Loosing birds

That1uncle1776 said:
The shells don't matter if you can get them to flush close enough that the wad hits them.
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Shells most certainly do matter. So does choke, patterning, and gun fit. They all matter. A 12 gauge with a LM choke shooting Kent Ultimate Fast lead 6's 1 3/8 is the perfect combo for me. Make sure you gun is shooting a 55/45 or 60/40 pattern. Make sure your length of pull is correct. 1 3/8 has always trumped 1 1/4 loads through a 12 gauge on paper and on birds for me.
 
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Depending on the company I'm with, I enjoy spending time with my dog looking for downed birds. If there are several people, I'll send them on to continue hunting and lag back with my dog in search of a downed bird. If we have searched the area thoroughly first, I will then determine the wind direction and either back up or go passed the area where the bird fell and start my hunt over walking into the wind. Many times, when I get back to the area, my dog will pick up scent if it's running or will lock up pointing a burrowing bird. I've walked several miles over several hours to find one to shoot, so I figure it's worth 15-20 minutes looking for one that's on the ground.... This method works well for me and the dog. It's also very satisfying when I meet up with the rest of the group with tail feathers sticking out of my vest! Not many enjoy this and I was similar when younger and thought shooting was the best part of the hunt. I no longer hunt for me. If I didn't have a good dog, I wouldn't hunt much or at all.
This year the hunting trips have included more than a handful of "folded" birds, and at least 15 runners that weren't recovered. Way too many, but most of the time it's because there wasn't a good spot on the bird that went down and the dog was on another retrieve or not in the area...maybe even back in the truck being rested because of warm temps and saving some energy for the next day.
We have bagged over 150 birds this year, so losing birds is just part of it, but sucks every time.
 
westksbowhunter said:
Shells most certainly do matter. So does choke, patterning, and gun fit. They all matter. A 12 gauge with a LM choke shooting Kent Ultimate Fast lead 6's 1 3/8 is the perfect combo for me. Make sure you gun is shooting a 55/45 or 60/40 pattern. Make sure your length of pull is correct. 1 3/8 has always trumped 1 1/4 loads through a 12 gauge on paper and on birds for me.
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I'm not loosing birds.
 
Carguy2Banker said:
Depending on the company I'm with, I enjoy spending time with my dog looking for downed birds. If there are several people, I'll send them on to continue hunting and lag back with my dog in search of a downed bird. If we have searched the area thoroughly first, I will then determine the wind direction and either back up or go passed the area where the bird fell and start my hunt over walking into the wind. Many times, when I get back to the area, my dog will pick up scent if it's running or will lock up pointing a burrowing bird. I've walked several miles over several hours to find one to shoot, so I figure it's worth 15-20 minutes looking for one that's on the ground.... This method works well for me and the dog. It's also very satisfying when I meet up with the rest of the group with tail feathers sticking out of my vest! Not many enjoy this and I was similar when younger and thought shooting was the best part of the hunt. I no longer hunt for me. If I didn't have a good dog, I wouldn't hunt much or at all.
This year the hunting trips have included more than a handful of "folded" birds, and at least 15 runners that weren't recovered. Way too many, but most of the time it's because there wasn't a good spot on the bird that went down and the dog was on another retrieve or not in the area...maybe even back in the truck being rested because of warm temps and saving some energy for the next day.
We have bagged over 150 birds this year, so losing birds is just part of it, but sucks every time.
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Yeah it happens and as long as you look for 15 minutes, sometimes there's just nothing you can do. It's just it's just a thing where they don't get recovered..
 
In November I was hunting this place, I lost three roosters. The next day I went back in there, and a mountain lion had found all three of them and chowed them all down. So there is critters out there that will find these birds and chow them down. Eagles, mountain lion, bobcat, grizzly, they find these birds and they Chow them down.
 
Goosemaster said:
Yeah it happens and as long as you look for 15 minutes, sometimes there's just nothing you can do. It's just it's just a thing where they don't get recovered..
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I have looked for close to an hour before finding them. Quit shooting inexpensive shells, buy a quality aftermarket choke from Briley or Carlson, pattern your shells and choke, check your drop and cast for POI, and make sure your LOP is correct. You are obviously not putting the bird in the center of the pattern which leads me to think gun fit. But you also jump around from shell to shell. Really you tune a shotgun just like you tune a bow. You have to find the right arrow spine, center shot, nock height, etc with a bow. It's no different shooting a gun. Some can just pick up a gun and a box of shells and go out and shoot a few birds. Some will struggle like yourself. But even the fellows who manage to have some success, will never be as successful as people who take the time to do it right like myself. I hunt 30-45 days each year. I might miss 5 or 6 birds all year. I might loose 2 or 3 cripples but there have been years that I don't remember loosing a bird when I had my old male dog. You need to figure out you shotgun shell combo and start putting in the effort on training your dogs. You also must be getting in to a tremendous amount of birds to loose 18. I have had years where I have personally shot over 50 wild pheasants. But numbers aren't there to do it now hunting solo. Hoping to get 25 birds this year. Just need a few today and tomorrow to do it.
 
westksbowhunter said:
I have looked for close to an hour before finding them. Quit shooting inexpensive shells, buy a quality aftermarket choke from Briley or Carlson, pattern your shells and choke, check your drop and cast for POI, and make sure your LOP is correct. You are obviously not putting the bird in the center of the pattern which leads me to think gun fit. But you also jump around from shell to shell. Really you tune a shotgun just like you tune a bow. You have to find the right arrow spine, center shot, nock height, etc with a bow. It's no different shooting a gun. Some can just pick up a gun and a box of shells and go out and shoot a few birds. Some will struggle like yourself. But even the fellows who manage to have some success, will never be as successful as people who take the time to do it right like myself. I hunt 30-45 days each year. I might miss 5 or 6 birds all year. I might loose 2 or 3 cripples but there have been years that I don't remember loosing a bird when I had my old male dog. You need to figure out you shotgun shell combo and start putting in the effort on training your dogs. You also must be getting in to a tremendous amount of birds to loose 18. I have had years where I have personally shot over 50 wild pheasants. But numbers aren't there to do it now hunting solo. Hoping to get 25 birds this year. Just need a few today and tomorrow to do it.
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You must be some kind of God.
 
If you're shooting and frequently crippling birds and you're not finding them, then changing ammo, choke, shot size etc., should reduce your number of cripples. Pattern your shotgun and buy better ammo. ND did a study several years ago and hunters that shot #2 steel shot had more birds and significantly less cripples than hunters that shot smaller shot.

If you are smoking birds and your dog isn't finding them...then dog training would certainly help, understanding, that not all hunting dogs are created equal. All dogs are pets. Some can hunt. Some can't. Genetics.

If I lost 18 birds in a season, I would be making some significant changes somewhere....maybe everywhere.
 
Goosemaster said:
I have a 1-year-old black lab male, who I bought from a lady in Saskatchewan, who is not a a breeder but has had several litters, and his dad came out of Lewistown, Montana,
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Goose, I'm sorry to say it, you got bamboozled. Don't kill the messenger, but that lady in Saskatchewan pulled your chain. She sold you a lab from Laramie. Now we know why the birds get away, you've got a dog from Wyoming🤯!
 
Wind River said:
Some dogs just can’t find a pork chop in a phone booth 😁
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I am a man with some experience with these types of dogs. I have an old Vizsla sitting next to me that couldn't find a bird in her food bowl but we love her regardless. My wife has a rule that if I bring a dog home, they stay. She could care less how or if they hunt.....so I learned the hard way to be very particular and selective when choosing a new hunting dog.
 
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