Hunting Jan 4, 2006 10AM
Busch Wildlife Area

Huntsman: Eleanor Hartwell
Whips: Gene Deutch, Lee Deutch, John Korenak, Jill Wagenknecht, Lil Lewis
Field: Werner Kugler, Jean Mutrux, Sue Marshall, Leslie Ayers, Leslie Granger, Tess (professional)

13 ½ couple Hounds: Caleb, Dreadnaught, Tanker, Tidings, Wanda, Kestrel, Things, Jive, Patton, Scooter, Stroller, Vice, Versa, Sentry, Symbol, Tracker, Jackson, Jingo, Julep. 2005 entry Nailer, Necktie, Nuance, Racer, Welcome, Wonder

GPS readings 15.64 miles 2 hrs 08 minutes moving 1hr 13 minutes stopped.
Max speed 24.1 mph
Moving average 6.1 mph

Temperature was steady at 40 degrees, climbed to 42 degrees and then dropped back down to 41 deg. F. We started a little before 10AM and returned at 1:15PM. Barometric pressure was rising, it was overcast all day, making photos difficult. Humidity was high and dropped a little as the day progressed. The ground was quite muddy from the recent rains. Winds were mostly from the WNW at 8-11 MPH. It was really windy when I picked up my horse in the morning but fortunately the winds settled some.

We started off from Lake 33 East toward Hwy 40. There were a few beagle hunters out and we were trying to avoid them. We started off and the hounds weren’t finding much of anything. I watched Julep run a rabbit in frustration but she pulled herself off of it before too long. There were a lot of deer and the hounds were stupendous about not going after them. We could hear the beagle pack that was also hunting that day must have kicked up a rabbit as we could hear them going strong in circles close by. We headed south to move away from them and had just turned down one of the smaller dirt roads when John called in on the radio that he had viewed a Coyote. It was 11:30AM. Eleanor asked him to give a View Halloa and we could hear him hollering to the southwest of us. The hounds picked right up and headed his way and shortly you could hear them pick up the line and start speaking. As we turned, Sue Marshall lost her stirrup leather and she and Leslie Ayers stayed back. We ran behind Eleanor and as we crossed this creek, Wakeyan leaped down the drop and over a log and Eleanor dropped her horn. The field held up and Tess and Jean jumped off to retrieve the lost horn. After Tess found it and managed to get back on her 17H mount we were off again and caught up with Eleanor quickly. Lee was on the radio saying the hounds had gone to the archery range. We headed that way and stopped at the edge of the range. We could hear the hounds going strong and speaking wonderfully. We later found out that Lee had gotten off to extricate her horse from a vine wrapped around her leg. When she got the vine loose, the horse took off without her and she had to ask some fisherman to help her locate her horse. Fortunately they had seen her and she was able to be reunited.

The hounds came out of the archery range and we were standing on a road nearby. Lee was ahead of us and Jill was behind us. Then Eleanor Tallyho’s as a coyote run across the road on the other side of Lee. Off we went again. We followed the hounds until they became stationary in a heavy cedar thicket. Eleanor thought maybe the coyote had gone to ground. She went in on here horse while we waited on the road but could not account for anything. By now it was 12:40PM which meant that the hounds had run that coyote for an hour and 10 minutes. Eleanor started calling hounds and we headed back to the trailers.

Gene brought sandwiches, chips, and Danish and set them up on a picnic table in the parking lot. The wind had kicked up and it was feeling colder so no one hung around too long. Three more hounds returned while we were eating, so only one hound (Things) was still out when I left.