2/20/2011 - Milton, VT

Date of hunt: 2/20/2011
Location: Milton, VT
Weather: Sunny/Cold
Temperature: 10 °F (Start) 16°F (End)
Dogs of mine: Belvidere Bailey & Wild Seasons Mountain Snickers
# of Rabbits Ran: 1
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

I had another opportunity to get out for a hunt this afternoon. I decided to try out the farm again to see if I could find another hare. Hopefully I didn't shoot the last one last weekend. The warm weather this past week had melted a lot of snow and then refroze. It was hard and grainy with about a 1/16 of an inch of loose powdery snow on top. This was just enough to see tracks on the snow. Inside the softwoods there was still about 2 feet of snow, but the snowshoes were staying on top very easily. Every now and then as I got close to some small balsams or blown down trees I would sink through up to my knees or further.

It took about an hour of walking and circling to find the first track, but it was old. I kept the dogs in the area and Snickers got the start. Bailey rushed in and joined her and they took off together on a straight line to the east. The hare made its first turn towards the south and Bailey missed it. She checked, but the Garmin confirmed that she was working her check and making cirlces around where she lost out. This is a confirmation of the improvement Bailey has made over the years as she used to be so scent hungry that if she lost out on the rabbit she was running she would just run off and look for any scent at all, and not the one she just lost. She would pick up on the scent and run it and then check, run it some more than check. Bailey was the only one barking, and I was beginning to worry a bit about where Snickers was. There are a lot of coyote tracks around the area and I was hoping nothing had happened to her. The interstate was about a half a mile from me but the GPS was confirming that Bailey didn't go near it, and I was hoping that Snickers stuck close to Bailey as she ran. As I waited on top of a snow covered ball of roots from a downed tree Bailey kept working closer. Her checks became more frequent and longer. I was getting very cold and impatient. Every time Bailey would open up another adrenaline rush would keep me waiting and looking, but nothing appeared. After a really long check I called in the dogs and headed back toward the truck.

The number of rabbit tracks in the area where I was standing is a good sign of the number of hare in the area. As my Grandfather always said "a hare can track up a swamp in a night" I am cautiously optimistic about the number of hare in the area. On the way back to the truck I found three more thickets of low growth balsams with a lot of tracks. Bailey and Snickers opened up once but never found the hot line. On the last covey of tracks Bailey opened up a again but didn't find the line there either. The scent conditions were really tough today, but I felt the day was successful as I know that there are plenty of hare in the area, and that Bailey has definitely improved over the years. I feel confident now that I have a good hound and look forward to even better hunts in the future.

Once we got home I looked over Snickers and Bailey and found that the rough snow tore up Bailey's feet pretty good. I applied some topical antibiotic cream to her toes and a cut on her lower leg to help the healing. They enjoyed their treat of warm Alpo and retired to their dog house.

Garmin Astro stats: 5.50mi, 2.10mph, 2hrs 8min.

The video below is the Google Earth Tour of the hunt. The track is downloaded from the Garmin Astro DC40 collar on Bailey's neck. It isn't the complete hunt, but an interesting view of the hunt.