Gun Dog Forum

tdhusker

Some of the guys I hunt with shoot those things. They sound like 44 magnums when they shoot. I kill as many or more phez than anyone with 1oz 20 ga Federal premuims... but whatever floats your boat.

They are just small birds we're shooting at, ya know.

tdhusker

Shooting hens just seems like a bad idea. Wonder why they allow that?

tdhusker

Take her. Get her used to the routine. Riding in a kennel, hearing shots, other dogs, etc. Take her out just you and the pup, no one else for an hour or so per day. If she points a bird, kill it. If she doesn't point, but chases and gets excited, don't scold the pup, encourage her. Get that hunting...

tdhusker

Personally: I think shooting a bird that the dog did not bump or bust is okay. I do it with Ruffs just so the dog gets an idea of what we are doing.. Maybe more for my piece of mine more than help to the dog. But I feel it does not hurt. So long as your dog is gun broke.. Get that dog a bird. Also ...

tdhusker

What did those poor pheasants ever do to us to deserve this? Because of all the ones that laugh at us as we miss and they fly away unscathed. Haven't you heard? that cackling a rooster makes is actually him laughing out loud..... :mrgreen: A miss with the 12 guage Prairie Storm rays of death will k...

tdhusker

What did those poor pheasants ever do to us to deserve this?

tdhusker

...That 12 ga UL will make your nose run if you shoot anything more than field loads..... Not hardly...I shoot 1 1/2s as a matter of course late season with no problems. A 3" turkey load will kick but one shot is hardly an issue. Not sure who would shoot heavier hunting loads in a BUL, or any scatt...

tdhusker

Worst thing I ever had happen was running a setter pup in the spring, letting him roam the countryside, he came across a hen turkey on her nest. He pointed her at very close range and when she flushed she gave him a nasty gash on the nose. Bled pretty good but i don't think it did much to dampen his...

tdhusker

The Federal Premium upland loads are really good stuff. Our local Wally world carries them. I use them in my 20 and they knock the crap out of wild phez. I also have used the Kent fast-lead's in my 20, prefer the Federal's. Late season roosters are a far tougher bird to drop than early season. Use t...

tdhusker

I have a Monte in 20. If you get one be aware they checker the forend by machine and if they set the cut too deep the checkering is very aggressive. Mine is too sharp, and the tips of the "pyramids" in the checkering break off but another guy I know has one that's just fine. The gun is very light a...

tdhusker

The Nova 20 has the same action/stock as the 12. No real advantage in going with the 20 in that gun as it is going to handle just like the 12.

tdhusker

In a 20 I'd go for the Monte.

tdhusker

I had one for a short while. Felt quick and handy in the store, couldn't hit a thing with it. Those short barrells are really loud too.

tdhusker

I'm definitely in the "use it and enjoy it" camp. The thing isn't worth as much as a new autoloader anyway so you might as well enjoy it. There isn't another pump that could compare to a model 12 and they make a dandy pheasant gun. I'd open the choke and have some fun.

tdhusker

I'd suggest giving some serious thought to how light you want to go. I own a 20 ga Monte and it is a little feather. It can be a bit of a challenge for some guys to shoot that light of a gun. The Cynergy UL is going to be a little more muzzle-heavy with 28's and easier to shoot. If you can only get ...

tdhusker

I've got to go with mcbosco on this one. My wife and I each use our Montefelro 20 ga as our first choice (but under $900, might have to take a trip to New Jersey) using our other shotgun's as back-ups. Would like to try the new Benelli Legacy 28 gauge at 4.9 pounds. That is a great gun, classic, pr...

tdhusker

I would also be interested in what kind of patterns you are throwing with the loads you tried. Yes... very good thoughts. You're right... the ultimate answer is to fork out the $ for the heavy shot :D I'll take your advise and pattern the gun using steel shot. I'm using a mod. choke. I know mod. is...

tdhusker

I shot some out of a Beretta O/U last year on passing pheasant while walking the edge of a field that my cohorts were making a drive in. I threw some 3" #2's in my pocket because I have done well on long range pass shots with the bigger steel shot before. Aside from the obvious.... snot-flying recoi...

tdhusker

Too bad. I have a friend with a 12 ga that I got to hunt with and was thoroughly impressed. Best mid/low priced gun I have fired, IMO. They also make some really nice competition guns for the money.

tdhusker

Unless price is the deciding factor, I'd stay away from the single shots. A 1 oz load in one of those little things kicks like an angry mule. I had a 20 ga youth 870 and it was nasty for the kid to shoot too. Short and uncomfortably loud with that stubby barrel. If you can find a used gas operated 2...

tdhusker

Just a note on shotgun triggers. Pull weight becomes an issue only at either extreme or when shooting a very light shotgun for game. Have a trigger that is less responsive, or slow, however and shooting flying increases in difficulty whether it be targets or birds. I eventually went to a Bowen rele...

tdhusker

I've got a Beretta and a Browning- I laugh- triggers on Brownings need work- and a fella's gun smith says any nut can make them good- priceless You ask for opinion and then ridicule, never offering your own. Perhaps your approach could use some refinement. I think that if you were to look around a ...

tdhusker

they're a nice and trim little gun, Beretta-like in handling quality. If you have any issue it will be the triggers. quote] so please explain Beretta-like in handling quality- being that I'm a Browning fan The shallow receiver design has a lot to do with it, makes for a lower profile and loweer lin...

tdhusker

Since you're from Montana, it's hard to tell if you are talking about sharptail or ruffed/blue? If you're talking sharptail, you tend to have warm/hot weather and wide open country. You need to have any dog in good physical condition for sharptail hunting but a lab in particular is going to have tro...

tdhusker

thanks for all the input. I went to a local gunshop and shouldered the berettas... nice guns but the LOP is way too long for me. I ended up falling for a 20ga cynergy field of all things. Never thought I would ever contemplate a cynergy but that thing fit me perfectly. They're a nice and trim littl...

tdhusker

I prefer the Beretta's to the Citoris. I've owned a number of Browning O/U's. Clays guns and field. The Beretta does have a lower profile receiver, generally have a bit more cast. I prefer the Beretta's but I'll admit that I don't care for how the field grade 12 gauges handle but really like the cla...

tdhusker

There's a used SKB 28 ga with some rust pitting on Shotgun World classifieds right now. You could probably get that gun for $500 and have a good quality gun, if you can live with some rust damage.

tdhusker

uthunter wrote:Thats good to hear. It does not look like I am going to get there this season but next year will be fun. Plus my pup will be hunting age so i will be able to run both my dogs together.

Make sure you take some rubber walking boots along. Lots of surface groundwater in those low areas.

tdhusker

I shot a turkey in front of a lab I had quit e afew years ago. in Nebraska, fall turkey season coincides with the pheasant opener. Anyway, I was walking the food play by the timber and I heard a tom coming up a draw, sat down by a fenceline with him and ambushed a pretty big tom. Anyway, the lab ran...

tdhusker

There's nothing wrong with using a .300 or .338 or whatever you want. Just use a bonded core bullet that is stout and it won't tear the animal up any worse than a .243. You'll want to avoid shooting shoulder blades, obviously. For a .300 win I would strongly suggest a 165 Hornady bonded core or simi...

tdhusker

They're a good shotgun. Predecessor of the 391 and very similar. If it has screw in chokes, I'd expect to see one in nice condition for $450 or so around here.

tdhusker

I've driven through that area quite a bit this fall and their pheasant numbers in the wet lowlands areas are really good right now. Another good summer with no drought and you'll be looking at some good hunting there. There isn't any cropland but the tall grasses and hay meadows as well as the marsh...

tdhusker

That's good sharptail country, pretty spotty for pheasant. If he bought a ranch, I'm guessing that's mostly grassland. In the low, wet areas I am sure you will find some good numbers of pheasant, otherwise the further west you go the more cropland you will run into. Around Gordon (40 mi west), the p...

tdhusker

I don't care for the sight plane and reduced visibility, and I really dislike the width of the forearm/barrells of a SxS. I grew up shooting them and SxS's were my only shotgun until I bought my own so I've spent quite a bit of time with them. It's a personal preference thing. Advantage of a SxS, lo...

tdhusker

A couple weeks ago I bought a Beretta 686 s.p. 20 ga in new condition with some nice Briley chokes for $1200. I also bought a youth stock for my Monte 20 and the kid shoots it like a house afire. All is good but certainly not under budget at this point. I need to thin down the firearms a bit, it's g...

tdhusker

..........it can go from blood tracking, to sitting in a duck blind, then sit and retrieve doves on a shoot, and then be able to point upland birds, and be able to hunt rabbits and other fur game. .. I know a lab that does all of the above. Flushes birds, runs rabbits, tracks ccons and squirrels, d...

tdhusker

The DT's I've owned were junk. Maybe they'r ebetter now but I'll never find out. The dogtra I own now is the best I've ever had, including a couple Tritronics.

tdhusker

FWIW, I've read that Browning 525 clays guns are being sold for $1525 at Gander Mountain right now. That is a very good price.

tdhusker

Careful. I had a pup get a nasty gash on his nose from a hen turkey with a brood in the spring one time. She sat tight while he was pointing her, he finally bumped her and she flew but she really let him have it on the takeoff.

tdhusker

Bass, I know what you're saying and I believe in letting the young dog pursue the running bird if the situation allows it. Hunting by yourself or in a small party? Then let he pursue the bird. If you're in a group or with someone who will pitch a fit when the dog is out of gun range, then maybe whoa...

tdhusker

Thanks Chaingang. I have some #4 steel shot buried in the basement somewhere so I'll start there. Maybe I'll pick up a box of Heavy-shot to use for follow-up/doubles as well. Using #4 steel w/ the IC for my 1st shot and #6 Heavy-shot w/ the Mod for a follow-up or on a double might just be a good co...

tdhusker

I think paying 2500 to 4000 for a NIB Superposed is OK if the nostalgia is imortant to you. As far as wanting it for a shooter or just for the handling aspects of the shotgun, there is something to be said about the advancement of a modern O/U. A used Beretta sporting clays gun like the Gold E or a ...

tdhusker

If you're hunting pheasant in cold climate, they are quite a bit tougher to drop late in season because of their winter coat. I like to use #4's in a fast 1 1/4 oz load. I use longshot powder and load my own but Fiocchi and federal both make a good premium load with high velocity (1400 fps). This ma...

tdhusker

To me, style relating to the manner with which the dog covers the ground is more important than style on point. I'm not saying that style on point isn't nice also but if watching them run brings a smile to your face then you have something special in my opinion. Your pup looks very nice to me too. ...

tdhusker

I wrote the dog should be knocked into next week. It was a figure of speach and on the other hand it was not. I believe in total TLC training to point. But, when a dog gets agressive ( niping, Biting , etc.) it is met with a agressive correction. It is easy to set back and say the dog should rolled...

tdhusker

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

But....

Yeesh!

tdhusker

I think those of us who grew up hunting pheasant take some of the stuff we do for granted. I have taken hunters out who have good dogs, have never really hunted wild pheasant, don't really know what to do. If you are wandering around aimlessly in a large patch of CRP, you need to consider where the ...

tdhusker

I believe the law gives you the right to retrieve the downed birds on private property. I hope I remember right but I think there is some regulation about not taking your shotgun but you can go pick them up.

tdhusker

I was just going to complement that Gordon. Beauty. Does he get too hot on warm days with that dark coloring?

tdhusker

Since the title of the thread asks, a high tailed setter point is the ultimate in my book. From there . . . any staunch point is a wonderful thing. Locked solid so that you know the payoff is waiting.

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