Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Pa opener: Some Pheasant (stocked) and a gear tip for the bird shooters.

Took Toby out today where we stocked some birds. Unfortunately not wild, but they flew well and were not adverse too running.

Couple birds. Don't let that old blind fool you. More than a couple of proverbial truck loads of Deer have been taken from it. Come the last half hour when the pressure has slacked, it is a hot spot.



After the Pheasant hunt Grouse were on the menu. Unfortunately the wind was hard and constant and with the off and on rain it wasn't successful. Flushed a few, but didn't get any shooting.

However, did run into a couple of these guys:

This little four point was intent on watching Toby and I watched him for 5minutes at 20 yards or so.



Then I closed the distance on this fellow to around 80 yards while he was out feeding in the rain. The Does warned him that something was up, but he didn't seem too care. Watched him for around 30minutes and then snuck back out. Seemed like he had some good weight on him for these parts.





A better camera would have been nice, but a bit much to lug around chasing birds.

Nice pice of gear. A "Bird n Lite" vest that has a waist belt much like a back pack. Keeps the weight off your shoulders and on your hips. A good idea with the exception that it has no pocket that will guarantee the truck key can't escape.







All in all a good day, except for the ticks.

Battue, nice photos, beautiful dog..glad to hear they are doing some birds in the state these days..the model 12 was a sure enough surprise..I figured you for a S X S man..Pumps are my thing in shotguns..what ga. is that one ?? Looks like an old 30 inch full..Mine is a heavy duck, have a Model 31 Rem., model 37 Ithaca, and Win. Model 97..all 30 " full chokes...Beautiful old guns..used them some for sage grouse shooting, but missed some cake shots due to the full chokes..I am thinking of having one opened up to modified, but can't decide which..My old 870 that I had a new model barrel replace the old one, makes most sense for hunting, I can switch chokes as needed..But mostly a modifed would do it all..
What is your favorite phesant load???
Also what county is your deer stand located..?? Shot a few deer in Armstrong,many in Indiana and Clearfield...Finally those ticks are horrible..I try to make my visits now in cold weather..no spring turkey, or fall turkey, bear and deer season only..

I've been know to use a sxs, but the practicality of the old pumps have taken hold. Nice stuff just gets banged up to much for serious upland work.








Bang em up a little and it's ok. Same with getting them wet. Those old nickel steel Model 12's are almost indestructible. Would love to find a 26 inch IC 16Ga, with a solid rib. Or even a plain barrel for that matter. That particular Model 12 is a 16Ga 28 inch modified.

Favorite Pheasant load would be an ounce of 5's out of a 16ga. Hard to find, but I can load my own if I was going out for wild birds.

Another favorite-and IMO perhaps the ultimate Ruffed Grouse shotgun-would be the Model 59 Winchester. Ugly as hell, but as a friend says; "They are killing machines."





Armstrong County hey? Well my roots are in the country. Tidel originally. Relatives in Templeton and Kittanning and the vast majority of my Deer have been taken there. These days Murrysville, about 10 miles S of Apollo.

That is a communal stand and it sits on Armstrong County soil.

There is an honest 600lb Black hanging around within a half mile of it.

Addition: My apology for not saying it's nice to bump into another who has roamed some of those hills.

Thank you for sharing those photos.

Thanks for the info. and more pictures..those dogs are beautiful..I have two goldens..Yes, those hills are quite pretty..and enjoyable to hunt..

You mentioned a m12 in 16 ga., there is a gunshop in Kearney, Neb. that has a ton of model 12's as well as other stuff. He has some mint guns and some extremely rare ones also..quite expensive..but he also has a rack called "farmer guns". They are model 12's that have been used to the point they are not collectors, but great shooters..everytime I go though there I check 'em out..have about decided to try for a m12 in 12 ga. with a rib and modified choke..won't get to see it this fall as we are headed to South Dak. after our whitetail hunt..then on to Mich..maybe on the return..I think it is called Old West Guns, you might check there if you are still in the market..great stop if you are out that way..Great photos..

Thanks,

I've been blessed with Dogs. Not a bad one in the bunch. "Sam" the other little Cocker showed tremendous potential, then the dam ticks got her with Lymes way to early. "Abby" the white Springer gave me 12 great years and gave me all she had and then some. He last Bird was one that was rocked, set its wings and glided out of sight. I had no idea where it came down, so just sat down and let her do her thing. Around a half hour later she came back with a dead Grouse as I had given up and was whistling her back.

In her prime:



One of the last:





Thanks for the Model 12 tip, I will try to look them up. Good luck in your travels.

Battue, I just had my goldens given shots against lymes today..hopefully this will protect them during the coming tour..A nasty thing this Lymes..

A one time dose of 200mg of doxycycline after each day in cover that has Deer ticks is an excellent prophylactic precaution. Has a 90% success in preventing Lymes from developing if bitten by a carrier.

Hunted today and so far have removed four. On top of that I shot poorly.

Addition: late and I should have added, the one time dosing has been only found to be possibly effective if given within 48 hours of finding an attached tick. I just assume I will find one attached and usually do.

Battue, you don't get the shots for your dogs??

Found this on the Web and rather than me rambling I will post it. It is a summation of what my Vet indicated to me. His feeling is that it is just as effective to give the Dog a 200mg dose of Doxycycline also each time he is out and combine it with a six month blood test for Lymes.

I've personally positively had Lymes once-caught early-and possibly twice. Being outside hunting often, once a year I treat myself with a 30 day course of Doxy post hunting season. Fortunately Doxycycline is a relatively safe antibiotic with limited downside to adults, however in children it has been known to cause discoloration of teeth.

http://www.vetinfo.com/lyme-vaccine-dogs.html

Is Advantix harmful to a dog? I put it it on him leading up to fall and haven't found one on him since.

Hey thanks for the info..I had just about given up on doing much in the northeast due to these ticks..but if I can take this antibiotic after the trip and be free of lymes things may change..can I get this without a Doc.'s perscription????

nyskt100:

Be out of my area to comment on the safety profile of Advantix, so I would check with your Vet. Currently on the Vets recommendation I use Frontline Plus on Toby. Seems to work, but on occasion I have found an attached tick. However, for the most part they are dead or dying. From what I've read the Deer tick-the one that transmits Lymes-has to be attached to the point of being able to suck blood before Lyme transmission can occur. Constant checking-I can feel them walking on me-can be one of the best preventatives.

However, by now they have given beyond millions of doses of the topical preps to Dogs and continue to prescribe them. I would think for the most part their record indicates they are safe with the exception of individual specific adverse occurrences.

WyoCoyoteHunter:

I'm sure you understand nothing will be 100% effective, but studies indicate you can hedge your bet with Doxycycline. Being a Pharmacist, I'm extremely comfortable with its historic safety record in humans.Yes it requires a prescription, but is inexpensive. I recently filled a script for 60 capsules at a retail cost of $10.

Then again there are individuals who have had problems, but it has been in use for years and has proven to be extremely safe. It is in the tetracycline family, so if one has had problems with tetracycline, it is probably best to avoid Doxycycline. One adverse reaction that many have with Doxycycline is they become more sensitive to summer sunlight and will burn easier.

When bathing after a hunt, this is what I soap up and scrub myself down with. The same one used on pots and pans.



Additionally hunting clothes-pants, vests and jackets-often get taken off for the ride home and get placed in the truck bed and I wear jeans and a different shirt. Once home I usually leave them in the garage until next time.

Here you go. Just ran my hand over Toby's head and felt the bumps. Pulled these out and more will probably pop up. This is after yesterdays 6 hour hunt and I brushed him when we got home. All were attached, with only one still kicking. There were more, but I dropped them getting them out. The one on the bottom right was dead, but lived long enough to suck blood.

They must not be as thick here. If I don't give him Advantix leading up to when we go, I'll pull that many off, but haven't gotten one since. I thought maybe you were just post treating him and not using Tick medication because of some other reason. Thanks for the info!

Have you guys been getting any more phesants??? How about turkey..?? We are waiting to head out for a whitetail hunt, then on to hunt some roosters, but we have been tied up with a winter storm that has made all the roads north and east difficult to travel especially with a trailer..My guns are in the trailer and truck, the wife is ready and the dogs anxious to go somewhere...hope you are doing some good..

Unfortunately no, only got out one day this week what with the temps in the middle 70s and working part time. The one day out we had 11 Grouse flushes in 6hours and two where in the wide open and I managed to miss them both. Temps hot and it was hard on Toby, so I gave him a break the next day. The other Birds were close, but still too many leaves hanging on the trees.

Turkey starts tomorrow and I will give them a go, along with Grouse.

Be careful on the roads, fortunately the season is still young, but it does pass much too quickly. Hoping you get into a bunch of birds and a nice Buck. Keep us posted.

It has been a bad tick year here in northern NY too. Both of my dogs are on Frontline Plus and I am switching to Advantix II. I have been training a puppy this fall and have been finding attached ticks, some still alive, up to 48 hours after an outing on both the puppy and my older dog.

I went deer hunting on Monday and pulled about nine off my wool pants before getting in the truck. I stowed my coat/vest in the back of the rig and saw two more moving on me while driving home. I had to go to work and didn't have time to shower only change my clothes-well while at work I found two more.