Ground swatting

LCR summed it up concisely. When I hunt with a group, I don't have a lot of rules, but no shots on the ground, is one. Too many dogs and people, particularly with the tall cover we are usually in. Even in shorter cover, dogs move FAST. It is a bad idea for sure. Saying this, a couple weeks ago I dropped a rooster into a combined corn field from a dry pond, the dog hadn't flushed it and he was deep in the cover. The rooster got-up and was running, I did shoot him on the ground, as I felt I knew my situation and surrounding in that instance. Ground shooting to me isn't about if it is ethical, with me, it is a safety thing.
 
I was taught to never shoot a bird on the ground, crippled or not. However, I did and never got over it. Had a covey scattered down a creek. Banks were straight down probably 8 ft. Lite cover down in the creek. Nothing down the edges, just bean stubble. Bob, my shorthair came from behind me and dove off on a deer run into the ditch. At that moment a bird gets up and flies down my side of the ditch. Bang, the bird goes down in the bean stubble. Then jumps up and runs for the ditch. At the exact nanosecond I pulled the trigger, Bob launches from the ditch! Bang. Bob yelps.. I drop to my knees.. Bob picks up the bird and bring it in. He's bleeding and I'm on my knees crying and apologizing. I was lucky. Bob took a couple in the side of the head and ear. Vet left them in. I would have bet anything that he could not have covered 35 yards, found a place and leaped out of that ditch in those few seconds!! But he did..
 
birddude said:
I was taught to never shoot a bird on the ground, crippled or not. However, I did and never got over it. Had a covey scattered down a creek. Banks were straight down probably 8 ft. Lite cover down in the creek. Nothing down the edges, just bean stubble. Bob, my shorthair came from behind me and dove off on a deer run into the ditch. At that moment a bird gets up and flies down my side of the ditch. Bang, the bird goes down in the bean stubble. Then jumps up and runs for the ditch. At the exact nanosecond I pulled the trigger, Bob launches from the ditch! Bang. Bob yelps.. I drop to my knees.. Bob picks up the bird and bring it in. He's bleeding and I'm on my knees crying and apologizing. I was lucky. Bob took a couple in the side of the head and ear. Vet left them in. I would have bet anything that he could not have covered 35 yards, found a place and leaped out of that ditch in those few seconds!! But he did..
Click to expand...

That's what always sticks in my mind too.....how fast my dog can cover ground when he needs to....once that trigger is pulled, there is no taking it back.
And that is my situational awareness with a dog I spend alot of time with......some people that have hunted with me over my dog haven't hunted over a dog, or haven't done so in a long time.
Its a recipe for disaster if it's not a set guideline.
I'll put him on a cripple, he'll run it down if he doesn't see it. Most roosters will hunker down once they feel they aren't being pursued. I've given birds a 10 minute headstart that I've had good last seen points on for crippled runners.....most of them don't go far and some are even dead once they tuck in and sit.
Just my experiences though.
 
The little Brittany I just adopted was available because the guy I knew who owned him has lost all his hunting ground. Seemed that his pastor, who always hunted with him, had tried to ground swat a bird. 9actually not even ground swatted but shot as it was attempting to fly out of a deep ditch. He shot down.)

Just as he pulled the trigger, the property owners dog popped up right underneath it. Unfortunately, he killed the dog. The guy I know wasn't at fault, but he brought the dog killer and that was that.

Both are disinvited for life. There is no excuse for that.

I had a friend bring his son's father in law to hunt one time. My dog goes on point down in a ditch. He's up on he ditch side watching. I make my way down, flush the cock an before I know it I hear "BOOM!" about 8 feet in front of me and down into the ditch. No effing way I'm hunting with that guy ever again. I got on him about it and he said he couldn't control himself. Bad answer!
 
I'm just guessing that anyone who grew up "road hunting" in SD has ground pounded a rooster. I've shot maybe a handful Arkansas style, but not in the last 35 years. I will, however, swat a crippled rooster if I feel it's completely safe & necessary (even w/ a good dog) to recover the animal I've just crippled. Yes, it is entirely possible to make a safe ground swat, even with a dog "on the ground", especially when you, your dog, & that rooster are the only ones around. I'm fully aware of my ability or inability in a situation to put a shot where I want it, when I want it, & what my pattern will do once I pull the trigger. That becomes more difficult once you add people &/or dogs. Just too many unknowns. I'm more conservative around others' dogs, & I've noticed the same thing with those I hunt with. They're more conservative around mine. I'm faced with such a situation maybe once a season. All the planets have to line up just right. If they don't, I don't take the shot.

I only hunt with another hunter (& probably his dog) about 5 times a season; otherwise, I'm alone w/ Ace. I only hunt with people I know well & trust to make smart decisions with their gun. I do agree, for the safety of all, that in a group situation, the law has to be "no shots on the ground....None!" Similary, if anyone I hunt with would like to make a "no shots on the ground" rule, I'll gladly honor that. I'd expect the same from them.
 
Last edited:
wingsnfins said:
Most roosters will hunker down once they feel they aren't being pursued. I've given birds a 10 minute headstart that I've had good last seen points on for crippled runners.....most of them don't go far and some are even dead once they tuck in and sit.
Click to expand...

Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. I believe. This isn't an argument for or against ground swatting. Just what I've seen. My dogs, & others I've hunted with, have recovered cripples hundreds of yards from where they dropped. Just last weekend, Ace got one 0.65 miles from where he'd been shot & hit the ground running. We're certain it was the same bird. But...this is the exception, rather than the rule. Most cripples that make it hundreds of yards away are never recovered.
 
Safety is often compromised in pursuit of crippled game, especially with an inexperienced shooter. The kill becomes the goal and safety is neglected. We all have seen that scenario. How far a cripple can leave the scene is proportional to the seriousness of the injury and the terrain.
 
Dakota road hunting is common. Ground pounding ... Arkansasing, Ozarking, whatever is common. Same is true in Minnesota in grouse country ... many people only kill ruffs by shooting them on the ground or in a tree. Many, many Minnesotans road hunt grouse ... some never leave their vehicle except to pick up a dead bird.

I know "of" a guy. He was a neighbor of my brother when he was renting a house (long, long time ago). The guy pheasant hunted by road hunting and ground pounding pheasants ... many I am sure on posted land. His lab road shotgun by his side and quickly retrieved the dead bird. When I was up there ... he used to razz my brother and I on how much time and distance we walked to shoot pheasants.

My joke after hunting pheasants in SD during Thanksgiving weekend (deer season was open then):
What is the difference between deer hunting and fox (coyote) hunting in South Dakota? If it is a deer you have to stop the truck and get out to shoot.
 
I thought that was illegal in Kansas. Or at least it used to be. I never shoot at a low flier let alone one on the ground. Its a recipe for disaster and an ass whooping.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. I believe. This isn't an argument for or against ground swatting. Just what I've seen. My dogs, & others I've hunted with, have recovered cripples hundreds of yards from where they dropped. Just last weekend, Ace got one 0.65 miles from where he'd been shot & hit the ground running. We're certain it was the same bird. But...this is the exception, rather than the rule. Most cripples that make it hundreds of yards away are never recovered.
Click to expand...

I hear ya on that too......
I've probably lost half a dozen birds over my current lab in his hunting time.
Best cripple he ever ran down was in SD....true double.....he peeled off the first bird as it came down stone dead and on to the second bird that I didn't hit solid......I watch him go through the grass, up the embankment to the James River .....after a couple minutes I let him know where I am on the whistle.....couple minutes later he comes back over the embankment the same way he went.....rooster in his mouth, both soaking wet. I can only imagine the rooster tried to swim the river in his escape.....it was a good 500 yards line of sight....but he wasn't searching, he was seconds behind that bird and it was only a matter of time before he caught it.
Most of the public spots I hunt here in Wisconsin aren't as vast.....the birds get cornered just by the layout of the property at times and alot are bordered by private too. In those cases I've had the luck of letting the cripple settle if the dog isn't on it or saw it.
Thankful to have a great "canine recovery service" 😊😊
 
Goosedowner said:
I make.it known to first time hunters with me that we are only hunting birds and we dont shoot at anything on the ground and the birds should be above eye level before you shoot. Only exceptions would be like two days ago my GWP caught a woodchuck and brought it back to me. I had my buddy hold my dog by the collar behind me and I dispatched it.
It's been a long time since I've seen a woodchuck in mid December?
Click to expand...
Yeah, low shots are unsafe. That is a good point.
 
I ground pounded a bird in high school. I didnt care for how I felt about doing that so Ive not done it again. The exception has been a couple occasions where I see a cripple running and I know the dogs are plenty clear.
Ive went to carrying a pistol in my pocket for point blank shots at coon that end up wrapped up with dogs. Ive used the shotgun one handed at point blank before but its way too risky. A good sized coon can give a 50 lb pointer a run for their money. Unless you know for a fact your dog is a badass, that fight needs ended.
 
Labradinger said:
I ground pounded a bird in high school. I didnt care for how I felt about doing that so Ive not done it again. The exception has been a couple occasions where I see a cripple running and I know the dogs are plenty clear.
Ive went to carrying a pistol in my pocket for point blank shots at coon that end up wrapped up with dogs. Ive used the shotgun one handed at point blank before but its way too risky. A good sized coon can give a 50 lb pointer a run for their money. Unless you know for a fact your dog is a badass, that fight needs ended.
Click to expand...

Ive been considering carrying a 22 revolver as well. This year early season we found quite a few coons in the grass, luckily they were all sleeping and the dog didn't care. Last few hunts i carried one of those cheapo 410 chamber adapter things with a 2.5" 410 #4 lead shell in it, but luckily never saw any more coons. I figured only having 60 pellets would be a lot safer for a point blank shot (obviously well clear of dogs and people), but a cheap 22 pistol may be a better solution.
 
My first bird ever was a chukar I ground swatted with a BB gun when I was just a kid. That was the first gun I got to carry when I started to get to go hunting. I took many shots, and was probably a pretty awful death for that bird. But by god I was certain I was the greatest hunter on earth that day.
 
Shooting the ground can produce ricochets, plus you don't know what's in the grass you are killing or wounding along with the rooster, such as a hen.

I always carry a little NAA .22 WMR revolver when I'm hunting, but I try not to use it where the dog can see because if I shoot something he thinks that species is fair game. I have enough trouble with him chasing unwanted critters as it is. :)
 
When I was in HS a kid I know shot and killed his best friends dog trying to shoot a running rabbit while they were pheasant hunting.
 
birddude said:
I was taught to never shoot a bird on the ground, crippled or not. However, I did and never got over it. Had a covey scattered down a creek. Banks were straight down probably 8 ft. Lite cover down in the creek. Nothing down the edges, just bean stubble. Bob, my shorthair came from behind me and dove off on a deer run into the ditch. At that moment a bird gets up and flies down my side of the ditch. Bang, the bird goes down in the bean stubble. Then jumps up and runs for the ditch. At the exact nanosecond I pulled the trigger, Bob launches from the ditch! Bang. Bob yelps.. I drop to my knees.. Bob picks up the bird and bring it in. He's bleeding and I'm on my knees crying and apologizing. I was lucky. Bob took a couple in the side of the head and ear. Vet left them in. I would have bet anything that he could not have covered 35 yards, found a place and leaped out of that ditch in those few seconds!! But he did..
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing that story because that’s how it happens… bob sounds pretty tough!
 
If safe, why not? It's hunting and the name of the game is to kill your intended quarry. A head shot on a standing bird saves meat and is a merciful death. Like turkey hunting. Considering it's legal then to each his own.
 
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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top