no, the foxpen has been taken over by cotton wilburn.
as of lately, the foxpen will not have any field trials at all. the pen dont even have a hot box on the fence. they have not even put any game in it. i thing they are running what the risingers put in it last year. there cant be too much left in it.

There is a working hot wire around it. They have several baited holes around the pen and he has put some game in it.The pen has enough game in it to have some good solid running.Lots of mad and mouthy hunters over that pen but thats what it's always consisted of...........

This is a good pen for all night hunters especially when it is low on game. Takes a pretty good hunting dog or two to produce game and when you get after something they don't have several other races to go to when you make a loose, the game has to be worked back up(a little like hunting on the outside). I have hunted in that pen off and on for the past 15 years and it is great for my kind of hunting,(all night, packed up running). By the way, I hope it is alright for me to sign my name, ha, ha.

Don, I'll sign my name too and say what I think. When Clinton and Brenda had the pen they proved that you could hunt all sorts of ways in there. You could have 3 days, 1 days, 8 hours all in the daylight. You could cast at 4 pm or 4 am or at noon if that is what you pleased......and they had plenty of good running all the time. They basically proved that pleasure hunting and field trials could both exist at Shelbyville, Tx. In fact that pen will never survive the high lease without field trials.

David, you are correct, the lease factor is really too high and that makes it difficult to make the pen work but, you have to admit, the reason Clinton and Brenda don't still have it is that they couldn't cover the expenses even though they were letting everybody and anybody hunt there, day and night and having trials there periodically. They were constantly restocking and not drawing enough revenue in to be able to do that. If that wasn't the case they would still be doing it. I know CD started a series of hunts to help with facilities and I was there for the first hunt and there was supposed to be two more after that that never happened, and you and I both know the reason, and it was lack of game. That first hunt in the series was not good for Clinton. Daylight running with heads up field trial dogs is hard on game.
If someone will take that pen and limit the number of hounds per night and consider their own personal expenses they would have running somewhere else they can make it. I know I spend between 4 and 5 hundred per month in pen fees. If I was fully retired I could consider that factor and then allow enough others to run to cover feed expenses and some restocking fees(and there wouldn't be nearly as much if you limit the dogs and cut out the daylight running)I think I could make it work, I'm not sure but I think I could. Like I said, I am already spending between four and five hundred per month running hounds(not counting gasoline). Anyway, I hope whoever has it can make it work, I would like to run in there some again, especially when it is a little low on game, as I stated earlier, its a little like hunting in the wild, and you know that is what I like. Have a good one, hope to see you soon, Don

What happened to the co-op of 7 hunters paying $100 per month and $1.00 per dog each time they went hunting. That paid the rent on the pen.

I don't know if they ever got that going, but I was involved in that same deal several years ago and it was great for me as a hunter(saved me lots of money), but it was bad for the pen and pen owner. At 1.00 per dog we would have 50 to 100 dogs on Fri night and that is too much pressure on the game. Besides as you said that will pay the rent but there are other expenses, such as restocking and feeding and upkeep of the fence, etc. As a hunter I like that idea but I don't believe it will work for the pen owner. Also, with 7 people as "partners", there are always some that have the time and desire to work more than the others and that can cause lots of friction. I'm sure you know there is lots of work that goes into keeping a good hot fence around 600 acres, plus feeding the game and all the other things that go into keeping a pen operating.

Don, every pen has restocking issues and expenses. you and I both know that. When you don't have a long term lease you can have the rug pulled out from under you any minute.

You are right David, for the most part, if the person is not a hunter and can enjoy the pen for himself also, I have to say there is not much money to be made with a pen, especially with the work that goes into them. I'm on the paying end and its not smart for me to say this but I have to say that 5 dollars per dog is not enough with todays expenses. Pen owners have been charging that for 20 yrs that I know of and everything has gone up very much in the past 20 years but yet they are trying to survive with the same basic income they were getting 20 to 30 yrs ago. I'm not a mathmatical genius but I can see that doesn't compute. If they would charge more they would cut down on the number of hounds each hunter was running, therefore making it easier on the game in the pen and also making their cash flow much better.As far as having the rug pulled out from under you, that can happen but it ALWAYS happens when you aren't able to make your monthly payments on time.

Jim went to $7 a dog and can't hardly get people to come. other than the normal weekend warriors he has me and Dub are the only ones coming. And we don't go as often anymore.

He didn't have very many coming before that, but you are right, it will slow down the business. I doubt that any others will do it, but I just am saying that it makes sense to do it. He's always got game and good facilities, plenty of firewood and good roads, but as I stated earlier, unless a person is getting some personal use from a pen, there is no real money in it except maybe some of the really big ones that can handle the big trials with lots of dogs several times a year.
Jim still has enough business that he doesn't get to run his own dogs as much as he would like. He knows you have to have some nights that there is no running so the game can rest and get plenty to eat in order to stay strong. You can't fill the game up in the day and run them that night, as you well know. He still has several coming during the week, and as the different pens have to shut down for restocking he always has to turn business down.

ttt

herd bonner wasn't welcome at the boles field pen anymore, what happened???