I here ya. I hunted squirrels this year with an old JC HIGGINS 410 that belonged to my Grandad. I first hunted with it when I was 10 or 11. I'd forgotten how tight this ole gun shot. I'm gonna try it on Mr Rabbit as soon as season opens in Nov. If the shells weren't so dang expensive I'd buy one of the pumps but I learned a long time ago that if somethings still running shoot til it goes click or something falls.I might go broke shooting too many times. With a single shot you gotta make that first one count.It'll make ya more patient and teach ya to shoot only when ya gotta clean shot.
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Irish Setter,
Those Mossberg 500's in .410 are nice guns. Light, cheap, and reliable. I haven't done any squirrel hunting yet this year. Hate to say it but I haven't even bought a license... We had at least one good frost so the squirel should have gotten rid of whatever those grub looking things are.
Huntswithdogs,
You need to get a .410 loader
. The .410 and 28 ga are the ones it really makes sense to reload. Cheaper and with the .410 almost any reload with quality shot will be better than about any factory hunting load.
But then as slow as my dogs are I can wait for the bunny to stop and snicker :lol: . Then POP
BH
Those Mossberg 500's in .410 are nice guns. Light, cheap, and reliable. I haven't done any squirrel hunting yet this year. Hate to say it but I haven't even bought a license... We had at least one good frost so the squirel should have gotten rid of whatever those grub looking things are.
Huntswithdogs,
You need to get a .410 loader
. The .410 and 28 ga are the ones it really makes sense to reload. Cheaper and with the .410 almost any reload with quality shot will be better than about any factory hunting load.But then as slow as my dogs are I can wait for the bunny to stop and snicker :lol: . Then POP
BH
A lot of guys get touchy about their dogs. Especially those who fell for the field trial crap instead of hunting dogs.
Most AKC beagles are bred to hunt slow- but they're SUPPOSED to stay right on the line the bunny followed. Two of mine are fairly slow by hunting standards but they don't lose much, no matter how L...O...N...G it takes. One is a medium speed fox terrier / beagle cross. Great jump dog but too much white on him. With the stuff he likes to go through, the blood from his torm up ears scares the crap out of me sometimes. The 4th. is ... well... Rascal. He's a 2 yr old beagle/ walker cross (best anybody can figure- AKC litter registration says all beagle :roll and he's still learning. He can be very fast but still gets fooled easily. Odd, but he seems to want to get scent from the air like a bird dog. On a straight run he seems to follow on the downwind side of the line. If the bunny turns downwind thats great- he never even slows down. If it turns upwind he overshoots a ways and has to figure out where that mean bunny went..
I've noticed the slower dogs are speeding up a little and the faster dog is slowing down and being more careful (but like me he's also getting older). Rascal is still... Rascal. He's learning but still hasn't settled in to his final speed. This will be his second season and might turn out to be the best of the bunch.
BH
Especially those who fell for the field trial crap instead of hunting dogs.Most AKC beagles are bred to hunt slow- but they're SUPPOSED to stay right on the line the bunny followed. Two of mine are fairly slow by hunting standards but they don't lose much, no matter how L...O...N...G it takes. One is a medium speed fox terrier / beagle cross. Great jump dog but too much white on him. With the stuff he likes to go through, the blood from his torm up ears scares the crap out of me sometimes. The 4th. is ... well... Rascal. He's a 2 yr old beagle/ walker cross (best anybody can figure- AKC litter registration says all beagle :roll
and he's still learning. He can be very fast but still gets fooled easily. Odd, but he seems to want to get scent from the air like a bird dog. On a straight run he seems to follow on the downwind side of the line. If the bunny turns downwind thats great- he never even slows down. If it turns upwind he overshoots a ways and has to figure out where that mean bunny went..I've noticed the slower dogs are speeding up a little and the faster dog is slowing down and being more careful (but like me he's also getting older). Rascal is still... Rascal. He's learning but still hasn't settled in to his final speed. This will be his second season and might turn out to be the best of the bunch.
BH
wired :lol: , when you hunt squirrels at this time of year, aren't there lots of ticks, chiggers, and other evil bugs that chew and sting eating on your poor old hide? :shock: We hunted Texas one June and about got eaten alive by chiggers. Horrible :twisted: :evil: We often pass through Mo. on our way to friends in West Va., I often wondered about the squirrel hunting. Read the summer season was open there. 8) Hope you get a bunch :wink:
Horrible :twisted: :evil: We often pass through Mo. on our way to friends in West Va., I often wondered about the squirrel hunting. Read the summer season was open there. 8) Hope you get a bunch :wink:1 - 14 of 14 Posts
