now, 87 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 1: for those that don't know, rabbits normally run in a 88 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: circle when pursued, and depending on what kind of rabbits 89 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: being chased, can determine how big of a circle they'll run. Now, 90 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: before anyone starts yelling at me saying anything to the contrary, 91 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: I'm speaking in generalities here, but generally speaking, cotton tail 92 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: rabbits running a small circle, and swamp rabbits will move 93 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,919 Speaker 1: out at a bigger one. If the dogs you're hunting 94 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: behind are deer proof, meaning they won't run a deer 95 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: like most of Clay's coon dogs won't run a coon 96 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: just kidding, not really. Then, when those beagles head out 97 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: anywhere on the plus side of one hundred yards, you 98 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 1: could bet you're probably chasing a swamp rabbit. Now, you 99 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: might lose, but I'll make that bet every time and 100 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:45,359 Speaker 1: come out ahead more times than not. We drove the 101 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 1: twenty minutes or so from camp in deep conversation about 102 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: dogs for Michael's past that he longed to have now 103 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: so I could hunt and see how they work. He 104 00:06:54,520 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 1: mentioned several, but one in particular was a beagle named Blade. 105 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: Blade stood seventeen inches at his withers that's the top 106 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: of his shoulder blades, which is two full inches above 107 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: the bigger of the standard sized beagles. Beagles fall into 108 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: two main categories, thirteen and fifteen inch dogs. Blade wouldn't 109 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: have been allowed to compete in some registered events because 110 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: of his size, being passed the maximum allowed features for 111 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:26,239 Speaker 1: the height of a dog in certain competitions. That doesn't 112 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: mean he wasn't a beagle. This means that he was 113 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: an outlier and exceeded the parameters and standards that had 114 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: been set in stone for breeze specific events back in 115 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: the old days. Or as my daughter Bailey would say, 116 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: back then, But back then really isn't an accurate description 117 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: of long ago. She thinks back then was anything before 118 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: the sixth grade. She's in the seventh. Anyway. Blade came 119 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: to Michaels Kennel thirteen years ago by way of a 120 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: dog trade, and Blade was the one thrown in to 121 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 1: sweepen the deal enough for Michael to agree. He was 122 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: more of an afterthought, like here, you can have this 123 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: one too. Blade wasn't a picture of health when he 124 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: was offering, and it could have been a deal breaker 125 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: going in the other direction, but Michael took a chance, 126 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: and there was something that spoke to him. This little 127 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: big hound deserved a chance, and Michael was going to 128 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: see that he got one. The actress of nursing and nurturing, 129 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: Blade filled out and he perked up the dog that 130 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: he'd traded before. The target dog a female, which made 131 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: Blade the player to be named later. That dog didn't 132 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: turn out at all. She found a new home, and Blade, 133 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 1: the dog that almost wasn't, slid into the number one spot. 134 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: Now that's how Cinderella's stories are written, and you can't 135 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: have a Cinderella story without an ugly stepsister unfortunately playing 136 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: the part of Cinderella and all three ugly stepsisters was 137 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: the one and only blade. His biology made him cast 138 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,840 Speaker 1: better as the handsome Prince Charman. However, according to Michael, 139 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: he wasn't handsome in any form. Michael described him this way. 140 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: He had a big blaze up the middle of his forehead. 141 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: He was black headed with a red face. He had 142 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 1: a lot of black on his back, but he wasn't 143 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: blanket back. It was all broken up with a lot 144 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: of white. He looked like what a kindergartener would draw 145 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 1: if they had drawn him in the dark and charming, 146 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: he didn't know the meaning of it. He made up 147 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,599 Speaker 1: for his lack of looks by being rude and inappropriate 148 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: in every sense of those words. He would take the 149 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: most inopportunity time to be crash and indecent, regardless of 150 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:01,080 Speaker 1: who was around. His kindel habit for less than ideal, 151 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 1: and according to my friend Michael, his food and water 152 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 1: bowls became targets of opportunity. Now, if you're number one 153 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: in in your eating and drinking bowls, that's one thing. 154 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: But the number two in them, now that's just plain nasty. 155 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,440 Speaker 1: Like I said, his hair was long and greasy, and 156 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 1: he was the nastiest dog I've ever had in a kennel, 157 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 1: And I said, well, why did you keep that freak? 158 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: But he turned and looked at me, and he said, 159 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 1: because a rabbit didn't stand a chance with that clown. 160 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: Like I said that, not only was he an absolute 161 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: savage in his lack of morality and kennel manners, but 162 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:45,560 Speaker 1: also in rabbit jumping ability. He'd get in the thickest, 163 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: nastiest places a rabbit would have told the hatchet to 164 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: get in and out of, and before catulickage behind, he 165 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: was on him. He was all so fast, how fast Michael, 166 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: fast enough that he caught several rabbits on his own. 167 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: He literally ran them down and caught and killed them 168 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: all by hisself, and the ones he couldn't catch, he'd 169 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: keep moving until they circled around for one of us 170 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: to get a shot. Blade was a rabbit running machine. 171 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 1: He was fearless. He would crawl in any hole, any 172 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: tree top, any patch of briars that would make the 173 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 1: devil think twice. And he had no regard for his 174 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 1: health and safety, characteristics that would ultimately lead to his demise. 175 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 1: But on the street, he challenged the nineteen eighty nine 176 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: Ford Fiesta for the right of way after breaking out 177 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: his kennel to take his one man acting debauchery on 178 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: the road around the neighborhood. He spent the last four 179 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: years of his life at Michael's and lived to be 180 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 1: six a ripe old age. For anything with this little 181 00:11:55,080 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 1: regard for cleanliness or safety as Blade, we weren't wasn't 182 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 1: behind anything on the same level as Blade in any category. 183 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 1: And I can't say that I was completely disappointed. I'm 184 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 1: not sure I'd like to have witnessed or experienced anything 185 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,719 Speaker 1: along the lines of what he was famous for. We 186 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: were gonna have to make do with Mandy Chessi and Cookie. Now. 187 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,480 Speaker 1: Mandy I'd hunted with last year, and she's a rabbit dogs. 188 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 1: She's solid when she strikes, and you can believe her 189 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: when she says she's on a rabbit. She barks good 190 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,839 Speaker 1: on a track, but she hits a different level when 191 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 1: they jumping. For those unfamiliar with rabbit hunt with dogs, 192 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: here's how a typical hunt plays out. Ideally, you release 193 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: your dogs in the area with thick cover that's broken 194 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 1: up with openings or areas where hunters can space themselves 195 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: out in the line with one another and see twenty 196 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,280 Speaker 1: or so yards away. Now, as the dogs work together 197 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 1: in a pack or separately, one will strike the center 198 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: of a rabbit start barking. The others either hunting with 199 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: that dog that strikes, or or are working close in 200 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: that area in a different location. Now they'll join up 201 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: and pick up the scent once they gather. Now from there, 202 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 1: the dogs bark as they determine the direction of travel. 203 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: They can figure that out usually within three to five feet, 204 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: according to a bunch of science nerds over in England 205 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: reported on that very subject on an earlier episode from 206 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,839 Speaker 1: last year. And it still amazes me how they can 207 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:30,240 Speaker 1: do that. Anyway, the dogs are smelling the rabbit, and 208 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 1: their barking, they're telling us that they're on his track. Now, 209 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 1: what that rabbit's doing is merely conjecture at this point, 210 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 1: but it makes sense that he starts paying attention to 211 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 1: the dogs once they get to a certain distance from 212 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: where he stopped, and listening to the dog race just 213 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: like we are. And once they crossed that magic threshold 214 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:52,440 Speaker 1: that the rabbit has determined to be close enough, he'll 215 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: a light of shuck and hit the rope. Everything the 216 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: dogs are smelling up to now is where the rabbit 217 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: was minutes ago, maybe even longer. Once they get to 218 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: the spot where he's been hiding and recently sitting, sin 219 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,960 Speaker 1: it stronger and the dogs automatically grab another gear in 220 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 1: both momentum and how they bark. It doesn't take a 221 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: veteran ear to discern the differences either. Once you've hunted 222 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 1: rabbits with dogs once or twice, you'll have it down 223 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: pat That's my favorite part of the whole experience. That 224 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 1: dogs get excited, and so do I. Now that the 225 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: rabbit knows he's the reason for all the commotion, he'll 226 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: put some distance between himself and the dogs. A cotton tell. 227 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 1: Michael's dogs ran right out of the gate the other day, 228 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: ran about fifty yards in front of the beagles, and 229 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: I would use the word ran very loosely. Brad shot him, 230 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: and he said he was moving pretty good when he 231 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: took the shot. But he likes to make everyone think 232 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: he can shoot, so only him, the rabbit and Jesus 233 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: know for sure. The rabbit ain't talking, And when I 234 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: see Jesus, I'm gonna be so relieved I made it. 235 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 1: I'll probably forget to ask I've seen them hauling the 236 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: mail with the hounds way behind them, and others just 237 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: soundering along, maybe even a mosy or a sash shat 238 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 1: if you will, when they were close. They know they 239 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: can outrun the racket, especially since Blade met his fate 240 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: way back then. Now, what they aren't counting on is 241 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: the dude with the shotgun. Rabbits will run in a 242 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,960 Speaker 1: circle or a figure eight type pattern, if it might 243 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: be a long oval. It might be any shape you 244 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: can imagine, but they feel safest in familiar territory. In 245 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: the home range of a cottontail rabbit. According to the 246 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 1: rabbit nerds, it's typically one to eight acres. That's that's 247 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: why they stay in, and that's one spot they will 248 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: dodge and duck and circle back, hiding the brambles the 249 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: bushes are just off the trail and let the dogs 250 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 1: run past them and then double back. They'll cover the 251 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: same ground multiple times in different directions to confuse and 252 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: throw the pursuers off. That's how they get away from 253 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: everything else that's trying to have them over for supper. Again, 254 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 1: it's the creature with the opposing thumbs and a shotgun 255 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: that has the advantage small rabbits are bigger rabbits, sometimes 256 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 1: twice as big as four to six pounds versus two 257 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: to three of the cottontail. Their home range is significantly 258 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 1: bigger as well, averaging anywhere from two acres to twenty 259 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 1: which explains the next part of the hunt that we 260 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: had the other day. After we got the first rabbit 261 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: that bradshot, we walked the dogs a little further away 262 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: from the truck and cut them loose again. They immediately 263 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: put their sniffers to the ground and went to work, 264 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: their tails wagging with anticipation in the sounds of their 265 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: noses clearly audible above the crunching of the leaves as 266 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 1: they worked their way into a small thicket that looked 267 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: like a rabbit had designed it themselves. You can tell 268 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: a lot of by the dog's demeanor, and they're driving 269 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,400 Speaker 1: and enjoyment by the way they hunt. And I firmly 270 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 1: believe that they enjoy what they do, and it's not 271 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,359 Speaker 1: all just instinct and pray drive that has their tails 272 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 1: stirring the wind like a helicopter once they strike a rabbit. 273 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:20,239 Speaker 1: To me, they're literally expressing themselves on both ends. I 274 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 1: know what joy looks like. And if I had a tail, 275 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:25,200 Speaker 1: I'd be kicking up gusts out enough to blow the 276 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: leaves off the trees right there with them. I'm glad 277 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: I don't have one, though, because I spoke to every 278 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:35,400 Speaker 1: turkey before they got close enough to shoot. So back 279 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:37,640 Speaker 1: to the hunt. The dogs have now worked their way 280 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: out about seventy five yards and we're just easing up 281 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: a pipeline right away that's been mowed. Having a good 282 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 1: visit walking along. The gals crossed out in front of us, 283 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 1: and we're working their way through the woods on our 284 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: right side when they strunk a track and headed out 285 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:59,160 Speaker 1: away from us, watching and listening in their directions. They're 286 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,879 Speaker 1: moving when one says, here comes a rabbit. Man, you 287 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 1: wasn't kidding. He wasn't close enough to shoot and was running, 288 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 1: I assumed, as fast as a swamp rabbit could run, 289 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: heading in the opposite direction of the hounds. Seeing what 290 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: kind of rabbit they jumped, let us know this probably 291 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:21,000 Speaker 1: wasn't going to end quick. We were right. I'm not 292 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 1: sure we could have caught him with a motorcycle. But 293 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: the dog's barking grew even more faint before it got louder. 294 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,879 Speaker 1: When they made the turn coming back. I looked at 295 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: my watch when the rabbit shot through, leaving a jet stream. 296 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: A minute and a half later, the beagle stepped in 297 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: his tracks. Moving along the path he took in a 298 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: tenth of the speed. The reality of the chases that 299 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: nine times out of ten, it ain't really a chase. 300 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 1: It's more like a like a loud following. But to 301 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 1: hear the hounds, you'd think they were looking at the 302 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 1: rabbit the whole time. They passed by where we were 303 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 1: standing and evasually completed a big loop, and at one 304 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: time they were over five hundred yards away. It was 305 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,760 Speaker 1: more like a code or a deer race than a 306 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:11,159 Speaker 1: rabbit hunt. We never saw that rabbit again. Michael and 307 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,520 Speaker 1: the rest went in the thicket to try to cut 308 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,439 Speaker 1: the rabbit off. That wound up eventually just collecting the 309 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: dogs and walking back out to where Randall and I 310 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: were drinking coffee on the tailgate of Michael's truck. Two 311 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 1: rabbit racers ran, one rabbit collected, and seven miles logged 312 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: by three beagles that were earning their keep that morning. 313 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: As we sat there listening to our friends a quarter 314 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: of a mile away calling the dogs to them, I 315 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:43,920 Speaker 1: told Randall, and I'm leaning up against this dog crate 316 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: and all I can smell is wet dogs. He looked 317 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,640 Speaker 1: over rabb me and I asked him you ever smelled 318 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: anything better? He kind of laughed, smiled and just said nope. 319 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: Connect between dogs a man strong, and it's been built 320 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:08,880 Speaker 1: every day for the last fifteen thousand years. My connection 321 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 1: with that smell on it goes back a little over 322 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 1: fifty but in that short span of time, I associate 323 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: that sin with a lot of good people, a lot 324 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:23,040 Speaker 1: of good dogs, a lot of good times. Dogs have 325 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: developed from being a competitor in the beginning to being 326 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,919 Speaker 1: a companion and have gone on to indirectly bridge the 327 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,359 Speaker 1: gap between humans. All my friends that I talked about 328 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: today have become like family to me because of dogs. 329 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:42,440 Speaker 1: We all can hunt together and do other things because 330 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 1: we enjoy each other's company. Very creature that some would 331 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:51,200 Speaker 1: say was sticking up that dog box was also triggering 332 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: an unfinished novel of stories and adventures that I see 333 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: in this rolodex of memories that play in my head. 334 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: Whenever I catch the faintest will of that sin, it's 335 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:10,320 Speaker 1: good times and hopefully more to come. I appreciate all 336 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:13,360 Speaker 1: of you listening to us here at Backwoods University, Bear 337 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,720 Speaker 1: Greece and this show, this country life. It's a privilege 338 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:20,520 Speaker 1: for me to be associated with these boys, and I 339 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:25,200 Speaker 1: truly count my blessings every day until next week. This 340 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,479 Speaker 1: is Brent Reeves, sign it off. Y'all be careful.