The tough part about rabbit hunting these days is the major development with subdivisions sprouting up everywhere. Seaton said you can find a place to hunt, but there are just not as many big fields as there used to be. The result is turning dogs loose in areas bounded by neighborhoods and subdivisions, and hunting dogs including beagles aren't aware of property lines (although rabbits seem to be).

In the late winter, Seaton particularly likes to run his dogs in the afternoon. Afternoons are definitely best, especially if you have a warm day after a cold morning or a morning rain. Seaton said after a rain, the damp ground makes for good scent conditions for beagling. And the sun brings the rabbits out to warm up after a cold or wet morning.

One of what Seaton calls his late-season secrets is to hit the field after a snow. If you don't have time to hunt, at least get out and scout. He said it's a good time to find rabbit tracks and to see just what areas they're using. It's just a good time to hunt or scout.

On the best days, Seaton expects his dogs to produce three or four races per morning or afternoon. The dogs don't always bring the rabbit back around for a shot, but your best strategy for getting one is to stay put after the pack jumps a rabbit. Seaton said rabbits have a tendency to circle back trying to cross their tracks to confuse the dogs. The ideal situation is to have a group of hunters spread out waiting on the cottontail to swing back around and present a shot. He said when the dogs start to head back toward you, look for an open area or a shooting lane, and get ready. The rabbit may be trying to cross up the dogs but won't know you're lying in wait for him to cross your path.

Regardless of development encroaching into traditional rabbit-hunting areas, Seaton said the future of rabbit hunting is bright and sustained. He's seeing a good number of rabbits in the field, and young hunters seem to be getting more involved in the sport. They're not only getting beagles and hitting the fields, they're taking part more and more in the field trials.

Seaton said the Internet has also opened up many resources for beginners and veteran beagle folks as well. You can find a wealth of information on anything from kennel design to beagle health. Most beagle hunting Web sites have question-and-answer forums that can help anyone out. Rabbit season continues through the end of February with a limit of five per day.

SQUIRREL DOGS
Squirrel hunting with dogs in West Tennessee is as much a tradition as bear hunting with dogs is in East Tennessee. Mike McLemore made his name with a duck call. He's a three-time world champion and champion of champions duck caller, but McLemore has been hunting squirrels with dogs for 25 years as well.

What makes a good squirrel-hunting day? McLemore said a day with a misting rain is by far best. Or, it's at least a day where it's rained a little and then quit. The damp ground makes for good scenting conditions for the dogs, but it helps the squirrels also. McLemore said it's easier for squirrels to find nuts when the ground is damp, and they just can't help themselves -- they gotta get on the ground.

Squirrel hunting with dogs also adds a little more excitement when introducing youth to the tradition, but McLemore said adults are more impressed by a treeing squirrel dog. Adults just appreciate a good dog. In his stable of squirrel addicts, McLemore has one mountain cur and the rest of the dozen are mountain feists. He likes to have two good dogs on hand at all times and a few to train. He'll hunt a good dog with an apprentice dog for two or three days and then turn it over to the other veteran and a rookie.

"A good tree dog just has that mentality," McLemore explained. "It's hard to find the perfect dog."

He said he's seen beagles and pointers make good squirrel dogs as well. McLemore likes to get a dog to hunt good first and then tree afterward. Once they figure out the game and what it is you're trying to do, most of them make good squirrel hunters. The best time of the year to hunt bushytails with dogs is like any other squirrel hunting -- when the leaves are off the trees. It's a simple matter of being able to see them. Sometimes the dogs will even pick them out of the trees. And the veteran squirrel hunter said he's always heard from older hunters that a good dog can hear a squirrel climbing the side of a tree -- and from a distance.