Went down to Searles and hunted with Paul and his dog Nitro. I had Ruby & she acted like a pup most of the night.
First drop Nitro hunted out and struck a good distance away. He was grubbing and tapped a few trees. Ruby got out there and barked a few times. Nitro finally treed and we started in. He was across quite a bit of water, some that was over our waders. I was very impressed that he had worked this out and had the coon. Ruby has never seen water like this, she came in with us but didn't like too much.
Next drop we drove quite a ways so it was after midnight. Ruby and Nitro struck right away. Ruby located and left, Nitro located on the same tree. Ruby came back and they settled in, but not that convincing. It was a den & we didn't let them tree, instead sending them on. They grubbed around for a little bit and then drifted out. Nitro struck deep after a few minutes and was struggling. He located and treed a bit and then got quiet. He started treeing again but you could tell he wasn't sure. Walking in I noticed how dry it was, we were on higher ground where the wind had sucked all the moisture away. Nitro had a lighted collar on & we could see he was right on the tree all the time, he just wasn't barking hard on it. Ruby waited for us before she'd go to his tree. He had the coon.
Again I was very impressed with his performance. For a young dog that hasn't been hunted hard Nitro really does some nice things naturally.
Paul has a new baby, a busy work schedule and is moving so Nitro is taking a back seat for now. Too bad, Nitro really seems to me like a dog that was born to dominate the competitions. He's young though, if Paul gets settled there's still plenty of time for Nitro to go win hunts. If I remember, Rebel was 7 before he was campaigned.
Anyway, I got stopped by a cop near Jordan on the way home. He said I showed all the signs of somebody who was intoxicated. He seemed disappointed when he found out I wasn't drunk. I guess there is no law against looking like a drunk. He let me go.