Best hunt of 2015!

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Happy New Year to everybody.
Just got back from a super enjoyable hunt that I couldn't resist sharing.Wish I knew how to post pics and/or have the photo equipment to do so as we got some real good pics on my regular camera.
My son Zack and I got invited to bring my beagles and take two dads and their three sons ages 8 and 11 for their first ever rabbit hunt with dogs.These folks are true hunters but mostly turkey and deer.All three of these young boys were given Lifetime Hunting Licenses by their dads for Christmas presents and were some psyched to go! They had a ton of questions about the beagles and how they knew where to find the rabbits and how they could follow them all over the woods and fields.
Best part of the arrangement was that these guys are all orginally from Grainger County,Tn. [ about 2 hours north of me ].This county is very rural with a lot of farmland and a lot of it is lying fallow and growing up which makes for primo rabbit cover.Most all of their kin folk still live there and we had over a 1,000 acres to hunt on three adjoining farms.
When we pulled up to the first turnout spot I was trying not to drool.Man did it look good and the cover just stretched out for ever.
I had three females with me;Rainy a 7 year old,her daughter Tess at 3 years old and Josie Blue at 17 months old.These dogs are best descibed as being of the medium to fast running speed,hunt on the run and hit pretty hard always trying to catch if they can.Their pedigrees carry alot of Jack of all Trades,Blue Ninja,Greenwell's Reggie and Jiggs breeding.
From the tailgate the girls left on the run and had one jumped in about 10 minutes.Zack and I had agreed before hand that we'd let our hosts and especially their boys get some of the action first hand so we kind of layed back and just offered some advice as to how best get a shot on one.First rabbit was shot by 11 year old Brandon and he was some tickled especially when Rainy retrieved the rabbit to the group of us standing their congratulating him.
Next several races we tried getting the other two boys a shot ,which they did,but they were unable to catch up with a streaking rabbit and missed several.
We were jumping and running plenty of rabbits so the adults started getting into the action and our game pouches began to fill.The young boys were getting a little bummed as they were missing but then 8 year old Lucas got one that stopped to look back and listen for the dogs and he put the little 410. right on him for a clean kill.He wouldn't let his dad put the rabbit in his game bag but carried him aroung by his hind feet the rest of the mourning not caring if he shot another one or not.
We hunted 6 hours and jumped 17 rabbits and killed 12 and missed several and had a couple take to a dozer pile and a collapsed old barn which is a pretty darn good outing for around these parts.The dogs performed flawlessly and the running was fast and furious with these cottontails making some big circles.My son told me later that he was really glad that the dogs had looked so good as he said he'd been bragging them up to these guys for a while!! LOL.
We had a super day of good hunting/dog work/fellowship and to see these three young boys and their excitement was a joy and reminded me of when Zack was their age and my constant hunting buddy [ he's now 26 ].The dads,Bradley and Mark also said they had a ball and said it was a hunt they and their sons wouldn't soon forget.
In fact they enjoyed it so much they want us to bring the dogs back up and take another hunt before the season ends which I regularly agreed to--------ANYTIME.We didn't even hunt 3/4 of the ground that's there and most all of it looks great.Can't wait.
Only down side to the day was that a couple of rabbits got wounded and the dogs ran them down in some thick briars that we couldn't get into quick enough and the dogs ate them.Time for some tape wormer!LOL.

p.s. Don't know if any of you others ever noticed this or not.If a rabbit is shot dead in front of my dogs they hardly will pay any attention to it at all.Sometimes won't even stop to take a sniff. BUT,if one is wounded or they just run one down and catch it they'll have it pulled apart and eaten before i can get to them everytime.Primal instint?? I do feed them well.LOL.

[Schag]

Sounds like a great hunt! Thank-you for sharing...

[HAREHOUND]

DANA - sounds like a blast. i just finished watching some footage that Dan sent of your hunt up at his cabin in Vermont. that looked to be a good time as well and i wish i could have joined u on either one. that's always fun taking out some young hunter on there 1st rabbit hunt with beagles. we will be doing the same in the morning and hoping to get this youngster his first hare.

[John Way]

Great story. I'm always thrilled to hear about enthusiastic young hunter or new ones to the rabbit hunting world. Job well done Dana , with a nice reward.

[D.Gross]

Dana,
Glad to see you are still doing it and had a good hunt.
Dick Gross

[kimbro25]

Awesome, that's what rabbit hunting is all about. Good job

[Moore Beagles]

Nothing better than getting some young ones and 1st timers a taste of what Rabbit hunting is all about. Those Boys will remember that day their whole life. Good going..