My wife just picked up an 11 month old beagle from the pound. I am a quail and pheasant hunter. I see that beagles are great for rabits and varmit, how will they do at sniffing out pheasants?
Are they sufficient enoyugh to go through the time and expense?
Thanks for any replies
I have a new beagle..have hunting question
Moderators: Pike Ridge Beagles, Aaron Bartlett
Expose him to game ASAP. At 11 mo. he's prime to see which way he will go (whether or not he has any instinct to search for and pursue game. If you know anyone who has finished beagles, take him with them. If you can find anyone with a training pen, that would be even better to give you an idea as to what you have or don't have. As far as pheasant (I'm assuming that you mean ringnecks--there aren't any in eastern Ky, but we do have ruffed grouse) if you encourage him to run and flush them, he probably will. I have owned several hounds that would open and flush woodcock and grouse. I discouraged them or I believe they would have continued. Once I even thought one of my hounds was running a fox out in the timber but he was chasing a wild turkey! Beagles are much smarter than most handlers give them credit for. Any true houndsman will have stories of special beagles that did some mighty incredible things. The more time you invest, the more he will do to please you. I remember one old-timer that trained his beagle to tree squirrels and stay at the tree like a coonhound.
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Beck
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DFS
Writing from Nova Scotia, I have used beagles to hunt pheasants, just have to make sure you cut the pheasant off at the end of the field so it doesn't run into the woods or thick cover without you getting a shot. When the beagle starts tonguing and chasing, the pheasant will try to run away from the dog before it will flush unless the hound is putting a lot or pressure on the bird. I find that a good beagle can sometimes be better than a poor bird dog. I use my beagle for both rabbits and pheasants.