One of the all time greatest books, if you haven't checked it out, think about doing so. It's a wonderful story about a boy, his dogs, a bunch of raccoons, and the Ozarks Mountains.
Please share with me pictures of dogs you've loved or love. Here is the my dog Molly she isn't a coon dog, but she is a good dog.

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USAF AMMO

Another comment that could get me banned.

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Dum vivo cano

I remember my 6th grade teacher reading the book to us and it must have had an impact because I remember the story extremely well and that was around 1968.

I don't care who you are or how tough.....you're gonna need some kleenex to read it or watch the movie.....

You can visit Natural Falls State Park in Western Oklahoma where parts of the movie were filmed. It's a beautiful place.

I also had the novel read to me by my grade six teacher that was back in 'ol 79 it stuck with me too , I wonder if teachers still read it to their classes ?

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the rules? there are no rules

I had a beagle, many years ago and my wife had a Boston Terrier. However, the beagle adopted my wife as her human. I was just a friend. But that beagle proved to be one of the dearest friends I ever had.

It really hurt when she died. "Why, why, why do dogs have such short lifespans?" We asked,
It just ain't fair!

Then I read somewhere that dogs have short lifespans so we can get to know more of them through our lives.

If we had only one dog, think of all the dedicated friends we would have never known....and all those different quirky personalities we would have never loved.

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A real sucker for the J-frames

Thanks for sharing.

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USAF AMMO

Love the book. I first read it in 6th grade too back in 1990. It's on a book shelf in my office right next to another book I read in the same grade...the Lord of the flies...

Thanks for the thread. I too remember the book, one of my all time favorites. Around 1962 I believe. Must have made an impression with me also.

i remember my teacher crying while reading the book in elementary school..

later I got my own redbone & followed that dog all over the county, chasing coons all night, almost every night.

Now I can't seem to stay up past 10:00pm

Not much in this world can ever come between the love a boy has for his dog...

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USAF AMMO

It sounds like my sixth grade teacher was a real slacker.

Some of you guys sure had nice teachers to read to you. Mine were mean and made us read novels ourselves. Worse, then they would test us to make certain we did read it and remember some of it.


I guess they actually expected us to learn how to do things for ourselves by the time we got to sixth grade.

I have a story but it would destroy this thread. It involves a boy, his dog, and his drunken father in KOREA. You connect the dots.

Does it involve kegogi and soju?

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USAF AMMO

[QUOTE=kamloops67;138563148]I wonder if teachers still read it to their classes ?


I thought Common Core removed reading from schools !!!

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and everything Kentucky !!

Lots of soju, a baseball bat, and a grill.

Ive never read the book or seen the movies. However,WM--was selling this on DvD not long ago--along with its sequal.

Where is the dislike button?

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USAF AMMO

Here are pictures of my grandpa, some coons, and his coon dogs in Northeast Indiana from 1958.

A nights worth of coon and an albino.

The albino coon.

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USAF AMMO

I see coons dead on the road all the time and that book leads you to believe they were VERY smart. I see a lot of skunks, armadillos, rabbits, and possoms dead on the road but more Racoons and squirrels than anything.

Never got into coon hunting but when I was 11 my father gave me a Norwegian Elkhound that I named Nick. I also read that book around that time. Nick and I chased squirrels everyday that we could in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia for the next 6 years. Some of the best times of my life. I could really relate to that book. One of my all time favorite books. Wish I had a picture of Old Nick to put up here but they are all at my fathers in old albums. But here is a pic of my "Biscuit Hound" all 75 lbs of Akita.

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My hound "Slim" a Treeing Walker

I've had probably 6 coonhounds in the last 15 years. Walkers are my favorite.

I've had running walkers and treeing walkers....and I haven't seen any breed consistently match their instinct and drive to get a coon

Wow, that's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. I can imagine how you must have felt about that dog.

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USAF AMMO

That dog and I were best friends. I don't know how many squirrels we killed with my fathers Marlin 39a, but I know it was a pile of them. Never seen another squirrel dog like him.

I don't like to talk about one of my current dogs...
She has mental issues.

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I've not rear the book but it was a favorite movie of our girls when they were just little squirts.

BUT I have read THE SHEPARD OF THE HILLS by Harold Bell Wright.
It also is a wonderful story about young love, good guys vs bad guys and the Missouri Ozark mountians.

BTW, another good dog book is ' The art of racing in the rain ' by Garth Stein.

I read it twice in fourth grade. Great book.

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Cheers, Charles
SWCA #2442

When you have finished it read The summer of the monkeys by the same Mr Rawls.

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Front sight and squeeze

Thank you, I ll be sure to check that out. Always looking for a good book.

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USAF AMMO

I loved that book as a kid in the '70s. My boys both read it at school when they hit 5th grade, so we picked up the movie in the Wal-Mart $5 bin. The movie is good but as with many things, the book is so much better. As for dogs, the only time I didn't have one living with me was undergrad and law school but my faithful Beagle was always home when I went to visit my folks. Now we always keep at least three and usually four dogs around, always a bird dog and a motley collection of rescue dogs.

Coon hunting was always my first love, I have been at it since I was a kid. The book is good and so are the movies. Wilson Rawls admitted later in interviews that he was not a coon hunter, didn't really know anything about it, save what he had heard and never intended for the book to be some sort of training manual. It is a good story though. Here are a few photos of my dogs...

Thanks for sharing!!!

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USAF AMMO