Guns and Dogs

[redwing]

When hunting with your flintlock or caplock do you hunt or pack with a dog? Do you hunt bear with hounds. Do you chase deer where legal? Do you hunt quail or grouse with a dog. If so what firearm and what dog do you use. What part of the US do you hunt.

I have an American fowler 42" barrel large Siler flintlock. I shoot over my 8 Year old Gordon Setter we hunt the high country for grouse. We also hunt Ring Necks on the Wind River. In late summer we hunt low for the Sage Hens.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Bald Mt. Man is good enough to bring his beagles over a couple times a year to help me swot the local bunny population.

Jake, My Kerry Blue Terrier, won't point, retrieve, circle game or flush birds but he does like to go for walks. The one use I have found for him is he will sit on one side of a tree as I work around and, after a bit, if I say "come" he will. This occasionally helps to move a squirrel around the trunk for a shot.

Good companion, but not what you'd call a hunting dog. Mostly operator error for certain. I'm not what you'd call a dog trainer. Get 'em to poop and pee outside and come when called - that's 100% success in my book.

He do flush chipmunks out of woodpiles - but I haven't found the value in that as yet.

 

[Rocky Johnson]

I have two beagles that are good rabbit dogs. I hunt with a 20 ga. caplock or a 20 ga.flint fowler

 

[Rancocas]

I grew up with beagles, hunting rabbits. I even had one beagle that was good at flushing pheasants. He had a different sound to his bawl when he was trailing a pheasant, so I knew I had to run and and keep up with him so that I would be near the flush.
In the early 1980's I got my first English Springer Spaniel. I trained, hunted with, and field trialed Springers for the next 20 years. I used Springers to hunt Gambel's quail in the Yuma Desert of Arizona, grouse and pheasant in upstate New York and Michigan, made one trip out to hunt pheasant and sharptails in South Dakota, and I used my Springers as waterfowl retrievers, also.
My favorite dog - the English Springer Spaniel.
But, then I moved to Tennessee. Very few game birds here, other than waterfowl. There are some grouse high in the mountains, and a few Bobwhite quail scattered around, but I haven't found enough to make having a birddog worthwhile. My last Springer died a few years ago. Now I have a mutt that was abandoned in my driveway. We liked her and so we kept her. She retrieves the daily newspaper, barks at strangers, is a good companion on my outings, but she won't hunt. She is lying here at my feet right now.
I just used a modern 12 guage when hunting with my dogs. Now, I have a Caywood, Wilson's Chief gun, flintlock .62

 

[BrownBear]

All the years we raised beagles, I hunted snowshoe hare with a double 12 capper. Had a couple of bassets along the way, too. Bassets hunted as well with the added advantage I could outrun them if they got on deer or fox when they were young. I'm a hound kind of guy, though I've always enjoyed pointers or retrievers when I've hunted birds with their owners.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Lots of folk have seen pics of my dog, a springer/cocker cross.
She tags along when out with a rifle, will track deer and retrieve fox.
But the best fun is when she is flushing pheasant, especially to my capper double.
The onlt gripe I have she is too fast! But I love her :shake:

Britsmoothy.