Hound Packs

[old dog 210]

Im not one for stiring it up ,but i've read what's the best pack around,and it's getting a bit boring,so what's the worst pack you have seen,mounted or foot i don't care,granted they should not be named but maybe they would pick themselves up and sort it out, i'll start it of the worst pack i have seen is the glamorgan,i have seen them going over the last 7 seasons,and there would'nt be many hounds ,whips huntsmen or masters going home that night ,they would have one of the best countries to hunt over and yet they don't take advantage of it ,the reason for it is they are all for the horse side of it, rather than the hound side, which it should be,its a pityfull site to watch to be honest,but they are not alone in that respect ,there are a few mounted packs that have the same attitude,and as for some of the foot packs WELL THERE YOU GO

i wonder how many will say it as it is?

[banterno1 8]

I agree local hunt beside me here in Northern Ireland is al bout the horses an gettin seen the hounds are shite

[R.A.W 1,987]

In the defense of the mounted packs They are more horse orientated because that's whats helps to keep the money rolling in be it from the cap or the wealthy mounted masters. Most huntsmen are under alot of pressure from both sides at the moment and frankly i'm not surprised some chose the easy option. Which is very sad indeed

 

I believe that the true future of hunting is in smaller private packs run by keen amateurs that do it for the love of hounds and the unique way they go about there work. That said not every man can hunt hounds no matter how keen It takes special kind of understanding of your prey,charges,conditions,terrain and that without being a politician and secretary . In the short time I've been obsessed I've seen people come and go thinking It's all too easy .

 

If i'm completely honest I haven't watch many mounted packs but there has been times when I was taken back by the lack of control in local mounted pack. The hounds were running with the field while the huntsman was trying to draw the valley bottom. That said there's a few private packs out there that think they're are better than what they are .

 

Great thread od It'll be interesting to see how this one pans out.

[bbs 26]

went out a few times with one local pack what a pile hounds couldent find a fox in a barel

but loads of horse typs galaping accros the mountain aint fore me lads

give me a small gun pack any day thay produce results

my usual pack are flying naw

keep hunting

[francolin 449]

Glad your not in a stiring mood od ha ha, do agree the mounted packs have to keep the field happy so don't always use there country to full potential but somebody will atb.

[Bootsha 1,306]

A lot, if not most of the small / footmounted packs are self funding.

 

Mostly by the boys who do the hunting and terrierwork and the myriad of other tasks that go on behind the scenes that most people dont see, (and often are blissfully unaware of)

 

. The Farmers Hunt packs are supported by donations from local farmers and supporters.

 

These smaller packs are judged on performance alone, they must control foxes in an efficient manner, to do that you need good hounds, good discipline in the pack and a good huntsman at the helm.

 

Bullshit and waffle wont kill foxes, when the hounds are loosed at the meet is when reallity begins and the world of fantasy ends.

 

Results is whats needed when doing fox control, simple as...................................... you get a good pack of hounds that are hunting as a pack for their huntsman, you'll kill foxes............ all the "field" be they on horses or the doggedly determined foot followers will get their enjoyment as a result of this..... but good hard hunting, well mannered, determined hounds, with a good huntsman is the key to effective fox control regarding to this topic.

 

Just my opinion

 

B

[jeemes 3,547]

A lot, if not most of the small / footmounted packs are self funding.

 

Mostly by the boys who do the hunting and terrierwork and the myriad of other tasks that go on behind the scenes that most people dont see, (and often are blissfully unaware of)

 

. The Farmers Hunt packs are supported by donations from local farmers and supporters.

 

These smaller packs are judged on performance alone, they must control foxes in an efficient manner, to do that you need good hounds, good discipline in the pack and a good huntsman at the helm.

 

Bullshit and waffle wont kill foxes, when the hounds are loosed at the meet is when reallity begins and the world of fantasy ends.

 

Results is whats needed when doing fox control, simple as...................................... you get a good pack of hounds that are hunting as a pack for their huntsman, you'll kill foxes............ all the "field" be they on horses or the doggedly determined foot followers will get their enjoyment as a result of this..... but good hard hunting, well mannered, determined hounds, with a good huntsman is the key to effective fox control regarding to this topic.

 

Just my opinion

 

B

It depends whether you are talking about hunting hounds killing foxes or Hounds being used to flush to a gun. There can be nothing has demoralising to a pack than having its quarry gunned down from under its nose in full cry. A pack in blood goes best of all and a pack that continually fails gets less likely to be good as time goes on. Fox Hunting and Fox control are two diffrent things.

[Bootsha 1,306]

as we all know mate, it is only legal to use two hounds at present to flush foxes to guns, that is the law.

 

So i am referring to that, but two hard hunting determined hounds will find and flush to the waiting guns better than two who dont give a f**k.

 

Fox Hunting as we knew it is now banned, and has been for a number of years, fox control using hounds done in compliance with the new law isnt, you work out which you think i'm referring to

[jeemes 3,547]

as we all know mate, it is only legal to use two hounds at present to flush foxes to guns, that is the law.

 

So i am referring to that, but two hard hunting determined hounds will find and flush to the waiting guns better than two who dont give a f**k.

 

Fox Hunting as we knew it is now banned, and has been for a number of years, fox control using hounds done in compliance with the new law isnt, you work out which you think i'm referring to

Ok

[neil cooney 10,415]

A lot of lads (especially terriermen ) think that hounds marking is what it's all about. Some other lads think good hound work is hounds putting foxes out of covert to either be shot , coursed or marked and dug.

Mongerals can do all these things, often as well as pure bred hounds.

But hound work at it's best is when hounds stick to their line from start to finish in proper country. This might take hours over many miles.

So IMO for a fox to be hunted properly from point to point over many miles only a mounted pack can do this.

I'm not talking about the large circle a hare usually takes or a fox running in circles.

I've seen 12 and 14 mile points on stag and a 9 mile point on fox. I've seen hounds pull him down fair and square after a 1 hour 10 minute, 5 mile point. That's good hound work.

But when it comes to mounted packs they can also be the worst.

I know one famous pack that was near destroyed by a hunts man who lost his bottle. Another pack I know of was asked by a visitor why they kept passing coverts and the visitor was told that the only reason hounds were out was because of insurance reasons, ie. if hounds were left at home it would then be a cross country chase and they weren't covered for that.

And I know another pack of harriers who have a map made out for the day before they move off. If their pilot takes them off their route they stop and change direction.

But IMO mounted packs often have a reputation for accommodating the horsey crowd before the hounds but if you get a combination of a pack with a great hunting past and true hunting people in charge it's the best hound work there is.

Apart from a good day on the river that is, LOL.

[old dog 210]

I have followed a few foot packs neil,watched some real good hunts,many a time i have walked between 5-10 miles and found hounds marking or just finishing of they're reward (mind you on the odd time i have been picked up by a passing jeep) i have'nt seen any of the local mounted packs having these sort of runs,if the hounds have hunted 20 -30 minutes ten bad checks in that time,you walk passed a follower and he'd say that was a bloody good hunt,(but they lost the fox)he ran the road,he crossed the river,to many sheep on the fields,yea yea yea,i had one mounted huntsman tell me that my hounds should'nt run that far ,asking why,he said your a foot pack,my answer was these are foxhounds to mate

[perthshire keeper 1,237]

ive been out with 5 of the 6 fell packs since i was 7 and their is some IN MY OPINION better than others, i think the eskdale and ennerdale are one of the best,not only do they hunt well but the master,huntsman and whips are all freinds and good lads not stuck up their own arses (mr toddhunter take note). ive rode to hounds a few times and ive only ever been out once on what i would call a fox hunt when rideing! ime courting a couple of horsey lasses at the min and they both ride to hounds and one did not even now she was realy hunting foxes! so that says a lot!

i think for a rideing day go with a mounted pack pay your cap and enjoy

if you want a good day good craic and see some top class hounds and hound work go with a fell pack

if you want to see foxes killed go with a gun pack or vermin club

i had my own hounds for a while (not a lot and not for long!) it was 4 and a half couple of fell cross trial hound (and a godforsaken beagle!) and used them for hunting/finding/moveing foxes to guns they were to kill foxes in any way they could, i also used them to move deer to guns too..some thing they were very good at

[neil cooney 10,415]

I hear ya Old Dog,

I've never been out with any of the Fell packs so I can't comment on them. I have however read nearly everything about them that's ever been written so I do know good, proper long hunts are not unusual.

I also know of a registered pack of beagles that have been known quiet regularly to pull her down after 3 and 4 hour hunts. I also know lifelong beaglers who tell me that this cannot be done. In fact, a fellow who was 27 years in professional hunt service once told me that it's impossible for a pack of beagles to kill a hare.

Some folk go through life following hounds and never see further than the end of their nose.

Another thing is that people can often be very loyal to their local pack and wont hear a bad word said about them, no matter how bad they are.

I can only compare hounds on what I've seen with my own two eyes and I've been very lucky enough to have learned a lot from a man who's considered a legend in the game and has 55 years of hunt service behind him.

He always called a spade a spade and was perhaps as critical of his own hounds as any. But boy, were they good. They still are.

One hunt always springs to mind when I remember them and measure them against other packs.

 

At the meet one day an ol' boy walked up the road to inform us that he had a fox in his garden and would we like to hunt it.

So we moved off and this fox was soon on the move.

Scent was brilliant and to cut a long story short this fox was marked and given best 40 minutes later.

"Only 40 minutes" I hear you say.

This was nearly 6 miles away and it took us that evening 3 hours to fence. Now 3 hours to fence what was a 40 minute hunt shouldn't make sense but that's how much they went through.

Hounds never checked once and it's a fact that a few horses that were in the field that day finished their season that day, and this was before Christmas.

That's how I measure a hunt.

 

I've heard people after hunts saying that they had a 2 hour this and a 3 hour that but they usually forget that the field might have been sitting at the side of a covert for anything up to an hour at a time.

JMHO.

Edited October 23, 2013 by neil cooney

[gonetoearth 5,144]

Hunting with hounds now theres a contensious subject some people will follow but not understand , ive hunted with fell , mounted, and gun packs , bobbery packs , all in pursuit of charles ,over many years and many counties throught the uk , old english, hunt differant to modern , welsh different to fells, to castagate any pack on a days is not only foolish but disripecful to the huntsman and his hounds , there is more to hunting than turning up , Some want results some wanted sport, some woulnt no what had gone on all day even if they had a running commentary lol

[Accip74 7,112]

Gonetoearth, I've only ever been out with one foot pack, the lunesdale, how would you of rated them in there day? Compared to the other lakes packs?