"Home of REAL Treedogs"

Hello to all the faithful readers of FULL CRY and my column Out & About! What an exciting season we are going to have this year. I am already getting all geared up as squirrel season is getting ready to go full swing here in my great state of Indiana. I can tell the excitement is being shared by friends and hunting companions that I have met all across the state. I am getting calls weekly from friends to see if hunting arrangements can be made and leafs are not even off the trees yet! It has been a long summer and I am ready for some good old tree dog action as I am sure most of you folks reading this are too. Well I pulled the bass boat in the yard the other day and cleaned it up getting it ready for its winter hibernation. Now that squirrel season is upon us, it will be time to focus on the dogs and put away the fishing rods! I will have to apologize to the readers that last months column of Out and About was not in the August issue, I cut the deadline way short and apparently it did not make it to the printer in time. I am cutting this one short as well but I hope it makes it in along with the August column that was missed last month. I have talked with several folks over the last couple of months, the letters have slowed down but the calls keep coming. I love to talk dogs, my wife will say I live to talk dogs, but that’s not the case I also like to talk bass fishing (ha-ha). My good friend and hunting partner Jacob Jump gets the bug early every year. It seems when June rolls around he getting prepared for squirrel season. Just as a deer hunter may scout the woods for deer sign Jacob is making preparation for the upcoming squirrel season. Jacob keeps things interesting during the off season and we talk dogs almost every day of the week because we work together. I also am excited to announce a great competition hunt being put together for this December at Land between the Lakes. This hunt is the brain child of a great friend Larry Wilson who wanted to bring something new to the sport. I asked Larry to give me some insight about himself and the upcoming hunt that is in the works, so Larry e-mailed me not long ago, his e-mail is as follows:

I discovered the sport of competition squirrel hunting several years ago and got hooked right away. There are several things that caused this Sport to click with not only myself but my best friend (my wife) as Well. I am lucky to have a best friend who hunts, fishes and loves Squirrel dogs as much as I. Together, we started traveling over a multi-state Area attending as many competitions hunts as we could. We love the People in this sport and enjoy the fellowship of folks who share this common Interest. I am competitive by nature so I get a big thrill from the Hunt plus I thoroughly enjoy watching the dogs as they do what they do Best. I have been especially impressed with the number of varied groups and Organizations that have formed around our great country. We have Organizations devoted to the furtherance and preservation of particular types or breeds of dogs, such as the Original Mt. Cur Breeders Association.

We have organizations that are devoted to a general class of dog, such As the treeing cur or the feist. We have national registries, such as The NKC, UKC and PKC that promote squirrel hunting dogs in general. I do see one downside to all these separate entities and that is simply that they all tend to work within their given organizations, to the Exclusion of all others. I am not aware of any effort to establish some Form of bridge organization that unites all these groups into one voice to meet certain needs that a common to us all. Just think of the Additional political power we would have if we formed a united front to fight for our rights before state wildlife commissions, etc.

Out of that general concern for unity I have been working on a seed of Thought for a couple of years now. When I first started sharing my Thoughts in conversations and in various forums I did so out of largely Personal reasons. I had acquired what I believe to be a top quality Squirrel dog and was really feeling my oats. I floated the notion of having what I called the "Top Dog Shootout", where dogs of all types and from all registries and organizations were welcome. The idea was to have a Substantial entry fee, with all proceeds going to the top three winners. I believed my dog had a good chance of winning and this would give me extraordinary bragging rights. This hunt never took place but a much Better concept was born from it

A very good friend by the name of Greg Rader from Atwood, TN, added Some great suggestions to improve on my idea. Over a period of a year or So Greg and I have had many conversations centered around putting on a Competition hunt that would be designed to bring everyone in our sport Together once a year. From our collaboration several key components began to emerge. First, we wanted to do something that stood out and was unlike any other hunt. Second, we wanted to restrict entrants to dogs that have a proven record of accomplishments. In other words, we were looking for the best of the best. Third, we wanted a neutral event that was independent of all registries and organizations, yet inclusive of all of them. We hope we will accomplish this third goal by convincing the registries to take an active roll in sponsoring and supporting this Event. I would also add that it has never been our intent to impact in a manner the programs and competition titles of the registries. We see this as taking competition to the next level by bringing accomplished Dogs from all sources to compete for a super bowl type national title. Greg and I have established a five member board of governors to work Out the numerous details such as establishing rules for the hunt, etc.

The first order of business for the Board was to come up with a name for the event. We solicited suggestions through the Squirrel Dog Central Internet web site and ended up with a compromise that incorporated many of those suggestions. We settled on the name "2006 National Squirrel Dog Championship". The winner of this event will be crowned "Champion of Champions". It is our hope that this will be an annual event. Although the qualifications for the event are not set in stone I will Share what we have so far: In order to qualify a dog must have earned the title "Squirrel Champion" or greater in an established registry; or "World Champion" or "National Champion" of a registry; or the title "State Champion" provided a minimum of 30 dogs were entered in that event; or has been honored by an established squirrel hunting club as their "Dog of the Year".

Additionally, each registry will be allocated three Slots for outstanding dogs of their choosing.

The location of the first hunt will be at the Land between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL). LBL is large enough to accommodate an Event such as this and is as centrally located as reasonably possible. LBL Straddles the Kentucky Tennessee border in the western portion of both States. Anyone wishing to learn more about LBL may go online and simply Type in "LBL" into their search engine.

The date of the hunt and additional information will be published in The next couple of months. It is our hope that competition hunters and Registries will embrace this event and enthusiastically support it.

Anyone wishing to learn more may contact me at (615) 867-0844, Email: donnaandlarry@bellsouth.net or through Squirrel Dog Central. My SDC Name is "RamMan". Watch for our full page ad in Full Cry as well as every other possible outlet for promoting this event.

I talked with Larry in depth about this idea and hunt that he has planned for early December and I agreed to help him in any way I can. Like I have said before, I am for any function and or event that will promote fun and fellowship through the enjoyment of hunting and handling curs or feist dogs. So my hat is off to Larry and Greg for taking on a challenge such as this and I am sure it will be a worthwhile event. I encourage all to register and or attend, give Larry a call and ask how you can help. Much help is needed and appreciated. So you think you have what it takes? Bring it to this hunt to find out, I am sure the competition will be stiff and I know that I for one and looking forward to it!

I also spoke with Scott McDaniel of Rushville Indiana. Scott called me with interest of getting into Cur dogs. He told me that he had a Walker coon hound that would tree squirrels but is not what he would classify a “squirrel dog”. Scott tells me that he does not want to rush into anything and wants to do his homework before he decides to buy a cur or feist. I commend Scott for his patience and I am sure he will find that not rushing into buying a dog will payoff in the long run. I have invited him to go hunting with me this season, I will also introduce him to a few of the other cur dog men and women around our area so that he can get a good feel of the different stuff that is out there. I encourage all the folks out there that are new to the sport or thinking about getting into cur or feist, try to hunt with as many dogs as possible before making a decision. Check FULL CRY for a local competition hunt in your area and go and be a spectator on a cast. See what is out there and what best suits you and your hunting style. Because what one handler might like in a dog another handler may not. My dogs may not suit everyone, but the suit me just fine.

I am going to keep this month’s column short in hopes to get this one turned in on time for the September issue of FULL CRY. Everyone out there take care of themselves and each other and keep the dogs in the woods. Squirrel season is here and I am sure to see you Out and About.

Until Next time, KEEP LOOKIN UP!

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