doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Hunting birds on Horseback

I have heard that there is some hunting of birds on horseback. I know absolutely nothing about this. Is it done by shooting while mounted ? I would like your information on the subject. Thanks, Daryl

Horses are sometimes used by the dog handlers when quail hunting in the South. If the hunters are mounted they dismount before walking into the covey and shooting. The elevated position on horseback gives the handlers/hunters a better view of the dogs.

I have hunted deer on horseback with buckshot. The horses are trained to allow you to shoot from the saddle.

In the South quail hunting on horseback used to be common. Field trialers follow their big running pointers and setters over manicured plantation grounds as a usual matter down here. I remember my quail hunting grandfather in bed recovering after a quail hunt when the horse he was riding got caught up in some briers and panicked. The horse fell over backwards and mashed grandaddy's leg pretty bad.

There is a story down here of a gentleman preparing for a horseback hunt on a plantation asking the guide whether he could shoot off the horse when the birds flushed. The guy saddled up and at the first covey point he rode right on in and shot from the saddle. The terrified horse bucked him off of course. When the hunter woke up he began berating the guide saying "I thought you said I could shoot off that horse." The guide replied "I told you you could shoot OFF the horse not ON him!"
Geo

Pretty common in the Ft. Pierre National Grasslands
If you can't bushwhack the Sharptails flying into a cultivated field in the morning, it is LOTS of walking, and lots of up & down steep draws.



https://www.tinkerkennels.com/

Montana
https://www.pheasantsforever.org/Bl...a-Horseback-Bird-Hunt.aspx?feed=articles

In one of Guy de la Valdene's books (forget which) he gives an account of hunting with young plantation dog handlers who at seasons end, are allowed to shoot birds and hunt from horseback. Guy's account was that the young men were deadly shooting while mounted and writes of one man shooting his auto one-handed while mounted and downing the birds. Gil

A guy whose name was anaconda Pintler used to do photo essay every year chasing sharptails on horseback with all age dogs.

I never met the guy, but it requires a broke dog and horses that ground tie

Many years ago I was invited to hunt quail on a private plantation. They were proud of not releasing birds, so you were hunting truly wild birds. They only hunted 1 or 2 days a week to give the birds a chance to rest. Being a Yankee my reward was the biggest damn horse I had ever seen. Juts getting on and off was a challenge. We always dismounted and walked in on the pointed birds. Their pointers also retrieved so there were only English pointers in the field and they changed them out fairly often. I believe we only shot the covey rise and left the singles. It was a thrill.

A friend who has passed hunted sharptails in the Sandhills of Neb via horseback. It was all good until while resting the dogs and getting water his horse banged into another one and crushed the stock of his English Best Sidelock

We used to do it occasionally here in Arizona--in the open country in the southern part of the state. Most often we would use blank guns after dismounting when training the dogs--mostly English Pointers, and some big running shorthairs-- to be steady to wing and shot. Gil

Daryl, a good friend hunted with Bob Tinker (the tinkerkennels link above) numerous times with great satisfaction. He had quality hunts for sharptails and prairie chickens with good horses and guides.