A Good Day with a New Digging Friend

[bshadle 5]

Perfect day for digging. Partly cloudy, 58 degrees at 9a.m., calling for a high of 70. What a day for the middle of June.

 

Beth K drove down from NY today for a hunt on Pa ‘hogs. Brought four dogs – Emma, Tara, Toby and Milk. I took Dot. Had several fields lined up, wanted to make sure we found quarry.

 

Ten minutes from home and we parked at the first field. Beth started with Toby. Walked along the edge of a new bean field and checked a hole the farmer swears holds a hog. As often as I’ve checked it with the dog and gunning there’s never been anything home there and this morning was no exception. We headed north about a hundred yards to a line between two fields loaded with holes. Both Toby and Dot liked the first sette we came on. They took turns entering, Toby settled in, we got a mark at two and a half feet, and we started to dig. Part way down the ‘hog bolted and started to climb a tree. Beth tailed it, a young one, and a quick dispatch followed by a short rag for the dogs.

 

 

Moved another fifty yards down the row and on to another sette. Dot and Toby both liked this one too and took turns checking it out. Toby settled in again, this time at three feet. We dug again, but this one was dug in pretty good. Beth went back to the truck for Milk, a larger terrier, for some assistance. Short while later, Milk pulled the hog, another youngster, and a quick dispatch.

 

 

 

Been out for less than two hours by now, two digs and two ‘hogs.

 

 

Took the picture, and looked for Dot. She was another fifty yards down the row checking a third sette. Toby and Milk soon joined her, and all three dogs like this one. Unfortunately. This one was a four-eye sette wrapped around and under an old stump and roots. Toby and Dot both entered different eyes and started baying. Got a mark this time at four feet.

 

This one was gonna be a little tougher. Beth took Toby back to the truck to get her secret weapon – Tara, who goes probably ten and a half inches and could probably be spanned by a ten-year old boy. Dot worked one eye, Milk blocked another, and I dug until she got back. Had to saw blocking roots twice, we pulled Dot and entered Tara. She was on one but the stump blocked the digging. We were going to have to sink a second hole on the other side of the stump. Started digging the second hole, and ran into the tangled roots again pretty quick. Sawed one then decided to make a quick trip back to the truck for PHDs. First time they’ve been out of the truck, but there wasn’t gonna be much other option on this dig. Finally got to it, and Milk pulled a second young one.

 

But Tara was still working. WTF? Probed the hole with a yoho and poked into another groundhog butt. Two in this one sette. Milk was too big to get in to the ‘hog’s back side, and this one was starting to take it to Tara. We pulled Milk and dropped Dot in the back side to take a little pressure off Tara

 

 

 

Had to work with the PHDs, yoho and scraper, but finally opened enough to get to the hog. Pulled Dot and tried to tail it out, but it was going nowhere. Dropped Milk in the hole, and he couldn’t budge it. Finally pulled Milk, shaved the side enough to get the bar on the ‘hog, and made a quick dispatch. Pulled it and it was an adult female, probably the momma of the first one we pulled from the sette.

 

 

Getting these two took about two and a half hours of digging, but we finished up the day with four ‘hogs on three digs over about four hours. And only covered about a hundred and fifty yards of hedgerow. There’s still over another quarter mile or so to go.

 

 

Gave the dogs a break while we backfilled, and headed back to the truck for a short drive home. Stopped for take-out Italian on the way and had a relaxed dinner and conversation on the deck. Debbie and Beth enjoyed their chat as much as I enjoyed digging with her.

 

She’s one knowledgeable hunter with impressive dogs, and a heck of a digging woman. Had a great time, learned a lot and looking forward to doing it again.

[PBurns 9]

Good to see Beth in the field. We dug nearly every weekend for a year, and she's a grand gal. Know Ema well, and saw Tara as a pup and adolescent.

 

Patrick

[Pipey Magregor 0]

Excellent mate, good pics you've managed to grab there aswell.

[bshadle 5]

I usually go out alone, but am finding out that two people hunting together give you a whole lot more options than when you're by yourself. Being able to take decent pictures is only one of 'em.

[Pipey Magregor 0]

Yeah I like abit of the photograhpy myself, here's a black and white pic of a neighbours Staff I took.

 

[deerhound working 3]

Perfect day for digging. Partly cloudy, 58 degrees at 9a.m., calling for a high of 70. What a day for the middle of June.

 

Beth K drove down from NY today for a hunt on Pa ‘hogs. Brought four dogs – Emma, Tara, Toby and Milk. I took Dot. Had several fields lined up, wanted to make sure we found quarry.

 

Ten minutes from home and we parked at the first field. Beth started with Toby. Walked along the edge of a new bean field and checked a hole the farmer swears holds a hog. As often as I’ve checked it with the dog and gunning there’s never been anything home there and this morning was no exception. We headed north about a hundred yards to a line between two fields loaded with holes. Both Toby and Dot liked the first sette we came on. They took turns entering, Toby settled in, we got a mark at two and a half feet, and we started to dig. Part way down the ‘hog bolted and started to climb a tree. Beth tailed it, a young one, and a quick dispatch followed by a short rag for the dogs.

 

 

Moved another fifty yards down the row and on to another sette. Dot and Toby both liked this one too and took turns checking it out. Toby settled in again, this time at three feet. We dug again, but this one was dug in pretty good. Beth went back to the truck for Milk, a larger terrier, for some assistance. Short while later, Milk pulled the hog, another youngster, and a quick dispatch.

 

 

 

Been out for less than two hours by now, two digs and two ‘hogs.

 

 

Took the picture, and looked for Dot. She was another fifty yards down the row checking a third sette. Toby and Milk soon joined her, and all three dogs like this one. Unfortunately. This one was a four-eye sette wrapped around and under an old stump and roots. Toby and Dot both entered different eyes and started baying. Got a mark this time at four feet.

im on my way outstanding story

This one was gonna be a little tougher. Beth took Toby back to the truck to get her secret weapon – Tara, who goes probably ten and a half inches and could probably be spanned by a ten-year old boy. Dot worked one eye, Milk blocked another, and I dug until she got back. Had to saw blocking roots twice, we pulled Dot and entered Tara. She was on one but the stump blocked the digging. We were going to have to sink a second hole on the other side of the stump. Started digging the second hole, and ran into the tangled roots again pretty quick. Sawed one then decided to make a quick trip back to the truck for PHDs. First time they’ve been out of the truck, but there wasn’t gonna be much other option on this dig. Finally got to it, and Milk pulled a second young one.

 

But Tara was still working. WTF? Probed the hole with a yoho and poked into another groundhog butt. Two in this one sette. Milk was too big to get in to the ‘hog’s back side, and this one was starting to take it to Tara. We pulled Milk and dropped Dot in the back side to take a little pressure off Tara

 

 

 

Had to work with the PHDs, yoho and scraper, but finally opened enough to get to the hog. Pulled Dot and tried to tail it out, but it was going nowhere. Dropped Milk in the hole, and he couldn’t budge it. Finally pulled Milk, shaved the side enough to get the bar on the ‘hog, and made a quick dispatch. Pulled it and it was an adult female, probably the momma of the first one we pulled from the sette.

 

 

Getting these two took about two and a half hours of digging, but we finished up the day with four ‘hogs on three digs over about four hours. And only covered about a hundred and fifty yards of hedgerow. There’s still over another quarter mile or so to go.

 

 

Gave the dogs a break while we backfilled, and headed back to the truck for a short drive home. Stopped for take-out Italian on the way and had a relaxed dinner and conversation on the deck. Debbie and Beth enjoyed their chat as much as I enjoyed digging with her.

 

She’s one knowledgeable hunter with impressive dogs, and a heck of a digging woman. Had a great time, learned a lot and looking forward to doing it again.

outstanding story would love to have been there well told felt like i was there myself well done

[woodga 170]

an excellent do out and as you have said still plenty more of that hedge left to work i enjoyed that read and felt as though i was in on the action well done to you both

[Guest WILF]

an excellent do out and as you have said still plenty more of that hedge left to work i enjoyed that read and felt as though i was in on the action well done to you both

 

Ditto

[bones 0]

Great job Mr. Shadle. You a dutchman?

[bshadle 5]

Great job Mr. Shadle. You a dutchman?

As in "Pennsylvania Dutch", then yeah. Both parents trace back to Germany, Dad's came here in the 1750s, Mom's around 1830s. The original spelling was Schaedel, or Schadel if an American keyboard would let you put an umlaut over the "a".

 

Parents and especially grandparents were fluent in Pa Dutch dialect and still have some of the older relatives that "tock chust a little bit fonny" in English. Funny thing is, growing up as a kid the anti-German sentiment was still so strong following WWII that my family insisted we were not German, but Dutch as in Netherlands Dutch. Wasn't until years later doing some genealogical research that I finally discovered the truth.

[Fletcher 0]

Excellent post, thanks.

[bshadle 5]

Just trying to pay back for all the times over the winter when I was coming up empty and you folks over there made me feel like I was on the moors and fells "protecting gamebirds" with you.

 

Good to see Beth in the field. We dug nearly every weekend for a year, and she's a grand gal. Know Ema well, and saw Tara as a pup and adolescent.

 

Patrick

She's one hard-workin' woman and is welcome here anytime she wants. Tara, actually Terra but I spell the names the way I hear 'em until corrected, is one impressive dog too. She worked those two 'hogs for a good two hours straight and took a couple nips in the process but stuck right with 'em. The second one probably out-weighed her by a pound or two. Hard to beat a dedicated 10" dog in a tight sette.

[highlander 0]

Well done mate.

 

Regards highlander

[tornado 0]

Great pics!!! Love the little commentary letting us know what was happening, felt a little like I was there

[bshadle 5]

Yeah I like abit of the photograhpy myself, here's a black and white pic of a neighbours Staff I took.

That one might've come in handy on that last momma 'hog. At one point I had her by both hind legs and tail, and she wasn't budging.

 

I do want to give a big "Thanks" to the folks on this board. Some of you have provided direct advice, and more have posted their hunting stories that gave me a lot of insight into this sport. Without the help you've provided the dogs might still be tearing apart stuffed toys for sport when they weren't serving as lap-warmers.