1 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to this country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 3 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: my experiences and life lessons. This country life is presented 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you 6 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: the best outdoor podcast the airwaves have to offer. All right, friends, 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some 8 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: stories to share. Deer hunting with Dogs. Deer hundred with 9 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,520 Speaker 1: Dogs has faded from the spotlight over the past thirty years. 10 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: That at least it has around here. There's some great 11 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: stories and lessons and cutting a pack of Houds loose 12 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: and listening to them putting a white tail through his paces. 13 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about some of them, but first 14 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you a story. This story comes 15 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: from a fellow, y'all hear me talking about all the time, 16 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,479 Speaker 1: my older brother Tim. I'll have him on here one 17 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: day telling stories himself, but until then this will have 18 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:24,320 Speaker 1: to do so in Tim's words and my voice. Here 19 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 1: we go. It was nineteen seventy and I was twelve 20 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,320 Speaker 1: and finally big enough to deer hunt by myself, sort 21 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: of I'd always wanted to use a rifle, but rifle 22 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: hunters at the time were looked upon like they were 23 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: sort of nuts. I grew up deer hunting with a 24 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: brown and a five that held a buckshot and slug 25 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: combination that I lost many hours of sleep over trying 26 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: to get the right combination in the magazine. We used 27 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: dogs back then, and if they ranted deer Bobby, I 28 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,639 Speaker 1: needed buck shot first for close range, then slugs in 29 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: case I missed up close three double all bucks shot, 30 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: followed by two slugs in case he was still amongst 31 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: the living. Them rifles will shoot a mile son, you 32 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: don't need one. They're dangerous. You could shoot a deer 33 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: miss and kill someone over in the next county. That's 34 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: what they told me. That's what my dad told me. 35 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: So there I was stuck with buckshot and slugs to 36 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: deer hunt with until I was married, except for one time. 37 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: It was December deer season and way before the Curse 38 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: of Leaks Land, when you could hunt anywhere on Timber 39 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: Company land that I wanted to go deer hunt. Dad 40 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: said his friend Raymond was going to run his dogs 41 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: and he would put me in a spot on the 42 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: Upper Potlatch Road. We were at Uncle Jim's house talking 43 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: about all of it, and Uncle Jim asked me if 44 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: I wanted to use his thirty thirty. Well, I thought 45 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: to myself, I am a rifle man and I need 46 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: that Winchester thirty thirty. I'll show these old folks I 47 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: ain't gonna kill nobody. And I looked at Dad and 48 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: he said, you need to toke that shotgun. I started whining, 49 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,239 Speaker 1: I come from a long line of winers. Dad caved 50 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: in and Uncle Jim let me have that thirty thirty. 51 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: A short while later, I was sitting on a pile 52 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: of logs on the side of the road on a 53 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: Timber company road close to Crane's Lake when Raymond's dogs 54 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: jumped a deer and they headed in my direction. Dad 55 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: was parked about one hundred and fifty yards behind me, 56 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: sitting in the truck, letting me quote unquote hunt by myself. 57 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: And as the dogs got closer, I stood up with 58 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: my thumb on the hammer of that lever action rifle. 59 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: Soon enough, a humongous eight point buck jumped out in 60 00:03:58,120 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: the road right in front of me, no more than 61 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: thirty five yards away. I pulled that hammer back and 62 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: sent one to him. I missed two things that day, 63 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: that buck and my opportunity for my first deer with 64 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: a rifle. If I killed anything, it had to be 65 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: someone in the next county. But if I did, we 66 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: never heard about it. But I had to listen to 67 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: my dad all the way home, son, if you just 68 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: used that shotgun, you'd killed that big old buck, on 69 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: and on and on. I come from a long line 70 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: of folks that will say I told you so, and 71 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:44,839 Speaker 1: he did for the rest of his life. And according 72 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 1: to my brother Tim, that's just how that happened. Now 73 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: I can testify myself to that last statement of Tims 74 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: that I read. As our father got older, he soffered 75 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: that into saying, how son, you'd do that anyway you want. 76 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: But if it was me, that translated into, if you 77 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: don't want to hear about this for the rest of 78 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: your life, you'd better do it. The way out of 79 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 1: deer hunting with dogs was at one time the way 80 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: people in my part of the world hunted deer almost exclusively. Camps, fed, 81 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: and cared for packs of hounds all year for the 82 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: opportunity to cut them loose. When firearm deer season opened, 83 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: any number of dogs from groups of two to pens 84 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: of twenty plus would be managed and conditioned throughout the 85 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: year for the big hunt that happened at the beginning 86 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: of each November. Second Saturday of November would see the 87 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: majority of the state's modern gun deer season opener. Now, 88 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: but there was a time when it opened on Mondays 89 00:05:55,200 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: and schools did not. Deer season was eagerly in anticipated 90 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: this Christmas, and while I can't testify to the rest 91 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: of the school districts in Arkansas, I can vouch for 92 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: the Warren School district yours truly was serving a twelve 93 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,919 Speaker 1: year sentence a being force fed everything I wasn't interested 94 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: in learning about, aside from football and girls, and those 95 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: two exceptions were not necessarily in that order. But getting 96 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: out of school for deer season was something we could 97 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: all get behind. It was a hunting culture and recognized 98 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: by the community of folks who lived there as a 99 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: social norm. Church was on Sunday and the men folk 100 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: were hard to find around town on opening day and 101 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: the week of deer season. You didn't have to be 102 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: a hardcore hunter either to participate in the opening gun 103 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,919 Speaker 1: deer hunt. There were a few who didn't participate. My 104 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: maternal grandfather, find A Sly, who I've spoken about on 105 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: here before. He was not a hunter. He was fully 106 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: in support of anyone who did it. He just never 107 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: got the hankering, But the rest of us we got 108 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: his portion and took up the slack of anybody else. 109 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: A lot of the big camps back in the day 110 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: would have dog pins where they kept their dogs year round. 111 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: Some would serve as a caretaker throughout the year by 112 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: feeding and watering them and taking them on hunts during 113 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: the off season to keep them in shape, or members 114 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: would take turns with that responsibility. They weren't shooting deer 115 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: during the off season, just keeping the dogs up to 116 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: speed on what was expected of them and training new 117 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: ones that they were acquired and brought into the pack. 118 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,119 Speaker 1: I was never a member of one of the big 119 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: camps where members were from all over the community with 120 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: a big pen full of hounds out back. It was 121 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: always a small family camp of in laws and brothers 122 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: and nephews and cousins. Females were as welcomed as any 123 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: of the rest of us. They just chose not to 124 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: hang out at the camp outside of family night when 125 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: everyone brought food, and we all gathered for any evening 126 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: a fellowship in vitals. That was their choice. Now, we 127 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: didn't continue to practice running deer dogs, more or less, 128 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: dropping out of that practice in the mid nineteen eighties. 129 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: Now you back up over two hundred years and you'll 130 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: find records of settlers and adventurers roaming through Arkansas. Was 131 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:23,119 Speaker 1: some kind of utilitarian k nine that assisted in hunting game. 132 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: You regular listeners of this channel may have heard about 133 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: a settler from Kentucky living in Arkansas around eighteen eighteen 134 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: who had a dozen hunting dogs, one of which he 135 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: gave to a German novelist who sailed to the New 136 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: World to seek adventure, finding a lot of it right 137 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: here in the natural state when it was in its 138 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: most natural state. The Kentucky and gifted Friedrich Gerstoker one 139 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:55,839 Speaker 1: of his hounds during his hunting adventures through the region. Now, 140 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: the man claimed the dog was an excellent turkey dog, 141 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: and it would chase turkeys until they flew into a tree. 142 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: Then he treated the turkey by barking until the hunter arrived. 143 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: And Old Gerstalker took that dog and cut him loose, 144 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: and he jumped a deer, chasing him clean out of sight. 145 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: Frederic never saw him again. Now more than likely that 146 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: dog went back to the last place he saw his 147 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: original owner and trailed him back home if hunting in 148 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: familiar territory. Many hunting dogs would return home if they 149 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 1: separated from their hunters. And don't feel bad for old 150 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 1: Gerstalker on losing that dog. He eventually ended up with 151 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 1: a more faithful hound that stuck by him through some 152 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:41,839 Speaker 1: interesting times, and his name was Bear's Grease, So I'm 153 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: familiar now. In the late eighteen eighties, a native North 154 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: Carolinian and current at the time Arkansas US Representative Poindexter 155 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: Done hunted with a renowned Mississippi bear killer, Robert E. Bobo, 156 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: and his famous past back of fourteen dogs, and they 157 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: were hunting here in Arkansas. After a successful four day hunt, 158 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: taling over a ton of bear and deer meat, it 159 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 1: was apparent to everyone involved that Bobo's hounds were just 160 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:17,320 Speaker 1: as advertised. The politician offered Bobo a section of land 161 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: that's six hundred and forty acres for his fourteen dogs, 162 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: and Bobo declined. Bobo's hunting partner, Jim Dunn, no relation 163 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,559 Speaker 1: to the representative traded six of his dogs to the 164 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: legislator for half a section of land, or three hundred 165 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 1: and twenty acres. The old Jim Bow later sold that 166 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: ground for thirty five hundred dollars, which is north of 167 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand today. Those were some good dogs. If 168 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: you've listened very long, you've heard me expound on a 169 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: few dogs of my own, currently my coonhound, old Whaling. 170 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: But before Whaling, there was Anna, my black laugh. Her 171 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 1: retrieving abilities were so to none. She was the solid 172 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: of a hunting companion as you could have, and that 173 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: pealed in comparison to her duties as a member of 174 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: the Reeves family. I know I've told this story before, 175 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: but it's a story I like to hear myself, and 176 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: it fits when I'm talking about the value of hunting dogs. 177 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: And it was a gift to me from a very 178 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: good friend who received her as payment on an overdue 179 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,320 Speaker 1: tree planting job that my friend, who wasn't a duck hunter, 180 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: had done for a guy who happened to be a 181 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:37,440 Speaker 1: professional dog trainer. I recapped that portion only to emphasize 182 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,200 Speaker 1: the value of this dog, as I fully trained to 183 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: work in retriever her bloodline was impeccable, and her demeanor 184 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:47,400 Speaker 1: and personality was what anyone would want in a dual 185 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 1: purpose hunting family pet. She wiped out that four thousand 186 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: dollars over to my friend, and he in turn gave 187 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: her to me, where he knew that she'd be put 188 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:00,679 Speaker 1: to good use anyway. I had her a couple of 189 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: years at this point, and lots of people that hunted 190 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: with her at my brother and I's guide service. One guy, 191 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,839 Speaker 1: particularly from the start, right after his arrival with his 192 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 1: group to our camp, wanted to buy her, and I 193 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: repeatedly told him no over and over again, to the 194 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,559 Speaker 1: point that after two days of it, I began avoiding 195 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:22,480 Speaker 1: one on one conversations with him for having to hear 196 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: his pleas for me to sell her. That always told 197 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 1: me to never put a price on something that I 198 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 1: didn't want to sell, because someone would pay it. I 199 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: found that out on the day they were leaving, when 200 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: that cat came up to me and said, I am 201 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:42,439 Speaker 1: asking you again to name your price for Anna. Frustrated, 202 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: I blurted out, six thousand dollars. That's what it'll take 203 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: for her to leave here with you, And that joker 204 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: never batted an eye. He said, will you take a 205 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,680 Speaker 1: personal check or do you prefer cashiers? He got me. 206 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: I was a deputy sheriff at the time, working on 207 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: a poorly equipped and overworked, underpaid department, and six thousand 208 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: dollars was nearly a third of my yearly salary. And 209 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: he was serious. But I wasn't. I crawfished on him 210 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:13,680 Speaker 1: and I told him no, escorted him to his vehicle 211 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,440 Speaker 1: to get him gone. Dogs are valuable. Good was even 212 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: more so. So I get it. When represented done offered 213 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,839 Speaker 1: that section of land from mister Bobo's dogs, I doubt 214 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: that I'd have made that deal either. Dear dogs, at 215 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: least in my part of Arkansas, were a big percentage 216 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: of the running walker breed, the cousin of my hound, Whalen, 217 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,319 Speaker 1: who's a tree and walker. I remember introducing my wife 218 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: Alexis to my dad when we were dating, and at 219 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: his house, his cow dogs were across the road and 220 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: the pen raising all kinds of ruckus. When we pulled 221 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 1: up and Alexis asked my dad what kind of dogs 222 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: he had, he said, running walkers. She said, running walkers. 223 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,400 Speaker 1: They need to make up their minds what they're doing. 224 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 1: But those dogs were just about the standard for all 225 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,480 Speaker 1: deer camps in our area, with the exception of being 226 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: the folks who'd feed anything, they would chase and barket 227 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 1: a deer, and the beagle folks, which is what our 228 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: little camp did for a few years. Tim's brother in law, 229 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: who has looked upon as being a brother to us both, 230 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: Joe Bryant, was the keeper of the beagles, and before 231 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: we built the structure that is the current being our 232 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: deer camp, we hunted out of an old army tent 233 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 1: that I described in detail back in episode one one 234 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: aptly titled deer Camp Real original I know. Anyway, if 235 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,000 Speaker 1: you were running dogs, you were the designated as the 236 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: captain of the hunt, and you decided when and where 237 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: to cut them loose depending on where the folks sat in. 238 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 1: The stands were located along the wind direction, and the 239 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: most likely avenues of escape at the deer take from 240 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: the barking hounds. This type of hunting is foreign too. 241 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 1: You need just understand that deer being shot at ain't 242 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 1: necessarily the one being pursued. It's the deer on the 243 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: edges of all the commotion that slip away to avoid 244 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: the hounds. That usually wind up getting tagged. Also, they're 245 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,720 Speaker 1: not likely to catch the deer that they're chasing. They 246 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: ain't a deer dog in the country that could run 247 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: through the woods and thickets fast enough to catch the deer. 248 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: And I bet on the deer being chased a hundred 249 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: times out of a hundred to live to see another day. 250 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: It defeats the purpose anyhow. We don't want the dog 251 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: to capture. We want someone sitting on a deer stand 252 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: and have an opportunity if we're shot at him. Here's 253 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: how it worked. The night before, we'd gather at the 254 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: fire after suffer to decide if we were running dogs 255 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: the next day. If we were, we all picked stands 256 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 1: and Joe would decide where he was going to cut 257 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: him loose based on our locations. After breakfast the next morning, 258 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: we'd all head off to our selected spots. They would 259 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: go back to his house and load the dogs, usually 260 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: about an hour or so after daylight, and at a 261 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: pointed time, he'd cut them loose and follow them through 262 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: the woods, hooping and hollering them on their way to 263 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: jump a deer. They was so much fun setting on 264 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: a stand watching the woods for deer, watching the clock 265 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: for the time to start listening for the dogs to jump. 266 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: We liked beagles because the land we hunted was relatively 267 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: smalk compared to the other camps, and beagles didn't push 268 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: deer as fast as the big hounds do. Also, the 269 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: race lasted longer, take a bigle a long time to 270 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: cover the same amount of ground as a big hound 271 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: and man, and it really sounded good. I remember one 272 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: particular morning that we had gotten a good frost. The 273 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: air was cold and crisping. Seven point thirty Joe was 274 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: scheduled to cut the dogs loose. I was north of 275 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: the camp, less than a quarter of a mile on 276 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: a stand we called the salt lit. We poured out 277 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 1: some rock salt from an old stump a few years before, 278 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: and it had leached into the ground, and deer craves 279 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: salted the fall live because of a sodium deficiency. They 280 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:10,119 Speaker 1: create that deficiency about even plants hide in water and 281 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: protasting him throughout the summer. And they dug a hole 282 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: out around that stump about a foot deep and a 283 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,119 Speaker 1: couple feet wide. So I was in a pretty good spot, 284 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 1: regardless that the dogs pushed them above by me or not, 285 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: and Joe had both dogs, Isy and Nooget on leeds, 286 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 1: and he left the camp heading east. He got to 287 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: the corner of our property and the neighbors which lay 288 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: east and south of our own. He pointed the dogs north, 289 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,560 Speaker 1: cut them loose, pooping them up and getting them out 290 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,399 Speaker 1: in front of him through a small thicket. Both of 291 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: them opened at once, and you could hear their voices 292 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,360 Speaker 1: ringing out through the woods as they told us all 293 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: to get ready. They were trailing a deer. We were 294 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: all holding out for a big buck. But you never 295 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,720 Speaker 1: really knew what the dogs were actually running. It was 296 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:00,639 Speaker 1: a fifty to fifty chance if they were on the 297 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 1: trail of a buck or dough, and really the percentage 298 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 1: was higher that they were chasing the dough. That was 299 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,399 Speaker 1: still during the time when shooting the door wasn't actually 300 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,879 Speaker 1: considered a sin, but it was frowned upon to the 301 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:16,160 Speaker 1: point that the older hunters wondered if you'd ever make 302 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,680 Speaker 1: it past Saint Peter because you had killed one. Unfortunately, 303 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: we've all learned that having a more balanced ratio of 304 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: bucks and doze makes it a better and healthier population 305 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,359 Speaker 1: of deer. Anyway, from over half a mile away, the 306 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 1: cold air allowed me to hear Joe's faint hollering and 307 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: a beagle strike. Game on bigles travel about as fast 308 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,879 Speaker 1: as a man can walk through the thickets, over logs, 309 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: and crossing creeks, and whatever's going to happen ain't necessarily 310 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: going to happen fast. There's gonna be plenty of time 311 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: for the anticipation of trying to figure out if the 312 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,360 Speaker 1: dogs are coming towards you or away from you. Are 313 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 1: they running or pushing a buck by you? It's someone 314 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 1: else going to shoe first. All of these things are 315 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:04,120 Speaker 1: going through your head at one hundred miles an ire 316 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,200 Speaker 1: while you're watching for movement, straining to hear a limb 317 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:11,720 Speaker 1: breaker or leaves crunching from an approaching deer. This morning 318 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,680 Speaker 1: was no different, except five minutes into the race, I 319 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: heard the dogs turn toward me. A short while later, 320 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 1: I heard the unmistakable sound of deer moving toward me 321 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: through the dense second and third growth hardwood and pine 322 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:29,880 Speaker 1: saplings that limited my view in some places to less 323 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: than twenty yards. The limbs and bushes shook as the 324 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:35,359 Speaker 1: deer brushed up against them, and I knew it was 325 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,400 Speaker 1: only a matter of seconds. Before whatever kind of deer 326 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 1: it was, stepped into the opening in front of that 327 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: salt licked stamp. My rifle, let my shoulder, and every 328 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: bit of my senses tuned to what I was hearing 329 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:52,439 Speaker 1: and almost seeing. The expectation of a big buck stepping 330 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:54,240 Speaker 1: into the opening right in front of me had my 331 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:58,000 Speaker 1: heart pounding in my ears. I could hear Joe a 332 00:19:58,040 --> 00:19:59,919 Speaker 1: lot better now as he and the beagles made their 333 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 1: way to my stand. All the while, the deer that 334 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:07,119 Speaker 1: was so close and still unseen, stood within easy range 335 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:12,719 Speaker 1: but still in the cover of the thicket. My imagination 336 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 1: started to run away with me. Had I not heard 337 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: what I knew to be a deer getting close. It 338 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,440 Speaker 1: wasn't like I had never heard that sound before. No, 339 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,119 Speaker 1: I was positive I'd heard a deer walking. But did 340 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 1: it go back the way it came I would have 341 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,440 Speaker 1: been towards Joe and the dogs. I started to doubt 342 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 1: everything I'd observed up to this point, when all of 343 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,200 Speaker 1: a sudden, a dough in a year and broke out 344 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: of cover and stood looking at me from fifteen yards away. 345 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: I let out a sigh disappointment, and saw my breath 346 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 1: in the cold air drift right straight to them. It 347 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,439 Speaker 1: was clear to me then that they'd smelled me as 348 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,520 Speaker 1: they'd gotten closer and stopped just short of breaking out 349 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,400 Speaker 1: of cover to weigh the odds are whether to continue 350 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: go back toward the racket that had pushed them there 351 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: in the first place, lowered my rifle, and they shot 352 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:07,879 Speaker 1: across in front of me, headed west in a bigger 353 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: hurry than they'd been in just a few minutes before. 354 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:14,399 Speaker 1: The beagles were getting closer now, and I could hear 355 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: them clearly as they followed the scent trail of two 356 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,159 Speaker 1: deer that they just ran out in front of them. 357 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:23,119 Speaker 1: It was funny listening to them and hearing them is 358 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:25,679 Speaker 1: just as plain as day, and then hearing their barks 359 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: and balling muffled as if they were suddenly one hundred 360 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: yards further than they actually were. When I saw them 361 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,280 Speaker 1: coming down through the woods, I saw the reason why 362 00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: they're barking sounded different. The timber had been cutting there 363 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: the previous spring, and that it had been a particularly 364 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:52,119 Speaker 1: wet year. The loggers had put those big flotation tires 365 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 1: on all their skidders, and some of the rusts that 366 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:58,720 Speaker 1: they left were really, really deep, and they caused those 367 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: little beagles to drop out of sight when they reached them. 368 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 1: It sounded like that falling in a well, only to 369 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: pop up on the other side, unfazed and determined as 370 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:10,760 Speaker 1: ever to gain some ground on the animal that they 371 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,399 Speaker 1: couldn't have caught if they'd been riding a motorcycle. It 372 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: was hilarious and in a lot of ways, much better 373 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: than killing a deer. I caught the beagles and was 374 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,200 Speaker 1: still laughing when Joe got there. We laughed about that 375 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:30,879 Speaker 1: together for a long time afterward too. He's gone on 376 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: ahead of the rest of us, but we're gonna laugh 377 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:37,159 Speaker 1: about that again one day when I seen him, and 378 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: I really look forward to that time. That's a little 379 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: bit about deer hunting with dogs. It may not be 380 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: the preferred way of hunting these days, as we opt 381 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,960 Speaker 1: for the most covert ways to get within range of one, 382 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:55,960 Speaker 1: but it definitely has a place, especially in our legacies 383 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: as hunters and sportsmen and women. The stories we tell 384 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 1: about those days are important. They are important to hear 385 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,920 Speaker 1: be remembered, more so for the folks that involved than 386 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: any of the deer ever taken. We got some extra 387 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,920 Speaker 1: video content dropping Monday, November fourth, on the Meat Eater 388 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: podcast network YouTube channel of me and my pal and 389 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 1: colleague Austin Chili clever ad. Like I always say, don't 390 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: be cool, be chilly. I think you'll enjoy it. Now. 391 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,879 Speaker 1: Something even more important is A Meat Eater's partnership with 392 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:38,160 Speaker 1: on x and donating twenty thousand dollars to hurricane relief 393 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: for our brothers and sisters who are still reeling from 394 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: the effects of the hurricanes. If you'd like to help 395 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: through our site, you can donate through the link that 396 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: Reeve's going to include in the show description. Man, it's 397 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,479 Speaker 1: important and we really need your help. Thank you all 398 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,120 Speaker 1: so much for listening to this Country Life and Clay 399 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 1: Bow's Bear, Grease and Render shows. We truly appreciate it 400 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: very much. Until next week, this is Brent Reeves sign 401 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 1: and out. Y'all be careful.