Very Nice Forum

[thundrst]

This is great. I'm sure it will be a very popular forum. I like all types of hunting, but have had beagle most of my life. Right now I don't have any (for various reasons) but sure would if I could. So I can now live vicariously through this formum! Good luck to all of you with puppies. Watching them grow & learn & improve is the best! I tried to get a cottontail with my (fairly new) pellet gun last year, but no luck. Hard to do when hunting alone w/o a dog. If anyone hunts in Oakland Co. & wouldn't mind having an extra hunter with a pellet gun go with them, let me know. Meantime, I did manage to get 4 squirrels with it this year. Great to be out in the woods with the color starting.

[Nealbopper]

A pellet gun? Why bother? I would feel allot safer hunting with you and i wouldn't worry so much about you hunting with Maddie but unless the rabbit goes full circle and stops right in front of you, i don't see the point.

Don't get me wrong, i have red squirrels that i am constantly after with my Sherridan .20 cal and its very accurate within 40 yards but having a shot gun i guess i never thought of hunting rabbits with it. Squirrels yes, rabbits no!

[john warren]

well, once the leaves get off the trees and we start having more success. i'll see about taking you out with my dog and showing you how to hunt squirrels old style. meantime theres quite a contingent of air rifle hunters and they are gaining strength so keep up the good fight.
personaly,,, my pre world war 2 winchester 20 ga. pump,,, will remain my squirrel machine.

[thundrst]

OK, Here's the reasons why I use a pellet gun for rabbits. I have been rabbit hunting since I was 12 & have went from a .410, 12 ga., .22 rifle, .22 pistol, and now I'm down to a .22 pellet gun. It's a riot. You have to be more careful of the shots you take, but it is plenty powerful enough. I just got the gun last year from my wife as a Christmas gift (bless her soul!) and I was lucky enough to take 2 snowshoe hares with it just by walking around looking for them. That didn't work to well for cottontails though, I never even got a shot. The snowshoes stayed put long enough for me to get one shot off (both dropped right where they were 15 & 20 yards away). When I used to have beagles I shot more rabbits than I wanted to clean & eat (wife doesn't eat them), so I started using less gun to make it more challenging. I'm not looking to make a killing on cottontails, just want to have fun chasing them with hounds again & have a realistic chance at putting a few in the pot. I really miss hunting with hounds & would gladly go w/o any gun just to see some good dog work. I have been hunting w/o hounds in Bald Mt. mostly.

Now for squirrels... same reasons, same gun progression, same meat factors. Just have to get closer & be a little more careful of the shots you take. Again the pellet gun is powerfull enough as long as I stay within 20 yards and take only shoulder or head shots (depending on the distance). The gun is an RWS model 34. It is a single shot spring powered gun & is supposed to shoot up to 800 fps. I also shot 2 Oppossums (spelling?) with it, one shot each but they were close (3 & 10 yards).

Anyway, if anyone is willing, i really would appreciate the chance to hunt or even just watch some good beagle work again, especially once the snow falls. Good Luck to all you small gamers out there. Can't believe Bow season is already here too. John H.

[jeffm]

I have a friend that I used to rabbit hunt with, he had beagles years ago and alot of the time he would bring his longbow or nothing at all, dont no if he ever got any with the bow or not but he siad it was a ball trying.