I just recently took this picture and after fooling with it a little I really think it's my favorite of all the game/gun/dog pictures I've taken. Do you have one.

No gun but along the same lines:




Best,


Mike

This was the last day of a really great trip out to SD. Great birds, great dogs, fine doubles, and good friends. It just doesn't get any better.

Bill G.

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First grouse for me!

Brody, 2 Phez, and a 16ga Fox.

Me and my Turkey Dog Buster and his first fall longbeard. Shot with a W & C Scott a few years ago.

jOe, Thats the photo I remember. At the time you posted that photo I was curious about the sxs you had in your hand. Either your one big guy or that is a nice petite sxs. Randy

This is "Diamond" back around 94,... probably the best dog I've ever had the priviledge to hunt over, been gone about 5years now
and my first Parker,...a minty DHE,...sold it in a moment of weakness,....haven't found one like it since

Tim, Thanks for generating this topic. What pumpgun do you have in the photo? Fun to see photos. Attached some favorites of dogs,game and gun. Randy

Brother Glen, his German "Reeb" 12b, his goldens, Chitna and Caribou on ND pheasant hunt.



Friend Kevin and his GWP Lizzy, grouse/woodcock hunt northern Michigan, my Parker GH, 12b.

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Repeat photo of my 9wk old PL, Shooter. Spent quality time in the truck till photo op time. Early Sept. Goose season, northern Michigan. Fox SW, 12b

Boy, Thats hard! After 60+ years of hunting, there are so many favorites. I guess the one I have access to, thatI still get a kick out of is this one. My dog "Ripper" on his very first real hunt, with a 16 Darne/Charlin whatever. Taken a few years ago at Uncle Clive's ranch near Willows, Calif.

1902 W&C Scott boxlock..2&1/2" 12 ga. with 27.5 inch barrels with a tight choked left barrel. I think it killed that gobbler by accident...the next spring I shot a big gobbler in Alabama 3 times with it and he got away. That's when I went to the 10 guage with a 1 & 5/8 oz. payload.

This first pic is just to balance out that truly frigid looking pic that Jeff G posted. This is in Blythe this last dove season. So far, I haven't seen any of our collective pics that stirs the feeling of comraderie (sp?) and environment like Jeff's pic in that snow.




This pic was captured by my wife on a phez hunt recently

some of recent hunts...
The friend of mine Vladimir with our two dogs

Just after New Year, whiteshoe hare with Russian hound dog

Here is my Chesapeake Bay Retriever Jack with his first Wood Duck

Crowded out...

Here are some of mine. God's creation is truly stunning, especially when examined closely.

WM Schaefer 10ga


Its just hard to beat a pheasant in the sunlight, Wow
CE Fox 12ga


Pape 16ga

Well, they are not all together, but here is a favorite of my RBL with a pheasant from a recent trip in OK. The one of my dog ,Gus, is grouse hunting in Maine.

Randy,

Your welcome. The pump is a 1931 Remington 17, it had a short stock so when I lengthened it I also made it a semi pistol. I have finished the stock since the picture and it's become my go to gun. It has an older Poly Choke which I have learned to love.

Tim

Here's a few of my fav5.

A limit of Huns in MT with a 16ga Harkom



A herd of Elk in MT



A pointed covey of Blues in W.TX



A Bob and Blue with a W&C Scott



A duck hunt with Duchess

CJ, Diamond was a beautiful dog, and what type of weak moment did you have to let that DHE go. Did it have anything to do with women or liquor?

Reb, Couple of great Americans, The CE Fox and the Graded(Which) LC.

Not the best composition, perhaps, but thought you might enjoy the colorful birds. The gun is a straight-grip 1935 'D' grade Parker in 16 ga., 28" bbls choked IC & Mod.

Bob

Fox XE 12ga


LC Smith Pigeon 10ga


LC Smith Ideal 10ga

My favorite three

Craig,

Love that Ideal 10g...I have wanted one of those for a long time. Someday perhaps I will find one! Love the pics guys...

Unfortunately there's no gun in this one.

A good morning with a Charles Boswell pigeon gun and my young
chocolate Tolley.
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Terry,...I'm counting 7 green heads!!!

28 bore Watson Bros,...the only time we got out to chase Grouse this year!

A farmer's gun...

I think I've posted this here before but it's the best shooting related picture I ever took so you get to see it again. I've had the Jones cap since I was 12 years old (long story), and the jacket since I was 16. Thankfully I've always been fat and it still fits pretty well.

Parker DHE 32 inch #2 frame, canvasbacks and redheads.


Destry

P.S. To Geno - The small birds are snipe I think. What's the bigger waterfowl in the back? I'm thinking it's a mallard but something doesn't look quite right.

Here's a postcard photo I have in my collection that maybe you could help me with. I believe the birds are bustards, and the writing looks like maybe Russian. Can you read what the message or the address says?

Ok, one more from me. This one didn't come out quite as slick as the other but I still like it.

Outer Hebrides - Scotland
golden plover, Parker BH, wooden decoys, plover call, same old cap and jacket.

16 gauge Parker Hammer Gun.


16 gauge GH, Damascus Parker

This is a great thread guys. I am really enjoying each post.

Vintage verses Modern.

Dave M...I hope the dog is just posing..heh heh
nics pics lads
Franc

MarketHunter, not Snipes, but Double Snipes - bird looks like snipe, but 1 and half times bigger, we call it Duppel in German way. Greatest bird to hunt with pointing dog! And, yes, it's mallard.
Sorry can't help you with postcard. The address is in Russian, sent from Riga, Latvia to Peterhoff near St.Petersburg. Text is in Latvinian I believe.
Best.

Franc,
It was pretty warm that day, and his butt was dragging.

jOe, Do you use a punt gun when a flock feeds by your hide? We in Michigan hope and pray to get one licence in the spring. What kind of bag limit system do you have in TN? Randy

A wet little doggy from an early season picture a while back. She got too old to hunt last year, so twenty or thirty minutes at a preserve is about all she can handle now, but it makes her very very happy.

Geno,

Ah Hah!!! I knew something seemed different but I couldn't figure out what. They do look big now that I know that's a mallard. I think that's what I've heard called the Great Snipe (Gallinago Media) am I right?

Dave,

Good one with the four woodcock. I missed one while out squirrel hunting this year, was the first I'd shot at in ages.



Destry

Your right - Gallinago Media.

Here are a couple more favorites. Joes got me thinking turkey!



One of my proudest moments...

This is one mornings hunt. They are all legal...these were flushed and called back for the kill before 10:30 AM.

Chuck, Here is another in the snow from earlier the same day. That whole trip was the reason was the essence of hunting.

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Me and Zach and a Lefever EE Damascus, Before the snow.

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Me and Maggie with the Lefever. She was 12 in this picture. She is 14 now and retired from hunting but only because the body can't do what the heart still wants to. The best springer I've ever hunted over. She could track a bird from here to hell, flush it and stay steady. And if you did your job she never missed a retrieve. The Very Best!

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This day I shot a sixteen gauge





This day it was a twenty gauge





...and this day I shot a twenty-eight

Thanks for the thread Tim, this group sure has some wonderful firearms and great dogs.

Here's the old man in Canada, at eight years old and in his prime. . .


The young one is 18 months, full of himself and coming up nicely. . .

Here are a few of mine Chuck, here is a BW version of my fav. For me Hunting is all about the Comraderie, the bond of man dog friends and the call of times gone by but still stiring within, the fine guns are an extra

My Sons 1st Bird this year on his 1st ever game shot along with crew a few were new hunters this year

New York with Will S.

Bill G and I

Hank & Corey after the Hunt

The boys in ME

at G&H

Guys thanks for the photos some really beautiful dog, gun and game pics
Jeff G.

Great stuff Jeff and cuzz G. You guys look like you have a great time back there.

Your pics bring back so many memories.
Thanks for posting.
I am not unhappy that this is not possible for me any more.
I have had my time and can be well content that stories can be shared if the pics were never taken.
Many years have passed and many hunts have become memories that are too dim to focus on. But, I can still taste the very first quail that I killed. It was with the Fox that I inherited from my great uncle. My mother fried it for me and the taste will never leave my mind.
A picture is in my mind and if you sit back and imagine a kid, skinny and wearing wire rimmed glasses,with a lovely, graceful 16 gauge A H Fox in hand, you can see me in dungarees walking in Green's field. The birds flushed and I mounted, chose my shot and fired.
One bird that day, as it was late, and a butt cutting was in order if I was not home soon. Supper was at six sharp.
It is my sincere hope that one more kid has that wonderful experience.
One more kid's being able to tell such a story will make so much difference.
Take one hunting. Work hard to insure that he will be able to. Be able to have such a memory when the times afield are past.
Best,
John

Love guys, keep them coming.

Particularly like the snipe pictures, and of course the young folks with their game.

Destry

My favorite doesn't have a dog or even a nice gun in it. What it does have is a fabulous smile on the face of my 82 year old father the day he shot a clean double on turkeys.



Later that day I shot the prairie chicken over a nice point.

North of Dalhart - 2006/2007 season.

Right to left - Dubya, Joe Wood, and the late great Miss Brie.

Joe is holding his very nice G Grade Lefever 12.



Best,

Mike

There are lots of favorite pictures, but here's a group of Huns taking off. The photos were taken by the wife of one of my hunting friends as she walked along with us.

Daryl those are fantastic, I think the best I have ever seen of wild flushing birds in flight - thanks!

Best,

Mike

Mr Halquist, what great images and what great memories they stir! I hunted that very same field or a mirror image of it, with a good friend of mine, 3rd generation Montanan, now gone, just a few years ago. Thanks. The picture above it is pretty cool, Joe with that "G". Dunno how he compensates for those bent bbls, but he seems to....

Acouple from MI this season

a nice old camp on the edge of a swamp, found it on my last walk before heading home

Jeff, Typical Michigan upland hunt, no game, just find an old shack. Pass the word. Randy

I'm late to the party, and this is my first attempt to post a picture, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This has been a really interesting topic, and I've enjoyed all the contributions. Mine are: Hogan and Emmy; Emmy's first bird (with 1909 grade 40 .16 Sauer); and Woodcock and Flues (I re-stocked the Flues myself with a piece of walnut I dragged around for 35 years).
Will

Hey Will

Very nice job on the pics and the stock (truly a professional job) Will S. is featured in a couple of my pics in NY with me and in MI with the boys. Will is a fine furniture maker who does exceptional work.

Jeff G.

I hope this works.

Trying another

Hopefully not so big.

Here's a couple from last fall and one from this summer. Dixie likes to fish also.

HI guys,

Great pictures!! Some real good ones there.

Here are some:

Not game, but I love this one:


Some Erkle's Francolin from this past season, first day I've ever had two... Unfortunately the car is NOT mine...


My first woodcock, but not a good picture:

This Harkom is becoming quite the meat gun.

These blues were taken a few weeks ago.

Ok, I'll play.

The first is my lovely wife with her first two pheasants ever, and sporting a broad grin.



The next is your's truly. Hey, who said the photo had to be birds and shotguns? So long as it's a double gun!



Curl

A friend in Belgium, Marc Gettemans, sends these for your enjoyment. How many of you hunt with ferrets ?

These are great! I have no idea how to post a pic, would love to show my 15 year old pointers last point.
Chuck

Rabbits and hares over here don't live in holes...don't know just what you'd use a ferret to hunt; might run a possum out of a hollow log for you...Geo

15 year old Mack, Chuck's pride.

Nice to see you here Curly!

But you've still claiming that my rifle is your's in your signature

Chasseur,

I'm simply the current lifetime custodian of that old Purdey double rifle. When I'm gone there will be somebody else.

Curl

P.S. Eightbore and I paid dearly with dreadful hangovers the day after I acquired it.

RBS

Mike
That's one horny dog you have there! LOL
Steve

Mike looks like he might be next...

Late season W/GH Parker 12ga


Whitetail W/DH Parker 10ga 0B


Parker PH 16ga 0 frame


Ithaca flues 20ga & Parker GH 12ga



My son, Chessy and Parker DH10 on a goose hunt

Pictures from last year's trip to the R&R Pheasant Preserve in SD.




My son and my Britt on a quail hunt in northern Alabama (Dec 2010)

Lindner Diamond grade and my favorite game bird.



Shelby with the birds that pushed her over 700 wild roosters and the Wm. Moore that bagged them.



While there is no gun in this photo it is one of my favorites because it captured putting a braggart in his place. He came as a companion of a guest that was invited and than preceded to tell us that his "professionally trained" GSP would wipe the labs' eyes in the morning.

The GSP, a very nice dog in CRP was worthless in the big cat tail bogs we hunted and never saw a bird hit the water while standing point forty yards from the bank at the outside of the bog.



I liked his dog when hunted on a course that fit him, but........

Here are some of my favorites:

A couple very happy hunters and a great day. My britt Cash is gone now, but posts like these help keep my memories alive. Thanks for that:




Winter chukars with my Lefever 16:


Britt in the frosty grass:

The new kid:

Showing promise:

My new dog, Blue, my new/old Adams & Co 16g and 2011's first woodcock:

A hard-won December rooster and my 1920's Westley Richards:


My veteran dog, Whit, proving she'll get the job done, even though she doesn't like water:

Now this is a great thread! Some awesome pictures being put up by you all!

I have a lot of favorite pictures, but this one is unusual. Bell [long gone] is pointing with a bird already in her mouth. We did get the pointed bird, too. This happened twice with another dog, but sadly no photos.

Back again....

Great pics everyone, and Mike that is one beautiful grouse.

Nothing fancy, just an old Trojan 16ga and a wild prairie rooster...

Dennis,

Isn't he, though? He was huge, too, and worthy of a mount but I have no more room.

Son Trent takes one a bit too close after the covey rise. The gun is a Belgian no-name boxlock. The white dog is Willy the Wirehair. I'd have posted a picture of the "game", but there really wasn't any left to photograph...Geo

Double bearded Gobbler last Spring with Greener FP-20 built 1880. Math indicates the gun scored 130 years after it was built...Geo

European woodcock the first time I brought my drilling out for birds:

Bell looks a lot like my DD in that pic, what breed was she?
CHAZ

Chaz, Belle was registered as a German Wirehaired Pointer. About 80 pounds before season, and 70 pounds at the end. Sire out of Wisc. and dam out of Briar [something] in S.C. as I remember. All dogs are different. Belle was always a "me first" dog, and would take birds out of other dog's mouths. Oddly enough there was never a fight. Don't know how she did it.

Couple of my favorites.

W&S Screw Grip.







Alan

Alan, I was going to ask if your bird pictures were in Alaska. Tundra in fall looks familiar. Then I saw your moose. What was the horn spread ?

My favorite picture is often the most recent. This is from Monday of this week. The gun is a pre-war French guild 16 ga, barrelled by Jean Breuil, taken as a trophy from a Normandy farm by a GI in the summer of '44. It's my first bird and first shot at game with this gun. According to the seller, the now-late GI's son, this gun hadn't been fired since 1959 though it did receive both pride of place in the gun cabinet and a lot of loving care.

Daryl,

That was Sept 2008. I was North of Nome. The bull had a 62" spread. He was 15 yds when I hit him.

Alan

No birds or doubles, but I like this one:

Nice decoys. Did you carve them? Gil

Alan, that's a pretty good moose from anywhere. And with a hand gun , too. Moose seem to vary in body weight . Big ones go from 750-1500 pounds . My biggest was 65", but I did not realize it was a very big moose, until I tried to lay my rifle in the horns for pictures. The rifle just didn't fit. Too short. Then I noticed I could not turn the moose easily for field dressing. Just too big and heavy. Moose body was just too large to judge the horns. One does know how big the moose is when packing out a quarter. Sometimes almost too heavy to stand with a quarter in the backpack. Awfully pretty time of the year with the red on the tundra

Memorable Terrell Co. TX turkey hunt, April 2008. 9 guns(no guides), three days results minus one bird that was late for photo. 12 Toms in photo. I bagged a 19.5 lb. Rio and called up two more for buddies. Birds were kept in a walk-in cooler.

Not a hunting photo, but memorable to me on several fronts. No finer hunting and fishing buddies and friends a man could have than depicted in this photo. Unfortunately, Allan had to hold the camera. Early September in the early 1980s, Harriman Ranch, Henry's Fork of the Snake River near Last Chance, Idaho. Waiting for the Paraleps to hatch. Left to right, Clint, Chuck, me, and Bill. Both Bill and Chuck are gone, Chuck having passed away a week ago, age 90. What a great guy and fisherman. He guided for Bud Lilly in the late 1950s. He fished every fishable day on the Ranch during its "hey day" since its opening to the public.

I've posted this before, but this is my Son and his first bird. It was taken with a 1909 20 gauge LC Smith 2E.



This is from last Fall. It has my favorite gun, (a 1907 20 gauge LC Smith O grade), and my dog.

Dustin that is also one of my favorite gun pics.


And then there is this one....

no gun but one I like

I think I've seen that old abandoned truck in a picture of some custom engraving someone had done on a gun...Geo

Yucca and switch grass and pheasants. I bet that old truck lays in wait somewhere in Eastern Colorado or Western Kansas.

Actually that truck is a car gents....about a 37-39 Dodge or Plymouth 2 dr.........look at the back window and the rear seat windows.....the back seat frame is still in it along with the front seat frame as well..........

BTW, I have some ocean front property..............

Best,

It was actually abandoned by Bonnie and Clyde.

The car was abandoned after a head-on collision with a pheasant, the proof is still impaled on the hood ornament
Steve

Truck car whatever, I KNOW I've seen it engraved on somebody's gun. Come on. Fess up and claim it somebody. I did not dream this!...Geo

A member in Utah had a Parker engraved by Ken Hurst with an old car on the bottom of the receiver..........THIS IS NOT THE SAME CAR GEO......I will find that picture and post it just for you Geo..........!......On the original post the member mentioned that this old car was at their favorite hunting spot here in Utah, that is why he had it etched on the gun.......
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Scroll engraving by Ken Hurst....bulino etched by Lee Griffiths......SKB put it all together....

Here you are Mr. Geo: this car looks like a late 30's Packard Coupe BTW......



SORRY TO HEAR YOU HAD A STROKE GEO......HOPE ALL IS WELL NOW.....GOD BLESS

Best,

You're probably right, Doug. The bad thing about a 'steel-trap' memory is that once the spring starts getting rusty, the details become a little muddled up. A stroke'll do that to you, you know...Geo

To be convinced, I'm still gonna need to see that other picture though.

Looks like Doug was right. At least I ain't old enough to recognize the make of either one of those old cars...Geo

Some lion darting pix; no guns.







The romance of field work in Africa

LGF
After looking at the first picture I have to ask are y'all twins?
Steve
PS what are you pushing out of the truck?

Great photos everyone! Here are a few I have taken excluding the one I am in.















My favorite photo of my wife with game and gun.


One of my favorites of me and my dogs but with no gun.

The dog is not in this one. Taken on a preserve, using a 16 ga. L.C. Smith hammer gun.

12 ga. Regular frame Ideal Grade w/ejectors 30" full/full. Birds were released on private property as there are no more wild pheasants in this area. Back in the early 1970's in this area the phessants were all over.

Same property this time with another FW Ideal Grade with ejectors, this one has nickeled sideplates. That is Max my English Setter, and you can see that it is swampy.

Another favorite....

DLH


P.S. to GSL: No, they were carved by John Ornberg.

Here's on of my favorites....one days kill. Just me, my dog and my W.C. Scott.

Whadja use, a wheelbarrow or a lawn and leaf cart to tote those birds out of the woods?

So, are you some kind of market hunter jOe?

Last Saturday. five different species, one day - woodduck, ring bill, blue bill, mallard and green wing teal.



I was told it was a slow day!

1959 Anotnio Zoli 16ga.#5 spreader and #2 custom bismuth loads.

Don.

Had to make two trips and Doc they were all legal.

jOe, I certainly didn't mean to imply that you were doing anything illegal, just a comment on volume. Obviously, you're one helluva turkey hunter!

Great shooting Joe!

Rockdoc -

those are my students with various lions we caught for collaring. The carcass they are pushing out of the truck is a skinned cow for bait. Lion conservation is smelly business.

Here's one of me and Santa a few years back...18 degrees that morning.

Santa had one of them fancy camo automatic type guns...hard to see it in the picture.

Western Native Gambel's quail.....1925 Fox Philadelphia SW 20 b. 2.5" chambers - 28" F/M......one of twelve favorites.......






Cheers,

Here's a few Grouse that fell last season to my 16 Ga Sterly...





and the first for this season...


Enjoy!

Not a favorite pic per se, but a recent one of the bounty of one of my favorite covers in the Northeast Kingdom of VT where I spent last weekend in pleasant, but not desired Indian summer like conditions. Parker Repro DHE 12 ga. Sporting the 26" bbls of my 2 bbl set that carries like a dream...

Here are a few of mine:
Circa 1900 Holland & Holland Royal Ejector 12 bore

Model 21 20 bore


Parker VHE

16 bore Henry Clarke & Sons Boxlock

Grouse guns on lunch break in the MN woods

Welcome to the board, Jaybird! Hope you visit often and share all of your experiences and knowledge. That's a mighty fine looking arsenal you have. Tell us more about each one!

Jaybird, I'm almost 'fraid to ask, but what are the heck all those white things on the log below the 21 and the Parker in the third and fourth pictures?...Geo

Looks like turkey poop.

Fresh limit of 6 last week with 1911 Sauer Model 8.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k283/Halpics_bucket/11Oct2011016.jpg

Just last weekend:

I'm not much of a photographer but here's my 16 gauge non-rebounding hammer 1866 Joseph Lang, rebarreled in Damascus by James Woodward about 1872. I've shot well over 3,000 cartridges through this gun in in the four years that I've owned it. Thanks to Dig (Small Bore) for bringing it over here.

Boy, I really like posting photos. Such fun. Here's one from this morning I rather like:

Geo. Grouse drumming log with sign he's been there last spring. Obvioulsy not going to make it next spring. Randy

Mark, great photo. To my eye,the gun and bird have an abstract resemblance.

From a morning break during yesterday's grouse hunt:

Little Ben brought this 18 pounder in from 80 yards through dense beds of water milfoil. He grabbed a wing from underneath close to the body and all I could see coming in was the bird! 1 1/12 oz steel 1's from a Western Field 12 ga.

GLS, I agree. This is a wonderful picture in color, design, and clarity.

You go, Little Ben! Tundra or trumpeter swan? Or are they the same?

Guess you meant 1 1/2 oz.?

SRH

Tundra (formerly Whistling). Trumpeters are a bit bigger and are more interior in distribution. Pic shows the biggest Tundra I have brought to bag..an even 20 lbs. Most adults are in the 17-18 lb range. For comparison, barrels on that Western Field are 30" long. I'll be out this afternoon to try for my 2011 bird.

No I meant 1 1/12 oz. 24.5 gr 800X in AA hulls with RSI Sam 1 cups. Load No. 12 in their manual.

Opening day, NH, 2010

Here's one I snapped a few days ago.

My 1925 W&C Scott 12ga. my dog Buster and his turkeys. Buster made the flush about 10:30. Conditions that day were a fall turkey hunters nightmare 20 to 30 mph winds with temps in the 70's....Didn't figure on much as I only saw a couple of birds when Buster made the flush....by 3 pm I had called in and killed these four. 3 loud mouthed hens and one young gobbler. ....the last hen I shot about 30 yards she went down hard then jumped up and flew straight at me I swung and dropped her about 5 feet in front of us.

(For anyone concerned they were all legal)

Good shooting Joe, and beautiful Scott!!!

Thank you. I agree. I'm so often struck with how nature seems to design itself, e.g., the wet feathers at the top of his head repetitively mimicking the graceful form of the hammer of the gun. I've had a few requests for prints of this should I decide to paint it. I think I'll give it a go.

Does Buster help you tote all those birds?

Mike

Stan the weight of steel 1's needed for a good crimp on those AA's (or the STS I currently load) is closer to 1 1/16 oz than 1 1/12 oz as I said earlier. No swan yesterday, but I had a good tme watching my dog and all the various birds.

Make me wonder, if 130 years ago, the guys filing up the action, carving the stock, or making the damascus barrels on this wonderful little Boss 20 were thinking it'd end up in the USA to kill American Woodcock.......

HammerGuy, your Boss 20 looks to be a real beauty, can we see more of it, please?

Assuming I get some more birds to lay across it tomorrow.

I can't believe this thread is still going. This was probably one of my last post as I got into Remington 17s and 37s (prohibited stuff you know).

Briar, on the right, passed last December and today was his birthdate 13yrs ago. Wow...

Love you buddy, go easy on those birds up there, your a little closer to them now.

Joe - Do you shoot many turkeys on the wing? I don't think I've ever met a turkey hunter who did. More power to you if you do.

Reminds me of a hunt for smaller birds with my Brit Ricky about 15 years ago. We're deep in the woods, he's out of range, which is a big no-no with all my dogs. Suddenly I hear him and a huge FLUSH. It must have been at least a dozen turkeys flushed and flying towards me. Some at 6 feet up,others in between that and 20. All of 'em BIG and flying at me like something from the stone age! They looked like B-17's!

Wild stuff. I like the looks of your gun and Buster a lot. Do you ever worry about turkey attacking/defending with its talons against your dog? Just that I've heard a story or 2 like that over the years.

I won't speak for Joe, but I suspect Joe would answer the same way that I do. I try not to shoot at flying birds. The last thing an ethical turkey hunter wants to do is to wound and not recover a turkey especially a 20 lb. spring gobbler. A wounded turkey can out fly a quail and outrun a horse over short distances. Based on my experience and others I know, unrecovered birds (probably hit) are often shot on the flush as they fly away. The south end of a turkey flying north can absorb a lot of shot and still vanish. I'll admit it's hard not to pull the trigger when one flys. I can think of several times I wished I hadn't. It is not unsporting to shoot one which is standing flat-footed and unaware within 35-40 yards or less. How can one ever miss one under those circumstances you might ask? Hunt them religiously for over 30 years and the answer will become apparent. Anyone who claims to have killed and recovered every turkey shot at has not shot at many. I have not hunted fall birds with a dog, but that might be the exception to shooting at birds flushing, especially smaller birds of the year, as the dog can often track the bird.

This is not spring turkey hunting...this is the true sport of turkey hunting.

I've never shot a turkey on the wing that I didn't recover...I usually get a few each fall on the wing and there is nothing grander.

The "kiss of death".

Dear Sirs ,

I tranfer my photos to topic " Member Pics...Who's Who on this Forum..." as more siutable for it . Sorry.

best regards
Gregoriy

Great Pictures Gregoriy....WELCOME.....!.....

I like your pictures...please post more, thank you........

Been hunting turkey for about 15 years now. Shot at one in the air. Flying at me, rising and passed directly overhead quite low still (10 yards?), going to some woods from a field. Got it. If you don't have a clear shot at the head no matter if they are on the ground or in the air, don't waste your time, shot, energy.

PM sent Gregoriy....

Canvasback, my sentiments exactly.

Head/neck shots are always the most desirable. Not only are they the most lethal, but the chance of shot in the body is reduced considerably. Without regard to gut shot contaminents, the flesh of body shot turkeys is hardly what I consider table grade with bloodlines and feather pulls throughout the breast. One of my old turkey buddies thought it was an easy game shooting spring gobblers having had a run of easy birds. He called one up, had the bird lined-up with his barrel and got cocky before he pulled the trigger. "You're dead" he said to the turkey. The turkey didn't think so and left full strut to full vertical climbing airborne in an eyeblink. Burk folded the bird on the third shot with his Ithaca Mag 10 as the tom topped a longleaf pine. He vowed never to act that dumb again (on purpose) with a bird out front in range.

She is absolutely deadly when on the woodcock. Between the Boss and the Brittany, I'm not even sure I was needed in the field today. ;-)

The kiss of death happened again a couple of days ago...I'd show you a picture but I had my SBE with me.

Tick-tock, it's coming soon to a woods near you. You are overdue.

best regards,
JBP

Ben with latest prize. Nitro Special. I don't use forearm wood...just catches cattails and water when in place.


http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k283/Halpics_bucket/?action=view&current=26Oct2011011.jpg

My 18 month old shorthair, a pair of prairie chickens, and a 16ga Fox Sterlingworth in the Ft. Pierre National Grasslands.





--shinbone

Some nice hammerguns pics in this thread. Here's my 16 ga.Liege guild gun.

Too many to say one is the all time favorite, but this pic is a definite favorite. A.W. Gamage 12 bore hammer gun with 30" cyl & cyl steel barrels and a few of the doves it accounted for on a September afternoon.

Not necessarily a favorite pic, but I just shot this interesting woodcock today.

Here ya go GLS...just for you.

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=250510#Post250510

Interesting, indeed.

What's the recipe for a "thicket" load? Sounds like one I might be interested in copying down for future use.

The recipe for "Thicket, Brush and Scatter" loads is about 100 yrs old; the shot is divided into 3 layers with cards. The technology has improved somewhat in that time.

One of the better discussions of spreader loads occurred here:

http://www.16ga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5701&highlight=spreaders

As always, it's up to you to filter what you read.

Favorite one this week from Downs, Kansas.






Whale of a water retrieve by my assistant.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

wonderful posts. wonderful guns. wonderful doggies...however, it troubles me to see all of the beautiful, but very dead game birds...cannot seem to come with to terms with that, except to say that killing is a young man's sport... anybody able to offer any wisdom here...ed, a retired grouse hunter

edD:
Gooses taste like liver. I hate liver. I quit killin' goose. Open water ducks taste like fish. I don't like birds that taste like fish. I quit killin' ducks.

In fact, I quit killin stuff I don't like to eat. Figger the critter ought to live iffin I don't need to eat it. Still like dogs though. They are the only critters who know what this life's about. And I won't eat 'em.

Ok, have to add these!
16ga. M12






Don.

Late season wooden duck.
Scored this pair with my favorite Crossman double and my soulmate GPS.

Do I detect that you have them BLUE taped together so you can
have a side by side pellet gun?
Great picture
Mike

yep, this is a double gun site!

Please don't say that is your "to go gun" Walter. Those white line grip caps are deluxe. That pic made my day.

These are really, really good to eat...........NO marination required, just add your favorite spices....pan fry 'em in butter works for me........




Cheers,

And those blue dun neck feathers make wicked good soft hackles, especially in the smaller sizes.

Doug,
I knew you were a gamblin man.


Not game nor gun, but somewhat related...'sides I like these.

I was cleanin out the dog's personal transportation vehicle today and snapped a few and these were my favorites.

What might you be feeding those fellas, raw lamb? Sure are some slick coats.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

That last picture is a classic, Chuck!

Wow. Fantastic pics!

You made it all possible Mark by putting the little Liege gun in my hands. Thanks.


Rick

Here is a slideshow from a South Dakota hunt that has some photos I like.
Doubles, dogs,birds and kids put to music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbXc4EbiPeo

What a wonderful video! Thank you for sharing.

Raimey,
The brown one gets Purina Pro Plan Lamb and Rice. She hadn't had a bath in a few weeks when that was taken. Never brush her either. Just a hose and some shampoo, towel off. The other one only has about 3/8" coat and she gets Purina Pro Plan Performance Blend. Shampoo and towel off, no brushing.

Oh, and the brown one gets a glucosamine tab and a fish oil tab all her life. I think the fish oil gives her that coat.

Amarillo Mike with his turd hounds flushing a covey of bobs in the Texas Panhandle. Few events in life give a higher thrill than when a covey bursts into the air from your feet! I've never been able to calmly handle it. The current drought has pretty well eliminated the birds for the next few years.....

It's fun to set these photo shots up. Dogs go on point (wild birds), you run around to the best available spot for the picture, quickly set it up in the viewfinder and then snap the shot the instant you hear the birds flush. No way to see it in the viewfinder beforehand. This was a good one--certainly not more than 1/4 to 1/2 second after the flush began. Mike is lightening fast with his gun but hasn't even begun mounting it. Heh, heh....but he did drop one. It's incredible how fast these birds can attain warp speed. And their ability to hide and conceal themselves is a mystery. This covey was cornered in an open area, no brush. At one time I couldn't have been more than 10' from them and staring exactly where the dogs were looking and never could see them. Happens time and time again. Guess that's one of the reasons they're survivors.

Joe,
those birds and dogs are a pretty sight. Looks like Mike needed a change of chonies though.

Thanks. It was fun to put together but not as much fun as being there

A couple more from before freezeup. The end of boat hunting, but huge numbers of waterfowl still here as there is no snow. Too bad they don't fly during shooting hours.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k283/Halpics_bucket/12Nov2011.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k283/Halpics_bucket/5Nov2011006.jpg

Whenever the blurr of the rise fails to quicken the pulse it will be time to quit.

Dog eat the forend wood on that old Ithaca, Hal? Great photos you deserve to be proud of!

All the essentials; Bird dog, Bobwhite, 16 gauge SxS, and water.

My shooting student Joe Wood and Red:

No Joe he takes it off before hunting with it. Its a Nitro Special and he uses Kent Matrix in it I beleive. I used it in my 16 gauge Nitro and that ammo kicks the living heck out of me and the gun.

What's your secret Hal?

Nope I seldom use factory loads. Just mild 1-1/16 oz reloads. Yes I just don't like cattail leaves and water under the forearm when boat hunting.

Hi all, went out today for some pheasants and my son and I both limited out in about a half hour. We were blessed. Here's some pics:

All the best!

Greg

My 12ga Buhag Hubertius SLE:



Me:



My Son Will (he was using my 16b Charles Boswell):



My Son and I:

Lucky kid - a dad to take him hunting and let him use a fine sxs.

Thanks Dave!! I am lucky, very lucky and blessed!

Thanks again!

Greg

Let's keep this thread going. I'm not much of a photographer nor much a a picture subject, but I certainly am enjoying the great pix you guys are posting. Greg, let me second Dave's post; both you and you son are very lucky indeed!...Geo

Greg: Looks like you are enjoying some fair weather in North Dakota and what a fun time with your son. Pretty Roosters too. Buzz

This year November has been pretty good to us up here. Last November we were digging out snow banks. Greg is blessed with some fine hunting partners but he's also blessed with a nose that can sniff out some nice shotguns.

Thank you all for such kind words!! They are very much appreciated. As I said, I'm very, very lucky and the good Lord has blessed me more than I can ever say!

Like Joel said, the weather has been great so far this year, hope it continues.

See you someday at Ohms!

Thanks again all!!!

Greg

Still not a speck of snow here and now the pheasant hunting is great, even though populations are down, as we can walk on the ice inside the cattails and the dogs have a much easier time holding the birds. Not much left for snow geese and ducks now, but still fair numbers of Canada geese.

Lots of great pictures being posted on this tread! The ducks must have jumped right over us here in South Dakota ,We didnt see many on the west side of the state.
The canada's are starting to show up fairly well now but we got about 3" of the white stuff last night and in to this morning so they will more than likly make for the south and not let me chase them much.

As usual, the family got together for Thanksgiving and the traditional TG morning hunt. Myself, one son, SIL and five of my grandsons. Some with little experience as we only got nine birds.

Waiting for the hunt...........



My SIL's pointer and my gsp locked on a rooster.



The rooster flew low as he flushed then elevated quickly into the wind, made a big left u-turn with the wind picking up speed quickly. My son, just visible on the edge of the pic shot the bird. It came down about 30 yards from where he was shot dead in the air because of the speed and elevation he had picked up.



....and the happy hunter

Here is my new best picture. Taken this Wednesday when my son came to his first shoot, aged 10, he was polite and talked to the guns and beaters and really enjoyed the day. Meant an awful lot to me.

Very good picture and very handsome boy. Does he have to beat the girls off with a stick? What a great way to spend a day!

Best,

Mike

Hi Mike, he needs a haircut, but he won't...

Yeah, he has a bit of a girl tribe.

T

....and of course, I see he is in the proper attire.

Let him have his hair and enjoy it while he can Tony. When he gets older and the wind starts blowing it out he can look back with fond memories.

Yes, we kitted him out. JRB of course you are right...we wouldn't make him do it...

T

Very nice Tony! Congrats on a fine day out with your son.

Nice pics Tony!! Here's a couple from today, a limit of roosters taken with my Parker Repro, 16ga bbls.

All the best!

Greg

You're out hunting me Greg. Between being swamped in my machine shop and trying to paint my house I haven't had time to hunt. We'll discuss this sometime at Ohm's over pie and coffee.

When you can hunt Wisconsin grouse in December in just shirtsleeves, it seems a moral imperative to do so......

Now hunting grouse with a hammer must take a lot of practice. I know some have the hammers cocked and gun broke open, but that seems like a lot of crud would get in the action preventing closing.

I have hunted phez with a hammer that was easy to cock both with one thumb. What's your way?

Does anybody else think Greg and his dog look alike with that serious pose. Good looking dog by the way.

Rick

Thanks Rick!! Good one!!! Yep, both grey around the muzzle, that's for sure!!! Thanks for the kind words about my Duchess, would not have scored without her.

Thanks again and all the best!

Greg

You are absolutely right - it takes some practice, but after a while, I don't think pulling the hammers takes any longer than releasing the safe on my internal-hammer guns.

I keep my thumb on the right hammer and when the bird flushes it's pulling the hammer back as the gun comes to my cheek. Left hammer is going back a millisecond after the right drops, if I need it ;-)

I shoot this way in thick cover. If I'm shooting phesy or desert quail or something else where I'm walking along and not fighting for every move, I don't mind walking with the gun broke and hammers cocked - that allows for a quick shot too.

One hammer at a time. If its a dove shoot you have time to cock'em both before the bird arrives. For quail, I cock both hammers at the point and point the gun up in the air.

I cannot even imagine breaking the gun open and trying not to drop the shells out while walking in on a point and trying to keep the muzzles in a safe direction. If a wild bird gets up I cock one hammer and shoot; if the other barrel is required, I try to cock it and get off a second shot.

I dislike having to thumb the hammer and lower it if I don't get off the shot. Its ok while on a dove stand or in a duck blind, but it seems risky to me while walking around in thick cover. A hammergun is just an affectation for me...Geo

The foremost point is, whether cocking both at the same time or one at at time or letting a hammer down,.....muzzles in a safe direction.

All of which serves to explain why I avoid hammerguns.

Ah, hammerless sporting arms are just a passing fad. They seem to be making a slow assent from their low. I wouldn't doubt that most of the purported game tally records were achieved via a hammergun.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Here's the main point: ALL guns are incredibly dangerous and safety must be given top priority. "Out of sight, out of mind" seems to be fairly common with hunters. All guns have hammers--exposed or hidden--that need little urging to do their job. With an exposed hammer gun the risk of a misadventure is constantly being impressed on the shooter. I mean, those huge hammers stretching over the firing pins is a constant reminder that the utmost attention need be given. With a "hammerless" gun that threat is concealed and easily ignored or delayed. I think if really reviewed honestly most of us shooting hammerless guns have at one time or another forgotten that we had slid the safety off and forgotten it for a time. Nothing could be more dangerous. Hammer guns do not allow this slip to pass without notice.

Very well said!

Joe, for inspiration did you have a stout cup of coffee this a.m. with a double dollop of Kickapoo Joy Juice, adult version, to wake to the flavour??? Again, well stated.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

For me, the hammergun is more of an affection.

I love all they represent - from the golden age of England to the craftsmanship to a time that was slower and more genteel.

I don't hunt to put food on my table, but to commune with nature and test my skills when that dog points and the bird flushes.

One day last week, we flushed three bird the whole day and not one went down. The next day, we flushed over a dozen, and there's meat in the freezer because of it. Both were great days in my opinion.

I maintain they are as safe, if not moreso, than guns with internal hammers. I also maintain they're as fast "on the draw" as a single-trigger internal hammered gun with some practice.

Having said all that, my guns are not investments, but cherished momentos of a bygone era and I love 'em just as I would an ugly dog - maybe even more. :-)

Hammergun, I agree with everything you just said. I have 3 sxs hammerguns and use them. However when I do use them I always end up wishing I had one of the hammerless models when the action on a dove shoot warms up...Geo

P.S.: lets get back to pictures, we all have our prefenences and prejudices on gun style...Geo

I'm sorta partial to this one. My little 16 gauge Lindner Daly two years ago. (The feather in the trigger guard was not intended.)

The Daly is beautimous!! Whenever I find one similar to it for sale, it's priced like a new automobile. I'm still looking.

Chief, you're right. I just sorta fell into this one. It had a few problems that knocked the price down enough. And the talents of Mike Orlen and David Yale put her right without breaking the bank. She's a good'un. Not many 16's show up.

Joe, Beautiful gun. What did you have done to the gun? (How's your foot? Sorry to hear of your injury.)
Gil

Mr. Dillon, Mr. Dillon = Gunsmoke

Beautiful gun, you always have winners

Mike

Gil, the little Lindner Daly lacked a buttplate, just raw wood but fortunately it hadn't been cut and the edges were still sharp. Kathy Yale made a beautiful leather pad for it. Then, the horn tip on the grip cap had come loose sometime in the past and had been crudely glued back on backwards. And there was small wood chips around it. David Yale was able to remove the horn cap, repair the chipped wood and replace the cap. It takes a magnifying glass to detect the repairs now. Worst of all were the bores. Some idiot had "honed" them to remove evidence of dents. Main problem was they had stopped the hone about 5" short of the muzzle and I had questions if the barrels could be restored. But Mike Orlen worked his magic and they are now perfect with properly shaped chokes. Wall thickness remains very good. I have no idea how he was able to do it but my hat is off to him. The only remaining repair is it's slightly off face but I have a shim in the hook that has made it a perfect fit. When the shim eventually pops loosed I think I'll have Ken Eversol make the permanent repair. Seems I always put more money into a gun than it'd bring but I just write that off to my fun account. To heck with it--I want it right. Overall, the gun is in incredibly high condition so I'm very pleased with it.

My foot? Well, I made it 70 years without breaking anything but did a number this time. Yesterday, x-rays showed a lateral break of the fibia in the ankle so I'm pretty well stove up for the winter. Foot is swollen like a rattlesnake bite and black 'n blue end to end. Got one of those boots on rather than a cast. Oh well, could'a been a lot worse. Doctor wasn't happy with me that I drove seven hours home with a broken foot (as though I had a choice).

I think a lot of the process depends on what kind of hammer gun you are using. My favorite is an LC Smith, choked full and rifle. On pheasants, lots of time between point and flush. Same on waterfowl FYI: I saw Joe go down in that CRP, but thought he was picking up a bird..The old geezer can shoot..

Sometimes we hunt with plain SxS shotguns. This one is a "standard field grade" 12 gauge Remington 1900 with 30" steel barrels. Bagged one rooster this morning near Carlyle, IL using a handload with #5 NICE shot.

JERRY

Hi all, here's a couple from today. My son Will and I went out and managed to get our limits. Weather was great and the dog worked hard...would not have gotten the birds without her.

All the best!

Greg

Myself and my Charles Hellis 16b




The Charles Hellis



Will using his Fabarm 12ga



And Duchess with the days bag

Greg, you lead the life! Great pictures - thanks for sharing.

Is that private land you are hunting or public land?

Thanks so much for the very words!! I sure do appreciate them. I'm blessed for sure! We were hunting private land...good area.

Thanks again!

Greg

Looking good Greg! You guys will be getting your own show before too long. We did well today to. Put on a few miles to do it. Best part of the day was when we got right in the middle of about 40 sharptails.

My own show!!! You mean I could be in the same leauge as "Jimmy Big Time" be still my heart!!!

Good going yourself, we saw a bunch of sharpies, but wild as all get out. Ready to shoot that Churchill next weekend?

Be good and thanks!

Greg

Greg you must have so many guns between you and your boys that you need a bank vault to hold them. You must have so many pheasants in your freezer that tail feathers are sticking out the lid. Keep showing your pics. Next time take a video camera.

Damn right I am. Plus I think I better check out the stock on that Blanch.

Hi Joel, but I do have bank safe. Our house is the old Rectory and the house has a walk in two door, totally fireproof bank safe. It was used to house the parish records. When we bought the house, they said we could convert it into a bathroom!!!

Thanks again, we do eat a lot of game.

All the best!

Greg

Here is one from today. The 11 year old grandson of a farmer who has extended access to his farms to me for a decade or so.

His first pheasant ever, taken with his first shot at a pheasant ever. He used my Lindner FW.

It was a great day as we now have a newly minted pheasant hunter.

Jerry all you need is a Turtle Necked Sweater and you would be a dead ringer for Hemingway !

Almost, Jerry! I own Karsh's No. 2 print of that famous photo. The guy is staring down on me from the wall!

And Mr. Jerry is a much finer man, than Poppa

Good going Bob!! What a great day for both you and your grandson!! Outstanding!

All the best!

Greg

Hi all, here's a couple from today. I was shooting a John Blanch 12b, SLE. Got 3 roosters and a sharpie. My son Will was using my Boswell 16b, BLE. He got 2 roosters. A good day. Can't believe the weather today, almost hot!! It's in the low 50's and here it is close to Christmas!! This don't bother me at all!!

All the best!

Greg

Greg: Your John Blanch is a very nice looking gun. What shells are you shooting in her to harvest those pheasants?

Hi Buzz, I was using New Era's. 2 1/2", 1 1/8oz #5 low pressure loads. The Blanch is Nitro Proofed for 1 1/8oz BTW.

Take care!

Greg

I like all of Greg's doubles but there is something about that Boswell that stands out above the rest.

My new favorite picture.

Chuck it is so nice of Kyle to let you and your turd hounds pose with him and his birds!

You know me, Mike, just glad to be there too.

...'sides, those birds were just hangin around doin nothin.

Oh, and only one of my dogs is a turd hound, and I'm breakin her of it.

Greg the weather was unbelievably warm here also on Sunday. But our pheasants have almost disappeared after three brutal winters and cold wet springs. Same with whitetails. I hunted the whole regular and muzzleloader seasons without seeing a deer in my unit! My friend hunts on a ranch north of McClusky and the party saw 26 does opening weekend and not a fawn with any of them and the three does they shot were dry.
Still a few sharptails hanging on though.

Hi Hal, sorry to hear about your season. This one has been very good for me and my boys. I can count on one hand the times we got skunked. Most of the time we either filled out or close. Even the deer season has been good. Filled all but one tag (my wifes). Just lucky I guess.

Take care and better luck to you!!!

Greg

70 degrees in South Louisiana means the ducks aren't moving too much, but the snipe are on fire. There's no concept of a predictable trajectory, each one that launches has a completely unique flight pattern - and man are they fun (and tasty).

Shown here, William Ford does a great job on this morning's walk......

HammerGuy, it's always nice to see an old gun in such nice condition with just some careful honest wear to highlight the story of it's use. Don't tell me if the gun has been redone, as I'd rather think of it like I said. Nice gun.

Nice looking gun and snipe. Snipe are a worthy quarry and you are right about being tasty. I did a snipe/quail/dove post-Thanksgiving meal and all agreed the snipe were the tastiest of the three.
Cook'em rare to medium rare...

Daryl,
Thanks for the kind words. I'm happy to tell ya, she's 99.7% original - a good ol' boy in Houston fixed a tiny splinter off the forearm during one of my darker days - and shoots like a dream. I've really been slow in researching 'er more, but the top rib is engraved "Spedial Pigeon Gun" and I'd really like to know what Ford meant by that.

Soaked in some milk then seasoned with a cajun blend, dredged in brown mustard and flour - then deep-fat fried.

MMMMMMM - we sure need some more tomorrow....

Hi all, great post, and a nice bragging board to boot. Lots of great pics of classic guns, dogs and game. Here's my latest.

Was out for 2 hours today and managed a double on grouse and 2 roosters. I was using my 12ga Victor Sarasqueta 12E. Weather was great! What a wonderful day to be alive.

All the best!

Greg

The Red Gods smiled on me today and gave me a grouse, for which I am quite grateful. The gun is my prewar French guild 16 ga.

Very nice Dave , Bird and gun !

Nice. Anyone who can get close enough to kill sharptails this late in the season has my respect as a hunter! Dog?

It's a hen ruffed. Walked her up in a patch of chest-high white pines. The dog was home - she's gotten averse enough to gunfire that she'll refuse to leave the car if I have a gun.

Nice bird Dave. No snow yet ???

Rick

It's snowing now. Finally.

Hi Hal, if you were refering to me, thanks for the kind words! I did of course have my GSP with me (always do). She's a good dog and does well. She was working them when they decided to flush.

The 2 sharpies I got was a double, so I'm happy with that, both were fairly long shots (my son was with...so I have a witness....this time!). They both got up at the same time, but not in a big group, just those two (lucky is all I can say!). We did see one big group (at least 40 birds), but they got up about 100 yds out...you know that one!

Thanks again!!!

All the best!

Greg

Couple of quail before the snowstorm in Kansas. My small munsterlander Dnepr and my straight gripped 28 Army Navy CSL hammergun sold in 1887. Black powder proof gun with cyl bores.

Minnesota rooster with my small munsterlander Merry. Belgium Neumann Bros black powder proofed 20 ga hammergun. Fun gun with black powder loads.

Beautiful--dogs, guns, and birds--Dwight! Excellent pix, too.

Merry Christmas to you and everyone!

Mike Armstrong

Dwight your Munsterlanders look like my liver colored French Brittanys. How much do they weigh typically?

Great pictures of great looking dogs, guns, and game.

Best,

Mike

Mike,
The females go from about 38 to 45 lbs and the males 45 to 60 lbs. The dogs are tending to be a little taller here in the states and perhaps a little larger than the German dogs. If you look on the North American Munsterlander site there is a lot of info about the dogs. I have had them for about 13 years. They do not get enough credit for their water work. The large munsterlanders are not genetically related to the smalls.

Dwight, wonderful pics!!! Love that hammergun!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Greg

Thanks for all the nice comments. Will be going to the Las Vegas show if anyone wants to meet up.

Here's a grouse I shot today with my 16 ga. Husqvarna Model 51 that Mark Larson modified into a straight griped gun. Took it over a nice point by Copper my Ryman-type English Setter.



Rick

Allegheny Mountain Wanderings

Great photos. Great dogs. Great guns.

What single fact sticks out? There's a LOT of 16-bores in these photos.

16s are very popular in Europe, but I had no ideas 16s were so popular your side of the pond.

Nigel.

The 16 arguably is the ideal gun for our upland shooting, what you Brits would call "rough shooting", particularly in the Northeast where wading through thickets after grouse and woodcock is the order of the day. A lot of hunters here will go "yeaaaah", recognizing the 16 as an ideal upland gun even though they never had one. They're really not too common in use here. Go figure.

I went out for a couple hours this afternoon to get in a little more hunting before our grouse season closes Saturday. We had an inch or two of light snow last night and it remained cold, making for ideal tracking conditions. So I was my own dog, walking down the trails looking for bird tracks, then going in after them. I put up two birds but had no shots at either - too thick, too far and/or too fast. But I'm confident my 16 would have done the job, had I been a little less obstructed, closer and/or quicker.

If you want to really get in among a bunch of 16 aficionados, there's 16ga.com.

Nice bird, happy dog, pretty gun, good day.

Dwight,
Nice looking dogs, glad you had a great hunt. Wild quail, just wonderful birds to hunt.
Chris

Elsie almost to my shoulder, quail on the wing, and if you look close you can see my DD Kaiser in the weeds between us.
CHAZ

Hi all, here's one from today. Went out early while it was still calm (we are supposed to get 40mph winds this afternoon), was able to get a limit in a couple hours. I was using my 12b Henry Atkin SLE. It was a good day!

All the best!

Greg

Alright Greg! Finally someone has posted a picture of birds that look like the ones I bring home, sort of shot down and ruffled up so to speak.

Everyone posts photos of beautifully posed game without a feather out of place; makes you wonder if they just found some birds that died peacefully of natural causes. After I shoot'em and Willy picks'em up and throws them back up in the air for a while before relenquishing custody to me so I can cram them in my game bag, they're never really up to portrait quality...Geo

Now that was funny, George

yeah, some of them I've pulled out of my game bag looked like something ran over on the highway a week ago.

Chuck's dogs work on the halves. That is they charge him half the bird for doing the retrieve.

If you hang them by their feet they look more elegant and appear to be in better shape.

Best,

Mike

You say that in jest but more than once I've seen stuff come out of Amarillo Mike's vest that looked more like a mummy than a bird. "Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to clean it out last year....."

Great Pics Mark!!! Where did you get the huns?

Greg, thanks.

Huns were a few years ago in SK, a little tougher lately

Here some photos from yesterday's hunt.

Shelby, my number one dog in a string of seven and me before we ventured forth,



to hunt the grunch.



This stuff is so thick that the only way birds will be had is if the dog understands to work it in 360 degree casts around you, while you advance ten or twelve yards after each cast.

Now you see her,



now you don't.




Trust in the dog knowing and doing her job and an old hammer gun, puts the last birds of my 54th season behind us.

Hi all, here's one from todays hunt. Hunting today was tough, just couldn't find the amount of birds we've seen in the last couple weeks....oh well, that's why they call it hunting! I was using my 16ga Garbi Model 100

All the best!

Greg

Two phez in a day beats the crap out of many days I've had in the past. On the other hand listening to my hunting buddies whine kinda made up for the slim pickins....we at least had a limit of "grouse"!

Beautiful birds and 16, and nice pic composition to make the best of 'em.

Had a marvellous day's shooting on Wednesday. Eight guns at Catton Hall in Derbyshire for a mixed day at partridge and pheasant. The wind has been pretty good this week in the UK and on this day the birds were getting up and blasting away on it, which of course made for some exciting and very tricky shooting.

We were very well looked after by our hosts, whose family have owned Catton since 1405 (see http://www.catton-hall.com/index.php?page=alias). Mick Walton is the head keeper and he is the fourth generation of his family on the estate.

I was fortunate to have the most wonderful third stand, the birds belting out of a strip wood above me, some very high, all very fast! It was one of those memorable times when you can replay almost the entire drive in your head and continue to derive much pleasure from it.

We finished the day with a good bag of 133 pheasant and 59 partridge. But more than that, we had been very well looked after, enjoyed excellent company in beautiful surroundings and had great fun. In short, it was a capital day.

Tim

Couple of pictures here: My Photobucket Album

Thanks for the report. What drink is most prevalent while you're re-living it together at the end of the shoot?

I think I'd be thirsty for a long bitter.

Cup of tea!

We kick off the day with coffee on arrival. A tot of sloe gin with our peg number at the bottom of the 'stirrup cup'. A warm consomme soup and another tot of sloe gin at elevenses. A glass or two of wine with lunch. Come in for a cup of tea before driving off back home at the end of the day.

On the back of the game card there are notes for the safety of guns. The last point says "Remember - guns and alcohol do not mix, guns are made to kill and usually do!". Ironically, the game cards are handed out at the end of the day. However, we are all experienced guns and have shot together as a roving syndicate since 1989.

Tim

A buddy of mine has a gun that I was hoping someone could help me with. When I finish stripping wallpaper, later this afternoon, I will post some pictures. Here are a few pics of myself and dogs in the meantime so you could put a name to the face.

Hello all, just love seeing all the great pics on this thread! Some really nice guns and wonderful photo skills.

Yesterday was our last day of the bird season here in NoDak, so one last time out and one last limit. I took the birds with my 12b Samuel B. Allport, I really enjoy hunting with a hammergun, what a kick! Anyway as you can see there is no snow and in Jan. yet.

It's been a good season for me and my sons. Not great, but we always got birds. I've been lucky and the good Lord had smiled on me this season!! Anyway, here's a couple of pics.

All the best!

Greg

There's just something about a hammergun that makes the whole bird hunting experience a little more special. Great pic Greg.

Rick

My early "A grade" A. H. Fox with a few birdies this weekend. Restocked and restored by Buck Hamlin.

Jerry Godstein
St. Louis, MO

+1

Last day of duck season.....just a few taken jump shooting off the pond with my A grade Fox.

Had to add this one........Son Jared's birthday present to me - a quail hunt.

Taken December 2010 in western Minnesota.

Jay

Mike Bonner and I on a morning duck hunt when he visited the
Wet Coast at Xmas 2011. A mixed bag of mallards and widgeon.
Using an SKB 100 12 gauge.

GLS suggested that I post a picture here and so here I am. I have no photographs to compare with the beautiful ones already posted and which I have just spent hours poring over but the ones below are of my favourite gamebird and my most used gun.





The gun is a hammer (as is obvious) Manton & Co. 20 gauge with 28 inch barrels and 2 1/2 inch chambers nitro proofed for 7/8th ounce of shot and weighs 5 pounds 12 ounces.

The bird is a red junglefowl (Gallus gallus murghi) and is the wild ancestor of all domestic chickens. Yup, he is the king of all chickens!

All the best

Skeeterbd

That is a beautiful "chicken" indeed; but he sure looks a lot like the "Banny" roosters everyone had in their yards when I was growing up in rural Georgia. The one thing I remember that all those little rooster birds seemed to have in common was a bad disposition!

Sometime back in the 1950's the State of Georgia was getting a lot of pressure from outdoorsmen to experiment with stocking pheasants. What the natural resources biologists discovered was that pheasants won't survive or breed in the South. Someone got the bright idea of stocking red jungle fowl like the one pictured above by skeeterbd.

A big bunch of them were planted near the town of Fitzgerald at the state fish hatchery at Bowen's Mill. I think the State of Georgia got snookered into buying tame birds rather than wild stock. They look just like the picture above and unlike tame bantams they all look just about alike.

The birds all seem to have migrated into the town to find someone to feed them. People began feeding them and they're still there. The city of Fitzgerald, GA has a "wild chicken festival" every year to celebrate the colony. The residential streets have chicken nests built on poles to provide the hens with protected places to set their eggs.

The nicer parts of town are full of the birds which wander freely around the homes. There are fewer in the less affluent parts of town near the public housing projects, so I presume they must be pretty good to eat. Probably taste "just like chicken"...Geo

Hatch,lemon hackle?

Skeeterbd, nice looking gun! Where do you hunt these chickens?

Key West Florida had these same birds (along with all the other wild foul it has). Natives hated them; I knew people who had super-power Germanic air rifles just to thin down the birds that lived in their gardens.

I like "chicken music". But I guess Conchs aren't "morning people." Jose Cuervo apparently is no friend of theirs, either.

Red Jungle Fowl are called "Arkansas Travelers" when they are domesticated, I think (any banty experts here?). I've seen the "banty chicken" form back down an 1800# range bull. We had them on our ranch and had to have a rooster rodeo every spring to cut their spurs and keep them from killing each other. Great fun--they can run like a roadrunner and fly like a pheasant. Simpler times.

"Them chickens" certainly have an attitude. A raucously cackling cock junglefowl erupting out of the undergrowth, charging you on the full is the most fearsome thing in the jungle. Men staunch to tiger have required a change of trousers after being charged by "them chickens".

Geo, Mike A

These things are extremely wary wherever hunted and even where they aren't with an uncanny ability to disappear even when being so gaudily clad. It would be interesting to know how they behave in the less affluent parts of Fitzgerald,GA. and Key West. Incidentally they are a lot better than "chicken" on the table, being a very white meat. They compare very favourably with a partridge (as in hun) which is easily my favourite bird meat closely rivalled by snipe.

Guns

They certainly are a flying flytier's dream.

Dave Katt

I shoot them in the jungles and tea estates north-east of the Bay of Bengal. my apologies for not being more specific.

All the best

Skeeterbd.

Nice little hammergun and a beautiful cockbird. Thanks for sharing.

That is a beautiful bird and gun. And I have to add your usage, about "men staunch to tiger", to my notebook of excellent turns of phrase. Thanks for joining the site and please share more of your Indian experiences - always nice to hear and learn.

On to roosters - a friend of mine had a flock of hens with a bantam to keep them in line. One snowy winter night, a fisher broke into the henhouse. The rooster went out, but he went out a hero and that fisher paid very dearly for his meal. Left a blood trail and never came back.

Fishers are very tough customers; I've seen one back a couple of coyotes off a deer carcase it was excavating. Apparently in February in upstate NYS they become very "open minded" about what they're willing to eat!

On this morning I had a chance to get out for a bit to check out a WMA close by the office that looked good but I've never been out there before.

About an hour out Jaeger (my GSP)slid to a stop from a full run and slammed a gorgeous point at some brush. I went over and kicked around for a bit but nothing flushed. Miraculously, against all odds Jaeger held steady for me to do this. Since nothing was flushing for me, and it was kind of thick I sent in the wunderhund to flush it out. He dives in, knub wagging, frantically rooting around for about 10 seconds then jumps back, trots over to me and drops this at my feet.
.


On one hand, he did have a good enough nose to smell a mouse at a nearly full run. On the other hand....it's a mouse!

I know it's not a snazzy pic with grouse or woodcock piled up but it's a reminder that you don't have to be over serious to have fun in the woods with your best buddy and it always makes me smile.

He was sooo proud of himself. That's my little prodigy! lol

Guess it is time for me to post a couple here. Here is some evidence of where I got this double gun disease --

My Father and Curley with Grandpa's 1890-vintage Parker Bros. PH-Grade the fall of 1932 at King Lake, Minnesota --



My Father with his 1896-vintage Remington AE-Grade and Rusty in Columbia County, Washington, in 1972 --



There were a lot of birds then. Rusty wasn't that much of a dog. A lady friend of ours found him half starved and near froze to death in Grant County, Washington, spent a bundle on nursing him back to health and he spent most of his time sleeping on a white brocade sofa in her livingroom.

Thanks for5 sharing
Are the live mallards, calling ducks (live decoys)?

http://edecoy.org/livedecoy.html

Mike

I think that is a Roan duck (domestic). They look similar to a malard but are much larger and the white ring on the neck is thinner.

Yes. From the family stories I've heard that was the last year live decoys were legal. My Father and Uncles always referred to them as Dad's English call ducks.

Skeeterbd,

Great looking bird and Manton. A Manton was Patrick O'Brian's character Lucky Jack Aubrey's shotgun of choice.

Researcher, that's a wonderful family photo and a pile o'ducks. What's the Roan's name--Benedict Arnold??
Gil

Judas.

SRH