TN bear hunts.

[E4 No More]

14 hours ago, Johnny reb said:

No disrespect meant but you obviously don’t have a clue how hound hunting works. Talking about legwork I would almost guarantee there’s been days I’ve put more miles than most do in a year. Hound hunting is very misunderstood by the majority of the public. That’s a shame that we as hunters are so divided. We have all the PETA, HSUS, and other bunny huggers trying to dismantle us from the outside. Then we as hunters are dismantling ourselves from the inside doing there work for them. I hear it all the time from people saying I don’t care if they stop hound hunting it has nothing to do them. Yes it does when they get one form of hunting done away with there not going away. They will set there sights on the next group. We as hunters and sportsman now more than ever and support each other. 

No offense taken, (nor do I intend disrespect towards you or any others), but I've seen hound-hunting of raccoons and bear performed over my 59 years on this earth, and that's all I need to form my personal opinion of it which is that there's little challenge to it - unless you are too out of shape to keep up with the dogs, but that's more about conditioning than skill.

As I said before, I am NOT a hunter. I am not a hunter because I don't even want to sit in a tree hoping to snipe a deer when I don't like the taste of the meat. I'd only eat wild animals if I had no other choice. I have no problem with people killing animals for meat, population control, or because of nuisance. My own sister hunts deer and turkey every season to help feed her and her husband for the year, and I have no problems with that. It's just not for me at this point in time.

[E4 No More]

7 hours ago, Omega said:

I believe you're talking about a different kind of legwork. If you stand hunt, you have to do your homework (legwork),  to find a good place to setup.  I don't (haven't done it seriously) bear hunt but I'd imagine it's more difficult finding one of them than it is to find a deer.  With dogs, as long as there are bears in the vicinity, they will find them for you, even though it may wear your soles out. 

That's exactly what I mean by legwork. You either set-up your stand and pray for a random deer to walk within range of you during the appropriate hours, or you scout the area to determine the most likely place you'll find a suitable deer to shoot during the appropriate hours. My understanding if that can take quite a while to perform.

[Johnny reb]

12 hours ago, E4 No More said:

That's exactly what I mean by legwork. You either set-up your stand and pray for a random deer to walk within range of you during the appropriate hours, or you scout the area to determine the most likely place you'll find a suitable deer to shoot during the appropriate hours. My understanding if that can take quite a while to perform.

You have to put the same into hunting with hounds. You can put as many hound s down as you want if you’re not in a place where the games at you’ve got nothing. You’ve got to put in the time and learn when and where whatever species your hunting is going to be. I really wish it was as easy as a lot of people think. 

[Chris]

Hunting w/ hounds is a very different but totally legitimate hunt. I've hunted bear, pig, mountain lion and leopard behind dogs and thoroughly enjoyed each hunt. It's true that as a hunter it requires significantly less skill on your part... Keep up and make one good shot... but it is a pure joy to watch a good houndsman and his pack go to work. There's an immense amount of skill and training that they bring to the table. For hunting the animals listed above, the hounds are simply the most efficient way to hunt them when baiting isn't allowed. As long as it's done ethically and legally, I encourage you to give it a try.