“Dang it, Rimfire“, Rye fumed, “you get more like Cuz everyday”
I have to say, Rye was hot under the collar after I missed a rabbit in thick brush just off the logging road that Rye was standing on.
“At least Cuz pretends not to see you when he cuts you off“, Rye continued, “ you just wave as you go by“. We were hunting in Fort Mitchell on Sunday afternoon. I usually don’t hunt Sunday’s because I don’t like to miss worship services, but the “boys” said lets wait till one o’clock so that Rimfire can go with us. Sounded good, but I’m afraid the true reason was it was forecast to rain with thunderstorms until noon.

Anyway, we had a nice crowd with two teats on the hunt, Trevor and Alec.
Alec didn't get a shot, but Trevor did. Trevor is a old hunting hand who killed a huge buck this year that I had hunted without sucess for a couple of years. I do think that I will make sure that I have a spare vest the next time. It just ain't right for a "kid" to have a "elder sportsman" carry his rabbit for him, though djmed probably has some more dues, not to mention years, to be paid before he, himself, can claim such an exalted status.


I’ve been fussing about the “girls”, but I wish you could have been on this hunt. There wasn’t any quit in them. In fact, they ran two of the most outstanding races of the year on this hunt.

On two different occasions before dark, someone caught Lucy and got her off the trail only to set her down on the theory that she would follow them on out. Bad theory, she just slipped back into the woods and continued to hunt
Brag finally had to go to where Lucy was trailing, well after dark and tote her out.

Thinwater says that his Rule #1 for hunters involves rubber boots. I was wishing I had a pair of them when I crossed the creek for the third time, but they were back in the pathfinder with my rain jacket.
I would like to add rope to that list of Thinwater’s. One thing Cuz always fussed at us about was making sure we had a piece of rope. Nothing like trying to lead a dog with your belt while trying to hold up your pants and chaps with your free hand.
Eh, Cuz?
Like most “rules”, the prime culprit in violating them is the formulator of the “rules” .

Brag had a hot hand yesterday, accounting for four of the six rabbits killed. He killed one with the third shot from his double barrel as it swam down the creek. Good to know I’m not the only one that needs multiple shots.


Standing in the jump area and waiting for them to circle back didn’t work yesterday. These were big buck rabbits that ran long straight trails before trying to lose the hounds in water and, maybe, coming back.
No field sager tricks of small circles for these big rabbits.

As the sun sank below the tops of the pines, we worked our way back to the trucks. The dogs jumped and the rabbit headed right back to the creek area that was a large swampy spot, crisscrossed with ditches, wet weather creeks and a couple of dry weather ones. It was then that the eight dogs split up into two packs running two different rabbits. Lucy and Cuz’s lady took one rabbit back across the creek while Kate, Dixie, Julie, Mystery ( who though a tiny dog ran with Kate most of the day, not only keeping up, but at times straightening out the trail), Cuz’s Precious and Lacey (by way of Uncle NoPass) ran a rabbit a long way, crossing a road, several ditches and creeks. Of the human hunters, only Brag, Dewayne and myself made the trip.

They ended up running in tall pines with thick underbrush as the shooting light faded out. The rabbit must have passed, unseen, less than fifteen yards in front of me.

After crossing the road again, that pack split and began running two rabbits. Kate and Mystery on one, Precious, Julie, Dixie and Lacey on the other.

Dewayne fired three rapid shots that missed the rabbit’s shadow crossing the white sand road, but we were finally able to cut off the dogs and forced them back to the vehicles.
It was like herding cats. They kept smelling some interesting smells and trying to get into the bushes to investigate. Precious disappeared as we got near the trucks, but turned up by the time djmed, Brag and myself came out with Lucy.
It was after nine before I got home, then I had to feed and tend to the “girls”.
No paint brush for me last night



Final score
Brag 4 No brag just fact. He’s a good shot and a good rabbit hunter. Heck he should be. He was trained by his grandfather, Uncle NoPass.
Rimfire 1
Trevor 1