Ok so my beagle,..."Beagle" (kids named her
), just turned one this month. I didn't spend any time with her in the field,shame on me, except for letting her run in the fenced in back yard with some yard bunnies. The great part is she must have come from good blood. Good thing, because this was another one of the boys CHRISTmas gifts that I sold some fantistic Handi rifles for.
Anyway. I missed two(longer than 35yds) at full sprints, and the other three where from about 25 to as close as 5 yds. The rifle/shotgun is a dream to carry as set up in my Long Tom W&H receiver and stocks.
The first I shot was a jump shot that I put her on the trail and let her "find" the rabbit. It was the first time she ever got to "catch" one and it was real funny to see her disbelief! Beagle ran the second all the way back to me, and I shot it on the sneak at about 5 steps away in heavy brush. I let her finish up to the downed rabbit just to make sure it was the one she was trailing. Good girl!
The third I jumped and missed a hurried shot, but put her on the trail and I made my way to the end of the brush and waited for it to flush. It did,...but quicker than I expected and it made it to another brush pile where is sat in heavy cover. I fired anyway where it sat, and couldn't believe a few pellets found the mark at that range through the brush.
Again I let Beagle find the rabbit, and by then she was just like"Well its about time", and went looking for a live trail.
For my lack of "training" she is really going to be a joy to have on my hunts anyway. I haven't had a dog to hunt with since before my Father passed away, and have always just jumped shot any rabbit I could kick upsince then. It sure is good to have a dog around again. She "ran" at least three that I never saw, and wouldn't have know they had been there.
She has a long way to go, but has earned a spot in my heart after her performance. As well as the 45LC/410!
The shell I was using is the only one that showed sustained patterns past 15yds. 3"Remmy Express 13/16 of #5 I'm pretty sure. I forgot to look at the box this morning before I left. Now with a full choked 20" 410 I normally just use the 2 1/2" with 1/2 once of #6 Remmys. And they have been great bunny and squirrel getters.
I'm really glad to have this forum to post on. I hope you guys enjoy the read!
My boys are about the only other ones who enjoy the stories, and most times they're in them, so they already know the story!
Jerry