- Joined
- Dec 1, 2015
- Messages
- 530
- Reaction score
- 616
We can use hounds here in NM, but it is a dying sport. And the "environmentalists" have pressured the game and fish to limit the harvest. A few years back my buddy and I spotted 10 bears in 10 days. I never had any desire to hunt them until then. My buddy shot 4 in a row in the Black Range of the Gila. They and other predators are the reason we don't see many deer these days. Of course the reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf doesn't help. I shot a spring bear on the Valle Vidal once, and it was some of the best meat I've ever eaten. It had 4" of fat on its back. That bear fat makes your hands as soft as a baby's. I rendered the fat and gave it to a friend for his saddle leather. My buddy had good luck once calling one in with a distressed rabbit call. A 30 minute hunt. Bears will be where the food is (or water in a dry year). During a drought, I spotted 3 bears from an overlook of a spring. Hunting with dogs is mostly about the dogs, and is a joy to watch. For them, it is a serious thing. Bears don't always tree, sometimes they fight, and sometimes they kill a dog or two.
