BRRRRRRRRRR! (Shiver)

[Bev]

I'm just teasin' ya 'bout the deers Matt! Doc's had some decent running over your way, too. It's weird how it can be so different within 30 miles of two places. I also think it's weird how it can be great over here first thing in the morning and then just shut down at 11:00.

[dachswalker]

Ran today being Sunday and was out for about 4 hours. Got up 10 bunnies but had not real circles so did not shoot any. The dogs had a good time and no trash runs which was nice. Temp in mid 20s with no wind which was a change from yesterday. Took 8 dogs today, 6 dachs, 1 bassett, and 1 old beagle. I had a good day as they all learned something and all my dogs came back in at the end of the hunt which to me is a success. I am south west of you in the Bowling Green area.

[BlueJack]

It was about 28 degees here when we went around 2:00. Ran till 4:30 and had one very good race that lasted around 45 minutes. Very dry here but this one track seemed to last long enough for the dogs to circle him twice before the rabbit holed up on them. Saw him both times and couldn't get a shot either time. This brings up a question for you folks. Do ya'll notice that rabbits run in the woods make much larger circles and are more difficult on the dog to track than rabbits in briar thickets and stuff??? Just seems like they generally will hole up or give them the slip a little easier.

[arrow]

Bev.......Ran ARHA Little Pack Ashland Ky. Sat.. 8:00am 21 deg with wind. Very very few rabbits to be found. When we did get one up the dogs would only take it about 50yrds and I think it must have exploded never to be seen or smelled again... A strike was sure to get you a -10....Lots of dogs DQ.. My little girl [ I was told ] had the higest score in opens [48 total] with a 90 in the first round. 8th overall with a -10 in her last cast one dq and three 0's. Final cast of 2 finished the 30 min. with 0.. The smart dogs kept their mouths SHUT........Do you think there is a lesson there...............Nice Club Facility and grounds...Lots of good people ........A Good Time Was Had By All........

[Bev]

Ralph went to Mulberry trial today. Only carried one dog with him. He reported that he judged a cast of opens with Craig Louks first thing in the morning, and the winning score on that cast was 25 pts. - one check. They'd jumped a rabbit and put the dogs on it. Ran just long enough to score one check and they put it in a hole. Some -10's on that cast and one was DQ'd. I believe it was still single digits at that time and there was snow/ice on the ground. Later in the morning when the champion classes ran, it had warmed up a touch, wasn't all that windy and they had a little better running.

[snowshoehareguide]

hey im doing a poll , how many would like a month or 6 weeks of conditionslike im hearing about. we really havent had any serious cold weather here this year single digits below zero last few days. its possible to get a month straight of that stuff here. anyways ive been trying to drum up support for some colder nosed hounds, there are quite a few dogs that can run good down to ten below. ... a few will run colder than that . ive only had one who ran below ten below. ive had several dogs that ran in single numbers below zero and for these dogs ten below was kind of a magic number. and all these temps im talkingabout would be the lows for the day. next time your breeding consider the dogs that did the best when it was nasty in the winter.iguess 20 degrees seems cold but thats a good day here. take care o.f those dogs im hearing about that are running in cold temps they are really some good dogs especially when theyre not used to it . they are field champions in my book

[TomR]

Bev, Went out Saturday and ran two of my females and two of a friends dogs. My Older female (Daisy) ran three rabbits to the gun before we took a shot. The others helped a little at times but conditions were tuff. Didn't take any of those bunnies home cause we couldn't get our frozen hands up fast enough to make a shot! At least that is my excuse!:)

[Bev]

Tom, I remember the first time I saw Daisy run. She was a two-year-old (or close to it) down in Martinsville, right? If memory serves, she was usually the first to open on a track that day. It was an extraordinarily hot and dry day for late October, and my old Jack dog won his cast, too. Doesn't surprise me that Daisy can run in the cold snow. Those Duck bred hounds have great noses. Dolly is an excellent snow dog for around these parts.

Jack would be considered "big-nosed" these days since he became a senior citizen (turned eleven in Sept.) That hunt was in '99 and although he was considered hot-nosed at the time, he could still lift scent out of a dry dirt road. He was the only hound running the rabbit in his cast and if Scott Surber hadn't seen the rabbit himself, he'd have probably wondered what the Sam Hill was going on. Ol' Jack still runs like a 4-year-old equally well on snow or dust, but a heavy frost will cause him to pop off once in a while.

Is my memory right? Was that Daisy down in Martinsville? A perky little hyper tricolor?

[TomR]

Bev, that was the first time I had her at a trial my self. Hooked me good!!!:) Even though I don't trial much I am out hunting with a lot of guys still run four to six hound at a time. Daisy could have been one of the ones that got DQ'd Saturday but she would have been running a rabbit. These tough conditions make the hounds look really bad but I think if your consistant and get them in the stuff enough they will get better. Just my opinion since I'm not a veteran in this sport.

[Emery]

I hate to ruin the fun, but it has been in the 40's here all week long. The problem is that I can't do any running with 8 puppies in the garage. Only two more weeks to go before I dry up the mama and then I can get back to some serious running when she isn't dragg'n her belly on the ground.

A lot of rabbit envy here!!!
Emery

[beaglebill]

MY SON TOOK 2 OLDER DOGS SUNDAY DOWN BY THE OHIO RIVER BOTTOMS. HE SAID THEY HAD A TUFF TIME BUT DID REAL GOOD. LATER IN THE DAY THE BETTER IT GOT..GOT 6...

[TomMN]

I hunted hare here in MN Saturday with a couple friends. The temp was 10 below at about 9:00AM, 8 below when we came in about dark. We have a couple inches of hard, crusty snow that is about 2 weeks old. The dogs didn't run perfect but they did run rabbits all day. The guys I hunted with each killed a rabbit, I saw several but I seem to have a way of seeing them right after I lean my gun against a tree or just after they crossed the trail behind me.
I was happy with the way my Traveler dog ran. Had a few long runs where he took the hare out of hearing and back more than once. He is two years old but he has had lots of practice running in these conditions.

[ACOMEAU]

We have about three feet of snow currently and until yesterday it snowed nine days straight, not a lot each time, but snow. The temps average in the twenties and this week 0 to 15. Tonight it will get down to -5. The conditions you are dealing with are routine here. We ran Sunday, the temp was 10 to 15 degrees, took a while for a jump, but ran it well after it was up. Got an old female that cold trails. Cold trailed for about 70 yards and up it came. Two males joined in and the race was on. I love it when I here her pop off a few "cold trail" barks, cause I know were gonna have a run shortly. Hot nosed dog, is a swear around here! Nothing boils the blood any more than the dogs opening hot for 80 yards and then loosing it and never barking again. Some of you may ask yourself, why would you go out in temps that cold anyway, wait for a nicer day. Well I can't choose my days off, and I be waiting untill June and the season is over then!

[Sue]

Went running Saturday 9 - 2 p.m. We overall jumped about 10-11 rabbits.
But they all ran straight to holes. Almost every rabbit was jumped out of the brush (they were sitting pretty tight).

Running started getting better towards the afternoon but by that time we were too cold and too tired.

Killed 2 so we didn't hurt nothing.. had fun though!

[ducktape20]

ran on sat temp 22 with light snow two to three inches on ground morning run ran one to the hole and killed two on good runs in the afternoon went out ran one four over two hours never saw it close enough to shoot but dogs burned him up whole time