Come to think of it, I didn’t lose a single cripple all last season.
That makes two of us. I bagged 24 grouse and 14 pheasants last year. Each one my dog retrieved to hand. The dog you hunt with is just as, if not more important than whatever shell you choose to put in your gun.
I thought we would catch a break on shotgun target loads after the end of all the hunting seasons. 20 ga. is nonexistent, and 12 is nearly the same price as 28 ga., when you can find it. 9mm is bowing the shelves, saw it last week for $12.99. Everyone is saying that it because we have sold all of our lead to China. Was looking for someone that would show up to do some work om my house this summer. They said they are having the same problem with aluminum. They have almost quit making siding and stock is low on coil and gutter stock. I switched from Dish to Direct network this week. The installer ran a new supply line to the junction. He went to his truck and got a used chunk of wire that went 3/4th of the run. Then peeled a new chunk off a duplex wire to finish the run. He said that roll was all he had.
Not exactly true Steve if you go on-line.
12 and 20 gauge target shells are available by the case for around 8.50 – 10 a box which is far below 2021 pricing, but still well above 2019. Adding in shipping the cost ends up being around $110 or so for the flat.
Not exactly true Steve if you go on-line.
12 and 20 gauge target shells are available by the case for around 8.50 – 10 a box which is far below 2021 pricing, but still well above 2019. Adding in shipping the cost ends up being around $110 or so for the flat.
Maybe if you want cheap trap loads.
AA’s are definitely not in that price point and hard to find.
Gone are the days of $75 a case for AA’s after rebate. RIP….
That makes two of us. I bagged 24 grouse and 14 pheasants last year. Each one my dog retrieved to hand. The dog you hunt with is just as, if not more important than whatever shell you choose to put in your gun.
Yes, I think it also depends on the specific gun, choke, range, and ammo in combination too though. Some hunters take longer shots than others. I generally lean towards not taking long shots which definitely reduces the chances of a cripple. I realize that some hunters walk heavily pressured public land so many of their opportunities are longer shots than mine might be too and the argument there is that if they don’t take long shots, they’d hardly ever take a shot.
24 grouse is a darn good haul. I got you beat on roosters but my grouse harvest was exactly ZERO last season!
I have hunted Grouse mostly without dogs my whole life. Even while owning bird dogs that is my preferred method. The last couple of years I have taken a dog more times that not but that;s because I haven’t gone far to hunt them and really because I carved out a little niche that works for my pointer. I wouldn’t even consider a pheasant trip without a dog. That’s just the way I evolved as a hunter. Probably because my dad was the same.
To each their own but pheasant hunting without a dog seems crazy to me. Can it be done? Sure. Seems like you’re setting yourself up for lost birds. I’ve been in fields that were a couple hundred acres of straight sorghum with no rows or strips and even if you dropped a bird 15 ft in front of you, you’d have a heck of a time finding it. Cattails – same thing – dang near impossible to find some of the birds without a dog, even if you see exactly where it went down. If you’re hunting grass or nice little strips of food like they have at game farms, then its doable.
24 grouse is a darn good haul. I got you beat on roosters but my grouse harvest was exactly ZERO last season!
Grouse can be tough, especially if you don’t have a lot of time to devote to it. My best year was 2020 and I believe I harvested 35 grouse. I was eating grouse 3 days a week for about a month and a half. I should also add that I hunt in spruce grouse territory and man those things hold tight and don’t flush easily. I’ve had times where I need to have my dog almost grab the thing before it will flush and I have to count to three banana before its far enough away and I pull the trigger
I wouldnt hunt pheasants without a dog. Even with a dog sometimes those buggers are hard to find especially if they are crippled.
To each their own but pheasant hunting without a dog seems crazy to me. Can it be done? Sure.
Can be done. I did it for a decade several times/season before I had my own dog and when I wasn’t able to go with my Grandfather or Uncle who had a dog. I focused on thinner habitat where I had a better chance of recovering a bird when I folded one. I still harvested birds pretty regularly, but I definitely also lost more too. I simply didn’t have the means of owning or taking care of my own dog at the time, but I still wanted to hunt.
I can positively say that I still did better than some other hunters I knew who had a dog, and that was primarily because I hunted private land and they hunted public land.
I’d much rather hunt without a dog than with one that isn’t trained properly or listening. I’ve been on a few hunts where the dog borderline ruined the hunt and I can 100% say we would have done much better without those hell hounds with us.
I’d much rather hunt without a dog than with one that isn’t trained properly or listening. I’ve been on a few hunts where the dog borderline ruined the hunt and I can 100% say we would have done much better without those hell hounds with us.
Amen to that. No dog is definitely better than a poorly trained dog that is going to burn up a field.
Amen to that. No dog is definitely better than a poorly trained dog that is going to burn up a field.
How about when some knucklehead your buddy invites along brings his female dog who is in heat on a group hunt when I have the only male dog. The only tail he wanted to chase wasnt covered in feathers so I split off from the group and hunted alone. We limited out they got nothing.
How about when some knucklehead your buddy invites along brings his female dog who is in heat on a group hunt when I have the only male dog.
Haha. I’ve experienced the exact opposite. The knucklehead shows up with a non-nudered male and all it wants to do is hump my smaller, less aggressive, spayed female. Then we fold up a rooster and that male runs over to the dead bird and chews it into a pulp. What a hunt that was. The other guy in our group who didn’t have a dog said “I’d shoot that dog if it were me.” LOL
Haha. I’ve experienced the exact opposite. The knucklehead shows up with a non-nudered male and all it wants to do is hump my smaller, less aggressive, spayed female. Then we fold up a rooster and that male runs over to the dead bird and chews it into a pulp. What hunt that was. The other guy in our group who didn’t have a dog said “I’d shoot that dog if it were me.” LOL
Ha, that would be irritating for sure. Which is why I chose to hunt alone because my dog wasnt interested at all in hunting.
Amen to that. No dog is definitely better than a poorly trained dog that is going to burn up a field.
That’s why you need pointers! 
I think my record so far is getting one pointed 186 yards away. I just wait for the beep from the GPS collar handheld and see what way the arrow points, it’s kind of cheating.
Anyone use any of the RIO 20 gauge stuff? LGS has a few cases of their 1 oz 6 shot game loads on hand for a great price and was planning on picking up a few boxes to have on hand for grouse this year.
Anyone use any of the RIO 20 gauge stuff? LGS has a few cases of their 1 oz 6 shot game loads on hand for a great price and was planning on picking up a few boxes to have on hand for grouse this year.
The specs look good. Faster than Rem Express. Probably good for all small game.
Game Load 20ga 2-3/4″ 1250fps
20 1oz
2-3/4″
6
Haha. I’ve experienced the exact opposite. The knucklehead shows up with a non-nudered male and all it wants to do is hump my smaller, less aggressive, spayed female. Then we fold up a rooster and that male runs over to the dead bird and chews it into a pulp. What hunt that was. The other guy in our group who didn’t have a dog said “I’d shoot that dog if it were me.” LOL
I’ve been in your exact boat Gimruis. I will always have a female and some guys I hunt with will always have male dogs, one of which isn’t neutered and he humps just about everything. The big difference I see between a non-spayed female and a non-neutered male is the female is only an issue for about 2-3 weeks once every 5-8 months or so when she is in heat whereas a non-neutered male is wanting to fornicate all year long if he catches the right scent. I will add that my female is spayed.
I’ve been in your exact boat Gimruis. I will always have a female and some guys I hunt with will always have male dogs, one of which isn’t neutered and he humps just about everything. The big difference I see between a non-spayed female and a non-neutered male is the female is only an issue for about 2-3 weeks once every 5-8 months or so when she is in heat whereas a non-neutered male is wanting to fornicate all year long if he catches the right scent.
It makes for a rough hunt. Let’s just say those dogs don’t get invited again. Its like the owners don’t quite realize that their dog is out of control either. Do you know how difficult it is to approach another hunter and tell them that their dog isn’t welcome? Some of them take it very personally.
It makes for a rough hunt. Let’s just say those dogs don’t get invited again. Its like the owners don’t quite realize that their dog is out of control either. Do you know how difficult it is to approach another hunter and tell them that their dog isn’t welcome? Some of them take it very personally.
I would do the same thing as you did if I was in your shoes. Its not like we can hunt an entire year or anything so each time out is precious. A poorly trained dog that ruins a hunt should be relegated to the truck or not even brought with until they are controlled better. There is no excuse for that and its mostly on the owners.
The time I referenced above is the ONLY time I have had one of my males do anything like that and it was solely because that dog was in heat. I have always had males and my hunting partners had females and it was never an issue through all the years I hunted and the countless dogs I have had.
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