How Long Do They Run?
Moderators: Pike Ridge Beagles, Aaron Bartlett
How Long Do They Run?
A recent thread got me thinking (always a dangerous thing). I have pretty fast dogs and they can run the snot out of a rabbit but, this time of year, I do well to get about 30 minutes out of race. The rabbits either go to hole, get caught, or my dogs switch to another one. I am wondering then, what you you boys say is your average run time and where are you doing the running? I am in Michigan.
I once saw a basset hound run a rabbit for 4 hours, bark 4 or 5 million times and not go 300 yards. Therefore, I need to know if you consider your dogs fast or slow.
I once saw a basset hound run a rabbit for 4 hours, bark 4 or 5 million times and not go 300 yards. Therefore, I need to know if you consider your dogs fast or slow.
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
Never lose a rabbit buck!? Dang holes!
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
I consider my dogs to be medium speed with an average 30 min or so on cottontail. Some days its worse some days its can go much longer but you never know how its gonna be here in Mi on cottontail. There is another guy on here in MI that claims to average about 10 to 15 miles a night on cottontail, running in the blueberries with a single dog.
Now hare is a completely different story, they better not loose it for a while!
Now hare is a completely different story, they better not loose it for a while!
SUCCESS- When preparation and opportunity cross paths!
Re: How Long Do They Run?
Most places I hunt we are lucky to get a 30 minute race. I know some of the rabbits are lost but many hole up. Most of my places do not have the cover for a rabbit to run that long in. Mostly a few small patches of brush(1/4 - maybe an acre in size.) The rabbits around here just do not seem to run if they are pushed very hard. But without good cover to run in I wouldn't expect them to. I assume the people who are having 1-3 hour races are running in areas that have alot of good cover for the rabbit to run in.
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
Great post Buck. I voted med-fast dogs with an average of less than 30 minutes. I'd like to add to that . We run cottontail in southern Michigan and do get what I consider to be "good runners" at different times of the year. To me a "good runner" is anything over 20-25 minutes. Some of which have lasted as long a 1 hr. +/- 20 min. But that is about the longest I've ever kept a cottontail race going. How they end , I can only guess. I'd like to think they end in a hole because the dogs I'm running now , have yet to bring a rabbit back to me after the break down.However, I'm a firm believer that the rabbit just outsmarts many dogs , plain and simple.
But as for an average with all year running , the races are less than 30 min. with most ending 15 min. or less at what I know to be holes. Just how the running is most of the time. I'll take it anyway I can get it, short or long.
But as for an average with all year running , the races are less than 30 min. with most ending 15 min. or less at what I know to be holes. Just how the running is most of the time. I'll take it anyway I can get it, short or long.
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
I voted 30 to 60 minutes but if I just put my 2 fast males that push each other most wont stay up 30 minutes. I had a young male a couple springs back that when I was soloing him he drove rabbits hard and clean and 2 weeek caught 6 buck rabbits just seem liked they wouldn't hole he was averaging between 30 and 45 minutes from start to finish. He is one of the males I am talking about above. HAVE TO ADMIT NEVER SEEN IT SINCE SEEMS LIKE HE WAS RUNNING THE PERFECT SPEED TO KEEP THEM FROM HOLING BUT ENOUGH PRESSURE TO WEAR EM DOWN TO CATCH THEM.
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
Around here there s just not that many holes.I ve notice that some of these med to medfast dogs that can really stay on a rabbit.Around 2 hr is all you going to get out of that rabbit before he startes sitting and getting stiff.Then the dogs will have him.I ve seen guy come in and jump a rabbit and the first good cut,maybe 2 min.Lost rabbit,and its more than just a few.
Re: How Long Do They Run?
I voted 30to 60 min average depending on spot but there are days like wed,thurs,friday of last week where I had exceptional runs and offten get them at this spot
- ANTHONY KERR
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
I have medium fast to fast hounds and this time of the year 30 minutes to an hour is about right. Summertime and spring running is different. I run places where the rabbits sometimes run huge loops and have had runs that went over 2 hours on a regular basis. Usually running small packs of 3 dogs they can loop up to 3 times covering 40 to 50 acre circles. Some places though the rabbit will not get out and run like they do at a couple of spots. Nothing like packing a cooler and sitting in the middle of the circle and hearing them pound on into the darkness. I run with other people some, but I pay closer attention when I go alone. Some days are better than others, but most people who live around here would be surprised at how well dogs can run on a hot steamy afternoon just before dark.
Where's the earth shattering kaboom ?
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
wireman252 wrote:Great post Buck. I voted med-fast dogs with an average of less than 30 minutes. I'd like to add to that . We run cottontail in southern Michigan and do get what I consider to be "good runners" at different times of the year. To me a "good runner" is anything over 20-25 minutes. Some of which have lasted as long a 1 hr. +/- 20 min. But that is about the longest I've ever kept a cottontail race going. How they end , I can only guess. I'd like to think they end in a hole because the dogs I'm running now , have yet to bring a rabbit back to me after the break down.However, I'm a firm believer that the rabbit just outsmarts many dogs , plain and simple.
But as for an average with all year running , the races are less than 30 min. with most ending 15 min. or less at what I know to be holes. Just how the running is most of the time. I'll take it anyway I can get it, short or long.
Same here wireman. And I'm not afraid to say that I think more rabbits outsmart my dogs than I would care to think sometimes. The places I run have plenty of holes for them to dive into but I find it hard to believe that every race ends at a hole if we don't shoot the rabbit. They don't survive by being terribly stupid so I think sometimes we don't give those bunnies enough credit for the tricks they can pull.
Bunnyblaster
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
Re: How Long Do They Run?
I forgot to vote in my own poll but I got it done and am happy to see the comments. I am surprised nobody has yet said they run slow dogs. Maybe a good poll would be to find out what a person considers "slow"/"fast". I know most of you would say that is obvious but I don't think it is. I like line runners with speed but a "slasher" would be much faster with a pack. I also think a slower dog by itself would probably run a longer rabbit. We run at least 6 dogs on every drop and they can really move a rabbit. He rarely gets time to stop.
Another factor contributing to long runs is the consistency of daily pressure on a site. The places I have get heavy pressure from a lot of people and that includes people who hunt to kill and not just to have a good race. I wonder if a rabbit that gets run every day would be a longer or shorter runner? Personally, I think that a rabbit that gets run frequently, learns tricks from experience and makes for a better chase. Course, a 2 pound rabbit has to have time to eat some time.
Another factor contributing to long runs is the consistency of daily pressure on a site. The places I have get heavy pressure from a lot of people and that includes people who hunt to kill and not just to have a good race. I wonder if a rabbit that gets run every day would be a longer or shorter runner? Personally, I think that a rabbit that gets run frequently, learns tricks from experience and makes for a better chase. Course, a 2 pound rabbit has to have time to eat some time.
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
I wish I could get a 30 min run but most time 10 to 15 min in Michigan. Does night time running bring longer runs on cottontail ?
TheJohnBirchSociety
Re: How Long Do They Run?
I definetly agree that the amount of running pressure on the rabbits will affect their want to run. I used to have a spot in the city that was filthy with rabbits and it wasn't uncommon to have 30-60 min runs. We used to run this spot 6-7 days a week and after a couple years of that we could hardly get a rabbit to stay up for more than 5 minutes everything was straight to a hole. Trying to get a good run there became a waste of time and so we quite running there all of last year, just recently we started running there again and have been getting runs like we used to. Going to try not to "burn" the place out again, but I like to run and it's a convenient spot.bucks better beagles wrote:I forgot to vote in my own poll but I got it done and am happy to see the comments. I am surprised nobody has yet said they run slow dogs. Maybe a good poll would be to find out what a person considers "slow"/"fast". I know most of you would say that is obvious but I don't think it is. I like line runners with speed but a "slasher" would be much faster with a pack. I also think a slower dog by itself would probably run a longer rabbit. We run at least 6 dogs on every drop and they can really move a rabbit. He rarely gets time to stop.
Another factor contributing to long runs is the consistency of daily pressure on a site. The places I have get heavy pressure from a lot of people and that includes people who hunt to kill and not just to have a good race. I wonder if a rabbit that gets run every day would be a longer or shorter runner? Personally, I think that a rabbit that gets run frequently, learns tricks from experience and makes for a better chase. Course, a 2 pound rabbit has to have time to eat some time.
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
I completely agree with you guys on the pressure thing. I have noticed in the past at some of my spots how much different the rabbits will run. Spots that I run regularly we tend to get shorter and more zig-zagging type races. Spots that get run very little the rabbits tend to stay up longer and pull less tricks and/or turns so I would also assume they adapt a little to survive.
And to be honest even though I voted for the 30-60 minute races it varies quite a bit depending on the day and the rabbits.......I was kind of split on which category to vote in. I was going more along the lines of if the rabbit will stay up and run. A lot of my runs tend to be right around the 30 minute mark and on the days the bunnies will stay up and play we start to push an hour plus. Most of my spots are big enough that we can get 2-4 good sized circles out of a rabbit before it will hole or have a loss and the circles will take 8-10 minutes in most cases. On the days when we average less than 30 minutes the races tend to be very very short lived. These are the days when I can't seem to find a rabbit that will stay up and run for the dogs so even though they ran it I guess I'm thinking it's generally more of a mad dash to a hole or a pile............or maybe they just lose that many???
And to be honest even though I voted for the 30-60 minute races it varies quite a bit depending on the day and the rabbits.......I was kind of split on which category to vote in. I was going more along the lines of if the rabbit will stay up and run. A lot of my runs tend to be right around the 30 minute mark and on the days the bunnies will stay up and play we start to push an hour plus. Most of my spots are big enough that we can get 2-4 good sized circles out of a rabbit before it will hole or have a loss and the circles will take 8-10 minutes in most cases. On the days when we average less than 30 minutes the races tend to be very very short lived. These are the days when I can't seem to find a rabbit that will stay up and run for the dogs so even though they ran it I guess I'm thinking it's generally more of a mad dash to a hole or a pile............or maybe they just lose that many???
Bunnyblaster
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
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Re: How Long Do They Run?
One thing I wanted to add is that here in the next month or so rabbits will be breeding and 2 to 3 hr runs will not be uncommon. This is also when I run into the most problems with neighbors and such. The bucks run big and far, its my favorite time of the year on cottontail here in MI.
I too feel pressure is a big deal for cottontail. I have great running here at my house but choose to only solo dogs 3 to 4 times a week. I leave the house to drop a pack.
I too feel pressure is a big deal for cottontail. I have great running here at my house but choose to only solo dogs 3 to 4 times a week. I leave the house to drop a pack.
SUCCESS- When preparation and opportunity cross paths!