Not sure what that says about the lead loads you use!
I'll admit to being a bit biased by experience on even bigger birds, that may be a factor.
But I'll try most anything once. What steel loads are these that kill 'em dead at 40 yds?
Wow...
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I'll admit to being a bit biased by experience on even bigger birds, that may be a factor.
But I'll try most anything once. What steel loads are these that kill 'em dead at 40 yds?
Problem with the Greyhound cross --- rabbits!!
OK, Mr. Negative - you'll be the last to know our IPO go date.
But the rabbit-proofing is not a bad idea (similar to snake proofing).
And of course we'll offer a double your money back guarantee. If your greydogs don't beat the coyotes to your wounded pheasant, at least they'll kick axx when they do get there.
But the rabbit-proofing is not a bad idea (similar to snake proofing).
And of course we'll offer a double your money back guarantee. If your greydogs don't beat the coyotes to your wounded pheasant, at least they'll kick axx when they do get there.
Over time, we may be able to abandon actual shooting - collect a limit without firing a shot.
Had a Brittany that would do that to preserve (read fat) pheasants. Would catch them in mid air!
BrownDogsCan2
Well-known member
I like Winchester drylocks and Kent silver steels. They are both getting hard to find. I’ll shoot regular Kent’s if I have to. 1.25 #3s through a mod tube.
Shoot golden pheasants 5s and Kent lead 6s if I plan on killing any quail.
And steel kills geese just fine
Yes - and a lot of people get dead from .22 LR holes. I'll still take the 5.56 M62s, given a choice.
Why must we shoot steel at geese over dry fields?
No question, sir. You were ahead of your time. Or at least, your dog was.
Is your Brit available for breeding? (NO. Not with me, with the rescue dog greyhound). I can pay in preferred company stocks.
BrownDogsCan2
Well-known member
Cause people like you can’t kill them
and eagles eat them off the iceBrownDogsCan2
Well-known member
Lol Harps it is.
You had to know it was coming. I never got in on lead for waterfowl. I shot some of the early steel it was bad , but I was shooting undersized and over payload. I haven’t shot much of the tungsten nontoxic. A little bit of the early stuff. That federal load that was way over density you had to be careful with or you would knock down multiple birds. So if shooting lead I imagine there would be some collateral damage , birds flying away with pellets in them. Not to mention the ones intentionally hit that kept going.
Actually I haven’t shot a goose in 12 years. I leased some ground the first 10 years my daughter was growing up. It kept mama happy I was usually home by 1030 or 1100. Since then it’s been all upland , something about just getting out and walking.
gimruis
Well-known member
I would say the best gauge is experience. I used to golf a lot and maybe the distance which is always in yards on a golf course helped me gauge distance with a bird too. I don't shoot a lot of clays. Maybe once a year but ya sometimes those things crack with one skeet BB.
WHAT?
You mean she never learned -the hunt dead/dead bird ect. Command— Plus how to take hand signals to the area of the fall—ON HER OWN-without any formal training—
HARD TO BELIEVE-NOT!!!
This is helpful. I'll add this to the list of traits we'll breed our greydog steel-shot pheasant chasers for, but will step it up a notch: our dogs will give the owner hand (paw) signals. These signals may be a bit rude in some instances - but will always be appropriate.
Chestle
Well-known member
I'm with gimruis here. Experience is the best teacher. No substitute for seeing lots of pheasants.
So when I started out chasing pheasants, before I had a dog even, I would pace the distance to the flush whether I shot or not. The bird just flushed, I had a picture of that in my mind and I'd step off the distance to figure out if it was in or out of my particular killing range. Same with the fall; if I dropped one I'd pace the distance to the bird for the same reason, to correlate picture with range. Do that enough, you gain experience in judging distance.
I watched a Randy Wakfield video on a 60 yard pheasant shot. Modern times; he carries a laser rangefinder to determine distance to the fall. I guess that would work for distance to flush too and save all that pacing.
On other thing that might help on judging distance. NRA makes a life size pheasant target. You could buy a pack and post them around the yard at various distances so you could get familiar with what they look like at various yardages. Midway has them for about $30 for a pack of 25. Might come in handy at the pattern board for load/choke testing at various ranges too.
NRA Official Lifesize Game Targets Pheasant Paper Pack of 25 (midwayusa.com)
I DO shoot a lot of clay. I'll probably shoot somewhere between 1000-2000 rounds before next season. Skeet, Trap and Sporting Clays. Most people shooting Trap from the 16 yard line are breaking the bird around 17 yards or so from the trap. Call it 35 yards. Most Skeet breaks are 20-22 yards if you break the bird around the center post.
I don't shoot these games for the game or score; I shoot to get ready for hunting. I'm fortunate that I have a range nearby where I can shoot gun low without people getting their nose out of joint. So my breaks are a bit farther out than that. I think it just helps me with making my gun mount better and is more like a hunting situation. Anyway, yeah, I screw up a gun mount, I miss for other reasons. Sometimes I'm in the teens. But I keep practicing until I'm pretty consistently in the 20s. It's true that clay breaks easier than pheasants die. But I you can't pretty consistently bust a 35 yard trap target you aren't ready for a 35 yard pheasant going away shot either.
As always, Your Mileage May Vary and I certainly respect your right to disagree. This is just what works for me and may not work for anyone else.
As usual, all excellent ideas and much appreciated but the one I like best of all is the "see lots of pheasants" approach! Time for me to start working harder on that, and less on some other things.
We apparently work on much the same wavelength. I, too, shoot gun down and don't call for the bird, either hit time delay or if some one is pulling, make it dealers choice. When I find myself becoming too studious on each shot, I hit the go button myself with no delay. That seems to cure any tendency to overthink in short order. I used to use full choke only, to make sure that hits were bird killers and not one or two pellet clay miracles but now just leave the Modified choke in for everything made of clay.
We apparently work on much the same wavelength. I, too, shoot gun down and don't call for the bird, either hit time delay or if some one is pulling, make it dealers choice. When I find myself becoming too studious on each shot, I hit the go button myself with no delay. That seems to cure any tendency to overthink in short order. I used to use full choke only, to make sure that hits were bird killers and not one or two pellet clay miracles but now just leave the Modified choke in for everything made of clay.
That Brittany I mentioned had no paw signals, but would give me a dirty look when clean missed a quail he was pointing.....
I say you got off light. Good thing he was French. One of President Biden's German police dogs bit a WH guard, for a lesser offense than yours I imagine.
Goosemaster
Well-known member
Yeah, geese are tough birds.They will make it back to the water usually. Then they get taken out by eagles and coyotes.Cause people like you can’t kill them
Goosemaster
Well-known member
I don't shoot trap at all.I just hunt a lot. I sure hope lead shot is not outlawed. Damm!!I'm with gimruis here. Experience is the best teacher. No substitute for seeing lots of pheasants.
So when I started out chasing pheasants, before I had a dog even, I would pace the distance to the flush whether I shot or not. The bird just flushed, I had a picture of that in my mind and I'd step off the distance to figure out if it was in or out of my particular killing range. Same with the fall; if I dropped one I'd pace the distance to the bird for the same reason, to correlate picture with range. Do that enough, you gain experience in judging distance.
I watched a Randy Wakfield video on a 60 yard pheasant shot. Modern times; he carries a laser rangefinder to determine distance to the fall. I guess that would work for distance to flush too and save all that pacing.
On other thing that might help on judging distance. NRA makes a life size pheasant target. You could buy a pack and post them around the yard at various distances so you could get familiar with what they look like at various yardages. Midway has them for about $30 for a pack of 25. Might come in handy at the pattern board for load/choke testing at various ranges too.
View attachment 1361
NRA Official Lifesize Game Targets Pheasant Paper Pack of 25 (midwayusa.com)
I DO shoot a lot of clay. I'll probably shoot somewhere between 1000-2000 rounds before next season. Skeet, Trap and Sporting Clays. Most people shooting Trap from the 16 yard line are breaking the bird around 17 yards or so from the trap. Call it 35 yards. Most Skeet breaks are 20-22 yards if you break the bird around the center post.
I don't shoot these games for the game or score; I shoot to get ready for hunting. I'm fortunate that I have a range nearby where I can shoot gun low without people getting their nose out of joint. So my breaks are a bit farther out than that. I think it just helps me with making my gun mount better and is more like a hunting situation. Anyway, yeah, I screw up a gun mount, I miss for other reasons. Sometimes I'm in the teens. But I keep practicing until I'm pretty consistently in the 20s. It's true that clay breaks easier than pheasants die. But I you can't pretty consistently bust a 35 yard trap target you aren't ready for a 35 yard pheasant going away shot either.
As always, Your Mileage May Vary and I certainly respect your right to disagree. This is just what works for me and may not work for anyone else.
Could be. Have there been any actual scientific studies done to demonstrate they eat enough to do harm?
Eagles, I thought are mostly fish eaters and coyotes might be limited in the distances they'd be willing to paddle out and bac (with a goose in tow).