Ground swatting

years ago hunting with a large group of guys which I don't normally do, we were at a game farm, had to split into 2 groups of 6 or so, i'm always cautious hunting with people i haven't hunted with, and maybe never really "hunt" only game farm once in a while? they even have signs at the fields no ground pounding and no low birds. well in my field its my lab and maybe 1 more dog, and i even reminded everyone no shooting on ground, sure enough 1 of the guys I had hunted with before took a ground shot, luckily I saw him and chewed him out bigtime in front of everyone. no excuse.... so then we come to find out it happened in the other field too and that young pointer took a few bbs , they brought it to the vet and it died on the way from internal bleeding. last time I've hunted with a group. so sad and avoidable
 
Rabbit season last a month past pheasant in SD so three years ago I got a group of friends together to go chase them in some groves on public land in Feb, I have Wire Hairs and Drahts so they were all in and had a ball! I knew as soon as we started it was a mistake but fortunately no dogs were harmed and we did harvest several bunnies and squirrels and had a great feed that night. I will still hunt rabbits with my dogs but will limit it to just me and my son.
 
Bob Peters said:
I've ground swatted a few turkeys before.
Click to expand...
Isn't that how everyone hunts turkeys? You shoot them in the head or neck when you can draw them in close enough.

The jackrabbit sporting clay at the range is tough! When that sucker comes flying out it bounces all over and hauls ass. I rarely hit it.

Thanks for the responses on ground swatting. Safety is obviously the primary concern, always. Low or ground shots are a unwise if you're in a group or around dogs. Always wear at least one piece of blaze orange too.

I was by myself and the dog wasn't nearby when this rooster ran across. I've never really thought of it being unethical. I'll probably never run into this situation again lol
 
Wind River said:
Everyone thinks they know where the dog is, but????? Always taught the kids in Hunter's Safety never to shoot below the horizon and never ground swat. We all have "what if stories" like the one above. Be safe.
Click to expand...
This thread and discussion has been a good "food for thought" reminder for me....I like to think I'm safe and that I keep my dogs safe, but in reality, I have plenty of room for improvement. Going to work on that...
 
Dick Cheney nearly killled a guy by taking a low shot on a quail. The guy was in another group but decided to walk over and watch Cheney's group. Chaney thought it was perfectly safe to take the low shot to the rear because no one was supposed to be there. That's the problem with starting out with "Well, if it's safe . . ."

Sometimes it is not nearly as safe as you think.
 
Lol boy that is a "low" point in presidential history when the VP shoots another hunter isn't it.
 
Harry always said it was his fault for walking up on them without warning, but Dick blamed himself. It was most unfortunate for our sport, the idea that very experienced, cautious hunters can accidentally shoot each other, over a quail.

It pretty much gave me the "blue sky" rule. I could have swatted a rooster a couple of weeks ago -- ran right across the field before he saw us. I let him go hide and then went after him.
 
Coach 20-Gauge said:
Harry always said it was his fault for walking up on them without warning, but Dick blamed himself. It was most unfortunate for our sport, the idea that very experienced, cautious hunters can accidentally shoot each other, over a quail.

It pretty much gave me the "blue sky" rule. I could have swatted a rooster a couple of weeks ago -- ran right across the field before he saw us. I let him go hide and then went after him.
Click to expand...
It's easier to pull the trigger than not pulling it, at times.
 
In regards to the safety aspect, do people think rabbit hunting isn't safe? Or do they only shoot non running rabbit?

I haven't had much opportunity to ground shoot pheasants but things like Ptarmigan, desert quail, or grouse end up occasionally being shot on the ground when they refuse to flush. Requirement is for them to be on bare ground with a backstopping.
 
LittleBigHorn22 said:
In regards to the safety aspect, do people think rabbit hunting isn't safe? Or do they only shoot non running rabbit?

I haven't had much opportunity to ground shoot pheasants but things like Ptarmigan, desert quail, or grouse end up occasionally being shot on the ground when they refuse to flush. Requirement is for them to be on bare ground with a backstopping.
Click to expand...
Not sure on that one...be interesting to get some feedback from guys that run rabbits with beagles. W/O the right protocols/precautions it would seem to me that it could be quite unsafe...
I hav'nt killed a rabbit in 40 years so what do I know...
I do know a friend came within a whisker of killing my dog when he sluiced a wounded chukar and had no idea she was almost on it....wayyyy too close and I think about it often.
Also, the sire of my best wirehair never made it back to ak from sodak many years ago. The owners buddy shot and killed him on a pheasant hunt.
Will I take a bird on the ground....yep, but I hunt by myself 99% of the time.
But as I said earlier in this thread....this topic has given me some pause because I know I make mistakes too and even being by myself isn't a guarantee that I might not f*** up..
I will be thinking about these things when I get all healed up and back at it...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top