And Jim and I had the pleasure of hunting with two very experienced rabbit hunters, Wendell McInnis and Melvin Watkins last Saturday on our hunting land in Ruby, South Carolina.
Wendell from Charlotte NC brought along his dogs and Melvin brought along the fire power. Jim and I both agreed that was one of the best pack of rabbit beagles that either of us had ever hunted rabbit with before. Wendell who is retired takes great pride in his beagles and he should, after watching these beagles run all day it was evident that Wendell has spent some long hours working with them and no doubt has done a great job training his dogs.
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| Wendell,Ripp,Jim,Melvin and Doc after a great hunt | Wendell working his dogs; Leggs,Sheba,Ripp and Little Bit |
The weather was perfect for a day walking in thick cover kicking up rabbits. It was cloudy, cool with on and off drizzles all day.When we arrived at our hunt camp around 8:30 AM that morning and turned the dogs out, it took about five minutes for the beagles to jump the first rabbit and the first run of the day was on ! From that moment on until about 4:30PM we did not stop. One rabbit after another was flushed out and at one point we jumped (3) rabbits at one time in a large briar thicket and dogs, hunter’s and rabbit’s were going everywhere. The rabbits were really hunkered down in thick cover that day and some literally ran out under our feet has we kicked them up from the brush piles making our way thru the thickets.
To me there is no more a pleasant sound in the outdoors than a pack of beagles chasing a rabbit across the country side, it sounds like a outdoor musical playing out with an occasional shotgun blast that brings an end to that run. And to watch a masterful owner work his dogs is like watching an artist at work. Wendell who is a member of the Rocky River Beagle Club in Oakboro, North Carolina coaxes his pack like a coach with a stick in hand, he talks to the dogs as he pokes every pile of brush trying to rustle a rabbit out and then turning the rest over to his beagles to run the rabbit back to the hunters.
Melvin Watkins was the man of the day bagging (5) of the eight rabbits shot during the hunt. Melvin who works for Bass Pro Shop in Concord, NC is enthusiastic about his rabbit hunting and has very keen sense of where the
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| Melvin with his first rabbit of the day. |
By 4:30 PM both hunters and dogs were worn slap out. We did not even get a chance to stop for lunch that day as the dogs and rabbits kept us busy. Back at camp Wendell and Melvin looked like a production line as they skinned the rabbit’s out and bagged them in the cooler in less that fifteen minutes.
What a memorable hunt, and hopefully going to have another chance to hunt with Wendell and Melvin again before the season is out.
By
Doc Hobbs