Well, Cape buffalo is the most awesome hunting there is, period.

Now if you are talking with a shotgun, my first choice would be the Virginia style dove hunt. It is as much a social event as a shooting/meat gathering exercise.

Finally, anything with a dog. Whether yelping hounds, stylish pointers, crazy labs, or whirling dervish spaniels, I feel their joy. I would't shoot at all if it wasn't a reward for the pups.

s/f Steve

Rabbits&beagles,ducks,doves,and pheasant WITH a dog.And last but not least squirrel,mostly float hunts again with the pooch.

I've taken northern territory water buffalo with Brenneke slugs, I started seeing a few turn up at a backwater spot I hunted geese at one year, after the 2nd time I saw them I started packing slugs on the just in case.
They showed up again a couple of weeks later and I managed to sneak in behind them and drop one with 3 slugs after a hasty reload.
A month later the same mob was back and I got another one, but it took a few more shots and run after a wounded one and slug to the head when he stood his ground.
Now that was an exciting hunt, but not one I'd care to repeat again.

I hunted Bantaan (sp?) and Water Buffalo in the Northern territories (Arnhem?). I could really fall in love with Australia. The people are awesome and the hunting is so very good. I might add hot, Really Hot.

I hosted an Aussie for a few days of Scaled qual hunting in eastern Colorado. That man could shoot a shotgun as good as anybody I have ever met.

s/f Steve

Bob9863,

Pa's spooky Grouse & Woodcock hunting are my favorites, however Mearns Quail in Az are a mighty close 2nd. When Lancaster County, Pa had wild Pheasants they were great hunting with a dog, pointing or flushing.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Ducks

Pheasant and white tailed deer.

The ever elusive clay pidgon!

Chasing Partridge with Pointing dogs on the prairies.

In no particular order,

Quail and pheasant with dog(s) and shotgun,

Coyotes, by mouth-blown calling and centerfire rife,

Rabbits with dog(s) and .22 DA revolver.

Gentlemen,

2nd post - It's Grouse and Woodcock for me, a close 2nd would be Mearns Quail in Arizona. All of this with a great gun dog, nothing beats the dogs work on wild birds.

Our wild Pheasants in Lancaster County, Pa were great sport also. With a serious gun dog it was fantastic hunting. Gone for the most part now.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

My member name says it all. If it fly's, have gun will travel.

Hi,

While I now live in the far north of Minnesota and right in the middle of prime grouse hunting habitat, the open farm fields of west central Minnesota still call to me for the pheasants of my youth.

I still enjoy relaxing days behind my Spaniels searching for those elusive roosters. The quickened pace and spinning tails of my dogs hot on digging out a rooster from the cattails, the explosion of wings as the bright colors of a rooster trying to climb skywards and if you are very lucky, the sight of a liver and white Springer stretched out "climbing the sky" just inches behind the bird. In honesty, such a tableau before me has prevented me from even thinking about shooting at times. Much to the disbelief and "I am disappoint" look of the dog. But the awe of the moment never fails to bring me to a total stop.

Grouse are fun to hunt and are among the finest table fair, and the sudden wing beats in the dense forest will quicken your pulse. But nothing can match the memories of those roosters and Springers.

Dalee100,

Got to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for the big bird hunting myself. Here in Pa we had some of the greatest wild pheasant hunting ever known to a sportsman. We never used flushing dogs much except to flush the big birds when pointed. I can sure understand the way you think, however even with all the wild Pheasants we hunted and shot, watching a great Grouse dog set a Grouse for gunning still makes my heart beat faster than all the Pheasants I ever shot. Got to admit Mearns Quail have almost the same effect on me as the Grouse. However there is something special about wild Pheasant hunting, especially when you grow up gunning the big birds, what a great learning experience.

From The Upland Shooting Life, page 73.

" When I think of shooting, which is often, I think of grouse. For if woodcock shooting is one of my delights and pheasant shooting a dalliance, grouse shooting is my addiction" GBE

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Yes!

Game.


And games.

First-for me would be Woodcock. A very sporty little bird. By profession I am a forester and that puts the Woodcock right in my wheelhouse. For me nothing matches watching a motivated and athletic dog with a good nose lighting up the woods. After the point the wing shooting can be about like hitting a sparrow while trying to shoot through the eye of a needle.

Second-Wild pheasant. There is no more spectacular flush in the uplands than a cackling rooster with all its brilliant colors lit up by the sun. Their running nature also lends itself to some good dog work. A running crippled rooster can lead to the most spirited tracks leading up to the retrieve I have witnessed in the uplands.

Third-wild Chukar. Their wily nature and where they are found make them a prize that most often is the hardest earned of the upland birds. Bat sh*t crazy birds that the best dogs often use thermals to get pointed from above. If not for their predictable tendency to flush down the fall line they would be almost un-killable.

Fourth-scaled quail on the desert. No bird I have hunted teaches a dog to deal with runners quite like a blue quail. If any bird was spawned by the devil, it is the blue. They are also my favorite to eat.

Fifth-Gentleman Bob White. In the boom years when birds are plentiful, there is nothing like that up your leg flush of a tight holding covey of Pointed bobs to go along with the sub gauge shotguns the purists favor.

Six-Huns. Bob White on steroids. Tailor made for a big running dog with a long nose.

Hell, as different as they are, I like chasing them all with a good dog.

Willie T,

Great post! If you aren't already an outdoor writer, you should give it some consideration.

s/f Steve
(was Sporting Fan)

I am rather partial to deer hunting, along with small game. There are some nice deer on my lease. Here is the last one I shot just before the season ended.

Just an old bird hunter with a deep appreciation for the birds and places we hunt them and the simple joy I get from watching a good bird dog work.
Willie T

That's the thing I love about shotguns, just look at the game that can be hunted with one, everything has been taken with one in this thread just shows there's pretty much nothing that can't be humanly taken with one.
We have the tiniest of birds to large deer and a few bigger game too.
Best of all you can hunt you favourite game with it and still be set up for any other game you might have the opportunity to hunt.