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Dogs and frontloaders?

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EastTexasAg

32 Cal
Joined
Dec 10, 2019
Messages
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Anyone running dogs with their black powder arms? Seems this board has plenty of old souls. I’d like to hear your stories if so.
 
My best buddy ever in the avvatar would go with EVERYWHERE and loved it. He was not pleased to go target shooting but could tell when it was "not a drill" and was ready to retrieve tree rats etc. Never for birds though. He ignored birds.
 
I've taken a number of squirrels with my Black Lab and Golden Retriever.

The dogs already got me two squirrels out of a tree. Kaiah, my Golden, seems to think there's one more up there...if there was, I never saw it.

46932354281_8791071f0e_c.jpg


39967961043_7f48b27952_c.jpg


Bella is a rescue Black Lab. Her previous owner, who abandoned her at the vet office after she was hit by a car, had her professionally trained as an upland bird dog, so when she works the woods for squirrels she goes back and forth just like a good bird dog would cover a field. She is a hunter through and through and almost never stops looking for the next game.

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Kaiah, on the other hand, is fond of taking a break from time to time:

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Nothing like a day in the woods chasing squirrels with your best friends!

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If Kaiah can't find game, she'll settle for an old deer leg!

34960346851_d915c11552_c.jpg


Or maybe a deer antler.

34704063410_881e579b83_c.jpg


On one hunt, Bella learned a hard lesson about tangling with a raccoon. I was able to get them separated and the raccoon paid the ultimate price.

34704066400_8a1f17764b_c.jpg


34926682762_31dab1c6f5_c.jpg


Yep, nothing like being in the field with your dogs! :thumb:

34960340861_7d01c9d71e_c.jpg
 
I've taken a number of squirrels with my Black Lab and Golden Retriever.

The dogs already got me two squirrels out of a tree. Kaiah, my Golden, seems to think there's one more up there...if there was, I never saw it.

46932354281_8791071f0e_c.jpg


39967961043_7f48b27952_c.jpg


Bella is a rescue Black Lab. Her previous owner, who abandoned her at the vet office after she was hit by a car, had her professionally trained as an upland bird dog, so when she works the woods for squirrels she goes back and forth just like a good bird dog would cover a field. She is a hunter through and through and almost never stops looking for the next game.

31991376327_69a2f5c4ca_c.jpg


Kaiah, on the other hand, is fond of taking a break from time to time:

31991376127_2214d8b2e6_c.jpg


Nothing like a day in the woods chasing squirrels with your best friends!

39967950013_944e468c0b_c.jpg


46207725924_e74ba844df_c.jpg


16057480592_12a77ea11a_c.jpg


If Kaiah can't find game, she'll settle for an old deer leg!

34960346851_d915c11552_c.jpg


Or maybe a deer antler.

34704063410_881e579b83_c.jpg


On one hunt, Bella learned a hard lesson about tangling with a raccoon. I was able to get them separated and the raccoon paid the ultimate price.

34704066400_8a1f17764b_c.jpg


34926682762_31dab1c6f5_c.jpg


Yep, nothing like being in the field with your dogs! :thumb:

34960340861_7d01c9d71e_c.jpg
I don't hunt, but seeing posts like this makes me really appreciate the sport. Beautiful dogs.
 
Will break out the mountain curs after Christmas till end of feb, love squak huntin with dogs. We wait till reg deer season over before we hit the woods though got tons of squak this year so should be good!!
 
I love to deer hunt with our 6 beagles and my black powder shotgun. And this year, I will be hunting with my new double barrel one.
 
My last dog (the love of my life 😍) Molly, loved to go bird hunting (ml shotgun) and did not mind being at my ml gun club during shoots. However, bring out a modern shotgun or riffle, and she was terrified.
DSC00330 (2).JPG
 
I may take my beagle pheasant hunting again this season. He's not a trained hunter, but when I hunt alone he does provide some extra paws on the ground to possibly run into a bird that I might miss if simply by myself.
 
When I first visited the USA in 1989, I was introduced to a guy who was into hunting with muzzleloaders. He had a lovely black lab. Deer season was coming on, so he took me out back of his place where he was sighting in. The dog sat next to him, as he loaded. Very attentive and alert. When loaded, he said to me, watch the dog, when I fire. Well I was too interested in the gun and the shot, to watch the dog, so when I looked around after the shot, there was no dog to be seen. I asked the guy, where his dog was. He laughed and said, on the back porch. He always comes out with me, until I shoot, then he goes home. Sorry long story , for not much.
 
I have had quite a few beagles and all, except one, were never gun shy. One particular dog would lay by my feet whenever I would target practice, regardless of the gun. He never flinched and at times, acted more bored than anything else.

I had one beagle that was extremely gun shy but cured that. I tethered him to my belt and every time I shot a .22LR pistol, he would try to run away. He couldn't escape because of the leash tethered to my belt.

Every time, I fired a shot, I gave him a small piece of meat or cheese from my coat pocket. This took about a day to cure him of being gun shy.

Now here was the problem with that dog. I could cure him of gun shyness but not being afraid of rabbits. Yes, you read that correctly. He was afraid of rabbits.

The dog was a year old when he was given to me. I often wondered if I offended the gentleman who gave me the dog or if I was a victim of a practical joke.

Anyway, I got the dog retrained to the point when he would come when called and wasn't afraid of a gun shot. At this juncture, I wanted to see if he would chase rabbits and took him for a walk with two other beagles; another one year old male and a puppy.

The dog with the nervous disposition, stayed beside me while the two other dogs were on a rise of ground that flattened out at the top in front of me.

Mr. Nervous was three feet to my right and three feet to the front of my feet. He looked up the slope and wondered what the other two dogs were chasing and barking at.

After several minutes of canine serenading, a rabbit charged down the hill with both afterburners lit. He hit about mach 2.0 when he saw me and made a sharp turn to his left (my right) like an UFO being chased by an F-14.

When he made the left turn, he ran head-on into the beagle that I'd cured of gun shyness. Bugs Bunny and the beagle tumbled over the ground for a couple of yards and obviously bewildered. The other two dogs stopped and watched the clumsiness and didn't know what to do.

Bugs and the other dog parted ways with the other dogs finally deciding to resume the chase. Mr. Nervous lit his afterburners, yelping all the way to the kennel and didn't come out of the dog house the rest of the day.

I didn't have the heart or courage to give him to another hounds-man for fear of getting a bad name in the county. He went to a good home where he could sit by the fireside in winter.
 
I have had quite a few beagles and all, except one, were never gun shy. One particular dog would lay by my feet whenever I would target practice, regardless of the gun. He never flinched and at times, acted more bored than anything else.

I had one beagle that was extremely gun shy but cured that. I tethered him to my belt and every time I shot a .22LR pistol, he would try to run away. He couldn't escape because of the leash tethered to my belt.

Every time, I fired a shot, I gave him a small piece of meat or cheese from my coat pocket. This took about a day to cure him of being gun shy.

Now here was the problem with that dog. I could cure him of gun shyness but not being afraid of rabbits. Yes, you read that correctly. He was afraid of rabbits.

The dog was a year old when he was given to me. I often wondered if I offended the gentleman who gave me the dog or if I was a victim of a practical joke.

Anyway, I got the dog retrained to the point when he would come when called and wasn't afraid of a gun shot. At this juncture, I wanted to see if he would chase rabbits and took him for a walk with two other beagles; another one year old male and a puppy.

The dog with the nervous disposition, stayed beside me while the two other dogs were on a rise of ground that flattened out at the top in front of me.

Mr. Nervous was three feet to my right and three feet to the front of my feet. He looked up the slope and wondered what the other two dogs were chasing and barking at.

After several minutes of canine serenading, a rabbit charged down the hill with both afterburners lit. He hit about mach 2.0 when he saw me and made a sharp turn to his left (my right) like an UFO being chased by an F-14.

When he made the left turn, he ran head-on into the beagle that I'd cured of gun shyness. Bugs Bunny and the beagle tumbled over the ground for a couple of yards and obviously bewildered. The other two dogs stopped and watched the clumsiness and didn't know what to do.

Bugs and the other dog parted ways with the other dogs finally deciding to resume the chase. Mr. Nervous lit his afterburners, yelping all the way to the kennel and didn't come out of the dog house the rest of the day.

I didn't have the heart or courage to give him to another hounds-man for fear of getting a bad name in the county. He went to a good home where he could sit by the fireside in winter.
I bet that was a site to see! And I like your method of getting dogs out of gun shyness. I used to do a lot of rabbit hunting with beagles growing up and loved it. But over the past twenty years we have trained them to just run deer. But the females will still run a rabbit whenever we let them out around the house. We are very lucky to be able to turn all 6 loose, take them into the woods, and jump deer right here at the house. We only own 5.8 acres, but have rights to around 150 acres total adjacent to our property to hunt, with a small river in the back. If your ever in Southeastern NC, your more than welcome to come and hunt with us one day. Deer dog hunting is hated by so many and is losing ground fast. Especially with the influx of Yankee immigrants moving down here complaining about everyone's dogs and voting against it.
I had a fellow threaten to shoot my dogs one day when they ran through his property. As I was loading them into our dog box, I looked at him and told him I would shoot or beat his Yankee *** if he shot or touched my dogs, so he shut his mouth because he knew I meant it. Boy he had me hot with his cursing *** mouth. Enough of that.
I enjoy still hunting as well as my dog hunting. They can coexist even people say they cannot. I have literally killed big bucks just days after dog hunting, sitting on my atv overlooking my pea patch, corn pile, and different non-baited areas. The bucks will still travel far and wide during the rut, regardless of dogs chasing them.
 
Guys, I'm going to have to leave this thread pretty soon. My eyes are tearing up. You're making a gown man cry.

I'm dog-less now and don't want to get another one. However, you are causing me to look a cute beagle puppy pictures.

This Forum has already cost me a lot of money in new muzzle-loader purchases. Now, I'm watching YouTube videos of beagles howling.:doh:

Damn all of you! May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits. May you be staked out naked over a bed of fire ants with honey smeared over your you-know-what! May your SWMBO over charge your credit cards and take out a 2nd mortgage in your name!

Watch these videos and suffer like me. I hope you guys are happy:mad:





 
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