Been returning to hunt michigan pat after a 25 year absence. Never had a teacher in my teens and my game bag was proof.
The past 6 years of reading the books, learning "how to", clay practice, sat. maps etc.. helped me to understand and fill in many gaps of youth.
Lots of discussion on shell, shot, choke, gun and dog.
I've always used 12g rem exp 7.5 1 1/4oz IC. Now that i spend more time walking IN pat areas, vs walking the woods, I've notice a problem with my style in hunting using 7.5 shot. I swear I'm hitting birds, but I can't find them!
I'm dog less. Never pat hunted with a dog to know the difference. I noticed some birds I'd shoot at had a feather fly, but no bird. I stumbled into my first double by accident. I found the first bird where he dropped, the second kept flying. okay, so I missed him. Walked 100 yards or so down the trail toward the classic dense unhurt able cover pats hide. There was number 2 lying belly up just short of the dense cover line.
Houston, we have a problem! I don't have a dog to find my dead and cripples. Don't get me wrong, it's not uncommon for me to search an hour or more when i really think I made connection.
I began connecting the dots. I remembered another hour I stopped hunting to find a bird. this one died close to where it dropped. I t crawled under a burned out stump, dug it's upper body in like an ostrich and died. I was so lucky to find just the tail feather sticking out. more stories! but you get the point. I m assuming this is what a dog cam would show as the dog retrieves the bird??? Things we don't see as Fido returns with the bird in his mouth.
connecting this makes me try harder for every bird I even shoot at now. I shot one and saw feathers fly. found the plume but no bird. I circled the area and finally found small pieces farther away from the main plume! UPWIND. now I got him. I still couldn't find him. I was in an area w tons of deadfall trees. I know I left him there. so disappointing.
Began reading ballistics on shot and I really liked 6. I began recording to the best I could distance to flush and shot. my best guess is 30 yards. I patterned my 7.5, rem exp IC and it wasn't quite as dense as I liked.
Read post from a hunter calling 8's &9's inhumane for grouse. Someone mentioned you should only dog hunt to ensure you retrieve wounded game. etc...
So I tested 1 7/8oz turkey loads in Skeet1. This gave me just a little tighter pattern due to the nature of the load, not the gun. The shot uniformity wasn't as good - not surprised as you trap shooter know (so my self rule is to double tap if possible). After paper shooting a bit, I went to clays. Worked the bugs out of the rust queen 1100 mag I bought for this exercise.
20012 and 2013 I drove back to Michigan hauling the magnum. As a dog less hunter, you know you walk for ever, have no warning to flush. half the time you are daydreaming. You carry your gun over your should - flush. Seems like you never get more than a single flush... that only just wakes you up. Put the gun down to relieve yourself as a bird flushes... Pop open the trunk to put your gun away - flush.....
I have to report that the knockdown power of that load is just what I'd hoped for. I can't just wing shoot, I have to kill them dead. Or else I won't find them. For me, dead, humane, period. My shot to kill rate has greatly increased while not increasing the diameter of my pattern.
I'm sure this canon for pats will get some colorful comments. I understand. But I have no dog to warn me to be ready nor a game retriever. I've never shot a gun under a 12 to know better.
I'm basically increasing the energy per pellet and holding the rest about the same. velocity goes down 250 FPS and I lose 40 pellets.
My personal dog less habits have changed.
- I double tap each bird
- i follow through and shoot into the pine he dove into
- My gun is slinged around my left elbow in up ready position ALWAYS.
- Wait for more to flush
- track the bird flushed, usually get second flushes. my record is 4 flushes in 2012, I still didn't get him.
- hang a flag where i shot and another where I think I hit him. then Flag a trail where I think he flew.
- pick up those mag hulls. embarrassing!
I hope some of this can be useful to the other dog less hunters out there. We have a responsibility to retrieve our game the best we can.
I don't shoot woodcock, taste bad and flush too close for me.
I recall 2-3 7.5# pellets in each pat the old way. I averaged 3-4 pellets of #6. Often times I would shoot them if they ran away if crippled. So my pellet count can be inflated.
The past 6 years of reading the books, learning "how to", clay practice, sat. maps etc.. helped me to understand and fill in many gaps of youth.
Lots of discussion on shell, shot, choke, gun and dog.
I've always used 12g rem exp 7.5 1 1/4oz IC. Now that i spend more time walking IN pat areas, vs walking the woods, I've notice a problem with my style in hunting using 7.5 shot. I swear I'm hitting birds, but I can't find them!
I'm dog less. Never pat hunted with a dog to know the difference. I noticed some birds I'd shoot at had a feather fly, but no bird. I stumbled into my first double by accident. I found the first bird where he dropped, the second kept flying. okay, so I missed him. Walked 100 yards or so down the trail toward the classic dense unhurt able cover pats hide. There was number 2 lying belly up just short of the dense cover line.
Houston, we have a problem! I don't have a dog to find my dead and cripples. Don't get me wrong, it's not uncommon for me to search an hour or more when i really think I made connection.
I began connecting the dots. I remembered another hour I stopped hunting to find a bird. this one died close to where it dropped. I t crawled under a burned out stump, dug it's upper body in like an ostrich and died. I was so lucky to find just the tail feather sticking out. more stories! but you get the point. I m assuming this is what a dog cam would show as the dog retrieves the bird??? Things we don't see as Fido returns with the bird in his mouth.
connecting this makes me try harder for every bird I even shoot at now. I shot one and saw feathers fly. found the plume but no bird. I circled the area and finally found small pieces farther away from the main plume! UPWIND. now I got him. I still couldn't find him. I was in an area w tons of deadfall trees. I know I left him there. so disappointing.
Began reading ballistics on shot and I really liked 6. I began recording to the best I could distance to flush and shot. my best guess is 30 yards. I patterned my 7.5, rem exp IC and it wasn't quite as dense as I liked.
Read post from a hunter calling 8's &9's inhumane for grouse. Someone mentioned you should only dog hunt to ensure you retrieve wounded game. etc...
So I tested 1 7/8oz turkey loads in Skeet1. This gave me just a little tighter pattern due to the nature of the load, not the gun. The shot uniformity wasn't as good - not surprised as you trap shooter know (so my self rule is to double tap if possible). After paper shooting a bit, I went to clays. Worked the bugs out of the rust queen 1100 mag I bought for this exercise.
20012 and 2013 I drove back to Michigan hauling the magnum. As a dog less hunter, you know you walk for ever, have no warning to flush. half the time you are daydreaming. You carry your gun over your should - flush. Seems like you never get more than a single flush... that only just wakes you up. Put the gun down to relieve yourself as a bird flushes... Pop open the trunk to put your gun away - flush.....
I have to report that the knockdown power of that load is just what I'd hoped for. I can't just wing shoot, I have to kill them dead. Or else I won't find them. For me, dead, humane, period. My shot to kill rate has greatly increased while not increasing the diameter of my pattern.
I'm sure this canon for pats will get some colorful comments. I understand. But I have no dog to warn me to be ready nor a game retriever. I've never shot a gun under a 12 to know better.
I'm basically increasing the energy per pellet and holding the rest about the same. velocity goes down 250 FPS and I lose 40 pellets.
My personal dog less habits have changed.
- I double tap each bird
- i follow through and shoot into the pine he dove into
- My gun is slinged around my left elbow in up ready position ALWAYS.
- Wait for more to flush
- track the bird flushed, usually get second flushes. my record is 4 flushes in 2012, I still didn't get him.
- hang a flag where i shot and another where I think I hit him. then Flag a trail where I think he flew.
- pick up those mag hulls. embarrassing!
I hope some of this can be useful to the other dog less hunters out there. We have a responsibility to retrieve our game the best we can.
I don't shoot woodcock, taste bad and flush too close for me.
I recall 2-3 7.5# pellets in each pat the old way. I averaged 3-4 pellets of #6. Often times I would shoot them if they ran away if crippled. So my pellet count can be inflated.