Early October Hare Hunt

This was my second year in a row going Snow Shoe Hare hunting in Northern Maine in October. Previously, I had gone on a three-day hare hunt in Northwestern New York State in minus five-degree weather where the hounds had a difficult time trying to run. I found it to be a big ice patch, and the weather was dry and cold. One day in the fall of 2001, I was at an AKC SPO licensed field trial on cottontail rabbit (this trial uses a pack of gundog beagles to chase a rabbit and the pack is scored by two judges on AKC small pack option rules). I met up with a friend of mine, Nick Marino, from New Jersey. We talked about hare hunting and how he goes to Maine hare hunting during two separate weeks in October and how much nicer a hunt it is than my Northwestern NY trip. Next, he asked me to come up with him next year. This was an opportunity to hunt with some of the very best beagles around. For Nick, it’s his stud dog, FC John’s Buck VII and his offspring, which are some great hounds to hunt with. Also joining us on this trip was Dr. Skinner, a top-notch veterinarian and beagle man with some of his great hounds. Doc’ s FC Rain Tree Ice, which is a great bitch, produced two offspring bred out of Buck that were fun to watch. They can really put on a show. These two gentlemen have judged a lot of field trials in their time and have finished many Field Champions. The answer to having an opportunity to join in on this trip was, of course, yes! After hearing about what a success the 2002’s hunt was, I couldn’t wait for this year’s hunt! When I was asked to share the hunt with other interested gundog hunters, I was more than happy to. So, after numerous phone calls were made throughout the Northeast, our plans were well under way. The plan was for my cousin, Carmelo, to meet me at 5:00 a.m. at my house and we’d drive to Kittery, Maine for 9:30 a.m. We were to purchase hunting licenses and get on the road heading North right after that. Like clockwork, the long wait was over and at 5:15 in the morning we were off. Everyone showed up in Maine on time and we let the dogs out to stretch a little. Once they were all set and all of us had our licenses bought, we were on our way. Our hunting party consisted of Nick Marino and Stan Redrow from New Jersey, Anthony Pizzo, Doc Skinner and his son, Doug, from Pennsylvania, Tony Rodrick and Dave Wood from Rhode Island and Carmelo Aresco and myself, from Connecticut. These gentlemen are all good hunters and great fun to be with. Upon arriving at our hotel, we took out all the dogs and fed and watered them. Once they were set we headed out for some supper. We discussed plans for the next day and all agreed that all the dogs would get out and run daily and this way the dogs wouldn’t get stuck in their boxes all day. After a few laughs, we turned in for the night.

On Monday we started out at 5:00 a.m. and the forecast was mostly cloudy and 60 degrees. It was a little warm but we would shed clothes as needed. We started by tying all the dogs out and watering them. After they were set we headed for breakfast. After a quick meal, we headed to our first hunting spot and we collared the first pack with tracking collars and started hunting. It didn’t take long before one of Nick’s bitches opened up and the chase was on. This pack was the quickest pack of the day, Nick’s Amber, FC Dr. Doo, Banjo, Nick’s Roxanne, Nick’s Pearl, Fam’s Mountain View Hannah. This pack really moved that hare around the bog for around a half an hour before it crossed by Stan and one shot was all he needed. The pack only took a couple of minutes before striking another hare right in front of me and they were off. But the hare ran a fairly big loop and through some really thick cedars so it was hard to get a shot. This hare finally broke out of the thicker cover and headed just below me and right at Carmelo. He made a nice shot out of his newly converted twelve-gauge Bernadelli shotgun with reducer tube inserts that made it a twenty-gauge shotgun. He also had reducers to make it a twenty-eight gauge. What a great idea! The rest of the day was more of the same with all three packs doing a great job and by day’s end we had nine hare in the bag.

Tuesday was a partly sunny, nice day and around 65 degrees. After a quick breakfast we headed out to hunt. This spot was very thick with a very small shooting lane and at times we had to get either on our knees or had to lay down to get a shot. The first hare was struck right away and the others headed into the thick cedars and ran all over the place for an hour but we just couldn’t see them. Finally, we caught a break and a hare ran by Stan but he missed (and believe me it’s easy to miss). So I got my gun ready after hearing Stan shoot. Mr. Hare crossed by me and with a quick shot, this hare ended up in the bag. I didn’t even have time to put it in the bag when the dogs came across another hare and they were off again chasing this hare when I decided to crawl into the cedars and sit on a small stump crouched really low. About fifteen minutes later, here comes number two and I hit him but he kept on going down toward a little stream and the whole pack followed him. So, I came out to watch just in time as all six dogs dove into the stream. Then they all swam across the stream to see the hare just on the other side. They caught it in the high grass. I wish I had a video camera with me; words don’t do that chase any justice. I retrieved the hare and the pack jumped another right away. This chase lasted for over an hour and ended on a shot by Doc Skinner’s Beretta single shot twenty eight-gauge shotgun. With three in the bag it was time to change packs and the area we were hunting in. So we moved down the road and decided to hike back in with pack number two. We went in a quarter of a mile with this pack but it was worth it as there were hare all over this spot. We spotted two hare running in front of the dogs. The action was fast and furious and when all was said and done six more hare were in the bag. With little time left in the day, we decided to hunt a small area, which worked out pretty good. This little run ended in a two hour split run with all the excuses in the world like, “I had the safety still on,” or “Just plain missed that shot,” until Dave Wood finally ended that run and the day. Day two ended with ten hare in the bag.

Day three was Wednesday and it started out cloudy with a storm on the way. We headed out as planned to a spot we had hunted the last day of our 2000 hunt. As we casted the first pack, the rains started and so did the wind. We headed up the hill and it didn’t take long for the dogs to start running a hare and this hare ran for quite some time and at times even ran out of hearing range. This hare ran down past the truck and crossed the road to where we just came from. So a couple of guys went back to try and get a shot crossing back on the road. Nick got that hare not a hundred yards from the truck. We worked back up the hill and then came across another. This hare ran the same pattern going across the road a couple of times until Anthony shot him and again we headed up the hill to the cedars and pines. While the pack worked this area, a ten-point buck ran out of the other end of the cedars in front of Tony. His eyes lit up in only a way a deer hunter’s eye would light up. He said, “What a buck! You should have seen it.” Soon after that, the pack started on hare number three. This one looped out and the pack split on two different hare. One hare went back to the cedars. That was this hare’s mistake. He then crossed in front of me and number three was in the bag. All the hounds joined in on the fourth hare and they put a lot of pressure on him. He ran by me but I couldn’t get the shot however, Tony made the shot. With four in the bag and the wind now howling and rain was beginning to come down hard; we decided to call it a day. We headed back and dried our clothes. Tony and Dave headed back home so we said our good byes. One thing we did with our extra time was to take a trip to the local Wal-Mart to purchase some lightweight netted gloves to stop the gnats from eating us alive. So be prepared to fight the bugs on the warmer days out there. Day three ended with four hare in the bag.

Day four was Thursday. The wind was still a problem but the sun was out. The spot we hunted was a spot Doc and Doug found two years ago. The land was very big and we could hunt it all day. This was a memorable spot two years ago with plenty of hare. We collared five bitches with tracking collars and cut them loose. The first hare was jumped by Doc’s bitch, Kerrie, out of Buck and Ice. Doc had two bitches out of that litter, which were really nice hounds. The chase was on in a really thick stand of cedars and seeing was very difficult. The other bitches in this pack were my Hannah, Kay, Hope and Roxanne. The pack ran this hare for forty-five minutes and at one point ran this hare across a path not ten feet from me but I was behind a log so I couldn’t see it. Patience was needed on this run and ten minutes later he came back and with one shot from my Silma over and under twenty, I ended his run. We had two more outstanding runs from that pack that ended with three hare in the bag so we went back and collared up the next pack: Amber, Pearl, Roxanne, Betty, and Doc’s second Buck bitch. We worked them in another direction but each time the hare would run to the same area we were in earlier. We shot a hare and work across the path where we started the last hare and found another. It would head back to the same bog, which made us get a really good workout. By this time, the wind had really kicked up and hearing the dog was difficult. The dogs had a hard time hearing us, as well. We had shot three more hare and headed toward the trucks. Not far from the trucks we discovered three dogs were missing so out came the tracking collar system that Nick owns. We located the direction and called on our radios to each other to head toward the dogs. Then a stranger called on the radios and told us two hounds had made it to the road. So off I went to get them. They had gone over a hill and couldn’t hear us. The other bitch was found with the tracker not far away. It was a close call but thanks to those fellow hunters who called us and with the work of the tracking collars, all the dogs were safe.

On day five, we ran the three packs in reverse order with more of the same action. One chase, in particular, had two of Doc’s bitches and my bitches Kay, Hope and Hannah running. They ran a hare for two and a half hours and they just didn’t give that hare a break. This hare eluded us and in the end it ran more like a cottontail than a hare zig-zagging around. When I shot it coming back in the direction it just came from. Doc said it was the run of the week and we all agreed. Day five ended with eight hare in the bag.

Day six was the last day of the hunt. It was a cool day with no wind. We went to a spot that we hunted last year. I have to admit that I couldn’t remember this spot but after this day I won’t soon forget it. The running started right away. These hare ran all over the place and before we knew it we found ourselves a half a mile deep in Maine’s thickest cedar woods that you could imagine. It was now eleven o’clock and the action was non-stop with five hare in the bag. We couldn’t catch this pack, which consisted of Nick’s Amber, Roxanne, Froggy, Betty, Pearl, and my Roxanne. The chase on this hare was now one hour long and we had to move in to get a shot. The dogs put so much pressure on this hare; he finally made the mistake of going into the open pines and right past me. I made a quick shot and thought I ended the chase when before we could catch up with the pack, they started again. The hare made a quick circle and Nick made a good shot and we caught the pack and broke out the GPS to find our way back to change packs. After a quick bite, we headed out with a pack of six. We decided to finish out the day with them and not change because it took us too long in the morning to get out. We hunted this pack across the road with a river behind them. This made the action fast and furious with the hare crossing the road back and forth and by afternoon’s end we shot four more hare for a total of eleven hare in the bag. This day was a great end to fantastic hunt, no dogs or hunters injured or lost!

May I suggest a few things before you head into the Maine woods with your favorite dogs? Pack a GPS and two-way radios, a survival pack, two compasses, an emergency first aid for you and your dogs, and a tracking collar system. A tracking system is a must for peace of mind as it is really hard to lose a dog with a reliable system. What you also need to make a hunt complete are good hunting partners, which is what I had! Without that, the week may have turned out terrible. Well, I hope you enjoyed this hunt as much as I did. Until next year, good running!