Well, this pciture doesn't belong in the rabbit hunting blog. This is the first calf we've bottle fed. She's and F1 Angus/Sem cross.

I'll add a good beagle pic to balane things out. :)

Seriously, we have started a new venture to compliment the beagle operatio. Five Forks Cattle Company. Moslty the cattle are hard work but we hope to make a good go at it. I sure have a lot of super nice calves this year. I hope I can get the better ones to small ranches and modern mini farms. The rest will end up at Bloom as certified Angus beef.

The other picture is me and J and J's Smokin Line Blue. Taken in 1991. Boy did I have a lot of hair then.

It was a big weekend around the RHB camp. On Friday, Wayne Wardlaw finished his and Ken's 15" female Ginger at Robeson County. Ginger has a litter of pups out of Cocoa Star that may turn out to be the kind of litter history that can make history. They were born last summer. Wayne has one male that can already defeat much more experienced dogs and has beat two FC's in a short run. Ken has two females and a male. He told me yesterday he likes those two females so much he would not sell them for $10,000 ( I figure that's bluffing but for a man that doesn't care if Chili goes to forty dollars a bowl, who knows.) There are also two of these pups in the deep south. My understanding is one is owned by Joey Johnson and the other by Hall of Famer Scotty Panel. I hear these two pups have people talking down that way.
Ginger was not the only new FC this weekend. Tate's Yogi Bear won SE Georgia 15" male class to become Star's 3rd FC. As far as I know their have been 4 Star pups actively campaigned in AKC field trials so far. Three of them have finished and the other has two wins. How about that for producing power! I know of at least two more in the hands of rabbit hunters that could finish if campaigned.
Five Forks Cocoa Tom was taken to Abbeville's derby trial on Friday and got 2nd place behind his brother owned by John Price. I'm sorry I don't know the name of John's pup. The very next day Tom is taken to the Gundog Pack Elite National Championships where he gets 2nd place after a 30 minute brace with the current National Champion. I knew Cocoa Tom was a good one when he first started. He started his first time out and was a natural at running a rabbit. He has better than average top gear and just seems to zone in on a rabbit track even when all hell is breaking loose around him. I'll be adding more about Tom in the future. In the mean time, anyone who wants to breed to a good little male that is breed to produce is in for a treat. We will be offering free stud service from Tom until further notice. Our goal is get some early pups out of Tom so we can prove our breeding program works. Tom's mother Dreamer is Star's half sister out of Cocoa Bear and a top producing female named Lad Di.
Another Star female Sly Town's Clipper got 2nd place at the Abbeville Derby as well.
Jimmy Roland has a very nice Star male named Pepper. He was 4th at SE Georgia this weekend.
As if all this trial info was not enough I had a chance to go rabbit hunting with my friends Ken Murray and Randy Keese. Randy lives in Kennesaw Georgia but that Atlanta traffic hasn't taken the good ole boy out of Randy. Randy has some really nice females and he and his dogs are always ready for a hunt.
Darn, I just got a hot issue here at work so I am going to finish this later. But the just of the hunt, I killed my limit with my new 28 gauge shotgun again. Randy and ken each killed on rabbit. Until next time………….

Sorry, I have let this thing get so far behind. I should really do better. It's been pretty busy at work and even more busy at home. It' s already February and gun season will be coming to an end soon. I sure didn't get to go as much as I had hoped for this year. I didn’t work in December so I just didn't have many days I could take off in January. I've got a new 28 gauge shotgun that I just love hunting with. In fact I took it once already and I got my limit that day. This could be my new good luck gun! I'll get to go a few more times before our season is over at the end of the month. Thank goodness Ken's line of work allows him to go hunting at will. In fact he's been taking some of my dogs hunting with him. That helps a lot.
In other big news, Oopsy Daisy is now an AKC field Champion! She is truly a gritty little female. I went rabbit hunting with Ronald Phillips of Georgia last month and he couldn't believe it. The next day he called and said, "Scott, I know Daisy is a good field trial dog, but she is a whole lot better hunting dog! In fact, she's a borderline jump dog." These were very kind words. I wonder how many people who own beagles truly understand first quality rabbit dogs? Many people attend a field trial and never "get" what it is that separates winners from the also rans. Conversely, many rabbit hunters have never get to see top quality dogs do their work. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with either group. I just know the price of dog food, kennel space, boots, and trucks is the same; no matter how good your dog is.
FC Tate's Lady Bear had her puppies last week. She is now a proud mother of a litter of five. Brad called me Saturday night to let me know her litter mate Tate's Yogi Bear got his second win at SandHilll this weekend. Mr. JW Orvin, Tate's grandfather and Brad's father-in-law told me that Yogi was the best rabbit dog of all the pups he's raised. You better believe I will be breeding one of my better female to Yogi. I'm not sure how many people outside of the South Georgia group know J.W. but he is indeed a man that knows how to breed top notch hunting beagles.