# ATTENTION BEAR HUNTING HOUNDSMAN



## Ruger67 (Apr 22, 2008)

Its been an interesting last week for me as a bear hunter hunting over bait. I've had a houndsman run off my baitstation three different times in the last week, and what a bunch of crap!! I can understand the first time just because he could have rigged the bear from the road and they ended up at the bait station. But now two more times, Hell I've pics of his dogs at the baitstation. The fish and game has been contacted but they need a license plate, and we hunt at night and work during the day so he's hard to catch. I will catch some of his dogs because I've got traps set out up the bottom he takes his dogs up, the funny thing is he's not just going right at the bait station now, he's going around and above the bait station and then coming down onto the station. I always thought they were hard workers but this has kind of changed my mind...


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## smokin577 (Apr 21, 2008)

Just Like all aspects of life one guy is not how every one does it. Houndsmen are supposed to be hard workers and are usually a proud bunch since they put so much time and effort into thier dogs. But not all of them have the same ethics, I use to hound awhile ago and had the mind set that if some one else was in the area I was in then I need to move so if they went south I went north. If there was bait I went some where else so the guy could get a chance to work off of his station. But this is only me and how I feel sorry for hardship and good luck.


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## muleman (Nov 9, 2007)

Unfortunetly, one fool makes all us houndsmen look bad.


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## Hound Inc. (Mar 31, 2008)

Did you ever stop and think that maybe he and probably a few other houndsmen are rigging your bait, not knowing that it is there. Here is a true story, I rigged a bear a few weeks ago, the bear was way up on a hill, bedded up, and the dogs struck hard, like they could see it, well later that afternoon after getting the dogs off the tree, some pric came and accused me of running off his bait. Anyways I know of atleast 3 others that had run bears off of the same point/canyon that week, and supposedly, (I never went to find out) but the bait was in the bottom of the canyon. A good rig dog can rig bears from a LONG ways away, so keep that in mind Ruger, maybe this dill weed walked his dogs in and dumped them, but trapping his dogs is a sure way to get your butt kicked. Good luck in your tree stand, how many bears have you seen?


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## HGD (Mar 5, 2008)

Are you on private property? And even if you are why are setting traps for the dogs? To me thats animal cruelity, and you need either to get a grip. move or catch the guy and talk to him. You know there is enough problems with tree huggers without this kind of stuff. All I'm trying to say is if he's breaking the law catch him not his dogs. It's not the dogs fault thier only doing what they do by nature..........just like you!


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## deadicatedweim (Dec 18, 2007)

What are the rules for setting your foot traps out on public land? If my bird dog found one of your traps I think I would settle that deal with her leg for your leg.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

Bad idea setting traps anywhere near a bait site, if you get caught by the F&G, you may have to convince a judge that it was dog and not bear you were after......and that might be a tough sell.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

deadicatedweim said:


> What are the rules for setting your foot traps out on public land? If my bird dog found one of your traps I think *I would settle that deal with her leg for your leg*.


+1000000000 :evil: If it is on public ground, what makes you think you own it? It might be tacky what is going on, but as far as I know it isn't illegal. Also like some have mentioned maybe they aren't aware of your bait station. Think a little before doing something drastic like trapping there dogs. :roll:


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## Hound Inc. (Mar 31, 2008)

I think setting traps out for the dogs is as illegal as fishing with dynamite, obviously this guy knows he is in the wrong or he would have piped up by know.


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## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2008)

We hunt at night ???????? :roll:


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## archerben (Sep 14, 2007)

> It might be tacky what is going on, but as far as I know it isn't illegal.


Actually, it is illegal to run dogs off of a bait. From the 2008 Bear Guidebook:

Page 21:


> (c) Bear lured to a bait station may not be taken with any firearm or the use of dogs.


Page 8:


> (24) "Take" means to:
> (a) hunt, pursue, harass, catch, capture, possess, angle, seine, trap or kill any protected wildlife; or
> (b) attempt any action referred to in Subsection (a).


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## Hound Inc. (Mar 31, 2008)

Hey there genious, we all know that you can't run dogs off the bait, but when we rigg a bait or the dogs find it how are we supposed to stop that. Maybe you archers can run ahead of a dog and watch what they are doing. This crack head is mad because he sits above a bait he has worked his butt off to get there, and nothing comes in when he does, and last time I checked it was illegal to hunt a 1/2 hour before and a half hour after light. I wouldn't sit above bait to hunt a bear ever, waste of time, and I have never had to, good luck with that bow.


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## archerben (Sep 14, 2007)

Apparantly you didn't read jahan's post. I will quote it for you again:



> It might be tacky what is going on, but *as far as I know it isn't illegal*.


Obviously you don't all know that it is illegal, and some even need a reminder every now and then. I understand that a hound could come across a bait during a chase, and I do not condone the setting of traps for the dogs. However, from what the OP has stated, it sure sounds like this particular houndsman is definitely running his dogs off of the OPs bait, and that is both illegal and unethical.


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## Hound Inc. (Mar 31, 2008)

The only way the F&G can prosecute you is if they watch you, or a game cam witnesses you actually walking the dogs into the bait, if your dogs bark, or trail in without you there, the F&G can't do a dang thing. I don't baitm I don't have to, and if by chance one of my dogs ever ends up in a foot hold, well that very well could be the last time they bowhunted.
-Happy hunting.


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## WasatchOutdoors (Sep 26, 2007)

Hound Inc. said:


> The only way the F&G can prosecute you is if they watch you, or a game cam witnesses you actually walking the dogs into the bait, if your dogs bark, or trail in without you there, the F&G can't do a dang thing. I don't baitm I don't have to, and if by chance one of my dogs ever ends up in a foot hold, well that very well could be the last time they bowhunted.
> -Happy hunting.


Wow, that's funny. Hey Hound Inc. Technically if I take an animal out of season, or break the law while hunting, the only way I can be prosecuted is if F&G watches me or someone reports it, but hey, I still have to live with the knowledge of it. Your own ethics, or apparrent lack thereof, should tell you that the first time you run your hounds accidentally through someones bait station, you should take note of it, and then stay the hell clear of it in the future. For you to defend some guy who REPEATEDLY has his hounds running through someone elses area, illegally and unethically speaks volumes. I'm pretty sure the guy who's hunting the bait has no intention of actually trapping the dogs, but is venting about the fact that some unethical slob of a houndsman has repeatedly run through an area he's worked his butt off to be able to hunt.

So while I'm not condoning it in any way, technically if a dog ended up in a foot hold trap, not necessarily on a bait but in the vicinity, it probably couldn't be prosecuted unless F&G actually saw who placed those traps right? That's basically the weight of your argument isn't it? Seriously, we both know you're better than that, and we all know that the guy running the hounds is doing something pretty crappy.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

Archerben, thanks for the clarification.


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## CP1 (Oct 1, 2007)

We had the same problem this year! Some Jerk Off who knows who he is( we do to) stated he cut a track on public and his dogs ran onto the private land we were hunting. The dogs found our legally posted & private bait sights. Well little did the Dumb A houndsman know that a couple of cameras caught all of his acts( starting dogs off of a bait and trespassing)! 2 Times his dogs ran through the baits while the hunters were in the stands and numerous times while they were out! Needless to say the hunters both killed good bears and had a good time- BUT- the land owner is pissed and has said next year if this Dumb A houndsman shows up he will be looking for motion-less dog collars not connected to a dog,(who knows where the dogs will end up maybe as bait) and be tress passing while doing it! Dogs mostly only tree small bears so saying hunting over bait with a bow is a waste of time has no merit! Archerben knows this- he killed one of the biggest bears in the US, over bait and with a bow!


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

CP1 said:


> Dogs mostly only tree small bears


I don't necessarily agree with you there.......here is one we took last year that green scored 21 3/8.....easily big enough to qualify for Boone and Crockett.



















There are plenty of other examples of big bear taken with dogs too.

I sympathize with the bait hunter who had hounds run through his bait station. But at the same time, if you set a bait station up near a road where houndsman frequent, good chance their dogs are going to rig any bear coming into your bait and they're going to trail through your bait station. It's not unlike setting up a tree stand over a water hole next to a road and then getting mad when a couple 4 wheelers show up at a inopportune time and spook the game......it's just a matter of time. The farther you get off the road, the less likely you are to be bothered.

It'd be nice if we could all have the hills to ourselves during hunting season, but unfortunately that's not the case. But there are things you can do to help minimize any conflicts.


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