Plott Hounds and Muzzle Loaders

Anybody here ever use Plott Hounds to hunt bear or wild boar with a muzzle-loader? Since the breed goes back to the 1700's in America, it seems like a perfect match for my smokepole and I have visions someday of going looking for bear or wild boar with it and some Plott Hounds.

 

[Stumpkiller]

According to AKC they'd be perfect.

I'm hoping to begin a brand new Kerry Blue Terrier pup in the fine art of squirrel treeing and grouse retrieving. Wish me luck. I figure two years of frustration ahead.

Friend of mine had a Fox Terrier that would point grouse, but he had to race it to the carcass. The dog would grab it and shake it like a rat. Half the plucking was done, but the meat was over-tenderized a tad. Same dog would retrieve cedar arrows - pick 'em up sideways and then try and pick up the two halves after running beside or between trees. Or snap 'em off at the bale and bring you the fletched half with the tip still in the target.

His big 'ol heart was in the right place.

 

Snake-eye...

I've never owned any of the bighounds, I always had beagles. I used to bear hunt up in Maine with a guy who had a couple Plotts in his pack and he liked them a lot. He was partial to Plotts and Walkers......except for his strike dog and Duke was a big ol' Bluetick....he was a heck of a dog except for his one fault of hating porcupines and the bad habit of biting them. Ol' Duke sure was a mess for a couple days after trying to sink his teeth into porky. Ron tells me he never stopped biting them until a bear killed him a few years ago. Anyway....that's my Plott story with a little Bluetick thrown in for good measure!

Vic

 

[musketman]

Period correct dogs? :winking: ::
The Plott thickens...

In 1750, two young brothers left Germany and emigrated to America with three brindle and two buckskin Hanoverian Hounds. One boy died on the way but the other, sixteen year old Johannes Georg Plott, settled in Bute County, North Carolina and later in Lincoln County. He Anglicized his name to George, built a home, married, raised his family and bred his dogs. His son, Henry, continued the breeding program and for the next seven generations (over 200 years), the Plott's were mountain men who bred the family dogs and used them to hunt bear, and from the 1930's on, occasionally boar.

As Plott men built homes and raised families all over the Smoky Mountains, their dogs became known by their family name and were referred to as the Plott's hounds. During that time hounds of similar breeding and type were raised by other mountain families and were likewise called by their owner's family name.

 

[Rocky Johnson]

A friend of mine had a Plott we used him for pheasants, in the milow you could see his black tail above the grass and he bellered on the track. He was real friendly liked to sit in your lap and do you know how big them guy are. A guy I worked with used them for bear. Rocky /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[2172]

Plott hounds are the state dog of North Carolina...the only boar I ever shot was being pushed along by a plott...and he was working alone...I didn't use a M-L, had a Winchester 94 in 30-30... I'd add that these are not an easy animal to kill.
One problem with the dog packs used in these mountains is that the locals are inveterate experimenters, and will cross breed anything to anything, just to see what comes out. Someday I expect to hear of a plott bred to a donkey to get something that'd carry the shot game out....Hank

 

The Plott is an excellent breed of large hound and can be taught to hunt about anything.
When I was much younger, about 14 or so, my Dad would take me 'coon hunting with his Plott hound, but the BEST dog we ever had was a Bluetick/Plott mix named "Buckshot".
Now to understand the following story you have to know what a fur stretcher is and understand a little about skinning and selling fur.
Buckshot was one smart dog. Dad used to carve fur stretchers out of 1/2" pine boards of various sizes so we could stretch anything from trapped muskrats to large 'coon.
Dad would show ol' Buckshot the larger of the pine stretchers and that dog was so smart he would tree a 'coon exactly that size.
No kidding, show the dog a small stretcher and the dog would hunt up a 'coon exactly that size.
One day Mom set the ironing board out on the front pourch, Buckshot looked at that ironing board and headed for the woods and we ain't seen that dog since!
Honest. You all know an old 'coon hunter would never tell a fib! :bull: :haha: :haha:

 

[musketman]

No kidding, show the dog a small stretcher and the dog would hunt up a 'coon exactly that size.
One day Mom set the ironing board out on the front pourch, Buckshot looked at that ironing board and headed for the woods and we ain't seen that dog since!
Honest.

Good thing there were no surfboards there... :winking:

 

[MiltWV]

Never did bear or hogs, but had a Ploot gyp that was the best coon dog I ever hunted with. Wouldn't mess with deer, fox, possum or anything else, but was hell on coons.