best time for mink?

whitser

i've finished up hunting for the summer but i'd like to try my hounds after a mink,i hear theres a river near me thats alive with them,and as far as i know they are in season during the summer.
when's the best time to find one out and about?

NoNameRanger

Hounds aren't too bothered about identifying protected species. It is an offence to disturb the resting and breeding place of an otter, also an offence to hunt otters. Just making you aware of it and the possibility of being pulled up by a Ranger.

spideog7

I would have thought that mink would mangle dog ??

AckwelFoley

spideog7 wrote: »

I would have thought that mink would mangle dog ??

Mink are very small.

Vicious little fukkers, but very small

NoNameRanger

Certainly not, they are very easily killed, one snap and lights out. No more vicious than a mad ferret, not that scary:)

AckwelFoley

NoNameRanger wrote: »

Certainly not, they are very easily killed, one snap and lights out. No more vicious than a mad ferret, not that scary:)

I dispute that.

We had a dog.. used to kill rats and i never seen anything in my life like it. We were a good distance away, but i remember the dog walking away thinking he killed it.. and up it goes again...

NoNameRanger

snyper wrote: »

I dispute that.

We had a dog.. used to kill rats and i never seen anything in my life like it. We were a good distance away, but i remember the dog walking away thinking he killed it.. and up it goes again...

Alright there was that one time so.:D:) Maybe the dog forgot to bite down hard enough or it was a super mink.:D

meathstevie

Same risk you always take using a dog. Dogs don't know what's in season or what's protected or not. I suppose just another way of saying be carefull and know your area.

Grizzly 45

Do mink have a closed season??Thought they were vermin???

NoNameRanger

No mink don't have a closed season or open season, they are simply unprotected. Otters are a different story though and hunting them with hounds would be an offence and hunting mink in an area where otters are breeding and holding territory could be seen as also hunting otters and causing disturbance to them.
Hounds are not very effective on mink anyway unless used with terriers to dig them out and in fairness they can take some digging, they'll fit through the smallest of holes. Mink cages are alot more effective. Sorry for raining on the parade:):o

whitser

i dont think theres any otter on this particular river, i'd say its years since an otter was seen here. i'd just be hoping to give the pack some hunting in the summer and hunting along a river would keep them cool.

Rovi

I'm afraid know nothing of the hunting of mink, but my first response to the thread title was:
"When she's reeeeeally pi55ed off, and flowers and chocolates would only make things worse."



Carry on with the serious discussion...

whitser

rovi your a wise man.

thelurcher

I agree with the use of the terriers - some local lads have been very successful in controlling the local population - you won't have to do too much digging as they bolt relatively easily i.e. plenty of noise off the terriers, pound and poke the bank.
It's not uncommon to tree one of them.

NoNameRanger

whitser wrote: »

i dont think theres any otter on this particular river, i'd say its years since an otter was seen here. i'd just be hoping to give the pack some hunting in the summer and hunting along a river would keep them cool.

A pack of hounds charging up and down a river in mid summer is likely to disturb alot of breeding wildlife. Rivers are busy places in the summer for young water birds and other critters. For example, imagine a pack of hounds landing on a Female mallard and 10 ducklings. Bite sized treats:eek::pac:. I just think it's a time when things should be left in peace. By all means kill the mink, the mallard would love you for that.:) How big is your pack?

thelurcher

I'd be very surprised if they caught one but I suppose it's within the realms of possibility.
I suppose it depends on the type of river or stream you're hunting.

It wasn't me!

How is lamping river banks with a shotgun for mink control? Cage traps are best, methinks, but how does a shottie and lamp go down?

Grizzly 45

Saw this in the US for live mink catching.Stupidly simple.Take apiece of wavin pipe appx 6ft in length.Block one end,take down to the mink infested area,open and chuck a can of sardines,cat food ,down to the bottom of the pipe.Put the pipe at a 40 degree angle in a bush,wall,rock etc. Depart. The mink will climb up and into the pipe to get the bait.Once inside because of the angle they cannot turn or climb back out due to the angle and pipe surface.
To empty trap,get an old canvas sack,like a gunny sack.Put it over the open of the pipe,tilt pipe and collect mink in sack.Dispose of mink humanely as you wish. I find a club is best as your pelt is then undamaged for your missuses future fur coat.:D.Beauty of this trap is any muzzy headed anti hunter mink liberator wont recognise this as a trap,it just looks like a piece of junk.. Where you might find your live cage trap destroyed or stolen

Dont forget if you have the stomach for it,to render the mink fat.It is the best leather waterproofer known.

thelurcher

The gun club laid those homemade traps (and some commercial types) all over the place I was talking about - don't know how sucessfull they were but there were at least a dozen mink that I know of hunted/caught by dogs - after the traps were lifted. This is a small stretch of a very small river.

NoNameRanger

When a trap is set on a river it will continuously catch mink. After the first ones that have been holding it as a territory have been removed. There will be a constant flow coming in to fill the vacant territory giving the impression that there was a massive population in that area to start with. Of course it is better to have a permanent trapping regime in place especially near release sites.
Mallard are certainly not endangered but they are a protected species with an open season. They are entitled to along with many other species to breed without being hunted during the closed season. Under the wildlife act you could be presocuted for running a pack of hounds down a river in the middle of summer. Not saying you will. But meet the right/ wrong person and you could find yourself in court in front of a judge defending your actions. Just saying, Beware!;)

thelurcher

I think I might PM you NoNameRanger?

NoNameRanger

PM me if you wish.

thelurcher

I think there was a lot of misunderstanding on this thread - everyone appears to be on the same page now.

bunny shooter

thelurcher wrote: »

I haven't had a decent look at this forum for a while and I'm not familiar with your previous posts - what you wrote before doesn't really matter - I cannot understand why a genuine hunting man would come out on a public forum and directly accuse a section of the hunting community of breaking the law.

I've seen the mods on here jump all over posts that were a lot less specific.
You've made a SERIOUS allegation against 100's of people in the four registered packs in this country.

What was to be gained from that

Could you not have given your 'legal advice' to the OP without making those accusations - I don't really think that you're an out and out anti but why are you adding fuel to their fire?

I don't want to be condescending and I'm no 'expert' - but I know enough to see that you certainly aren't. Keeping a few hounds for a gun pack qualifies you for sweet FA.

Your ego taking a bit of a bruising on here gets you mad - right? hold your temper though and don't say things we'll all pay dearly for in the long run.
That's what this is about isn't it - you want everyone on here to know that you're a cute hoor - you know what's really going on - for **** sake man grow up.

I was tarred with this same brush very recently by another new poster

whitser

think i'll give the mink hunting a miss. last thing i want is a knock from the boys in blue accussing me of hunting an otter without a license.
i was just looking for a bit of hunting to keep the pack fit. no amount of road work or walks on the beach can beat a couple of hours hunting. otters never entered my head when i asked about hunting the mink.

thelurcher

Maybe you could run a drag a few evenings a week whitser - the antis say it's just like the real thing

bunny shooter

Chasing drag queens? is that legal ?

irish setter

made some of them wavin traps during the week and had 2 mink in one of them this morning so they do work well. we then went up the river to find another spot to set one when we found a fallen tree that was hollowed out and decided that was a likely spot but when we walked up to it two otters came out of it right by our feet. presumed there nesting there so we'll be avoiding that spot for a few months. pity we had no camera on us at the time

BryanL

no messing with you Irish setters,good going on catching the mink and seeing Otters
B

Tackleberry.

You shot yourself in the foot Whitser with your other thread "MINI OTTER HUNT" it sugjests to me that you were unaware of the law regarding the hunting of otter's, not good if you have your own pack now,NONAMERANGER put you straight ,you have said that you have alot of experaince of the hound hunting reckon you've learned a hunt is a hunt but in your defence youre habbits are that of the older generation my Grandfather was horse and hound nutter and anything goes on a days hunting back then.....think those days are gone .But like you he'd hate to see me out lamping "what sport is in that" he'd say.

whitser

Tackleberry. wrote: »

You shot yourself in the foot Whitser with your other thread "MINI OTTER HUNT" it sugjests to me that you were unaware of the law regarding the hunting of otter's, not good if you have your own pack now,NONAMERANGER put you straight ,you have said that you have alot of experaince of the hound hunting reckon you've learned a hunt is a hunt but in your defence youre habbits are that of the older generation my Grandfather was horse and hound nutter and anything goes on a days hunting back then.....think those days are gone .But like you he'd hate to see me out lamping "what sport is in that" he'd say.

i've never seen an otter or mink in real life. i simply called it a mini otter hunt cos i was hunting the rat hunting up and down the river. i knew
otters were illegal to hunt. stop trying to **** stir, im not interested in any thing you have to say. im on here to talk with genuine hunting men and working dog men. i never claimed to know everything about hounds and hunting,in fact im still a learner as far as hounds are concerened. im not here to argue with lads,or to try and **** stir.

BryanL

Whitser, welcome to boards,nothing is too petty for some, but a few on here love hunting.
Bryan

foxshooter243

whitser wrote: »

i've never seen an otter or mink in real life. i simply called it a mini otter hunt cos i was hunting the rat hunting up and down the river. i knew
otters were illegal to hunt. stop trying to **** stir, im not interested in any thing you have to say. im on here to talk with genuine hunting men and working dog men. i never claimed to know everything about hounds and hunting,in fact im still a learner as far as hounds are concerened. im not here to argue with lads,or to try and **** stir.

well said whitser . anyone trying to read something sinister in your title needs help;)

spideog7

Cage trap never works for me, and I haven't heard of many people trapping mink. They are supposed to be very common but from what I can see they aren't as common as people say. On a side note deer are starting to get plentiful though, in a place where they haven't been wild in years !!