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Well Jason, I'm 52 and I've had hounds now for 30 years. So I had just started running hounds. So I guess I would have tried start with less hounds but better quality hounds. I was like most young hunters as I got most of my hounds that were someone's else's culls. Some were good dogs but older and some were just plain sorry. It seems like I had 11- or 12 dogs but there's was only one that I would gladly put in my pack today. His name was Joe and he sure could run a deer like it neeed to and he could do it in a hurry. I guess the only other big regret was that I had a good breed of hounds that were out an outstanding deer hound name Ajax that was owned by an exceptional houndsman from Gatesville NC named Zacky Harrell. I took 2 females to breed to him hoping that one would catch. Well he wound up breeding both and I had 25 puppies born within 6 days time. I sold or gave away a good number of them but kept about 6 and they were the foundation of my pack for many years. The last one off that line died about 2 years ago and I really regret not getting any puppies off of her. Bandit was about 12 years old but she could grub up a deer when no other dog could seem to be able to smell.
I've had some dogs that were special to me over those 30 years. They may not have been the fastest but they could just about make a deer out of thin air and run it like they were tied to him. Most of what I've had would probably be someone else's culls today but they sure made me happy and I guess that's what is the most important. Be happy with what you are feeding and don't worry about what everyone else thinks.
Well that's just a start, how about any else?
I would only be 6. If I could go back 20 years I would have bought stock in apple. then I could of hunted the way we would all love to. I would love to own my own pen and be able to go back and find some of the good old blood Slide, Packman, Zeb, Colby, Clown, Red Wing. And most of all I would hunt with as many old timers as I could.
Not quite old enough to go back 30 but if I could go back 20 I know of a couple of things that I believe would have helped us.
First thing is before Jon moved instead of building a Nice dog Kennel we should have built a 60 acre pup pen.
Second without doubt 3 really nice hounds we should have bred to
1st is Pinedale Clown
2nd is J&R CJ
3rd is Rolling Creek Primetime
A few things I am proud of over the last 20 years is the fact that we have taken some basic ol Raider Stock and crossed it on some Modern day stuff and we have created a "Family of Hounds" that has some defined traits that we want out of our hounds. First is NEVER Quit, have mouth you can tell, and good feet. We never turn our heads no matter who there daddy is. Hounds are only as good as there owners, so we try to hunt regularly enough to keep descent hounds. On that note there are a few times over the last 20 years that I should have been at the house because without a doubt the weather was way to bad to be out in it, but we hunted anyways.
All in all I am satisfied with our last 20 years of breeding and raising hounds. Yet there are a few things we could have twicked a little.
If I could go back 20 years because I was 12 30 years ago I would have made alot more effort to stay around the old school outside bred fox hounds of that period. There are alot of hounds from that period that were worthy but it always seemed that more than other breeds alot ended up being bred strong to the old Hornet and Midnight cross that spawned so many exceptional hounds.If you could look they are in almost everyones papers if you could go beyond the fifth generation you see on papers today. I would have made it my mission to get to know Author and Tony Purvis, Mr Reggie Edwards, Lewis Jordan, George Hill and Carlton Dawson who have repeatedly shown the ability over the past 30 plus years to have the knowledge and know how to breed what it takes to take you to that next level of breeding fox hounds. I had my fair share of hounds out of Mr. Purvis Senator Sam dog and they just flat had what it took to run there game with authority.I also had my fair share of Roscoe bred hounds that coudl also run the heck out of a pc of game. I feel as if I have had alot of pretty good hounds in my life time but only two really exceptional ones. Both of them were out of Senator Sam. Just my two cents worth. May only be worth a cent or less.