Front Range Bluetick Kennels

Front Range Bluetick Kennels Western Bred, old fashion, heavy headed , long eared Bluetick Coonhounds since 1972. A member of the BBCHA.

Old Shadow was a big powerful hound, he was a thirty inch tall, leggy fella that fooled people the way he ran a track, f...
04/12/2026

Old Shadow was a big powerful hound, he was a thirty inch tall, leggy fella that fooled people the way he ran a track, friends I hunted with would take one look at him and because he was so big think, he has to be slow and tire out easily. There was nothing slow about Shadow he could stay in a race with the best of them, he just had old fashioned drive when it came to moving a track , relentlessly pushing a racc**n track until it would either climb a tree or get caught on the ground.

I never hunted Shadow on bear or lion, but I believe he would have been a very good big game hound, I don't think he was afraid of anything, I have seen him grab big c**n my friends dogs would just bark at, he would grab it and shake it like a big toy. He was a very good tree dog, and a great locater when he tried most of the time he was looking up at game.
He is another hound I thought would be around for a long time, unfortunately he was hit by a car one night while hunting on a dirt road. He was the type of hound I have spent over fifty years wanting to produce, I'm still in a good position to produce hounds that go back to him and his awesome litter mates.

I have finally been able to get the hounds to the woods, and it was a wonderful experience,I'm still feeling a little sh...
04/09/2026

I have finally been able to get the hounds to the woods, and it was a wonderful experience,I'm still feeling a little shaky with my balance but the work outs I'm doing help I'm getting my confidence back. My old hunting buddy Larry Mosley and I hunted the Platte River close to Jackson Reservoir a couple of weeks ago, before we dropped the tailgate two racc**ns crossed the road in front of us, neither one of us wanted to kill any game tonight, and we both knew that this time of year momma rac**ns have babies somewhere or they are getting ready to have babies so we just drove up a little way's and turned the dog's out on the creek flowing into a big cattail slough, it takes an exceptional hound to catch a racc**n on the ground in a slough as big as this one,we were just hoping that the hounds would put enough pressure on a racc**n to chase it out of the cattails up one of the many cottonwood trees along the creek bank.

My old buddy Larry started teasing me about my hounds from the time we left Aurora were I live all the way out to the river, I've hunted with Larry for over fifty years so I was used to his playful banter.
Lewis he said my dogs are going to run circles around those big long eared dogs of yours, man you haven't hunted them in a couple of years, all you do is road them for exercise and run drag's with them, and look at old Joker what's an old dog like that going to do tonight? Man you should have left them dogs at home and you could see real hounds in action tonight .I just smiled and thought to myself we will soon find out. We dropped the tailgate letting all the hounds loose, they seemed to not be interested in hunting for just a few minutes as we walked them away from the truck, then just like that I heard one of the most beautiful sounds, one of Larry's black and Tan's wanted to tell the world there was a racc**n in the cattails. Hey Lewis what do you think about that?
I thought his hound old Beau opened up first, I was wondering which way old Joker, Tina and Smokey were in all this, Larry's female also started opening up. Then way out in the middle of the slough I heard Tina, Smokey and then Joker the old dog he said I should have left in the kennel I was thinking my hounds are way ahead of them.Larry's hounds were catching up, my hounds were driving the track and the way they were opening I knew it was a very hot track, I kept thinking I don't want them to catch it on the ground for a couple of reasons, I didn't want to kill a racc**n tonight, and if they caught it in the slough we wouldn't be able to get to it, a man would sink up to his chest and he wouldn't be able to just walk out.
All the hounds were pushing the track together now, I had to admit that old Beau dog was a pretty good
hound, but he wasn't a bluetick. Larry's been a black and tan man for well over fifty years, he has bought his stock from big game hunters in Utah and New Mexico, he used to hunt with another black and tan man Mr Al Edwards before he passed Al Edwards used to hunt and buy hounds in Wyoming and Utah.
The hounds were really pounding that track, hound music I haven't heard in a long time, then just like that they stopped for a couple of minutes by one of the many old wooden bridges that cross the property, old reliable Tina opened with her beautiful locate voice any one could call, then all the hounds together.
I don't think I've been this happy in a long time, my hounds actually treeing game after a long layoff and to me something just as important we didn't kill any racc**ns.
We drove home that night and think Mr Mosley was a little humbled, well I always get him back. That's my buddy I'm so thankful to have friends like that. Also Robert Shaw, Greg Hudley men I have hunted and fished with for well over fifty years.

Old Joker is getting a little long on the tooth now, but he still wants to hunt and chase racc**ns. I find myself someti...
03/22/2026

Old Joker is getting a little long on the tooth now, but he still wants to hunt and chase racc**ns. I find myself sometimes when I'm at his kennel just grabbing a seat to just look at him. In my opinion there is not a better looking hound in the country. He has a great mouth in the woods with a perfect change over at the tree. To me he is extra special, he is the type of hound I have been wanting to produce
for over fifty years,tall leggy extra long eared hounds. I think the seed Chester Armstrong planted in me over fifty years ago concerning these big old hounds has produced fruit.
A big good looking hound that doesn't have the instincts to hunt and be a hard tree dog would never be any good to me. I am a life long hound hunter and that becomes my first consideration when I make a cross
I'm happy to say that I'm physically able to get the hounds to the woods now and I will be trying to hunt harder this year than I ever have. Hopefully I'll get to meet some of you this year. You all be safe and thank you all for the kind words and prayers.
I've talked to some of you on the phone and was impressed by the knowledge some of you have about these old fashioned blue hounds and the good men who hunted them.

It has been a long battle, but I'm finally able to get the hounds to the woods. I have really missed hunting my dawgs , ...
03/09/2026

It has been a long battle, but I'm finally able to get the hounds to the woods. I have really missed hunting my dawgs , but when you are in constant pain in your knees it's difficult. . I'm looking forward to talking to you all and I thank you guys that know me for your words encouragement.
Old Tina is in heat now, the plan is to breed her to Smoking. The first time I made that cross about three years ago I was very happy with the outcome as the pups were everything I was looking for, tall athletic heavy headed extra long eared pups. I'm told that they are top notch hounds in the woods great tree hounds.
Hopefully I will have a litter in a couple of months.

I'm feeling great these days, finally got my knee replaced which is something I should have done a few years ago. Really...
11/16/2025

I'm feeling great these days, finally got my knee replaced which is something I should have done a few years ago. Really excited that I can get back in the woods with the hounds. I apologize to the people that I told that I would be having pups soon, have to admit my heart just wasn't in it, everything has to be just right for me to make a good decision on the cross I want to make. Give me a few months and I'll be back in the saddle again breeding top notch hounds.

Old Beauty,a very gutty female,I hunted her and a couple of good hounds one night in a big cattails slough, what makes i...
06/10/2025

Old Beauty,a very gutty female,I hunted her and a couple of good hounds one night in a big cattails slough, what makes it so hard about hunting the cattails is that you really can't get to the hounds because of the mud, you can take a step that looks pretty stable and sink to your neck. I have big hounds and they seem to get through the swamp and the mud with no problems.
The hounds had struck a track and were opening up on this racc**n pretty good, usually when they open in the cattails they catch the racc**n on the ground, every now and then they chase it up one of the many trees that border the cattails. I always prefer to put it in a tree because if they catch a racc**n on the ground I can hear the fight but never get the racc**n unless one of the hounds want it so bad they drag it out... Well this night the hounds caught a racc**n in the middle of the slough and I could tell by the way the fight was going and the way the racc**n sounded this was a big bu**er, the fight was vicious, my seasoned hounds could normally take out a racc**n or cat quickly but not this night, I could hear my dogs and the big c**n really going at it as they fought closer to the bank on the other side which was a lot easier for me to check out what they were dealing with. I walked around to the other side and I could finally see the action, the fight now was just a few feet from me, I could tell the huge racc**n was just about ready to expire,but something was wrong Beauty was in the battle, but she wasn't giving it her all the way she normally would. Old Topper finally got a throat hold on the big old boar c**n. I managed to get the c**n up to the bank and he was probably the biggest racc**n I've ever seen. I could hardly get my hand around his back legs to carry him to the truck but somehow I managed. I kept watching Beauty and when we got to the truck I checked her out from head to toe and couldn't find anything wrong with her. Something was still off with her the next morning so I took her to the vet. The vet couldn't see anything wrong so I brought her back home, that night I went out to the kennel to give the hounds a treat, I shined my flashlight and noticed Beauty only had one eye reflecting back at me. Next day another trip to the vet and they checked out her eyes and found a cut on her left eye where the racc**n got her a couple of nights before. The vet thought the eye would heal with medication but it never did. I hunted her a few more times after that, and she still hunted hard, I just didn't want her to lose the other eye so I retired her from hunting, she died in my kennel of old age. She was one of the best.

A young Front Range hound over twenty years ago
03/19/2025

A young Front Range hound over twenty years ago

First picture is Joker at just three and a half months old, I know it's hard to believe because he looks so much older ,...
01/05/2025

First picture is Joker at just three and a half months old, I know it's hard to believe because he looks so much older , second picture he was about five years old,we were waiting for dark to hunt a creek next to a corn field, the third a couple of years ago and he was eight years old. In my opinion this is probably the most beautiful hound I have ever raised in my kennel, he has been hunted on lion and bear up in Utah and is a steady all night good locating tree hound. He is slowing down now so I hope to get at least one litter out of him while he is still here.

Two Front Range pups both females, the one standing is Cindy coming three years old the other female went to a buddy of ...
01/05/2025

Two Front Range pups both females, the one standing is Cindy coming three years old the other female went to a buddy of mine. I still don't have any pups right now for sale hopefully soon

Old Shadow as a pup and all grown up, I always thought of him as the best looking hound I had ever seen. He was a very g...
01/01/2025

Old Shadow as a pup and all grown up, I always thought of him as the best looking hound I had ever seen. He was a very good locating tree hound with a bawl mouth most hunters would appreciate. Tall long legged hound with good tight feet. I miss this old warrior. He was a great hound.

Wilbur Lewis and Sherman Williams, I met them when I moved to Colorado when I was about sixteen years old. I learned a l...
11/08/2024

Wilbur Lewis and Sherman Williams, I met them when I moved to Colorado when I was about sixteen years old. I learned a lot from these men about hounds, how to hunt hounds and taking care of hounds. I grew up in Venice California right on the ocean, and had hounds the older hunters in the neighborhood would give me, mainly because they were trashy but to me they were perfect so I was always around hounds.
When I moved to Colorado and met these men, and oh I can't forget Chester Armstrong these men taught me about hounds, and how to hunt them. They were all blue tick men with big old fashioned incredible hounds in their kennels, mostly the old Smokey River strain of hounds. I remember Wilbur and Chester making trips to Kansas where Warren Haslouer lived back then. I remember some mighty fine looking pups coming to Colorado from those trips. I still remember a couple of hounds Wilbur raised up that were for real c**ndawgs. Wilbur brought back a couple of big redtick pups on one of those trips that were some of the most fancy lookers, I also remember a couple of big blocky headed extra long eared hounds Chester brought back on one of his trips , I don't think I've ever been the same after seeing those hounds.

Back in those days you didn't have to go very far to hunt racc**ns unless you wanted to, there were so many places to turn a hound loose and tree c**n, things are different today, places I used to hunt are now shopping malls and housing developements I drive over forty miles to hunt now, all the creeks and river bottoms are still there, but long gone are the farmers and ranchers. Also back in those days men would normally make their own dog food and do the simple things when it came to veterinary work. We had a couple of veterinary supply stores you could buy most anything you needed for your hounds.I remember when Parvo first came around I think that's when things really changed and they started taking hounds to the vet.As for dog food I think any one with a hound had his or her own recipe for dog food,I just don't remember most hunters buying store bought dog food. You could go to any grocery store where they cut meat, or any fish market and get the fish head's and the fish they were going to throw out. I watched these men grind up the frozen fish head's and meat scraps,mix them with bran and cooked oats, I remember they would add ground up broccoli and greens mixed all together with powdered butter milk. I also remember how important sweet potatoes and pumpkin were for a hounds gut and digestion. I always thought the ground fish head's was a bit much, but the hounds seemed to love it and they were always healthy and slick and would hunt hard all night.
I never heard of any of the big over a hundred pounds hounds Chester had bloating, I don't think these fellas knew what bloating even was. To me those were the good ole days. I'm happy I got to see the world before all the changes, when you could really hunt a hound all night and feed your hounds better than t store bought food and I don't care what story bought brand it is home made was healthier.

Address

1646 Ensenada Way
Aurora, CO
80011

Telephone

+17206293525

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Front Range Bluetick Kennels posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category