Rifle shooting and dogs

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Rifle shooting and dogs

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leebu

Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 418
Location: east yorkshire

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 04 5:21 pm Post subject: Rifle shooting and dogs

Just wondering if there is any role for dogs when shooting with a rifle and in particualr an air rifle, or do they simply make stalking impossible? I've often thought I would feel more comfortable taking shots at rabbits that were close to cover if I had some way of retrieving them if a miss isn't clean (and thereby dispatching them quickly). At the minute I just don't take the shot. Having said that I can't imagine the average labrador being particularly stealthy.

Is this a non-starter?

anneka

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 158

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 04 5:57 pm Post subject:

I nearly allways take my dog with me whan I go shooting. He has good gun sense walks and then stands behind me. If I take a shot he retreives the quarry (well sometimes he doesn't bring it straight back - but generally he's preety good). He was never trained, just showed apptitude, I guess a lot of it is down to the dog.

I am talking about pigeons, rabbits and the odd pheasant not deer though.

Anneka

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 04 6:49 pm Post subject:
I would think it all depends on how well the dog is trained. Most articles I read on deer stalking say you must have a dog able to track a wounded deer if you are shooting where it would be difficult to track a wounded animal. Be carful of your hounds hearing as I gather they can suffer just as much as humans from gunshot noise and suffer damaged hearing. (Not with and air rifle though )

anneka

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 158

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 04 6:54 pm Post subject:
I have wondered about dogs hearing before as when I go clay pigeon shooting there always seem to be a lot of dogs about. I don't wear ear protection when I go rough shooting, I don't think that I actually fire often enough to warrant it. I hope that I haven't seriously overlooked Codas hearing !

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 04 7:01 pm Post subject:

It's an area worth thinking about but I've not read any firm guidelines and this is from people who shot all the time. Dogs can go deaf but they are much further away from the noise so would suffer far less. I don't agree with people taking them to clay grounds if they are too near the guns as I cannot see the use.

Perhaps there is a business opportunity to train retrievers to collect the missed clays. They would be very busy with me.

leebu

Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 418
Location: east yorkshire

Posted: Mon Dec 06, 04 5:51 pm Post subject:

anneka wrote:

I am talking about pigeons, rabbits and the odd pheasant not deer though.

Anneka

Actually I would be too, but I thought the general principles would be the same for deer. Went to see the dog yesterday. He's lovely, a seven year old lab who's last owner felt that beatings and electric shocks were the way to train a gun dog. He's actually very well trained and used to guns (although again not a real problem with a silenced air rifle!) but this owner was obviously something of a perfectionist (or a knob, depending on your point of view). Anyway we will be picking him up in January and I can't wait to get out with him. To be honest I wanted a pet (sorry Tahir!) and a rescue dog is the only one I'd consider. if I can shoot with him then that will be a bonus for both of us. If he will actually prove useful, well that's just gravy!

anneka

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 158

Posted: Mon Dec 06, 04 10:36 pm Post subject:
Good luck, I would imagine he will show some ability if he enjoys it. If he doesn't at least you know that you won't be upseting him - I hope anyway. Anneka

Legion

Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Western isles, Scotland

Posted: Tue Dec 07, 04 7:49 am Post subject:

I have several dogs that I have bred being used for a variety of work, from locating wounced deer to finding squirrels in lofts for pest controllers.

Although we also have trained gun dogs - a chessie for wildfowling and a pointer for roughshooting, our terriers excel at almost everything .

Nellie, our alpha female, goes out with tim when he goes shooting rabbits, she belly crawls with him to look over brows of hills when stalking rabbits, wait until he shoots one and then runs in on command and retrieves it to hand( and no she doesnt maul the rabbit). Terriers are great because if the rabbit kicks down a hole the terrier will enter to bring it back, or at least mark which hole its kicked back into- if the hole is too small for her not to get into.

You cant beat a well trained dog - they are invaluable.

Nellie also marks and retrieves from water, and is a great house dog....50% of our pack carries her blood.

Aled
Guest

Posted: Wed Dec 08, 04 1:36 pm Post subject:
Ther was a chap who wrote in Airgun World or Airgunner who had a Black Lab who came shooting with him. Sorry to say i can't remember his name. John Darling of air rifle fame used to take a lurcher out with him. Sounds like some people can and do use dogs with air rifles. I plan to get a Black Lab next year, to train to gun. Cheers Aled

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