Give Me A Break !!!!!

[Shady Grove Beagles]

After a much hotter than normal summer it was nice to wake up to a cool morning and decide to go run the beagles with a good friend of mine.
We met at one of my favorite running spots not too far from my home.I never gun hunt this spot cause it's such a good place to run/train,etc. and close by.It's county land but I've run there the past 6 years,usually once or twice a week and never met anybody there running,hunting or any thing else.
Today was opening day of archery deer but I wasn't worried as I mentioned I've never known anyone to hunt in there except me.
We had several good runs and when we got back to the trucks a game warden slipped out from behind some brush and some long conversation ensued.
To make a long story short---This land has been made an archery only deer hunting zone with four special weekend hunts scheduled.And for the rest of the year I am no longer able to run or hunt there with my beagles! NO TRAINING ALLOWED according to the warden.
So, in a state that already allows deer hunting from 9/24---1/08/17=15 weeks or almost 4 months they create a bonus hunt of only 8 days and keep all other sportsmen out of there for the rest of time#$%$#&^**
The warden said he would give us a break by not issuing violations but only wrote us up warnings for "training in a closed area".GIVE ME A BREAK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[513Moogie]

I feel your pain brother. I've been running at a city park next to the Great Miami River for over 12 yrs.. Since I started they've built a new road access and mini airport for the electronic planes. They've called the police on me twice for crossing their runway with my dogs. Nothing has ever become of it so I've made friends with the plane club and return all their fly away stray planes back to them in hopes I don't get escorted out of there. The place used to be loaded with rabbits but the coyotes and bobcats have put a hurtin on them. Hope you can get back in there.

[sbadger]

The Army ammunition depot in Newport Indiana has 7000 acres an we use to run all around it for years ,they got all the Nerve gas gone and instead of letting Vermillion county hunters hunt it who have live with the nerve gas all these year,they leased it out to the big hunting show and tapes all about making money

[Newt]

Shady, I guess there is nothing that can be done, unless you know the Governor of Tennessee personally, or you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to donate to other politicians. I've bitched about this for years. Forks of the River was once a great spot to hunt and run beagles. Now its nature trails and dove hunts.
Lick Creek bottoms, the same. There its a Quail Refuge and Duck ponds.
While running beagles yesterday, I saw a WMA truck cross the field. I was out of his sight but a few minutes later I saw his truck heading toward the spot where I left my truck. I walked toward my truck and before I got there, a warden came over a hill toward me and said "Hello Roy". I was surprised that he knew my name. I looked at his name on his uniform and recognized him. He was a young boy twenty years ago, and while visiting a mutual friend, he had asked if someone would help him release a house dog from a trap that he had set to catch a coyote. I had gone with him and we released the dog. He is a nice respectable person and we had a friendly conversation.
I asked him the question you raised. I said, why is it that WMA spends hundreds of thousands of dollars making nature trails for hikers, seeding dove fields, making duck ponds, encroaching on great rabbit habitat, and you do nothing for rabbit hunters. Yet we have to buy a WMA small game permit to hunt or run dogs a couple of months a year, Hikers and nature lovers don't pay any dues, yet they use your facilities year round.
He said, Roy that is the question that I ask constantly, they just tell me to "shut up".

Its big money people, organizations, and politicians who cater to them. Call you Congressman.
Several years ago I gave a young boy his first beagles. He grew up and we became friends and hunted years together. He went into Wildlife management. He became the manager of Old Hickory WMA near Lebanon, TN. I drove over to run beagles. The area was covered with "Duck Ponds". Dave explained, it was the result of the pressure applied by Politicians due to "High Rollers" in Nashville. Dave was responsible for producing a "Game Management Plan" for Old Hickory. His plan was aimed toward saving money and promoting cottontail habitat. It turned down immediately.

About five years ago I noticed the heavy equipment moving into the McDonald Rd, Lick Creek area. Soon the ponds appeared. Now rabbit hunters are forbidden to use lead shot.
The Toby Road WMA was filled with cottontails. Two years ago, they built a rock road across, with a parking area, Last year they moved in the equipment and dozed all the briar patches in the middle of the land and started building duck ponds. Duck hunters get a key to the gate and drive down their road to hunt. Rabbit hunters get a ticket and fined if they park in front of the duck hunters gate.

Welcome to the world of equal opportunity under Big Government.

[Wicker's Beagles]

The Deer Hunters have absolutely ruined all Small Game Hunting in Southern, Ohio......

Ohio was much better off before the ODNR released their precious money grubbing Government Goats on our farms back in the early 1970's.
Now they're nothing more than a nuisance, eating up all our crops and killing people on our highways.
The best thing that could happen is a deer specific disease hit them and destroy them all, the meat even taste like a stinking GOAT, they're a real problem.

[Tim G]

It's deer and turkey here in Mississippi Anything else has to take a back seat. Best thing buy your own Land my running pen has filled up with deer this summer I don't mind the deer but I don't have people crying about my dogs running the deer to the next state they say lmao

[windyridge]

Head hunters are ruining hunting for all other types of hunters every where.All these glorified deer hunting shows,deer hunters leasing everything up.State taking away running ground and closing areas.Sad time for houndsman !

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Newt---It's pretty frustrating to say the least.Looking through my TWRA Hunting & Trapping guide some of the things you notice are how many of the listed WMA's are open for 2 weeks of rabbit hunting from 11/1--11/15 and then closed to all forms of trespass until the last day of Feb.[basically the entire hunting season] because of the ducks.From what I see listed there's about 6,000 acres that are closed to the rabbit hunters from mid Nov.,Dec.,Jan.,and Feb.What makes ducks the Holy Grail of game that we have to set aside thousands of acres of good huntable state land ? They have their seasons.Wish they'd allow us to have ours.They always make sure they allow all their quota deer hunts on those WMA's before they shut them down..................
This year's hunting guide lists two entries in my zone; one is 1,800 acres and states"closed to hunting,trapping and dog training for 2016-2017 season".The other one is 300 acres and states the same thing.What the hey?Why tell me all the places I can't go?
Notice all the WMA's that are now being listed with the requirement that to "ride hooved animals,bicycling and Off Highway Vehicle[OHV] you must possess a valid hunting and fishing license and a WMA permit or a High Impact Habitat Conservation Permit.Then you can use these Wildlife Management Areas BUT we the houndsmen are NOT allowed to train on these same grounds although we have bought and paid for the same hunting and fishing and WMA permit that they have??? These WMA's that have been bought and paid for by hunter's licenses and the Pittman/Robertson Act on gun and ammunition sales are being turned in to recreation areas and the hunters[ESPECIALLY small game ] are getting froze out!!!!
I'm looking in the TWRA guide in front of me and see Fall Creek Falls State Park [7,000 acres] and Oak Ridge [37,000 acres] both WMA,s that are totally open to both deer hunting and turkey hunting but state" Dog training prohibited".What the hey? They let them use high power rifles and creep around in their camo turkey hunting suits,shooting 3" magnum loads but running beagles can't be allowed?
As if you can't tell this stuff gets me cranked up!!!
Tim G--When I lived in New Hampshire all the Fish and Game Department's money went for deer and trout and maybe some pen raised/released pheasants and looking for lost newbe hikers in the White Mountains.
Here in Tennessee I'd say all the TWRA money goes for deer,turkey,maybe for leasing dove fields and chasing down idiots on jet skies on the weekends that terrorize our lakes.
Us small game hunters get the short end of the stick EVERY time.If you are a rabbit,squirrel,coon,fox or predator hunter better get used to it.Fish and Game Depts. DON'T care about us cause we're not where the money is at.
I can live with that knowledge as long as they quit messing with my ability to just go out and listen to my hounds run and take a few for the pot without binding me up with more rules and regulations than a sensible man can stand!

Ever hear the phrase "sometimes when God closes one door ,HE opens another"?
When I first posted on losing a super running spot I was really bummed.I'm retired and get to run most anytime I want and run a lot.
I've got several good spots but I don't have a lot of spots and from my perspective you can never have too many.
I'm 65 years old and grew up in a time where most everybody I knew hunted and we could hunt most anywhere we wanted to.
I've gone from being a young teen riding my bicycle through the neighborhood with a single shot 12 GA. across the handle bars on my way to the woods to now worrying about enough good places to turn my hounds out
Today I found myself sitting in church thinking "Lord,you know I need some good running/hunting spots to enjoy my beagles.I've always loved being out in your creation and it gives me a real peace of mind".
As church let out I found myself talking with a church member who I kind of new [it's a big church] but had never really spoke to before.He's a very successful business man in our town and he and I are really not on the same social/economic level if you know what I mean.
Somehow I got to telling him about getting booted off my running grounds and how it was getting harder all the time to find good places to run my beagles.He's an older man than I am and he just smiled and said"I believe I can help you with that".
Turns out he has 362 acre farm about 10 miles out of town where he keeps some cattle.After giving me directions he told me to go home and get some lunch and then meet him out at his barn and he'd show me around the property.
Well folks,it looks like a rabbit hunters paradise and I'm about as excited as a kid on Christmas morn.The property is a good 1/4-1/2 mile off the tar road and there's a locked gate and as he handed me the key said"just keep an eye on things for me when you're out here".
He also told me I'd have no problems with any of the adjoining property owners "nobody will bother you out here".
He also shared that many years ago he used to keep some beagles and would look forward to hearing mine go some day soon.
WHO SAYS GOD DOESN'T ANSWER PRAYERS?

[Aubrey Holcombe]

Way To Go, SG !

Like I am always Saying!

Keep Looking Up!

D.R.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>>

[cjgrabhunter]

Sorry to hear that for you'll it is getting like that all over the place but in Louisiana we started a rabbit hunter federation and for the first time this year they will start letting us rabbit hunt and squirrel hunt the month of february some even january too so that is a plus for us in Louisiana because we have a lot of wma to hunt here and some of them have never seen dogs on them ever so it will sure be interesting too see but i am also in a dog running club with 8,500 acres to rabbit hunt also so sure wish you'll luck over there Dana if you ever come to Louisiana give me a call so we can run them Samari dogs together.

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Ran at the new place yesterday.
It's a combination of one section of woods,rolling open pasture,lots of soy beans,plenty of fence rows with cover and a creek and swampy area.
Had no trouble jumping rabbits and the rabbits there tended to run big going out a long ways before circling back to the jump area.
During the third race, the dogs had taken the rabbit out quite a ways and were headed back and had him going pretty good in the soy beans.
I was watching the swaying and rustling of the beans and listening to the chorus of my three females when out of the corner of my eye I caught the movement of two large reddish colored coyotes trotting along the edge of the bean field and obviously heading right to the dogs.
My carry gun is a Glock 42 --.380 and with me shooting probably accurate at 15 yards at most.The coyotes were probably 50-60 yards away when they either smelled me or sensed me and turned off in to the woods.I yelled at them for good measure and hoped they stayed away.Darn things are everywhere and there was no doubt what so ever they were coming to check out the beagles.
Be that as it may,the farm looks like good running and I'm thankful to be able to have it.

[Aubrey Holcombe]

Mr.SGB, do you run Bells on your hounds when running them, in the wild ?

It took me a little time to come up with the bells, on my hounds was a Good idea, but after experiencing so many of them here on my own property,, I Never let them out anymore without my bells, I think they work wonders, as I had some hounds killed before I started using them, but to date never had anymore killed when Gun Hunting, my pack.

Keep Looking Up!
D.R.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>>

[WELLS WOODS]

Dana that isn't right. I would find out whose pockets are getting filled & either fill them some more or try to check the law of the land & see if they can do this to you legally. Good luck.