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Posted By: gjw Favorite Game/Gun Picture - 2020 Hunting Season - 08/29/20 08:26 PM
Hey folks! Geo. Newbern reminded me that it's that time of year again. Thanks Geo. for the reminder.

Anyway, as in years past, this thread is to show off your guns, game, dogs and yourself for this season. So let's see all those great pictures again. Looking forward to seeing them!

I do have one request. Please keep this thread on track. Please, no personal attacks or sarcastic comments to those who post in good faith.

I hope everyone has a successful year and most of all a safe one!

See you later right here.

Best,

Greg
One of the most important signs that the new fall season is just about here! laugh
Here is my message for Garcia; .458 is Ready To Hunt! 3 in 1
If that is @ 100yds, probably the most accurate .458 in the world. Tell us more about gun and load.
JR
Hi John, Thanks for asking.
That is a 50 yard group my son shot from a bench rest. It is from the right barrel of my .45-70 DR that has 26 inch barrels. The left barrel is also accurate but he was shooting different targets AND had two bullets in the same hole + a flyer.
Gun is a Beretta GR-2 12 ga converted to .45-70 DR by a man that made it for himself and hunted deer with it for 10 years before he passed away from a heart attack while dragging a buck to his truck.
He also made my .405 WCF DR and so I bought the .45-70 from his estate.
100 rounds of loaded 300 grain ammo came with the rifle and it has proven to be accurate and deadly:


I like to break in new guns on hog. smile
crs, I would love to see more of that rifle at it's loads. Did he follow from Ellis Browns's book in doing it? I have been sorely tempted to go that route one day. But I'd use a 16 I think.
Brent,
A couple of pix of Beretta and then a link to a thread on this rifle in the gun making forum over on Nitro Express. Enjoy.

Gun made by Robert "Bob" Hynden of Iowa. He did have Ellis Browns books and several others as ell as interaction with other gun makers on the Nitro Express forum.
My Simson .405 DR thread by Bob aka Birdhunter50

http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=265159&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1
Beretta 45-70 by Bob:
http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=108506&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1
I have heard of Hynden several times, but never met him. Really nice rifle.
crs, looks like you delivered on the promise! Garcia's companions would be pleased. You got it done. And with a very nice set up I must say. I have Ellis Brown's book and while I would never attempt the work myself, I found it a fascinating read.
Canvasback,
Same here WRT Ellis's book. BTW, he is a crack shot on running hogs with a sxs rifle. He is also making a DR right now that will be in the next version of his book. He says the entire project will be documented in the book. I have already placed my order.
Got out to the covert behind my house tonight for a quick 45 minute run with the dogs. It was hot and dry with no mast crops at all. We moved one mature Dusky Grouse. We were working from below the bird and they often flush down hill in that scenario, this one flew up and over the crest of the hill. I will chase them more before it is over.
A grad student and I got out for days 2 and 3 of teal season. Day 2 was a beautiful morning, and we saw teal before sunrise, but none after. No shots fired.

After some more scouting, we returned to exactly the same place today and killed 10, and should easily have had 12. I used my faithful Cashmore hammer gun. One of my two favorites.

Gus is really an upland dog but he likes ducking well enough.


C'mon, Dad- get up! You don't need a nap- the birds have to be out there somewhere...

Game on!
Karl
This opening hunt was special for me, because it was my son's first time shooting birds. He got three with a Parker 16 gauge







Way to go, Harry! Gil
Thanks Gil! We just got an invite for this coming Sunday, although I doubt it will be as good
Hey all, well this past Saturday was our Grouse/Hun opener. Not bad, but not great either. Did see some, but not as many as in past years. Saturday and Sunday we hunted a friends ranch north of us a few miles. Got 2 on Saturday, but nothing on Sunday.

Raina, did very well, great points, and worked the cover like an old pro.

I used my 16b John Wilkes



Raina



Today I hunted around the house here, was able to limit in a couple hours. Always better at home!

I used my 16b Charles Hellis



And the area I hunted today



Great getting out again this year!

Best,

Greg
Greg, those are two really nice 16s. Thanks for the pics.
How old is Raina now? Seems I've been looking at her great work for years.

Mike
Mills, great to hear of Harry's first year hunting. I'm sure he will be a regular now.
Originally Posted By: wingshooter16
How old is Raina now? Seems I've been looking at her great work for years.

Mike


Hi Mike she'll be 7 this December. She has really come into her own these last couple years.

Thanks for the kind words BTW

Greg
I'm posting this on behalf of my good friend Chris Dawe, member here CJ Dawe, gunsmith extraordinaire!

I think posting pictures is more than he can handle.

Chris lives in Newfoundland.....you'll have to ask him why. On the plus side, on the 4 days a year when it's not a driving wind storm, there is ptarmigan hunting to be had. These pics are of Chris's hunt earlier today with his son and dog. His boy got his first ptarmigan over a point today so they were both a little charged up over that. The area they are hunting is known as The Barrens. Sounds like something from a English gothic horror novel.

Hopefully Chris will come on and add a little first hand commentary, including what those guns are.

Edit to add: Breaking news....Chris was using a great Husqvarna model 201 sidelock in 12 gauge and his son was shooting a LC Smith Featherweight 20 gauge that Chris upgraded and gave to his son on his 13th birthday. I've seen pics of the gun....makes me want an LC Smith! (Can't believe i just said that! LOL)





James, are rocks a cash crop where Chris hunts? What a beautiful area and Elsie upgrade. Gil
Gil, the place isn’t nicknamed “The Rock” fir nothing.
Hey all, my son Jim and I went out for a couple hours yesterday. Saw birds, I managed two and Jim didn't bust a cap. Just one of those deals.

Anyway, the days bag, I was using my 16ga Ugartechea 1030



Jim watering Raina after a jaunt



Best,

Greg
My 17 year old son, Finn and his first Sharptail in MT. It was a nice one shot kill at a respectable distance with his custom stocked Famars 20ga.

I know everyone involved, Mr. Steele, was happy and proud. Good young man can look forward to pheasants in a few weeks.
Tough terrain to drop a gun or hit a knee...unforgiving.

I have hunted ducks with a double of one sort or another since 1985. But, I was given a gun with a lot of family history, a 1956 Sweet Sixteen, and used it some for duck hunting. It just seems that an Auto-5 is the quintessential waterfowl gun. Anyway, it's become my September gun. I've been deadly with it all year but missed twice on the only draw I had on Monday. When I remembered the third shell the second bird was already mid-river. The bismuth #5's proved deadly...

Hey all, well, took a half day off work to do some hunting around the home place. Went to one of my local honey holes and it sure paid off. Lady luck was with me today. Started out at 1pm and was done by 1:45.

Got a single within 15 minutes and was able to get a double when a covey of about 10-12 flushed. Sure was fun.

My 18 month old GSP Addie did very well today, nice retrieves and worked the birds just fine. Very happy with her!

Used my 16ga FN



Addie taking it easy after the hunt



And...Addie again!



Best,

Greg
Originally Posted By: Rubberhead
I have hunted ducks with a double of one sort or another since 1985. But, I was given a gun with a lot of family history, a 1956 Sweet Sixteen, and used it some for duck hunting. It just seems that an Auto-5 is the quintessential waterfowl gun. Anyway, it's become my September gun. I've been deadly with it all year but missed twice on the only draw I had on Monday. When I remembered the third shell the second bird was already mid-river. The bismuth #5's proved deadly...



Great pic! I had an opportunity to own an 16ga A5 recently, and shot it at some skeet. That mechanical auto action really takes some getting used to. Once I figured it out though, I started hitting with it. Neat guns for sure, and quintessentially American.
I finished working on my H&H 16, and took her out Monday for a spin, with her first shots on birds, resulting in two stoned roosters. Very happy.





We just got back from the Sandhills, where Mocha completed his first three dog bucket list items: get sprayed by a skunk, step on a snake, and get a nose full of porcupine quills.

Bird numbers were a little thin, but Kirk was still able to get some in the bag. Mocha pitched in on the locating and retrieve, his first sharpies.






It was very warm, and the dogs were carefully watched, watered, and rested





Especially on the way home:

Hey all, well today was the resident opener here in ND.  It was a successful one for myself and my son Jim.  We each limited out with our 6 birds a piece plus I got an additional 2 Bluewing Teal, for a total of 8 for myself.  Jim didn't want to shoot his extra Teal and was happy with his regular bag limit.  In fact he limited first, he even got a great double today.  Darn proud of that boy!

So, here are a couple pics from today.

Jim with his birds.  He was using a 12ga Brittany (made by Zabala)



My birds.  I was using my 12ga Merkel 147E



Best,  

Greg
Greg,
Looks like a fantastic opener indeed!
Karl
Ducks are about... A few succumbed to my Cashmoor hammer gun. In fact, I didn't miss any at all - unusual for me.

Gus would rather be pheasant hunting. Only 4 wks away.

Looks like the season is off to a good start!

And thanks to David Williamson for his comment a page or so back! I should check here more often
Hey all, my son Jim and I went out for a duck hunt today. Went to our old spot that we've been going to for years. It was slow today, very slow. We each got 3. Not at all like last week opener.

Anyway, I was using my Bernardelli Italia hammer gun



Jim didn't want his picture took today, he was cleaning ducks!

Best,

Greg
A quick trip up to the Federal WMA at Sherburn, MN:



What a beautiful day! Out with the beautiful girl who married me, our son, and our Setter.
Right after this picture, taken near the St. Francis river, we paused along the trail, and the dog pointed a grouse, that flew up about 8 feet into a sapling, then, rocketed out, stage right. I had my gun in my left hand, to give the right hand a break, as I have been trying to learn to shoot right handed. I snapped the gun up, left handed, closed my good right eye, and promptly lost the bird in the brush. I fired off a salute as I continued my swing, but, it was to no avail.
The guns were my 81 year old non-toxic specific Nitro Special 16 gauge, and Christopher’s Mossberg youth, with a customized 28” barrel. The Feds require non-toxic shot for everything in this area, and that beautiful little river is closed to waterfowl hunting.
I was shooting #6 loads of Heavy Metal, and Chris shoots bismuth out of his 20 gauge. Mom cheers us on.
We can drive 35 minutes, and have a solid 2-3 hour hunt, wrapping up in time to visit my disabled Mother and Brother.


Best,
Ted
Ted title says game and gun picture...

Where's the bEEf ?
We don’t shoot beef, here...



Best,
Ted
Originally Posted By: HomelessjOe
Ted title says game and gun picture...

Where's the bEEf ?


where is your gun or "bEEf"?
Pics from the UP





Mills, no problem, I have done the same more than once.
Thanks David

Great pictures Chad! Looks like you are having fun!
Hey all, went out today for a little hunt on one of our local potholes. Not much flying, but did manage a Gaddy and Greenwing. They sure have some nice wing spectrums. Used my 12ga Merkel today.



Best,

Greg
I'll be glad when Skip is back with some snipe limit pics to post. I always enjoy seeing them. Probably still a little too early for snipe season yet.

SRH
Hey all, well today was our Pheasant opener. Not a good one for us, but better than last years 17" of snow! My son Jim and I didn't see many today, in fact hardly any at all. Started out nice, then the wind started up, and now it's blowing pretty good.

Anyway, great to be out with y boy. We each managed one and I was ale to get a grouse also. Better days to come, I'm sure.

Jim and Addie. Jim was using his 12ga V. Sarasqueta 3EC



I used my 12B Purdey today



Best,

Greg
Hey all, today was a much better day than the opener. Saw a lot of birds today and was able to limit out in an hour. Raina did very well.

I used my 12b Churchill Premiere (with those nasty 25" barrels!)



And the hero of the day....Raina Augusta Victoria Von St. Antonius



Best

Greg
Waiting on woodies out back behind the house.

None came, but it was a good morning nonetheless.



And a couple interesting denizens of my backyard.

Dang that’s a buck.
Wow what a yard sir!
A few photos from this morning. Should have been more birds in the pile but I seem to need to follow up first shots today instead of picking up a second bird.



Brent, I'm sure you'll drop that hammer-gun as soon as SKB gives you back the Greener, but just saying the hammer-gun sure looks natural with that mallard...Geo
Geo, I am, indeed, waiting for the Greener, but the Cashmore gets it turns. It will be the gun for the Opener I think. If the weather permits, blackpowder loads. If not smokeless.

It shoots very well for me and though seemingly generic in fit, it somehow fits better than all of my other generic guns - or so it seems. It has nice balance and is one of my favorites.

That Mallard is tonight's dinner. Lucky me!
Hey all, took off half a day of work to get some hunting in before the winter storm we're supposed to get (tonight and tomorrow). Was out for a hour and 15 minutes and managed to limit and get a Hun. Saw a lot of birds, but they were spooky. Rania did very well, hope to get out some this weekend depending on how much snow we get.

I used my 12b Sam Allport today



Best,

Greg
Hey all, just had a very short hunt after Church and before Sunday Dinner. Saw birds, but they were spooky today. Did manage one however. Addie did well again today.

I used my 12ga Siace today



Best,

Greg
Had a fantastic hunt yesterday in my aquapod layout boat at a coastal marsh. Birds were swarming my spread, landing at point blank range. Laying down in a sneak boat, having birds flying ten feet over your head, while you're sipping coffee... man, that is the best kind of duck hunting in my opinion. My Husky 103A is a great shooter, and these are the first birds I've taken with it so far. I think I'll try a 16 next time.



That's some great duck hunting. Hoping for similar on Wednesday, but it won't be that warm.
Looks like a successful hunt Mark!
Great pictures, Mark. Thanks for posting.
Took my son on his first real quail hunt this Saturday. He got his first two quail with his first two shots using his Grandfather's Silver Pigeon 28 gauge. We switched guns halfway through and he made another great shot with my Parker VH 28. A great day! Sherwood didn't skip a beat picking up from where he left off last season










Mills,
That is great, the young ones are the future of the sport.
Mike





My first ever pheasant water retrieve and an odd point. My 10 year old Drat was a rock star on our opener and we were done by 8am.
I’m done with Sharptails for 2020 due to season limit.
But it doesn’t mean you can’t scare them, and spoil your bird dogs. smile
https://imgur.com/gallery/YZbDw5T
On the North shore of Superior with my host chasing ruffs. Apparently Mocha disapproved of his choice of gauge and action:





Here he is chasing and pointing a tweety bird by the road, as the grouse have been nowhere to be found:


Hey all, took off the afternoon today, temps were great after being in the deep freeze for the last two weeks. Winds were supposed to be low (right this is North Dakota, the winds were in that 18mph range). Birds were spooky (thanks wind!). Did down one that Addie tracked for some time and did a nice retrieve to hand. Her points are getting more staunch every time she gets out. She's going to rival the old girl (Duchess). She's a real natural.

Anyway, I used my 12b Joseph Harkom



And.......Addie



Best,

Greg
Originally Posted By: wingshooter16
On the North shore of Superior with my host chasing ruffs. Apparently Mocha disapproved of his choice of gauge and action:





Here he is chasing and pointing a tweety bird by the road, as the grouse have been nowhere to be found:




LOL although to be fair I've seen Steve make some really great shots with that gun on grouse.

Mike sorry I didn't get to see you this year. Was a couple hours North of you and it was tough sledding. Just got home and think I can finally feel my fingers and toes.



To be fair Steve was key in my decision to go back to purple shells and barrels all twisted up side by side. Watch that guy like a hawk...
Love that picture Cold Iron.

Just got my AyA back from some choke and trigger work and I had to test it out yesterday. It's a 16 w/30" barrels.

Kirk- bare ground is rare, But Steve knew where a little would be.






Cold Iron- thx for the pic- after just five bird contacts in four days of hunting, I was forgetting what a ruff looked like. Today is the last day afield here. It's still been a good trip, especially for the dog.

Steve, with Mocha's help, finally owns a P gun.
The last hour of the last day, Mocha found and pointed this one. It tried to sneak off, Steve saw it trying to sneak away, called in his dog and pinched the bird between the two dogs. He shot it, and it was running off and I had a small window of opportunity and finished it off. Truly a team effort.



My H&H Dominion 16 is proving to be a versatile game gun:

My photos have suffered so far this year. But this bird was a pretty one
Pretty, yes. And, fine tablefare as well! But, the very prettiest thing about teal, to me, are their synchronized flight. I dearly love to see them buzz a spread of dekes.

SRH
True, but this one was a single looking for company. Ducks are scarce here this year and especially right now.
Fun little ARMAF 16 gauge with 28" barrels. Weighs 5.7 lbs with 2.75" chambers. I finally got the barrels back from getting the chokes opened up and I will be doing the wood this coming year.

fallschirmjaeger,
Great photo of my favorite upland bird to hunt here in Michigan. and it looks like you have the perfect woodcock gun. Shoot it in good health.
Karl
Old dog, older SxS, and the first chocolate phase (ruff and tail band) grouse I've taken in 40 years, along with Old Deacon Woodcock.



Really nice phots Keith. What state are you in?
Originally Posted By: BrentD
Really nice phots Keith. What state are you in?


Thank you. I'm in Wisconsin, mostly.
Originally Posted By: K Crowley
Originally Posted By: BrentD
Really nice phots Keith. What state are you in?


Thank you. I'm in Wisconsin, mostly.


Thanks. It is on my list of states to consider moving to.
Originally Posted By: BrentD
Originally Posted By: K Crowley
Originally Posted By: BrentD
Really nice phots Keith. What state are you in?


Thank you. I'm in Wisconsin, mostly.


Thanks. It is on my list of states to consider moving to.


If you are looking for ruffs and woodcock, then I understand. However, I spend less and less time here every year.
Originally Posted By: K Crowley
Originally Posted By: BrentD
Originally Posted By: K Crowley
Originally Posted By: BrentD
Really nice phots Keith. What state are you in?


Thank you. I'm in Wisconsin, mostly.


Thanks. It is on my list of states to consider moving to.


If you are looking for ruffs and woodcock, then I understand. However, I spend less and less time here every year.


And deer and walleyes etc. Some nice scenery, etc. Not to mention a couple really nice rifle ranges.

What's not to like? Taxes I suppose. Seems to be a problem everywhere I might go.
Dont forget pike and muskies...
Had a fantastic day yesterday. Managed to bother some quail with my damascus Husky mod.15 16b hammer gun for the first time. Trying to reload quickly with the underlever Husky, when the covey is busting out and birds are buzzing everywhere, is a real hoot. Definitely more challenging than with a hammerless gun, yet very rewarding in a quixotic, contrarian sort of way.

Great job Mark!
Just got back from 3 days hunting pheasants in South Dakota. Took two Parker VH 16 gauges. Had a great time.







Mills nice going, glad you had a good time.
Originally Posted By: Mills
Just got back from 3 days hunting pheasants in South Dakota. Took two Parker VH 16 gauges. Had a great time.












Very nice, Mills. What loads are you shooting in the VHs?
Herter's 1 oz no. 6's
Hey all, took some time off of work for a short hunt. Good day, should have had a limit, but when walking tree rows by yourself, guess what side the birds get up? You know! Did manage to get two so not a loss. Weather was great, low winds, temps in the 60's! All in all a good day!

Used my 12b J. Blanch today.



Addie did a great job. Solid points and her field work was great. Very happy with her! She's a keeper!

Here she is in the weeds



Best,

Greg
No gun in the picture but a Cashmore was there. We finally had a few ducks visit, we collected one of them...


[img]http://<img src="https://i.ibb.co/CJrqF5R/20201118-190038.jpg" alt="20201118-190038" border="0" />[/img]

Shot two lesser whistling ducks out of a flock of seven at dusk yesterday. They were the only ducks to use the flight line I was standing under.

The gun is my battered, freckled and faded W W Greener 20 gauge, 30 inch barrels, 2.5 inch chambers, non ejecter.

Not the best of photos taken in a hurry with my cell phone, so please forgive.

All the best

Skeeterbd
Appears my photo link doesn’t work. If someone could make it show I would be most grateful.

Thanks

Skeeterbd
Sorry tried again. Didn’t work.

All the best

Skeeterbd


I used this

img]https://i.ibb.co/CJrqF5R/20201118-190038.jpg[/img]

I took the first [ away to show the string

Mike
Thanks Skeetx. Will know what to do in the future.

All the best

Skeeterbd
[quote=gjw]
Used my 12b J. Blanch today.



That Blanch is spectacular!
I hunted today for the fifth time in this still young season.

Skip, deja vu all over again. Good to see snipe are back in and your success. Gil
Hey Gil, I hope you are doing well. I'm still out wandering around in some godforsaken swamp chasing birds with not enough meat to be worth fooling with.
You must have one hell of a recipe or several for snipe.
bet the same re sipies would work for wood cock and blue jays, as well...
Good to see you back posting snipe pics, Skip. Stay well.

SRH
Thank you Stan. Here is a picture from last weekend. Same gun, same results, just a different background.


An old British 16 bore.




Very nice MD2. I like that gun a bunch.
Originally Posted By: Snipe Hunter
Thank you Stan. Here is a picture from last weekend. Same gun, same results, just a different background.




Looks like a great time. I would hunt snipe more, but they aren't great table fare. More along the lines of, wrap them in bacon, grill, then throw away the snipe and eat the bacon... Please let me know if I'm wrong. I would love to hear a good recipe.
Au Contraire. They are great table fare. I use the paraffin waterfowl technique to remove feathers and down.
Gut, coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. I use a 4 bird vertical roaster made from a coat hanger and cook them over high heat on a grill until medium rare. Nothing better in my book.
Sounds good Gil. So pretty much cook them like duck, with the skin on, high heat, seared, to medium rare. Got it! I cook duck breasts, skin on, that way, in a frying pan. High heat, sear both sides to rare/medium rare, let sit a few minutes, and de-glaze the pan drippings to create a rich dripping glaze over the top. I need to do it outside on a grill though, because it smokes the house up something fierce!
Sounds good to me. I like most game meat that way, but have only eaten snipe once. It was good but not that enticing to get me to go after them.
Mark, here's a limit ready for the grill:
That looks like great game prep, how could they not turn out tasty.
Wow Gil, that game prep looks great, but also very time consuming!
Mark, I melted 3 blocks of Gulf Wax into a large pot of about 3 gallons of water brought to just below boil. With guts intact, after taking maybe 15 seconds per bird to cut off wings, head and one foot, I rough plucked each to allow wax penetration. Holding each bird by the foot, one at a time, I dipped it into the floating wax into the pot of hot water. I insured full submersion below the floating wax with a stick. Pulled it out, dipped again, and dropped it into a bucket of cold water for a few minutes, and then let them sit out of the water until the wax hardened. Peel like an orange, cut off remaining foot and gut. Can't say it took more time than if I'd completely plucked each bird. I cleaned ducks the same way back in the day. Start to finish was probably 45 minutes, but only about 10 minutes of work. Rest of the time was waiting for wax to melt and harden.
Snipe have delicate skin, but the wax technique doesn't tear it and removes feathers and down completely, even around shot holes. Gil
Hey all, my son Jim and I went out for our pre-dinner, Thanksgiving Day hunt. We each got one a piece. We saw plenty of birds, but boy were they ever spooky. Flushing way head and not giving Raina much of a chance to pin one. She did manage to pin a couple however. So....she was the hero of the day!

I used my 12b Cogswell & Harrison Konor and Jim used his 12ga V. Sarasqueta 3EC



And.......Raina!



Happy Thanksgiving!

Greg
Hey all, went out today with my son Jim. We hunted a different area. Saw birds, but not as many as yesterday. I managed 2 and Jim got 1. It was a windy day, but Addie did a fine job! Very proud of this 20 month old.

I used my 12b F.A. Anderson (Jim didn't want me to take his picture today, so none of him!)



And a couple of shots of Addie





Best,

Greg
Beautiful birds. Wish we had more variety of bird opportunities here. I may try to find some woodcock later this year when the season opens. Until then I’ll terrorize the wood ducks.
Black Friday Birds

Thanks, Emma


Arrietta


(posted on behalf of Lou Rotelli)
Ohio woodcock by Lefever

Limit of South Dakota roosters



Spent two weeks chasing huge whitetails and was not able to close the deal on one of them so I punched my tag with this guy who should eat up just fine. Made a fun stalk by belly crawling thorough the prairie on him. The broken left beam was a surprise.

Nice Steve.
Mixed bag for Tucker and I today, a Sharptail and a Rooster.

Looks like a heck of a nice trip, Steve. But one day, I'm going to find that truck on Google Earth. Only 77,183 square miles to go.... smile

So what sort of rifle are you hiding in that deer photo? Gotta be something interesting, I would think.
.25-06 I built in gunsmith school on a Argentine mauser. I carried my 375 most of the trip and my Holland single a bit. The hunting style has changed a bit over the years here with longer shots becoming the norm. I myself like them nice and close where iron sights shine. I hunt on one of the reservations here and they require a guide so I need to be flexible. Building a Gibbs farquharson for myself currently in .303 British that I will top with a vintage piece of glass. Have everything for the project except just the right scope.
Super windy today made for some tough hunting, still I should have had at least one more in the bag today. Tucker made a spectacular retrieve on this running rooster. At the flush the dog was deep in the cattails, the bird came down in an area of low grass and quickly hit the ground running towards a row of cedars. I brought Tucker over to where I last saw the bird and he took off running down the edge of the trees, a few minutes later he came back with the bird, a good two hundred yards from where the bird was flushed and shot.



First post and trying a picture from SD this year.
[img:left]https://photos.google.com/u/0/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipM1EKetHM3-Ru_Dewp8KhW5sYh_3OTRsvh1u-vl[/img]
Welcome to the forum Bob, try using jpgbox.com for the photos.
Karl
skb, luy yo doggies...
Steve, your winds were really howling when they got here this afternoon. But we managed one bird and missed a gimme. Had a nice run and gun, and got the run down, but muffed the gun part and fumbled just enough to let that bird hit the Jetstream headed for the east coast.

I can imagine Tucker really enjoyed that retrieve. Gus prefers birds that run hard. He enjoys the challenge and battle. The one we brought home was stoned with an easy head shot, so sort of boring by his standards, but I was happy to take it.

Beautiful day Saturday in southern Illinois. Perfect weather to work Eva on some fast flying bobs & a 1912 mo XIVe 16 gauge Sauer & Sohn.

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Fine sport and company on a glorious day !!!
Little southern trophy taken with a modern death stick.
Wow, is that a suppressor on that gun? Are silencers legal to kill deer? Is that a 20 or 40 shot clip? How many shells did it take to kill that deer? confused
Looks like 10 rd. mag on a .300 black out.
A week and a half ago in Kansas. We found plenty of birds all on public ground but it sure was warm. Up to 75* on a couple days. All quail and a lone surprise, a snipe.


Originally Posted By: FISHSTICKER
Little southern trophy taken with a modern death stick.

awesome photo. i presume you were also gunning for hogs.
I got skunked in NY, but managed a mountain buck the first day in PA. I was really looking forward to getting something with my new (to me) double rifle as I have wanted one for decades.






CHAZ
Originally Posted By: FISHSTICKER
Little southern trophy taken with a modern death stick.

So you will know going forward, that's a cull, not a trophy. Not judging, just saying...
JR
Originally Posted By: Hoof
I got skunked in NY, but managed a mountain buck the first day in PA. I was really looking forward to getting something with my new (to me) double rifle as I have wanted one for decades.






CHAZ


All right! Like these ridge runner photos. I also got skunked in New York two weeks ago, and have not yet seen a deer in PA deer season. Nothing wrong with a PA mountain buck. Nice gun, well done.
Buzz, yes sir that’s a suppressor, legal for use on all legal game in the free state of Louisiana. For us only shotguns have a round count restriction except for the conversation order goose hunts which allows any capacity shotguns. In about 40 states or so suppressors are legal to own and in most are legal to hunt with. For me it brings shooting to an entirely new level of enjoyment. I have significant hearing loss from years of stupidity so it helps preserve what I have left. And for the same reasons lots of you enjoy packing a 5.5# double for upland game I love packing a suppressed 9” barreled lightweight 300 Blackout. It’s the most handy woods gun you will ever have the pleasure to shoot. Twenty rounds of 110 Barns X over 20 grains of 296 in the magazine of which I only needed one. Close Joe.

Pamtnman when I’m hunting behind the house most of the time I’m in “any legal game mode” so hogs were certainly on the list. When paddling I will often bring a suppressed 22lr to take coons, squirrels and rabbits if given the opportunity.

John Roberts, It’s an inside joke……but believe me I get as much or more pleasure chasing spikes and 4 points thru the swamp in my home town as I do shooing 160” ten points with my Bow in Kansas so It is indeed a trophy my friend.
Originally Posted By: FISHSTICKER

John Roberts, It’s an inside joke……but believe me I get as much or more pleasure chasing spikes and 4 points thru the swamp in my home town as I do shooing 160” ten points with my Bow in Kansas so It is indeed a trophy my friend.


Trophy to you, cull to me. Everything's relative.
JR
Here you go John
First deer with a double rifle...


White-winged Scoter 200 miles inland...


Long story but I made and painted these ringneck decoys to hunt woodducks but they work on ringnecks too apparently...



First Oldsquaw...I made and have carried that decoy for years waiting for this opportunity...
What's the O/U'r rifle ?
Nice buck...every game animal is a trophy.

I never felt I had the right to "cull" Gods creatures.
Originally Posted By: FISHSTICKER
Here you go John


Nice!
JR
Fish sticker:
Please tell me about your pirouge.
Thanks.
Docbill

It’s probably 30 years old or so. Made locally by Lobell’s boat works. 12’ fiberglass he didn’t want to build it as light as it is but it’s been a good boat. Has a few patches.
Today I shot a twenty-eight gauge for the first time this season.

Mine is a Valmet 412, 30-06.
these are all fabulous pictures. every one of them is precious. thanks for posting, men
Originally Posted By: FISHSTICKER
Little southern trophy taken with a modern death stick.


Brave man getting in a pirogue with waders and a deer...Geo
Ain't like he's in Lake Pontchartrain
bet hits good fishin in dat swamp...
A little too stagnant for a lot of fish in that dead water....
Stagnant? , CRAWFISH heaven smile
A bateau is a pirogue, but a pirogue isn't necessarily a bateau. If it's a small, flat-bottomed, pointed on both ends boat, it's technically a bateau.

I understand that, in Louisiana, a bateau is referred to as a pirogue, which is not a wrong statement. But, a pirogue can even be a dugout.

SRH
Very nice picture Keith.
A cold front came through last night which made walking around in the marsh this morning quite comfortable.


If old guns could tell their story. Don’t know if this old Fox has ever killed wood ducks in the cypress swap before but now it has. Beautiful morning God has given.


I'll work on some pics, but this year I drug Gebrüder Ellenburg to Kansas to hunt >>Ditch Parrots<< & Waterfowl. This is Benjamin's 1st Kansas Pheasant right out of the gate & our Pup Ela's 1st Pheasant. Although he isn't toting a double, it is the scattergun of my Dad's Uncle, whom neither of the Boys Ellenburg knew, but I accompanied Dad's Uncle on countless adventures, as he retired from the U.S. of A. Airforce when I was able to take a scattergun afield. Anyway, they event meant much more to me than Benjamin, I assume? At any rate, Benjamin is hooked for life..... Also his elder Brother Owen was successful and he too is hooked on wingshooting with an emphasis on waterfowl, stating that it was the most exciting event he could remember.

Recently I was fortunate to be the current custodian of a Ludwig Borovnik drilling of 20 bore(3") over 7x65R(61cm+/-) plus an additional set of tubes with 20 bore(3") over 9,3X62R(65 cm). I was a bit skeptical but I never uncased another scattergun for anything. Kansas Pheasants are as wiley as any, and probably a bit more. They were scarce but we made the best of it.

Many more adventures are on the horizon......


Cheers,

Raimey
rse
That expression on your Ben's face is priceless, Raimey.

SRH
Thanks Stan & all say that. The >>Ditch Parrot<< was a runner and we charged it with Ela in tow and due to the grass moving, I was able to task Ela in the correct direction & I captured the image just as Ela delivered it to him. Priceless..... Yes indeed.


Cheers,

Raimey
rse



This was captured just after Ela swam a 1/4 mile chasing a coon.

We had some lively times....

Cheers,

Raimey
rse


Owen & his 1st Pheasant & Kansas Fox Squirrel.



A buddy & I rented this van & a UHaul trailer to ferry our Boys & all our gear out to Kansas.

Cheers,

Raimey
rse





As I said the Borovnik 20 bore Dreiling was very lively.....

I as guide, instructor, photographer, cinematographer, chronologer, etc., I needed all the aide I could muster.

Cheers,

Raimey
rse

Raimey,
Be sure to save the photos( have prints made), they will be worth more than gold in your old age, when you tell your boys' children about the time they hunted "ditch parrots". You might not think so now, but you will when you are threequarters of a century old. Good show.
Mike
Thanks for the wisdom there Ford. Yes, I have the image files archived in several different locales with one in Solid State. All the Boys are counting down the days till next year. Every evening whilst we were duck hunting, 6k to 8k Mallards would arrive just after shooting hours and tornado down in a Milo field right beside us to dry feed in the Moonlight. The 1st morning 30k - 50k Snows made a thunderous sound as they rose & it really grabbed the Boys attention.



One of the dogs in our troupe dishragged this Cat early on Opening Morning. We see & find so much in such a short amount of time.


Benjamin finds his 1st Kansas set of horns


Benjamin's & Ela's 1st Quail.

Owen was doing similar but when our group of say 2 dozen to 2 1/2 dozen split up, Benjamin was always closer to me.


Cheers,

Raimey
rse
Raimey, great pictures and glad to see that Benjamin had a great time. Badgers are nasty animals and not a good match for a dog to encounter one.
I'd be more worried about Ella swimming down that raccoon. A hunting partner lost a full grown wirehaired Griffon to a coon in a pond. Never thought it could happen, but it did.
Originally Posted By: BrentD
I'd be more worried about Ella swimming down that raccoon. A hunting partner lost a full grown wirehaired Griffon to a coon in a pond. Never thought it could happen, but it did.


When I was about 16 I watched a Coon try to drown my uncle's pointer, good thing he was a steady shot with a .22 or I'm pretty sure it would have ended in the same fashion as it did for your friend's Griffon.
Originally Posted By: SKB
Originally Posted By: BrentD
I'd be more worried about Ella swimming down that raccoon. A hunting partner lost a full grown wirehaired Griffon to a coon in a pond. Never thought it could happen, but it did.


When I was about 16 I watched a Coon try to drown my uncle's pointer, good thing he was a steady shot with a .22 or I'm pretty sure it would have ended in the same fashion as it did for your friend's Griffon.


I had heard these stories when I was a kid and always wrote them off to tall tales. Sadly, such was not the case.

Wish I could post some picts here, but I'm out of the bird hunting game for indeterminant time now.
I'm fairly confident that the Badger was neutralized by a very large 130lb? Black Lab. My hope was that Ela wouldn't engage such @ 18 months old.

But yes, my worry was the Coon incident. We were in an Oxbow & I was organizing a blind & the kids. I had ASSUMED that Ela would be fine on her own little adventure but then I heard her barking and getting closer & closer. Now the bush was some kind of thick & there was little way she was moving that fast on land. So I went to investigate & found her barking & nipping the Coon on the tail as they both were swimming down a River. Thank goodness I had worked with her enough that she would disengage on command.

Cheers,

Raimey
rse



We covered Sections and Sections of land with a daily average of 6 - 8 miles.




Then there were the nightly events @ the Motel Cleaning Station.


Cheers,

Raimey
rse




And yes, we did keep up w/ our studies whilst we were able to slip away from School due to the COVID-19 crisis. We made some cultural stops like Cabelas and the World's Largest Ball of Twine with Meade's Ranch(centre of 1927 U.S. of A. Continental Datum) just West of us and the Geographic centre of the Continental U.S. of A. just North of us.

But sometimes were we @ a restaurant eating and trying to complete & submit a composition on >>Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde<< just mere seconds before the cutoff on the submission time.


Cheers,

Raimey
rse
great pics, great stories...thank you for posting...
Birds haven’t begun big migration towards us, but we found a couple today in the rivercane. Last year bad weather sent birds south earlier. Floyd is about 20 steps away in the photo of rivercane. Guns are my “no name” Birmingham 2” 12, most likely made by Skimin & Wood and Floyd’s Ithaca SKB 100 20 ga. Hull is from my reloaded Cheddite paper hull with 7/8 oz of #8. My Willa photobombed the photo. Joining her today was my Abby and Floyd's Sadie and old man Pop. Pop is a stylish, sophisticated dog and is considered among his peers to be the Most Interesting Brittany in the World. His head is slightly swollen from a copperhead bite.


Very nice Gil. It's been years since I last flushed a woodcock.
Hey all, well today was a good one. Went out solos after Church with my trusty Raina. She did very well! The weather today was simply amazing! 50's, sunny and light winds.....a perfect day! I hope we don't have tp pay the piper too much for this fantastic weather we're having!

Anyway, limited out with my 16ga Arrieta 871



And......Raina!



Best,

Greg
Had a great time trying out my new circa 1880 Husky 36 16ga, with 2.5" ITX #4 roll crimped reloads:

GREAT
My pinfeathers are itching smile
Mike


This im/xf Husky 103A 12 just hammers ducks out to 40 yds with ITX reloads. I think I'm at about 8 ducks for 12 shots with it so far this year. I even managed a couple rounds of 24 with it at trap recently, shooting low gun, and I suck at trap normally, especially when I shoot high gun. I spent some time with it adjusting the poi in the off season, which appears to have paid off. It's dialed in.
Today was a good day. We went to a different area and had over 20 flushes including two quail coveys. Both flushed wild, but we found a couple of singles and scored on one. Limiting factor was sweetgum leaves haven't dropped and most of the flushes occurred among sweetgum saplings making it hard to find the bird when it got up and away. That will change soon. Temps didn't get above low 50s. I like the way the 2" 12 ga. handles and carries--5 lbs., 8 oz. with 28" barrels. The MuttPak--Abby, Willa and Sadie. Pop sat at home.
Originally Posted By: GLS
Today was a good day. We went to a different area and had over 20 flushes including two quail coveys. Both flushed wild, but we found a couple of singles and scored on one. Limiting factor was sweetgum leaves haven't dropped and most of the flushes occurred among sweetgum saplings making it hard to find the bird when it got up and away. That will change soon. Temps didn't get above low 50s. I like the way the 2" 12 ga. handles and carries--5 lbs., 8 oz. with 28" barrels. The MuttPak--Abby, Willa and Sadie. Pop sat at home.


Sounds like a great day Gil. That 2" 12 sounds like the perfect gun for that kind of shooting.
A 2" 12b like that sure makes the small bores look superfluous.

Nice going.



Iowa
Looks like a nice mature bird Dave. Are you seeing good numbers? I had a rooster in the front yard yesterday, but we are out of bird hunting for at least another week, maybe more.
Brent, he was nice bird, streamlined type, but the tail feathers were just a touch over 23". I'm not seeing big bird numbers, just hunting them down one at a time. Saw a total of 5 roosters yesterday and one hen. Missed one longish, but makable shot on a bird, and the others were getting outa Dodge before we were close.

Edit to adjust the Iowa total to 3 roosters encountered. The other 2 and the hen were on the Minnesota side of the line. I often hunt both states on the same trip.
wonderful photography...
Hey all, My son Jim and I went out for a couple hours today, wasn't terribly successful. I managed one. We did see quite a few birds, almost all hens (we could have limit out in a half hour if you could shoot hens!). Not many boy birds. The ones we saw were pretty skittish. That time of the year I guess.

Anyway, I used my 16ga Garbi 100



And Addie in the frost!



Not a bad day, especially hunting with my son.

Best,

Greg
Beautiful gun and a good looking dog too. I bet it was good to be in the field. Should have been a lot of pheasants shot in Iowa today with the first real snow (6" here). But we are in lock down for a while longer yet. I'm setting a week from Monday as our relaunch.
Limit of ducks with a damascus Husky 16 and 2.5" ITX reloads, in my layout boat. Good times.



Nice cloudy day today, temps in the low 50s. Great for dogs. We are finding birds. Floyd, Sadie and the MuttPak.
GLS,
The photo looks like a great day for Woodcock, I can't wait until our season next year in the fall!
Karl
Congrats on another great day, Gil. Makes me wanna move to GA.
Mark, what model of Husqvarna is that.
Great pics!
Originally Posted By: coosa
Congrats on another great day, Gil. Makes me wanna move to GA.

Steve, I know how the turkeys would vote on such a move. wink Merry Christmas. Gil
The world knows Georgia has more than their share of turkeys that vOte...
Originally Posted By: HomelessjOe
The world knows Georgia has more than their share of turkeys that vOte...

And the blind hOg finds an acorn! wink Gil
Fine pictures guys. I struggled with the composition a bit on this one. Another fine swamp donkey.
Hey all, my son Will is home for Christmas Leave, so today Will, my other son Jim and I went out for a little hunt. Both the boys did well. Jim got a rooster, but had to leave early so no pic of him. Will and I walked some more areas and Will was able to get a nice grouse. He also got a rooster, but the bird was wing shot. Raina was able to track it down and pinned it. Raina, did very well today. We saw quite a few birds, but it was windy and they were spooky to say the least. As for me.....I was the aero of the day. Oh well. It was a great time with my boys. I sure am lucky I have them!

Anyway, Will and his birds. He was using his 12ga Bernardelli Roma 3



And Raina after a long day!



Best,

Greg
Originally Posted By: Matt Stolley
Mark, what model of Husqvarna is that.
Great pics!


Thanks! It's an model 36, made 1880. It's the only Jones Underlever Husky I've ever seen. They were made in three barrel grade variations, from model 34 to 36, with 36 having the highest grade barrels. Bores are perfect too. Wood needs work though. Took her on her first chukar hunt Saturday. First two shots resulted in a double, with RST 1oz copper 6's. I love this gun.



It was windy today, we saw an awful lot of birds, missed a couple I really should have had. Great day anyway, struck out over Lucy(my shooting) but Tucker and I managed a rooster and a Prairie Chicken. My boy was quite proud of his chicken.



What a glorious afternoon I had today! First time I've been able to shoot doves this fall, with missing the whole first season due to my accident. Hard to express how grateful I am for a "second chance".

Took the Parker 16/20 DHE with the 32" 16 ga. barrels. Used Polywad spreaders in the right barrel for the closer shots and regular 1 oz. loads in the left for the rest. Killed a full limit, but lost one in a pond adjacent to the sunflower field, and picked up the last one after this pic was taken.

Thanks Mark,
Where did you find that beauty?
I have 2 Husqvarna shotguns (model 20 and a 103A) and a couple of rifles (46A and s 146). They are all very nice guns.
Well done Stan. Glad you got your "second chance"!
Great to see you back in action, Stan.
Stan, ditto to what Mills stated.
Nice hunt, Stan. Glad you got to go! Now for some ducks too. Your DHE Parker is mighty nice. Pretty gun. Have you tried the Bornaghi Experencia 16 ga loads? They are 2 5/8” shells. Seem pretty good and a whole bunch cheaper than RST. Don’t ask me their pressure though. They don’t kick too hard is all I can say.
Originally Posted By: buzz
Nice hunt, Stan. Glad you got to go! Now for some ducks too. Your DHE Parker is mighty nice. Pretty gun. Have you tried the Bornaghi Experencia 16 ga loads? They are 2 5/8” shells. Seem pretty good and a whole bunch cheaper than RST. Don’t ask me their pressure though. They don’t kick too hard is all I can say.


No, I've heard of Bornaghi but have never seen any. Where are they available ?

Thanks, SRH
Shells R Us in WI probably has some. Call that guy, he will know everything about them, likely including their chamber pressure.
Thanks, man
Well, Stan

My CHRISTmas came two days early with this posting of yours, and I'm so pleased that you ended up with my little Parker and are still able to put it to such good use.

Wishing you and the family a Blessed CHRISTmas especially after all that you folks went through.........

Rob H.
Swans, on the St. Francis river, near Orrock, MN:



Unusual to see wild waterfowl this close to Christmas, in Minnesota.

Merry Christmas.

Best,
Ted
Good going, Stan!



Ted, the swans are here in full force a couple hours down the big river.
Hey all, Merry Christmas to you all!  My son's Will and Jim and I went out for a very short hunt before our Christmas Eve dinner.  Saw a lot of birds, mostly hens.  The boy birds were spooky however.  Will and I managed a bird a piece thanks to Addie's hard work.

Jim, Addie and Will with Will's bird



I used my 12b Henry Atkin today



Best to all,

Greg
Greg,
That looks like a great start to the Christmas holiday. Best wishes to you!
Karl
Gus and I only saw one bird this afternoon, including hens. We made the most of it. Nice mature bird too.

Nice Brent. Looks like that Cashmore is getting it done.
Originally Posted By: battle
Nice Brent. Looks like that Cashmore is getting it done.


It is indeed. I'm thinking it deserves a little upgrade on that pad and maybe some stock work. Nice to carry at 6#.
Hey all, well today my Raina girl turned 8 years old! So for her present, we took her hunting! She did really well today, very nice stanch points and great field work. So good in fact, y son Will was able to limit out in about 45 minutes. This is the first time he's done that since he went into the Army 4 years ago. So he was very happy as well. Jim and I each got one, Jim as normal hates his picture being taken so only the one of him and his brother.

Will, Raina and Jim



Raina after a good afternoon hunt



Will with his birds. He was using his 16ga Sauer Royal



I used my 16b Charles Hellis today



And......Raina at home! Happy Birthday!



Best,

Greg
Does a body good to see your postings
Thank you
Mike
With a beard that "glows" like his, you'd think he'd like getting "struck" with a camera. grin

Good pics, as always!

SRH
Greg- the lighting on those two pics of the Arrieta and roosters/ Raina is superb- well done!

Mike
It was a beautiful afternoon and birds were about. Only scored one, but it was enough.

By the way, has anyone else seen ejectors with screws and escutcheons on the side of the forearm like this? This is my first ejector gun, and it seems to be a bit unusual in this regard and I don't know why.

After a handful of great seasons with birds a plenty, we are now in the doodle doldrums. Warmer, drier conditions limit when and where we go. Yesterday, I went by my lonesome accompanied by the MuttPak, Willa and Abby. Birds weren’t holding. I was calling dogs in at the truck when they struck this one.

Tugs worms from the ground
Twitters without an Iphone
Flies through pick up sticks



She's not dead. She just smells that way.
Abby rolling in whatever she can find that smells worse.

An old dog does good
Knows the short cuts doodles take
She chuckles at miss.

Nice Gil! What shells are you using?
Nice Haiku, three lines and 17 syllables....Geo
[By the way, has anyone else seen ejectors with screws and escutcheons on the side of the forearm like this? This is my first ejector gun, and it seems to be a bit unusual in this regard and I don't know why.] Brentd

Brent, they remind me of the "eyes" on an ejector Lindner Daly...Geo
The eyes on a Lindner gun secure the Deely box ejector system, likely the same on your gun Brent.
Thanks, Keith, George. The shells are my handloaded Cheddite paper hulls, cut to 2". I'm using International powder, a BP gas seal, 3/8" Alcan Feltan-Bluestreak fiber wad, 7/8 oz. #8 and roll crimped. A forum member generously shared his unfired, primed paper hulls with me in anticipation of my loading shells for my 2" 12 ga. I should get minimum of 3 loads per hull. Gil
Having never seen a Lindner Daly, I had to google it. They look very similar, indeed. I am sure their function involves the ejectors, but all the ejector guns I have seen lack this. Most seem to anchor into the forend iron - which seems much simpler and a bit more robust. Something new to learn.

All in all it was a great fall for shooting the old original SXS hammer guns, Colt, Daw and Webley...










The dogs and I had fun yesterday in the cattails but the birds won. They were really bunched up, several hundred in one tree row and they were flushing hundreds of yards out ahead. We put up one rooster in the cattails which I hit but we did not put in the bag even though we spent a good half an hour looking for him. Great to get out. Pretty sure this will be that last hunting season for Lucy, she is showing her age at nearly 12 and coming up lame after even short hunts. We walk daily so I might get a few runs out of her next fall. She loves it as much or more than I do but I do not want to push the old gal too hard.
Shrapnel, beautiful hammerguns. Gil
Spent some time chasing big bucks with a muzzleloader, no luck on the big boys but I did manage this little guy with my William Moore 2 groove rifle.





The afternoon was short, Tucker cut himself pretty good not 200 yards from the truck, we made a short loop anyway and were rewarded with two roosters for not giving up. I missed a third bird with Lucy. Now waiting for the Vet to stitch him up. Looks like my season is over a bit earlier than I had hoped but I sure did have fun this year.

Nice. I feel like my season is just (re)starting. Out tomorrow for birds. Should be after deer now.

That's a really nice sporting rifle. What is the caliber/bore? I had a Bland belted ball rifle for a while. About .58 caliber as I recall.
The Moore is a 14 bore or .69 caliber belted ball rifle.
I figured it would be a large caliber. How much powder? The Bland was so light that I was always worried about too much powder, but the large butt made recoil no problem. Not sure it was good for the stock though. Nice rifle.
I shoot 90 grains of 2f Swiss in it.
Last weekend I was walking on frozen mud and thin ice sheets. Today the temperature was in the mid-seventies. The warm days are tougher on me but I'm sure they make it easier for the birds to find food.




Nothing like hunting with a double rifle...

skb, your original william moore made rifle, shooting a .69 baker belted round ball, looks remarkably like one i sent west a few years ago...idie ho as i recall...

if yours is not the same rifle, then there are two of erm out your way?

would love to see ah pitcher uv the cap hole cover...should be interestingly engraved...

Happy New Year to awl...
and it looks to be lovely double rifle too. What is the caliber and who is the maker?
My old gal and I managed one bird that was very hard earned today. We saw lots of roosters, mostly out of range. I shot at two and managed to anchor this one well while cleanly missing the other. Perfect retrieve for Lucy on what might be her last bird. She is really showing her age, she will be 12 next year and has been both a great birddog and companion. Shooting my Holland which I dearly love and B&P high Pheasant shells. Quite happy with the B&P cartridges.

Hi SKB,

When I saw the picture of your Moore 2-groove I thought it might be the same rifle as pictured in C.W. Thurlow Craig’s 1952 book “Shooters Delight”.
Now you have give the bore measurements it clearly isn’t as his measured .375 bore and .432 grooves, with a two cavity mould throwing an 88 grain belted ball and a conical winged bullet.
He wrote that it worked well on hill rabbits in Wales.
It is illustrated in his book, but I have only just registered with the forum and don’t yet know how to post the image.
I could email a photo of the page if you like.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Originally Posted By: SKB
and it looks to be lovely double rifle too. What is the caliber and who is the maker?


It is a Henry Clarke of Leicester, England in 7X57R. It is a rifle you don't have to go on a safari to use. It is identical to the 7X57 ballistically, it just has a rimmed case for use in the double barrel. With the small bore size, it is heavy at 10 pounds...











Hey all, first off Happy New Years to you and yours! Today is my son Will's last day at home, he has to head back to Ft Drum tomorrow. So we went on a hunt before he leaves. It was a very good day! We both limited in about 2 hours. Will made a real nice shot and I was lucky to get a double. Addie our 22 month old did an exceptional job of tracking a wing shot bird. She really worked well today, very happy with her. It was a beautiful day and even better for me to be out with my first born son!

Addie with the days bag!



Will, he was using his 16ga Sauer Royal



I used my 12ga Huberitus Buhag



Only two more days and the seasons over.

Best,

Greg
Happy New Year

Please commend Will for his service to our country !!

Well done, well done

Mike
Originally Posted By: skeettx
Happy New Year

Please commend Will for his service to our country !!

Well done, well done

Mike


Thanks Mike, I sure will. Very proud of Will, he made SSG (E6) in 3 years.

Thanks again!

Greg
Great

and the Fort Drum folks
have a Mountainous task smile
We are running out of days, but not birds. Gus thinks this picture is ridiculous. He is probably right, but we are both having fun.

Maybe a few more yet to go.

Great pic Brent. Looks like you are getting along fine with that Cashmore.
Great pictures and beautiful shotguns!

Many of you use 16 gauge: widely used in Spain in the early and mid 20th century and is considered a traditional hunting bore, but now there is poor variety of ammunition and it is used less and less.

I have also seen some pictures with a 28 ga SxS and I think it is quite used in the USA. It is my favorite gauge after using 12, 16 and 20.

Last summer with my springer spaniel and my 28 ga Wiggan& Elliott.


Regards!
I think that is a good picture. Glad to see that you still have a good population of pheasants, none to speak of here in eastern Pa where they once flourished.
...
The Cashmore does well and has earned a restoration this spring. I really have to do something to perk up the wood and then add a pad to get rid of the slip on, plus add a little more drop.

I missed two yesterday on birds that were out there a bit.
The IC/M chokes on the Cashmore don't give me that much confidence in longer shots, but on at least one of them, I was just plain behind. No full choke will fix that.

No, it's been a good year for pheasants for a lot of reasons though we missed 3 weeks due to Gus's leg. Right now we have just the right amount of snow to help them hold tight, but not be too much to wade through. We will take today off and be out there tomorrow.
Hey all, well today ended our season. It was a good one, not great, but darn better than the last two. Yesterday was kind of a bust, didn't bust a cap and saw fewer than the last few times out. Friday was really good, two limits in two hours. Today my son Jim and I went out, we could have limited a few times over if hens were legal! The boy birds were spooky, but can't complain how the day turned out. Jim got one and I managed two. The dog worked really well and the weather has been great. Little snow and above temps for this time of year. We've been lucky!

Jim and his



I started the season with my 12b Purdey and ended it with her.



Addie did very well, very happy with her!



I'm very thankful for a successful and safe season! Thank you Lord and St Hubert.

Best,

Greg
Nice birds, but where is all the snow? I would think you would have a foot and a half of it. We have about 10". Just about the perfect amount to slow or stop the birds and not enough to slow my golden. We have 7 days left.

Are many of your birds second year birds?
Greg,
We have been blessed with warmer than usual weather here in Michigan as well. Congrats on your great season, you've done well!
Karl
Brent & Karl, thanks for the very kind words. We've had a very mild winter, no snow and warm temps. Supposed to be in the 40's and upper 30's this week again. The down side is the ranchers & famers need some ground moisture. Unless we get more snow or good rains this spring, we'll be back in a drought year......and we don't need that again. Hope the good Lord will provide a good balance for all.

Thanks again!

Greg
Finally connected with some woodcock over the pup. Took her out for a quick midday hunt and she found about 10. This one was a rock solid point and I connected with the little swamp rocket. We ended up with two in the bag.

(Gun: 16 gauge AyA 4/53 repaired and refinished by me. My first gunsmithing venture)



Great looking dog. Remind us of the breed, please. As I recall your breeder was in SC not far from where I live in Georgia. Gil
Nice!

A Daw under lever?
On the woods road to the bottom, the MuttPak plus Floyd’s Sadie bumped a covey in the pines in the below photo. Today, the doodles were also in the pines which were high and dry. On the loop back out, two hours later, the dogs bumped the reassembled covey again with us 100 yards away. Thirty minutes later, junior MuttPak member, Willa, was rock solid on a blackberry vine clump, car sized, and only a foot high. I went in ahead of Willa and a washtub-sized brown and white whirling blur rose at my feet and sped away like Hans’s Millennium Falcon. I got off one shot, Floyd two and that was it. It was one of those rare coveyrises of about 20 wild birds that got up with nothing but clear air between us. Of course, no bird was hit explaining none in the other photo below.

Old farts missing birds
Nothing startling with that news
Usual business.




That's a good looking hunting dog!
Thanks! she's a 2 year old bracco italiano. you're right about the breeder. whiskey hills is the kennel name. outside ridgeland South Carolina.
also thanks again for the woodcock hunting advice you gave me last year, Gil. I'm slowly figuring it out. And it took one good flush for the dog to understand that's what we're looking for. We're having fun this year
Great looking pic. Can you please tell us more about the gun? Thank you. BillK
Originally Posted By: GLS
I got off one shot, Floyd two and that was it. It was one of those rare coveyrises of about 20 wild birds that got up with nothing but clear air between us. Of course, no bird was hit explaining none in the other photo below.


Having hunted with you both I can testify that was a big break for the birds, for you both to miss a total of three times. Not laughing tho'........ but nodding in agreement. I well know how "hard" wild birds can leave.

SRH

Originally Posted By: SKB
Nice!

A Daw under lever?



Originally Posted By: BillK
Great looking pic. Can you please tell us more about the gun? Thank you. BillK


Yes that is a Daw under lever. It is a nice original gun made in 1867. That may not sound early to some, but that is an extremely early cartridge firing shotgun when most everything of that era was still percussion.

George Daw owned the patent on outside-center primed cartridges which at that time was innovative to enclosed cartridge firing guns. I got it because of the absolute elegance of this gun. It has been a pleasure to own and shot...





Superb! I had one Daw percussion rifle through my shop and it was wonderfully made. Great gun and nice to see you putting it to good use.
Steve



Golden hour Iowa bird from today. Made a long shot and then missed an easy one. (poor gun mount)
Dave, what's that white stuff? A Jim Dandy grits truck overturn?
Nice photos of bird, gun and pooch. Gil
Originally Posted By: GLS
Dave, what's that white stuff? A Jim Dandy grits truck overturn?
Nice photos of bird, gun and pooch. Gil


Thanks, Gil.

The part of Iowa I mostly hunt has been spared of snow the year, only an inch or two at most. It doesn't have the big bird numbers, but it's real pheasant hunting and you work for those shots. About 20 minutes after I got this one I had one explode behind me after I stopped to defog my glasses. Rattled me and after the bang-bang-damn I noticed slight throb of pain on my bicep where I mounted the gun. Grrr!
Nice tail on the one you got, Dave.

I'm hoping to get out 3 more times before it is over.
Brent, he was a big bird and only got one other his size this year in South Dakota. I’m going ice fishing today, but I plan on at least one more Iowa day trip before it closes Sunday.
Originally Posted By: Dave Erickson
Brent, he was a big bird and only got one other his size this year in South Dakota. I’m going ice fishing today, but I plan on at least one more Iowa day trip before it closes Sunday.


I shot a pair of older birds (>1 yr old) a few days ago and just reaching down to pick them up, I could tell that one was much larger in body size than the other - maybe by 50%. Both were perfectly healthy and well plumed. I was sort of surprised by that, but I guess golden retrievers and humans come in all sizes too. Why not pheasants?

I killed a bird last week that was smaller and a very weak flier, but when I cleaned him, I found out why. He had been shot by someone else with a load of #4s. He was healing up, but had obviously been battling infection in his breast and one leg. I ended up tossing him, but I believe he may have survived had I missed him.
I had read awhile ago that in South Dakota if you hunted on a pay basis that some of the farmers have, they had to keep a total of birds killed and then they had to supplement the wild birds with pen raised birds. I'm guessing this is the same now and wonder if other states that have a fair amount of wild birds if this is the case also.

I have seen some movie footage of guys hunting in a group and having a good time talking while hunting in South Dakota. When I was there years ago you didn't as much sneeze when walking. The dogs had bells on them, but that didn't seem to bother the birds. I had never seen that many pheasants and at the time Pennsylvania had a fair amount here in the eastern part of the state.....that was then.
Never heard about the pay for birds part. News to me. I don't pay for access, personally.

We talk while we hunt. But I do like hunting alone with my dog. He usually wears a bell although I have trouble hearing it. I don't like yelling to him so I use a Captain's whistle (sparingly) and the vibrator/tone buttons on his collar coupled with body language.
Originally Posted By: David Williamson

I have seen some movie footage of guys hunting in a group and having a good time talking while hunting in South Dakota. When I was there years ago you didn't as much sneeze when walking. The dogs had bells on them, but that didn't seem to bother the birds. I had never seen that many pheasants and at the time Pennsylvania had a fair amount here in the eastern part of the state.....that was then.


David:

If you remember wild birds in Eastern Pennsylvania, you have to be in your sixties or older. I've lived in and around southeastern PA all of my life, except for a few years when the Army sent me to Alabama, and there haven't been wild birds anywhere around here since the 1980s. I miss them and put and take pheasant hunting is not the same by any means.

Rem
Looking good Gil. Looking to get on the Woodcock this weekend. I know they have missed me
Originally Posted By: David Williamson
I had read awhile ago that in South Dakota if you hunted on a pay basis that some of the farmers have, they had to keep a total of birds killed and then they had to supplement the wild birds with pen raised birds. I'm guessing this is the same now and wonder if other states that have a fair amount of wild birds if this is the case also.

I have seen some movie footage of guys hunting in a group and having a good time talking while hunting in South Dakota. When I was there years ago you didn't as much sneeze when walking. The dogs had bells on them, but that didn't seem to bother the birds. I had never seen that many pheasants and at the time Pennsylvania had a fair amount here in the eastern part of the state.....that was then.


Certainly there are game preserves in South Dakota that are as you describe but I have seen many hundreds of wild birds at a time in the Dakotas as well, especially when they bunch up later in the year during the cold weather.
I've never paid for birds. Why would you do that when you live in wild bird country?
Originally Posted By: Dave Erickson
I've never paid for birds. Why would you do that when you live in wild bird country?



Amen!
Originally Posted By: Dave Erickson
I've never paid for birds. Why would you do that when you live in wild bird country?


Lots of people do that. I would think the whys of it are pretty obvious, especially if you've ever hunted wild birds.
Originally Posted By: BrentD
Originally Posted By: Dave Erickson
I've never paid for birds. Why would you do that when you live in wild bird country?


Lots of people do that. I would think the whys of it are pretty obvious, especially if you've ever hunted wild birds.


I realize all that, Brent, and I have no problem with others doing it at all. I've just have never had to pay, and it's due to living where I do, making connections, and hunting upland for a very long time. I hunt a combination of private and public land.
Not everyone has a bird dog or loves walking miles on the prairie, I do but some folks just want to come to a place where they are pampered and they know they will see birds. Living in bird country makes a huge difference. Many of those preserves cater to corporate business, they fly a new group in every few days and it is much more pheasant shooting than pheasant hunting, because they supplement the birds on the preserve they can legally take more birds and hunt a longer season. I see huge numbers of birds on the private land I hunt but they all occur naturally. The Dakotas are subject to big swings in numbers locally but in general support very large numbers of naturally occurring wild birds on both public and private land.
We use to call preserve hunts, “put and take” hunts. Got invited to a mallard duck hunt, “put and take type hunt” a few years ago. Seems ducks were released in the marsh and would fly back to their pens right across a from blind that hunters sat in. I did not go but a friend did. Told me he killed ten ducks before he noticed they all flew the exact same pathway. He shot several more but let others shoot his “ share”. I thought then and still do that I would rather repaint a bedroom than go “hunting like that”. I do understand those less able to physically get around might enjoy it. But unless I am introducing a new pup to birds I’ll pass on “put and takes”. But to each their own.
I'm with you. I have not shot a planted bird in years and even then it was only for training. Not the kind of sport I'm looking for.
Steve:

You are fortunate to live where wild birds still exist. In Pennsylvania, where I live, wild pheasants are extinct and the ruffed grouse population appears headed that way, thanks to West Nile virus and a reduction in logging on State Forest
lands, plus the continuing reduction in oak trees, the last significant mast source in the Pennsylvania forests, thanks to the State abandoning spraying for gypsy moths. Even the squirrel populations are way down in the woods. I’ve been hunting the same areas for over 50 years and the changes are extensive and deeply discouraging.

Rem
You know it Rem. Actually I drive out of state for most of my upland hunting other than blue grouse but still feel very fortunate. Smartest thing I ever did was buying a run down house in bird country.
Some of you read but did not read what I printed. I said years ago and could be the same as now, if you plan a hunt to South Dakota and maybe other states, most of the land is privately owned by farmers that charge you to hunt on their property, that includes room and board and usually a kennel for your dog/s. If there are 10 gunners and you kill your limit of 3 for the days you are there, that is a lot of wild birds being killed, multiplied by the next and next group of hunters, and that would soon deplete a lot of cock bird population. So the state said that on your property if x amount of pheasants were killed, you had to supplement that amount after the season ended for the next years propagation.
There are many that hunt on these pay for farms and is a way for farmers to make extra income.

SKB, I never mentioned shooting preserve, again read what I wrote.
Rem, I am 74 and have hunted in PA even when I lived in northern N.J. We hunted all day and put up birds all day, many hens which was a good thing to see. It started to decline when the state did not put out 5-6 week old birds on property that was not posted, but still like anywhere, you had to ask permission. I got to know a few places and after the second time or so, they just told me to go ahead and hunt. Always offered them birds if they wanted at the end of the day.
By the time hunting season came these pen raised chicks were as wild as wild could be and made challenging hunting. I also remember around this time in Flemington, N.J. the amount of wild pheasants and quail there at that time. Always had great quail hunting where the hospital is now. I had my first chance at a triple on quail, shot two going away and missed an easy left to right on a cock. I was using a Remington 11-48 .410 25" barrel ventilated rib of which I still own.
Now in PA if you see a pheasant call the state and report an endangered species. The state has ruined pheasant hunting and puts all it's effort in deer, bear and turkey, of which I did not care to hunt then or now.
I don't know anything about pheasants hunting in USA, but like these game birds a lot. I watched some videos of "The hunting family" in YouTube. It is incredible how many wild (I supose) birds are there. They are so lucky.

Regards!
campero,
We are, indeed, lucky for our bird hunting. Gus and I only got one yesterday but that was good enough.

David Williamson,
I think you may have some of your details confused. If the State of South Dakota is mandating the release on a piece of privately owned land then that would be a shooting preserve, by definition. The State is only concerned with hunting within season and bag limits. If a rancher decides to shoot every single cock bird in his property but does so within season and abides by bag limits then that is of no concern to the State, though it certainly would constitute poor game management.

Brent,
nice pic and I agree, one hard earned late season rooster is enough. Looks like a nice sunny day to be out there.
It was a beautiful day. Just barely above freezing and very light wind (super unusual). We put on a lot of hard miles quickly. Will skip today and go Saturday and Sunday for The Closer.
BrentD, what a very good hunting day! I think the important thing in hunting is how and not how much: live the countryside gives us in company of our dogs, friends and shotguns. (Sorry my bad english). Beautiful your SxS. It's a...?

"The hunting family" I watch in YouTube hunts with 20 ga Merkel guns.

The gun is a Cashmore Paragon. 12 gauge. It's great for the late season where we walk many miles for every shot. Just one shot yesterday, and we made it a good one. It was an almost perfect day.

We have two more days to go and it will be much colder, but still good weather.
Good job, Brent. A person certainly does earn these late season trophies. Tuesday I had 2 shots, got one, and yesterday the valve was shut. I'll give the birds these final three days without me hassling them any more.
Yesterday was a beautiful day with cool temps in the low 50s and intermittent sun and clouds, with a little breeze. I was invited to a dove shoot less than a mile from my house, in a large sunflower field. The field was somewhere around 60 acres, with another one about that size about 1/4 mile away. across some scrub woods. Most of the doves were feeding in one of those fields, so 12 of us took to that field. One gun went to the other, mainly to keep the doves from going to it and settling once the shooting started in "our" field.

I anticipated high flying, mature birds and lots of shots at longish distances. I normally use a small bore gun for doves, and would have possibly used a 20 but, considering the size of the field and the few guns that would be there I decided to use a 12. I have had a Smith 3E with 32" ventilated rib barrels, and 3" chambers, for a couple years but had never taken it to the field. It had shot clays once, with "so-so" results, and had lingered in it's leg-of-mutton case ever since. My feelings went towards it, and giving it a chance to strut it's stuff. The long 32" barrels are choked .037" and .037", so it had what was needed to reach out and touch the long ones. I took Aguila 1 oz. loads of no.8s, at 1200 fps., though 7 1/2s might have been better, in hindsight.

It was a good choice. The birds were flying wide and high, and the long barrels and tight chokes were in their element. At the end of the afternoon I had a limit of fifteen. Hard earned birds, most taken at distance. Wonderful sport in the late season.

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

SRH
Great work Stan!
Another day, another pic on a stump - well a log, but that's what we had in a farmer's machine lot.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

This was one of the most impressive days of pheasant hunting I have ever seen. We may have seen close to 1000 flushes. Of course, nearly all of them were 100s of yards away. But they were flying in every direction at all times. With the crunchy snow, getting close was hard. But we ended killing 6.

Of course, only 5 are in the picture. I shot the first bird, and afterwards we returned to the trucks in the farmer's drive to shed some clothes. I put the bird in the truck too (it has a tonneau cover). Then we did another large loop and I shot a second bird, and we returned to the truck for a snack and to drop off birds again. I put mine in the back. And then did a double take. There was only one bird in the truck. The one I just put there. No idea where the other bird went. It was dead as a wedge, but it disappeared out of a closed truck bed. No one was at home at the farm either. Haunted pheasant cover, but oh so amazing.

The farm owner was off at his brother's place which is, apparently, even better pheasant hunting. They got 17 for 6 shooters.

One more day left.
I love those days Brent, just awesome when it comes together late season. Another great pic of Gus too.
Brent, I'm envious of your bird numbers down there. Northeast Iowa is bird poor in comparison. I used to see days like that in the Mason City area in the 90's. Looking forward to seeing your final report!
Dave, the rest of America is bird poor compared to where we were yesterday. It was phenomenal, unlike anything I have seen in 30 seasons of Iowa pheasant hunting. I doubt I will ever get a chance to hunt that property again, but I will never forget it.
[No idea where the other bird went. It was dead as a wedge, but it disappeared out of a closed truck bed. No one was at home at the farm either. Haunted pheasant cover, but oh so amazing.]brentd



I once shot a Redhead drake (rare down here) I wanted to have mounted. I returned from my blind and put the bird in my car. The passenger window was partially open. Upon my return the caretaker's cat jumped out the window with my Redhead. At least the cat had mostly plucked it for me...Geo
"I once shot a Redhead drake (rare down here) I wanted to have mounted. I returned from my blind and put the bird in my car. The passenger window was partially open. Upon my return the caretaker's cat jumped out the window with my Redhead. At least the cat had mostly plucked it for me...Geo"

George - had a very similar experience many years ago with my first Wood duck drake. Man was I ever proud; and as I'd taken the duck late in the evening and was to join my wife and in-laws for supper that evening, drove to their home where I was now welcome to enter thru the back door. So I wiped off my feel and laid my game bag atop the freezer on the porch with never a single thought of the cat. While we were eating I heard a commotion on the back porch and opened the door just in time to witness the cat emerge from my game bag with MY DRAKE in it's jaws; and before I could say SCAT, it and my duck disappeared under the house! The duck was never seen again; and oh lordy did I want to kill that cat!. Wasn't funny then, but it makes for a good campfire tale now.
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Great post, what joy
Mike
A friend who doesn't get to shoot doves much, and loves to eat them, was the recipient of the limit I took Thursday afternoon. So, thinking ahead to Monday evening, and wanting some grilled dove breasts myself, I took to the field this afternoon all by my lonesome. I knew where about 50-60 doves were feeding and set up my decoys and blind there. Today was a first for me. In 61 seasons I had never shot doves with a single-shot gun before. I took my 32" barrel Iver Johnson Special Trap and some B & P Comp One shells. The Comp Ones are lower pressure one ounce loads that I have had problems using in my other guns, due to misfires from light primer strikes. They will, however, fire with 100% reliability in this external hammer gun. It has a tight choke, and the drop is not so minimal that I can't shoot it well, though it is a trap gun. I've got a feeling it won't be the last time I use it on late season doves.

All I wanted was a few fresh birds to grill Monday evening, and it worked out nicely. They are marinating in the fridge tonight.

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

SRH
From boom to bust. Yesterday, multiple hundreds of birds. Today, nothing. We did have to deal with a pair of trespassers, which probably had a little to do with that. But it was a good day anyway. We both finished with strong legs. That's not a small thing.

Now, it is on to Nebraska, I think.

Mr. Black Socks had to find a mudhole spring to run through right before jumping in the truck for the trip home. smile


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[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Last week was top-notch for woodcock in the swamp. Birdie found 50-60 birds in 3 hunts. A good time was had by all.

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[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]
Georgia doodle season ends Monday. SC ends January 31st. This season has been underwhelming compared with the last few. Several factors influence when and where we find them here in good numbers. We need brutal cold to clear the decks of birds north of us. We got some birds but when the Atlantic coast freezes over including North Georgia and South Carolina, they stack up in good numbers where we have found them over the years. Woodland river flood plains need to be full of water to shrink the habitat where we find birds. Wet woods, help as well, pushing worms to near the surface. We have had little of the above this season. The silver lining has been the discovery of new areas we previously ignored. I was in one such area today with the MuttPak. Despite woefully poor shooting, I scratched out a couple in a few hours with 10 flushes. As usual, the dogs did better than I did.
Ithaca SKB 100 20 ga. Gil
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Shot Thursday afternoon in a big sunflower field with the A H Fox BE grade 12 ga. with 32" barrels. Lots of doves, I mean LOTS of doves. Killed my 15 bird limit with 21 shells. One ounce of no. 8s.

Used the same gun today on a millet field and brought the total for the two shoots up to 24. Shot like crap today. Drew a tough stand and got nothing but long shots.

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

SRH
watt you gone do wid awl dem dead boids?

meebe grind erm up fur chili?
Today I took this 16 gauge Cogswell & Harrison out for its annual "birthday hunt". I have a letter from the maker with January 21 as the date of completion so every year on or around that date I take it hunting. Today we celebrated its 107th birthday.


[Linked Image from thesnipehunter.com]
Snipe Hunter,
Great story and pictures! I have a 28 ga. that I shoot on my birthday when I received it.
Karl
That Coggie appears to have a very slim wrist. It's pretty, but you sure don't want to take a fall with it.

Beautiful picture!
Skip, I recall seeing the old Coggie over at the old snipe forum moons ago... She doesn't look her age. Gil
Thank you Karl. I can only do that because the completion date happens to fall within the season.

Stan, one of the reasons I don't like guns with a through bolt is they tend to be too fat to feel right. I think that gun is just a hair over 4" in circumference. I have a couple that are right at 4" even and I love the way they feel. I have large hands but I still like a small wrist. If I fall the foot or more of water/grass/slop will soften the landing.

Gil, it hasn't been used much lately. I used it quite a bit 13-14 years ago but most years since then it has only gotten out a time or two each season.
I thought about the water and grass, Skip, after I posted what I did. grin

I wouldn't let it stop me from having one like that, even without the grass/water/mud. In fact, I've got a couple that are that small, or smaller, myself. wink

Always enjoy your pics.

Best, SRH
Thank you Stan. Great shooting on those dove by the way. I was always better on flushing birds than passing birds until I spent four days in Argentina a few years ago and got plenty of practice. That Fox is gorgeous. I like smaller guns and if I had a 20 gauge B grade gun like that I would be a happy man.

Gil, nice work on the woodcock with that 20 gauge SKB. I really wanted one of those for my first gun when I was thirteen. Dad thought the 20 gauge 870 Wingmaster "Magnum" would be a more versatile gun for a boy that was only going to have one shotgun and he was probably right. I thought the Raybar sight was the coolest thing. If I got one of those guns today that would probably be the first thing I replaced. LOL
Originally Posted by Snipe Hunter
That Fox is gorgeous. I like smaller guns and if I had a 20 gauge B grade gun like that I would be a happy man.

Right now I'm using a 20 Ga. Sterlingworth Ejector, with chokes opened to suit flushing birds, and chambers lengthened to 2 3/4" for quail and, hopefully next season, woodcock. It has proven to be such a lovely little bird gun that I will be keeping my eyes open for a graded Fox. The Sterly works so well that the only way I could improve on it would be looks, and a graded gun would satisfy that.

Best wishes, SRH
I used a 20 gauge Sterlingworth last weekend and the two times I hunted last week. Mine is just an extractor gun but it is solid and reliable.
Stan, you may recall the 20 ga. XE that I helped a family sell a handful of years ago. The owner, Sandy West, died on her birthday last week at 108. It was her father's gun. She lived alone on Ossabaw until moving into assisted living at 103. Here she is dining with Toby I at her home at Ossabaw. We have had her Toby II for two years. Anyone want to buy an 11 year old cranky Jack Russell who thinks he's a Jack Daniels? Gil
[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]
[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]
I do remember that, Gil. But, thanks for the pics. I don't know of anyone that Toby II would be better off with than you. Id like to hear the story of the sale of that XE again, next time we're together. I've been to sleep several times since then and the details are fuzzy.

Best, SRH
I can't help saying that is one really great picture of Toby and his late owner! Is Toby after some desert or a little of whatever was in the glass?
Probably both.
Sandy's father was a big game hunter and the house on Ossabaw has head mounts that go way back in time. Presidents visited the island. Here's Sandy feeding a wild boar that would come to her kitchen door for table scraps. Not all of them lacked fear of humans. The two that she hand fed were "Spotty" and "Vidal Sasoon". The hogs descended from hogs left by the Spanish on the barrier islands of Georgia. The State of Georgia bought the 28,000 acre island back in the 1970s from Sandy and her brother. They kept a life estate. No one expected her to live to be 108.
My wife is sitting on the steps in the photo alongside Sandy.
[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]
Grey day, grey skies, grey birds. Getting tougher and tougher to kill a limit on these wary, mature birds. They flare from almost anything. Sir Joseph Nickerson had a sign above the door exiting his "ready room", from whence he went gamebird gunning. The sign read "About to be humbled". Above the same door, on the outside coming in another sign read "Having been humbled". He may not have ever shot late season doves but, I certainly can share the "having been humbled" aspect of gunning with him.

1973 Italian hammergun, reportedly made by the Bernardelli factory, and labeled San Georgio. 12 ga., 30", modern steel barrels ........

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

SRH
Season coming close to the end. Another great day in the woods with the dog and my brother. Gun is an AyA No 2 12 gauge.

[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]
Not this season, but 7 years ago to the week. She had just turned 3. Today is her 10th birthday. Jeff, Floyd and I had a great day and Abby was so tired I had to carry her from the truck to the house when we got home. I thought I'd killed her, but in the morning she was fine. We'll celebrate her 10th with her half sister and Floyd's Sadie when the wind dies later today. Probably won't find the birds like we did in the photo, but we still have the memories. Gil
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Great pic, Jim. That was a good day, indeed.

SRH
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Greener Empire, one shot


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Smallwood 10 bore
Our last day in Nebraska was yesterday. We are now, officially on vacation until 1 September. Gus is definitely not happy about that.

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Super Foxes were built for water fowling. I know that. That's all mine has ever done under my care, until today. It is absolutely the finest duck gun I've ever used. Thirty-two inch barrels, heavy to help absorb the recoil of big loads, and strong to absorb the same. I was in a quandary this morning. I was invited to a late season dove shoot for this afternoon and had to decide which double to take. My 32" A grade 12 had not been used lately, but the HE, which usually gets hunted on ducks in AR, did not this season, because of low water there, and COVID 19.

So, this morning as I pondered the wheres and heretofore of the doubles in the stable I thought "Well, since the HE couldn't get out for ducks this year why not give her a fling on the dove field?" I've owned this Super for somewhere around 15 years and never used it for anything but ducks ............ until today.

I went 5 for 5, then missed a bird. Then killed three more with one shot each .......... okay, eight for nine. Pretty good. Two doves came from my right, true crossers at about 35 yards. I was using Fiocchi Interceptors in the right barrel (1 oz. spreaders) and Federals in the left, no. 8s, both. The birds looked closer than 35 yards so I pulled a little ways out in front of them and hit the front trigger. Both birds fell dead at the shot, and landed not over 10 feet apart. A true double, and I was 10 for 10! Then, there was a lull in the flights, which gave me time to think. That's a bad thing. The wheels fell off, and I killed a couple more, but with several misses.

Probably my last shoot of the season (tomorrow is the last day of the season and it's supposed to rain all afternoon), but it's been a good late season. I remember an article, probably in DGJ, about "Pop" Headrick using an HE on a dove shoot. Kinda gave me a cozy feeling this afternoon, remembering that.

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SRH
Last birds of the season
The Nebraska Upland Slam

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Miroku and chicken

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[img][img]https://i.postimg.cc/8s5JbRWB/waiting-for-them.jpg[/img][/img] Got some snow on last day . Not a very good year here in Virginia. got the Super Fox out. but at least saw some ducks.
simcgunner, here it is.
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OK I am not successful with posting photos. Any guidance is welcome, but I am unable to click "copy" on a picture and then click "paste" on the post window here
You have to upload your photos to a host server (e.g., jpgbox, imgur, etc) first and then copy the correct URL from THAT location into your message (surrounded by [img]url[/img].
Originally Posted by BrentD
You have to upload your photos to a host server (e.g., jpgbox, imgur, etc) first and then copy the correct URL from THAT location into your message (surrounded by [img]url[/img].
But I thought we had bypassed that older method with a newer and easier method when this site was updated last month. Something like other sites have, where we just post right from our computer or phone. Sounds like the picture posting method did not change. Thanks for telling me
Originally Posted by pamtnman
Originally Posted by BrentD
You have to upload your photos to a host server (e.g., jpgbox, imgur, etc) first and then copy the correct URL from THAT location into your message (surrounded by [img]url[/img].
But I thought we had bypassed that older method with a newer and easier method when this site was updated last month. Something like other sites have, where we just post right from our computer or phone. Sounds like the picture posting method did not change. Thanks for telling me

The "upgrade" seems to be mostly, if not entirely, cosmetic. At least so far as I can tell.
Originally Posted by BrentD
Originally Posted by pamtnman
Originally Posted by BrentD
You have to upload your photos to a host server (e.g., jpgbox, imgur, etc) first and then copy the correct URL from THAT location into your message (surrounded by [img]url[/img].
But I thought we had bypassed that older method with a newer and easier method when this site was updated last month. Something like other sites have, where we just post right from our computer or phone. Sounds like the picture posting method did not change. Thanks for telling me

The "upgrade" seems to be mostly, if not entirely, cosmetic. At least so far as I can tell.
got it, thank you for telling me
One thing I've noticed is that if a member is on one's ignore, not only does the post not appear but neither does the name in the body of the thread. Gil
Quail hunt over New Year's

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Woodcock taken with my old Boss 12ga hammer gun. It was the first outing of the season for this old gun and an unexpected surprise as we rarely see woodies. Waterfall is on the family farm.
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Great pic! Nice gun, dog and doodle.
Owen,
Congrats on your great day with the 'old girl'. I'm looking forward to October up here!
Karl




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Love it when kids are part of it.
More quail hunting. Julia shot her Superposed 410. My son and I shot Parker 20's. Sherwood disgraced himself on the last hunt with my Dad, but redeemed himself on this one. He even made a water retrieve (note he is soaked in the picture)


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Woohoo! Take him to the Southern! They have a parker to give away in the youth event.
Great report
Thank you
Mike
Mills, glad to see the family out shooting. It has been awhile since I saw Julia, the last time was at the Southern years ago.
David, She will be at the Southern this year. Hope you can make it
One last quail hunt up in Blackville, SC


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Mills, have any of y'all given any thought about possibly buying and shooting a Parker? wink Gil
Taken with the shotgun barrels, No Name drilling 16ga/16ga/9.3x72R 1 oz NP BB's in a 2.5" hull. I regularly hunt coyotes with a 16ga/16ga/6.5x58R Sauer but it is scoped. This one was called in on the spur of the moment.

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I love seeing someone using a drilling for what it is for. Thanks for the picture.
They have coyotes in Germany/Austria?

The heck you say .......
LAST BIRD OF THE YEAR WITH A FIRST YEAR MODEL 21

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that is nice!!! Yeah, upland bird season is over and now we do turkey season
It started out as a crappy day at 330 am. The Jack Russell crapped on the bedroom floor. Fortunately it damn near glowed in the dark so I didn't step in it. Afterwards, my daily devotion overflowed in the bathroom. But I kept on going. Drove 70 miles and mountain biked 3 miles into the swamp past the closed gate. It was a cloudy morning after two days of bad weather, but it was still. I heard nothing on the limb. Eventually a dim gobble answered my hoot and the The Main Event of my hunting season began. Yildiz TK12 12 ga. 4.25 lbs. and artwork by Mark Larson. 1 3/8 TSS 9s at 38 yards. Gil
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That is too cool Gil! Geo and I doubled up this morning. I have no clue how to post the pics still.
Keith, George told me. That's great. He needs to tell the story of redemption. If he can't load them, send the photos to my email and I'll do it. Don't send me 20 damn photos, though. wink Gil
Thanks man! 19 photos sent!
You get 3 dammit. Who you think I am, Skeetx? He's the nice guy. No soup for you! George and you need to tell us about the guns and George needs to tell the tale of woe from yesterday. Gil
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The first one is the best! All perfect choices. Thank you so much!
Well done on the birds gents!
Very niice Gil!
Great pics. Gil, George and Keith ............. you go, boys!

Stan
Thanks guys! I was shooting a husqvarna 103cs in 16 gauge. I was shooting short lil #6's. It was quite a two day event
George has so many turkeys they're trying to peck his eyes out over there. He shoots them in self defense. A small child can kill a gobbler on his place.
JR
I'll see if I can get this to work... My setter pup Vance & the first grouse I ever shot over him, back in November. Hard-won PA bird on public land. Gun is my grandfather's Browning BSS Sporter (20 gauge, straight stock, 26" tubes, IC/Mod), his last bird gun. Thinking of having that Mod barrel opened to something like Sk1.

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Thanks to GLS for posting the pictures 67galaxie took this morning. Here's what happened yesterday and this morning:

"Homeric Fail"
Last week we had 88 degree afternoons. Weather reported cold front coming through yesterday but a cool clear morning today. Then in the dark of night they changed that to rain all morning and low forties with "feel like" thirties.



Anyhow, I got up and went. The rain started on the way down to the farm I was hunting. No problem, I wore my long johns and my milsurp rain parka. How rainy could it be. Pretty rainy and cold it turned out. Miserable in fact.



No matter because I could hear the gobbler I knew was there at daylight. He responded to may calls and came in at about 8:00. Him and two other longbeards plus a jake, followed up by about nine hens. Four gobblers twenty feet in front of me before I knew it with evil intentions about my jake and hen decoy.



I've been excited all year about my 1928 Ithaca/Lefever game and trap single shot which my friend GLS converted into a dedicated turkey gun for me. The conversion included a Sumtoy turkey choke and installation of a Burris Fast Fire red dot scope. I had checked the "zero" on the red dot last week and it was dead on with hand loaded TSS #8's. The pattern at 40 yards would fit on a volleyball, so you have to hold tight on'em when you shoot.



Well, these gobblers were less than ten yards out, so I waited until they'd moved off about thirty feet to try to shoot. UhOh, I had taken the scope cover off because I thought I could hold the scope under my jacket so it wouldn't get wet. Except it did; it was soaked and I had the red dot on high so all I could see through the blur was the refracted light of the red dot all over the biggest gobbler. It was like aiming straight into the sun. I tried to rub the rain off the scope but it just smeared and got worse.



I hoped I had the bird sighted right and took the shot but missed. I guess in the rain they must have thought it was just thunder because they all just sort of walked off. A few minutes later I chirped a few clucks at them and the whole bunch returned, but led by the hens this time. The dominant big gobbler returned with them though, this time at the perfect 40 yard distance for the TSS.



And I repeated my first fail as I tried again to aim through the wet blurred scope lenses. I've missed a lot of turkeys over the years but never two in one morning. Moral is Keep Your Scope Cover On in the Rain Until you are ready to shoot.



"Rapid Redemption"


Fast Track Redemption. Yesterday's bad luck turned sweet this morning. Doubleguner 67galaxie and I returned to the scene of my disaster this morning and sat together where I set up yesterday. I figured I could use somebody who can shoot.



The birds were still there and we called the whole bunch in again. My sight was not wet this morning and we doubled on the two biggest gobblers in the group of four from yesterday. Mine was the strutter because I shot first and 67galaxie followed up with another big guy. Biggest was twenty pounds, big for around here...Geo
Hey 67. Think I recognize that Husky.
Congrats to all the turkey slayers! I got one on our opening day too. The little Yildiz sxs 20 gauge dropped him at 30 yds.

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Nice bird Mr. Coosa and a great picture. Side by sides and turkey hunting just seem to go together. Although I'll use a double sometimes I had to swear off automatics and pumps because once I start shooting I can't stop. A single seems best for me. Last time I had to tote 60 pounds of dead turkeys two miles out of the woods was the last time I wanted multiple shots...Geo
Once every 5 or so years , I call a bird in for Dad.   He always uses the old Iver Johnson Champion that was found in the corner of attic in the first house he bought.   The "Choke Bore' barrel shoots as tight as most modern extended choke tubes.  It was quite an adventure and a memorable opening morning hunt. 
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VERY VERY cool
Great job sir! Heck of a bird too
Congrat, Mark, to you, your father and the old shotgun! What does that big bird weigh?
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