Searching the forum is not always intuitive. I always recommend the advanced search.
Attached is a diagram of search features with a short explanation. Also consider reading the
Help sectionPlease note that if using the quick search in the upper right below the board logo...
It is specific to the board you are currently in. However if you are in the main index it is scoped to search all the boards. This is briefly mentioned in the diagram.
Linking to search results is a little tricky. You have to link to the search phrase and insert the proper information into the link. Example link to search for the phrase 'pit bull' is here
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?action=search2;advanced;search=pit%20bull The key is to recognize the action is
search2 and the special characters needed between spaces %20 . I am not going to explain much more on that.
Click on the image below to see it full size....