In this episode Steve and Nubbin invite a brand, spanking new coon hunter to the microphone in an enjoyable conversation with ten-year old Brantley Whittle. Brantley became interested in coon hunting after reading Wilson Rawls’ classic Where The Red Fern Grows as have so many children through the ages since Rawls penned the story of Old Dan and Little Ann in 1961. The parallels in age between the book’s Billy Coleman and Brantley Whittle, Coleman is ten when the story begins and Whittle is ten now, open the door for an interesting discussion on the mindset of boys that age as they enter the sport for the first time. In our discussion we learn that Whittle sought, through the help of our Nubbin Moore, a female Redbone pup with which to start his journey because, as was Little Ann, the females were thought to be smarter. This episode will refresh the memories of youth for older hunters and will spark a desire to join the fun for novice hunters Brantley’s age and beyond.

This week Steve entertains a trio of coon hunters from Ohio that have become some of the most recognizable and respected hunters in game as breeders, trainers and successful competitors. The Dunlap brothers, Chuck and Don, were born in the adjoining county of Fayette in West Virginia, next door to Raleigh County where Steve was born. Their family migrated to central Ohio where the Dunlaps established themselves as young me to be serious coon hunters. Chuck’s son Coleton, affectionately known as Coonman, has followed in his dad’s and his uncle’s footsteps, earning a respected name for himself as well. Chuck formed his reputation as a successful handler in the early days of his career, the mid 1980s, by handling a famous English stud dog named GRNITECH Baron’s Blue Reb, known far and wide as Lumis. Lumis, a crossbred Treeing Walker hound by today’s standards, was registered as English. He was owned by Carl Carroll of Crestline, Ohio and Roger W. Daron of Plymouth, Ohio, and handled by Chuck Dunlap. The conversation moves from Lumis to the Buck Creek Treeing Walker hounds for which the Dunlaps are well-known today. Hounds like two-time AKC World Champion Buck Creek Mr. Smith, Buck Creek Crowson and Buck Creek Homer, as well as others, fill the episode. This is a story of one family’s love for coon hunting and for each other. It is well worth your time.

Steve catches everyone up on things including a tough decision he had to make about his annual White River hunt. We hope you're having a great season!