Registered: Sep 2013
Location: tylertown,mississippi
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I waited until 10pm last night to carry them to Black Branch Swamp. I haven't been getting on any good tracks early so was giving them some more time to come down and move. Didn't work as Bo struck an old feeder track a couple hundred yards down the branch and started working on it. I had kept Briar on the 4 wheeler until Bo struck then cut him. He went the opposite way and struck a swamp rabbit quick around the edge of food plot I was sitting in. He would have made a Rabbit Hunter proud as he smoked him in a big circle but I wasn't smiling in the dark when he came full circle and I was in the thicket waiting on him. Turned the bright light on him to stop him a few seconds and that's all the time I needed to get my hands on him and have a talk about what I Don't want him to be running. Loaded him back up and by that time Bo was close to 600yds away and had just located and locked down treed. Road as close as I could but still had 150yds of Bad Bad thicket to get in to him. He was treed on a big bushy water oak on the edge of a field and I was able to get into the field to where I could shine the tree good. Finally got him to look at me with one eye. Loved ole Bo up and got on out of there. Will put Briar on a feeder tonight and see if I can get him on a hot track that ends up on a tree. He is testing my patience a little, need a Good Hunt with him Soon!

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Registered: Sep 2013
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Took them to BO's bottom tonight and had a better hunt than I have been having. First track Briar struck first with BO right behind him. They worked on it about 10 minutes and BO got it out of the swamp bottom and up on the side of a hill and fell treed on a big turkey pine. Briar treed a little before I got in there but quit. I hooked him up when I got to the tree and after finding the coon got him to tree some more. Loaded them up and moved on down the swamp and cut loose by the beaver lake. Bo went right and Briar left and both started working their on track. Bo came treed about 15 minutes later 383yds from me and Briar kept working his track almost 400yds to my left. Went into Bo and got a little wet crossing a deep slough. He was on a big beech and I looked for a few minutes, shook some vines that went into it and when I backed out again to look he was looking with both eyes from a big fork. I petted BO up and pulled him off a little ways to listen for Briar. He was still trailing and a few minutes later bumped up on a tree a couple locates but moved on toward the lake. He got in a lot of water and let the track get away from him. After a while I called him in and we came home. He looked better tonight and I feel sure that when he gets on a good to hot track he will hit the tree right but the tracks we have got after have been pretty bad and just not enough scent on the tree to get him riled up enough to stick. This Big Full Moon will start getting smaller and coming up later every night and hopefully tracks for my pup will get better. Would like to have him treeing regular by July 1st when I can legally knock one out to him time to time. Of course you never know when one might go up a slick bark tree and slip and fall out to a young hound doing a good job! They have those kind of trees pretty bad in Alabama and I have seen a few around here, just never know! Good Hunting!

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Registered: Sep 2008
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you are right about them slippery trees over here in Alabama. sounds like briar is just the opposite from kink. in that he don't care what another dog is doing. when kink is going to screw up its because he is worried about what the other dog is doing. fixing to start correcting that. I sure like a independent dog but I can get under your skin alittle. but watch out when he puts it all together

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Briar put it together tonight and put one up a small, bushy oak out in the bad stuff of Black Branch Swamp. Took him by himself and cut him down the branch. I have a feeder about a 100yds in but he didn't strike until he was almost 200yds. I think he intercepted one on the way to the feeder as it was a good track and he rolled it in the open swamp but the coon soon took to the bad stuff. He was over 450yds away when I fired up the 4 wheeler to get closer. When I shut it off, silence. Looked at the Garmin and he was 141yds from me out in the bad stuff. About that time he let loose with 3 Big, Long Bawls and set in to treeing with a steady, hard chop. I hit those Bad Briars and its amazing how little pain you feel tearing through the thick stuff as you head to a good, young prospect locked down treed. I didn't feel a thing and when I got 50' from him he quit and came to me but went right back and climbed up on it again. I hooked him up, backed out to where I could see the bushy top and hit the squaller. Several limbs gave a jerk and a shake so I hit it again. He ran up through those bushy limbs to a dead part of a old pine top that was hung up in the top of the little oak and stretched out on it, looking at the sky. I sure hated I didn't have my Slick Stick that would have made him slip out to Briar but I didn't bring it. Took a video that I will post tomorrow and a few pictures after I loved ole Briar up good and we got on out of there. Proud of my pup tonight, things are looking up and so is he! Good Hunting!!

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Registered: Sep 2013
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Its hard for me to get clear pictures of coon with my cell phone but I do the best I can out in the swamp by myself trying to hold the light and the phone above my head and take the picture. This coon is to the bottom right of the bright spot of light. At the bottom of the gap in the bushy top oak.

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Registered: Apr 2014
Location: oakvale ms
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Good picture Steve, I can make the coon out pretty good. Aint it amazing how fast us ole fat boys can get thru the thickets and briars when we get a young dog treed. We may be bleeding from several places, but we won't even pay it any attention until later. Good hunting Steve. Sounds like briar is getting ready to make a coon dog. As Mr. Woodrow Williamson use to tell me (Jack that pup is ruined now) Mr. Woodrow is the one that started me with registered blueticks and took me to my first competition hunt. Lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time ago.

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Glad to hear he is connecting some dots. Keep us posted.

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Registered: Sep 2013
Location: tylertown,mississippi
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Briar treed last night. He is going to be a nice one, might put a few more gray hairs on my head but that's all a part of the fun with these young guns! When I start putting a little fur in his mouth, look out, he should sure enough start getting on the wood right. Click to see video.

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Registered: Nov 2005
Location: Iowa
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Looking & sounding good Steve. Just keep putting some time in the woods slowly. Seems like when I get a new young one I want to hunt them too much & it can 'burn them out' if a person isn't carefull, A few falling out of trees will really help the progress of these young dogs. Take care, Ron.

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Registered: Sep 2013
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Thanks guys on the compliments for Briar. I think he has what it takes and its going to be fun watching him develop.

The past 36 hours has been Busy for me. I had to go to Morgan City, La. yesterday morning which is 6 hour drive round trip. I had to meet with State inspectors on one of our jobs we have finished and do a final inspection and then I took them to lunch. During the day I heard from Jared Lawrason who I had booked a pup with off his Barbra Jean gyp and Bocephus. He was leaving Michigan yesterday evening with my pup and a few more for Johnny in north Alabama, and heading our way. We were to meet this morning early at the Tennessee line north of Huntsville Alabama. So I got home yesterday evening, did the chores, ate supper and laid down for 2 hours, got back up at 10pm and Beverly and I hit the road for the 6 hour drive to meet Jared. We met up at 5:15am this morning, talked for a few minutes, got our new pup and drove the 6 hours back home. We had a good trip and hoping Jared makes it home safe and with no problems. Very nice guy with some great looking pups. I didn't tell him but I can tell already I picked the best one, lol! Hope so anyway. That bond between boy and pup that we never outgrow makes us old men do some crazy things to get that next dream pup that we hope is the greatest coon tree'er ever. I hope that feeling never dies in me. Those Blue pups and Grandkids make this ole man feel young and alive. I took Bell with me and she is headed back to Scot Crandell. She will be in a lot more coon up there than we have in these swamps and should really shine. Wish him the best with her. Wish I had all night every night to hunt all the hounds I would like to keep here but a working man only has so many hours a week he can stay in the woods.
MR. Jack, your friend MR. Woodrow was a very wise man. He is so right that when you take a pup ready to start and expose him to the right coon hunting situation, you have ruined him. That's why Mason keeps Paw Paw in the road buying a new pup every 6 months. Once you throw that pups hunting switch you have to keep them penned up until hunting time. Mason always ask, " Can we let my coon dog puppy ole Bo out or Briar?" and I have to explain the only way we let them out is keep them on a lead. He gives me that look like he lost his best buddy and there I go, searching for a new pup to spend the summer with Mason running free and swimming on the river. The memories made with that boy and those pups are worth every penny spent and every mile driven. If they make coon hounds that's just a bonus.
Ron, I'm like you in that when these pups start looking pretty good I have to remind myself they are still little ones even if they weigh 75lbs and that I don't need to hunt them so much as to burn them out. Briar will get 2 maybe 3 nights a week of an hour to two hours of hunting and it will be around plenty of cool water so he don't get to hot. When the kitten coon start moving around late summer and early fall I will increase the hunting amount on him and hopefully by cool weather he will have it all put together and ready to be pushed pretty hard or at least as hard as my time allows. That coon he treed Wednesday night would have been nice to put out to him but after thinking about it I'm glad I didn't come prepared to put one out. I feel that was probably a sow coon because of all the moving around in the tree it did. I think she had some little ones in a den the other way from where Briar struck her and she took him away from that area until he put enough pressure on her she had to climb. All that moving around was her wanting to get out of that little tree and get back to the den and those little ones. So I'm glad she didn't climb one of those slick bark trees and fall out.
Well I better get off of here and get a nap so I will be ready to go when it gets dark, Good Hunting!!

PS: The name of our new pup is; Bankston's Rising Star. I had asked Mason what he wanted to name her and he said Star Wars, lol, we compromised.

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Registered: Oct 2014
Location: Gilmer, TX
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When you get a picture of that new cutie, post it so we can see the new Rising Star. Might be good to post one of Mason loving her some too.

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Registered: Sep 2013
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Here ya go Chris. Will get a picture of Mason and Star when he comes over to see her this weekend.

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Registered: Oct 2014
Location: Gilmer, TX
Posts: 158

She is a cutie. You probably did get the best one! Looks a lot like my open tick female off Zeb (Briar's half sister). That Zeb girl of mine has a booming mouth on her, and she's already treeing squirrels and trying to run tracks at four months.

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Registered: Sep 2013
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My wife saw this picture on Facebook. Don't know who the kid is but thought it was a picture all of us ole coon hunters could relate to.

Chris, that Zeb pup of yours sounds like she is going to have the natural hunting desire come out early in her. In a couple months take her around some feeders after dark and she just might take off treeing those coons.

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Registered: Mar 2008
Location: Dansville,MI
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Steve thanks for letting Bell come back up here, I sure missed her. She took the trip well and tomorrow night we will see what she remembers.

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Registered: Nov 2005
Location: Iowa
Posts: 2961

Always looking for something new to mess with!!! Good looking pup & hope it turns out for you. I'm picking up pup at national hunt from Bill Hubbard (BILOH) to mess with this summer for the grandkids. She's got several females behind here that I've owned & hunted with, so just couldn't resist. Besides she's beautiful in pic Bill posted. Take care, Ron.

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Took them to BO's Bottom last night. They got on two different tracks with BO getting treed 291yds behind me and Briar rolling one 512 yds in front of me. Wasn't sure if Briar was on a coon or not. Went into BO's tree and looked at the coon laying out on a big limb in a water oak. He really had the slobber slinging. Petted him and loaded him up and rode closer to Briar but he was coming out to me by that time. I had heard him locate I thought right before I got into Bo and Garmin was showing treed but he didn't stay long enough for me to get his way.
Ron, I saw the picture of the pup you are getting from Bill and she's a beauty and bred the best. Good luck with her.

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Registered: Sep 2013
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Star taking her first drink from the Bogue-Chitto River. Didn't get to make a hunt last night as a steady rain had set in and I give up at 10pm trying to wait it out. I have to work on I-10 west of Baton Rogue tonight as we are starting up a new job that will be 2 months of weekend work but will have off Monday thru Thursday so hunting shouldn't suffer to bad. I don't like night work especially beside the interstate but it's a job we have and has to be done. Mason will be coming over to see Star tomorrow so I would imagine she will get her first swimming lesson with him, lol! They will have a blast together this summer playing in the river and that will prepare her for running those coons in the swamp when she is ready. Good Hunting!

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Mason picked blackberries today for my wife to make a cobbler and was taking a break in the shade when I took this picture of Star trying to get a sugar from Mason. He don't look like he wants to be slap lapped by the pup just yet, lol! I got in from work this morning at 6am and slept a few hours and when I got up Mason was there ready for Paw Paw to get up and take him and Star walking along the river. I got in a few hours of fun with him and the pup before it was supper time and back in the road to work tonight. He was staying the night and wanted to go hunting but I told him that would have to wait until next week. Can't wait to get back after them Monday night, Good Hunting!

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Registered: Apr 2014
Location: oakvale ms
Posts: 2007

What a great picture Steve, should be on the cover of the Blue Book. A Boy and his dog bonding. Nothing will ever mean more to him than that. I remember back when I was about his age(yea a few years back). The dogs that I had. they were not registered dogs by a long shot. Probably Cur with a little hound mixed in and maybe a little bull dog. You know the kind I'm talking about, but he was my buddy and usually when you seen one of us you saw the other one. nothing takes the place of a boy and his dog. There is a bond there that is hard to describe. give me a call anytime Steve and we will go. If you want to you can come over here and we'll try one of my places. Talk to you soon.

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Hope everything is going well. Looks like it may have stopped raining for awhile anyway. We have been getting our fair share this month so far but we needed it.
Take Care,
Scott

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Registered: Sep 2013
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Thanks MR. Jack and Scott for the kind words about the picture of Mason and Star. They will be a team of fun this summer.

The work weekend was about as bad as I have ever had to work. Left here at 3pm Friday evening and got home this morning at 5am. I worked on that job over 50 hours in that time with a grand total of 7 hours sleep. Three of which were in the truck on the jobsite. We had to close one lane of I-10 west of Baton Rogue and break out 2 approach slabs and have it re poured and opened back up to traffic by daylight this morning or company would have to pay 15,000 per hour delay fine. It started off with storms for 5 hours Friday night that set us behind schedule but the men rallied and we worked our tails off and had both ready to pour yesterday. We were using a quick set concrete mix design with Super "P" that will set up and give you over 3,000 PSI within 6 hours. Long story short when the technician from the concrete plant added the Super " P" on site, he put something in first that he wasn't supposed to and to much of it. Truck spun his drum a few minutes, backed up and we pored him out in less than 2 minutes and before the other truck backed up, which was less than 5 minutes, you could walk on the concrete without leaving a boot print. It Flash Set because of the wrong chemical be added at the wrong time. Within 17 minutes we were using jack hammers and an excavator with a breaker attachment to break out this bad mix. We were all already dead on our feet because of all the hours worked with no break but job had to be finished. I ran out of gas just as they finished pouring at 3am this morning and had severe muscle cramps in my legs. Made it home and drank me a pint of pickle juice before falling in bed. The vinegar in the pickle juice helps with muscle cramps. I threw the saddle on this Construction Career 30 years ago. When your young the money looks good, being in the road is exciting seeing new places, meeting new people, running the bars, ect. BUT when you get my age and don't drink anymore and have already " Been there Done that" all that fun is gone. When I have a weekend like we just had I sure wish I had chose another career as now the 300 or more miles a day I ride and sometimes the long hours is getting older than I am. Thinking seriously of un cinching the saddle on this career but don't know at my age what I would or could saddle back up on to make that final stretch run. Sure don't have enough money to retire, who does in this country? Where they keep handing it out to the ones that don't work. Big decision to be made and early this morning I prayed to the Good Lord to steer me in the right direction. If yaw all of a sudden don't see my good and bad stories on here you will know I have took the saddle off this ole horse of a career because this is their lap top and the phone I use to video and take pictures is theirs too. Well, its dark and time to see if the ole potlickers will add to my stress level or make it all better, my guess is they will make it all better. I would be happy to see a possum in the tree tonight, lol!!

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Registered: Sep 2013
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Thanks Chris. Hope all is well over your way and that your hounds have been getting some treed for you, take care.

Took Bo and Briar to Bo's Bottom tonight and Briar angled off to the left and Bo went a little right and got in there quick and popped a hot one up. Briar didn't go to him, he's going to be an independent sucker. I rode 4 wheeler closer to BO and went in and looked at the coon in a big oak. Looking at me with both eyes and only half way up the tree, probably a sow. Recut Bo and he went in to 385yds and struck a feeder track, worked it out of the swamp and into some 6 year old pines full of briars and berries. He got in there pretty deep, got quite a few seconds then came 4 big, quivering bawl locates as he locked it down and told anybody who would listen that he had this Blackberry eating varmint. Rode closer and picked up Briar along the way and loaded him up. Rode to within a 100' of the tree and could see a tall magnolia higher than the pines so I lit the top of it up with the Sunfire light and there he set, right in the top. Went in and loved Ole Bo up for a job well done and came on in as I have my brother coming to visit tonight and for the rest of the week. He's coming from Memphis as his daughter is having her second child tomorrow. Should be here any minute and I'm looking forward to his stay as its been a few years since he has been here. In ways we are a lot alike but when it comes to hunting he don't want much to do with it. He thinks I'm a little off in the head to run through the woods, briars, mud, snake infested swamps behind some ole stinky wet hound and I think he's a little off for not understanding why we do it! lol! Last time I talked him into deer hunting with my Bluetick hounds was when we were teenagers. They ran a big, one horn buck by us and I dropped the hammer on my Dads Ole 12 GA. He went over a half mile and the hounds bayed him in the pond of a neighbor. I can still remember the sight of that buck in that pond with the hounds baying from the land. I only had the one buckshot I had already used and the rest was bird shot as we were supposed to be duck hunting as deer season had just closed the day before and my dad is strict about such things but there was always a little bit of an Outlaw in me. Anyway I took a shot from 50yds or so with the bird shot and it sprinkled the water all around the buck and he just shook his head like a mad Braham Bull. That excited a young hound of mine enough to swim out and catch a hold of an ear and me being afraid for my hound dove on in. I got to the buck, grabbed the one big horn as the other was broke off and me and that buck with the hound hanging on for the ride made quite a sight and fight in that pond. That hound and I won that fight and all my brother Scott kept say was, Daddy is going to beat your ...!!! I told him when Daddy saw all the sausage he was going to get out of this buck he would calm down, And I was right. My Pops ranted and raved a little but we enjoyed some good sausage, except for the occasional bird shot we would bite into, lol! Those days are gone but it was some Good Hunting back then too!

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Sounds like a rough weekend on the job for sure.

Looks like it may have not been a very good weekend for Jimmy Johnson and his crew either.

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Registered: Sep 2013
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My brother and I took Bo and Briar to Bo's bottom. Bo got gone and pretty deep in a hurry while Briar worked his way around the lake closer to us. Bo struck over 600yds in moved it about 300yds and came treed. We rode to within 200yds of him and I hit the thicket headed to him. Scott stayed on the 4 wheeler he was riding because he had on shorts and tennis shoes. What a coon hunting outfit! Told yaw hunting wasn't his thing but at least he's not an Anti. Went into BO and he was in a stand of big cypress growing in shallow water and was treed on the only big water oak in there. I could shine it pretty good from one side and it didn't take long to find him peeping at me from out on a limb on the left side of the tree. Briar was there but wasn't treeing. We made one more drop but didn't have any luck so we came on in and got in the jet boat and baited some of my limb lines with fresh worms we got off my trees growing along the river bank that I had planted a few years ago. We drinking a little coffee this morning then will go see if we had any luck. Will take the hounds to Black Branch Swamp tonight and see how good my brothers new sneakers look when we get back because you don't ride through that swamp and come home clean! Good Hunting!

Rowdy, Ole Jimmie didn't have to good of weekend for sure. I heard that he didn't race as hard as he should have for that million dollar prize because his safe was already full of cash from the other 3 races he has won this year! Trying to let ole Tony win one so he can keep his lights on, lol! Take Care and keep Jazz in the timber.

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