The Sporting Life?

[der schneider]

welcome

My grandad saw to it that me and all my cousins had 16 ga shotguns growing up.

I still have my first, a 1930's browning auto but prefer to use my fox double

I have two red plaid woolrich hunting suits from the 50's that I still wear

took my first duck with the browning way back before steel shor regs.

I do a lot of 18th century hunting with muzzleloaders as well

I have a 16 ga flint double and a 24 ga percussion double.

i'll look for a pic of me and my pheasant dog to post.

 

["Skeet" McD]

I do a lot of 18th century hunting with muzzleloaders as well

I have a 16 ga flint double and a 24 ga percussion double.

i'll look for a pic of me and my pheasant dog to post.

Welcome, yourself, and looking forward to seeing those pictures. Seeing as we've strayed into..."hypervintage" here's some pics of me (the round one), a pard, and the older of our two Irish Red & White Setters doing the 1850s sport thing:

http://gallery.me.com/finiancircle#100018/19CP%2CS%2C%26D&bgcolor=black
http://gallery.me.com/finiancircle#100018/Pat%26Steve%26DanOnAHunt-2001&bgcolor=black
http://gallery.me.com/finiancircle#100018/PatsFirstCamp&bgcolor=black

 

[Chasseur]

Der Schneider,

I would love to see pictures of the black powder shotguns, especially the flint!

 

[Viola]

How did you all get into hunting originally? Don't think me crazy - I don't come from a background where I could have learned it from my dad or granddad. I'm just curious.

I admit to being slightly jealous. Especially because I can't see doing any harm to the local Canadian goose population...well... a LITTLE harm...

Also, bird dogs are gorgeous and I encourage any and all pictures. I love a lot of what I've read of various gun dog breeds but I don't know that I would actually be able to give those dogs what they deserve. However, there's a Brittany spaniel in the neighborhood that is just the loveliest creature, though I don't think she gets quite enough exercise.

 

[Tiller]

How did you all get into hunting originally?

It's a family affair. I hunt, my father hunts, both of my Grandfather's hunted (may they RIP), as did their fathers, and for all I know their fathers, fathers. It seems to be in our families blood .

 

[Chasseur]

My dad loves the outdoors and all the places we lived when I was a kid, Hawaii, Alaska and Oregon, have wonderful outdoor opportunities. Se he just taught me how to do stuff.

The funny thing is that my dad loves fishing and was never a keen hunter. He grew up doing subsistance hunting in the South so hunting was never a "hobby" just something you did to put food on the table. The irony is that I never warmed to fishing... I guess because I don't like to eat fish...

 

[WH1]

My dad loves the outdoors and all the places we lived when I was a kid, Hawaii, Alaska and Oregon, have wonderful outdoor opportunities. Se he just taught me how to do stuff.

The funny thing is that my dad loves fishing and was never a keen hunter. He grew up doing subsistance hunting in the South so hunting was never a "hobby" just something you did to put food on the table. The irony is that I never warmed to fishing... I guess because I don't like to eat fish...

I also grew up in oregon, hunting was a part of our lifestyle, morning after thanksgiving was always spent in a duck/goose blind at either klamath marsh or summerlake or finley game refuge. My father was a fisherman too big time more than hunting but I just never found the attraction to standing in a rain storm drowning while trying to hook a steelhead, but I would do the same for a chance to shoot at ducks, geese, pheasant, elk, deer, chukar. etc. must be some freudian explanation.lol

 

[Chasseur]

I just never found the attraction to standing in a rain storm drowning while trying to hook a steelhead, but I would do the same for a chance to shoot at ducks, geese, pheasant, elk, deer, chukar. etc. must be some freudian explanation.

That sums my thought up. My dad would park the car on the side of the road and star down a valley to a river about mile or so away in Alaska and say, "There must be fish there, let's go!" and then we'd be fighting our way through willows and alders and getting lost fopr hours just to drop a line in the water. Never sold me on it. Now, if you told me there were grouse in those alders I'd be in there fighting for days![huh]

 

["Skeet" McD]

How did you all get into hunting originally? Don't think me crazy - I don't come from a background where I could have learned it from my dad or granddad. I'm just curious....Also, bird dogs are gorgeous and I encourage any and all pictures. I love a lot of what I've read of various gun dog breeds but I don't know that I would actually be able to give those dogs what they deserve.

Dear Viola, It's a perfectly natural question, and one that's becoming more relevant all the time, because fewer and fewer people have the opportunity to learn the worldview that incorporates hunting and shooting from their childhood.

My wife and I have much the same story: we both grew up in hunting/shooting households: I in NY with a father who was a rifle shooter interested in big game (mostly deer) and also fly fishing; my wife in MI with a father who was a serious competitive shotgun shooter (skeet), bird hunter (grouse) and fly fisher. My wife fished with her dad, but never had any interest in the shooting and hunting....neither did I.

Until about 10 years ago...I had done lots of black-powder shooting as a reenactor...I was grateful for the gun-safety background I had growing up then, because with muzzle-loading weapons, the only safety you have is muzzle safety. But--shooting blanks at make-believe redcoats and rebels--you don't actually have to be able to HIT anything (and, of course, hope you don't....). But, after 25 years or so...the politics got to be too much. A good friend suggested we should find something that we could do "just by ourselves", as historically-accurately as we wanted to...and suggested mid-19C sport hunting. Now it became important to be able to hit things...and kill them cleanly. So I began to go to gun clubs to learn to shoot.

Like our friend "Chasseur" says....for whatever reason, fishing and big-game hunting didn't speak to me...but the idea of walking through the gorgeous New England woods with a dog just sang to my heart. The dogs came next; the first season, my wife either didn't go with me, or came with a camera. By the next season, she was hooked.

And that was a decade ago. Neither one of us ever could have guessed that we would end up so involved in the shooting and hunting lifestyle; but here we are! We are both SO grateful that we were exposed to it in early youth, even though it took....a while ...to do anything with it.

You like dogs? For better AND for worse, having a dog as a pet is you basically infantilizing another creature. Mind you---they don't mind be loved up all the time, having 3 squares put in front of them, and not having to do much...and we get so much from them.

But: you DO NOT KNOW YOUR DOG until you have hunted with them: suddenly--if you're smart!--YOU are the inferior party to the relationship, and they are suddenly "all grown up." You are going into their animal world...and it will behoove you to let them show it to you. On the other hand, if well trained, they see it as a partnership: they are working with you, and you with them. Take my word for it: hunting breeds LIVE to hunt; they are transfigured when in the field. I have had some of the most moving moments of my life hunting with my dogs, and felt most at home in creation.

I hope at some point--if you continue to be haunted by this desire--you will do something about it. Ask around among your friends..you might be surprised to find out that some of them hunt or shoot. Go to a range; tell them what you're interested in learning. You'll find people who are very ready to help you learn.

You may have found this thread, in which another female lounger did just that:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=35285

Now, I've already posted a few pictures of our dogs, dan and bob....you'll find them in this thread and in the lounger's pet's thread. But....at the risk of being too much of a bragging father....I'll post one "just for you...":
http://gallery.me.com/finiancircle#100014/DanFrog
If you want to delve into any of this more deeply, or have other questions, please feel free to PM me.

Sincerely,
"Skeet"

 

[Viola]

Well I've always been interested in shooting, and I have seen that earlier thread started by KittyT. My family is very urban, though, so while I know my granddads and great-uncles owned Golden Era handguns, hunting/fishing was never a big part of it.

I have a teeny bit of experience with the 9 mm and the 12-gauge Mossberg but I admire the antique-style guns and Cowboy Action Shooting a lot. I'd have to learn/train a lot before I ever went hunting.

I'm looking at moving to Australia next year though and their gun laws are rather different, so I'm not sure what I'll be able to have there. I've sent an inquiry to one of the Cowboy Action groups though and hopefully they can point me in the right direction as far as legalities.

Dog-wise, I've always been a "dog-person" and always plan to be, but the gun dogs are sooooo different energy/drive-wise from what I'm used to. I'm used to pits and Akitas, which seem quieter, less outgoing, and, let's be honest, a lot lazier than what I've read about the gun breeds.

Yours is lovely! Great pic.

 

["Skeet" McD]

Dog-wise, I've always been a "dog-person" and always plan to be, but the gun dogs are sooooo different energy/drive-wise from what I'm used to. I'm used to pits and Akitas, which seem quieter, less outgoing, and, let's be honest, a lot lazier than what I've read about the gun breeds.

Good for you, Viola, and I hope you'll keep us posted on what happens, here and down Oz way.

As far as gundogs go....ummm: how to put this gently : let's just say, the Brittany is at....the HIGH end of hyperactivity. Too much dog for me! Although that is the breed that my father-in-law has his own line of, and he got into the breed quite early on here in the US, in the 1950s.

It is true, of course, that--if for no other reason than to keep it in the condition it will need to be in to run through the thick stuff, come the season--gundogs need exercise, and very few pet dogs of whatever breed get as much as they could use. But dogs like setters--particularly the IR&W setters we have, who fortunately missed all the crazy in-breeding that has severly compromised the disposition of, say, the red setter--are quiet, gentle dogs who are perfectly happy to lie about the house: they won't be bouncing off the walls...until, of course, they see you pick up a gun!

We had the same thoughts living not that far outside of Boston when we got Dan, the first dog...but, you know: if you look a bit, there is almost always a place where you can run your dog. A doggy-day-care place that has a play area is another possibility.

Good luck, and thanks for asking! I hope I, or some other Lounger, will run into you afield some day...

"Skeet"

 

[Viola]

Thanks so much for the support! I feel rather silly because I'm starting out such a newbie already grown - I'm more than mildly envious of all of you who had it all through childhood.

I've always loved the outdoors, though. Future-Hubby isn't much for camping and I doubt I can convert him, but at least he's cool with the hiking and stuff.

I haven't begun to narrow down WHICH gun breed for eventually, yet, but in your experience with the IR&W, would a couple miles of walking a day be enough to keep them in reasonable condition in the off-season? I'm trying to do 1-5 miles a day in general just to stay in shape. Is that a good low-end of reasonable or is that just what they want BEFORE their run? lol

I ask because I unfortunately broke my foot last year and it's not healing so well that I can run on it. Which, with the lazy dogs I'm used to is fine as wine, as they just like to amble along in the woods, but I don't know that Setters/Pointers/Weimeraners amble, you know?

My guy grew up with a red setter: said it was the sweetest [and dumbest, he said, his words involved "attention span of a goldfish"] thing on four legs, loved everyone he ever met. Are the IR&Ws the same way?

If this counts as hijacking the thread I apologize, I'm just so fascinated.

 

["Skeet" McD]

Thanks so much for the support! I feel rather silly because I'm starting out such a newbie already grown...in your experience with the IR&W, would a couple miles of walking a day be enough to keep them in reasonable condition in the off-season?....My guy grew up with a red setter: said it was the sweetest [and dumbest, he said, his words involved "attention span of a goldfish"] thing on four legs, loved everyone he ever met. Are the IR&Ws the same way?...If this counts as hijacking the thread I apologize, I'm just so fascinated.

Dear Viola: well, here's a go at the questions, in order:

Don't feel silly, please...remember that, while Cindi and I grew up with this stuff around us....i.e., weren't [overly] afraid of guns, and knew shooters didn't actually have horns and a forked tail (well not most of us, at least ) neither one of us had ever actually stepped up the the line and pulled trigger at something... believe me: we were just as green as you and were greeted with open arms. You will be, too. And if you're not, by some odd chance, at the first gun club you go to: GO TO ANOTHER CLUB. End of story.

A couple of miles a day walking would be fine. If it's a place where YOU can do a couple of miles walking, and let pup off-lead to run to his/her heart's content, even better: you'll get your exercise, and so will the dog--probably a lot more than you! Throwing sticks with you standing, and pup running to and fro also works

As far as the red setter goes...I grew up with two of 'em. That's what I was alluding to in saying the IR&W was preserved from the degradation of the gene pool by being thought extinct during the time all that was going on; sporting fanciers have as much to answer for as bench show types, IMO: if you're breeding for coat (bench) or tail set (field) pretty much exclusively...a lot that's MUCH more important can get screwed up pretty quickly. The IR&W preserves the original temperament and intelligence of the setters....sweet; smart as a tack; and with good, native birdsense. Mind you: you're getting the whole package, so (unlike some gundog breeds, where if pup isn't pointing at a few weeks age he's tolled off for a pet dog (or worse)....IR&Ws generally mature somewhat more slowly, physically and in terms of figuring out how to handle birds. But figure it out they will, the more birds you can show them, the faster. They are not a breed, however, for someone who wants a pointing-machine (like the field-bred pointer dogs, for instance).

I doubt very much anyone on this thread will mind at all the particular path we've wandered down--but, if so, speak up...and Viola and I can take this off to PM-land, if she likes....

"Skeet"
PS: My wife grew up with her dog-breeding dad on 60 acres of VERY RURAL Michigan real estate...in that household, you opened the kennel door, let the dog run into it was tired out, and came back. And that, not surprisingly, is how Cindi thought dogs should live...seeing as we were living in Suburbia when the question of getting a gundog came up, she was really fairly resistant to the idea (I, who was RAISED in suburbia, of course had different ideas, for better or worse). The point of mentioning this is, once we did get the dog--in Suburbia--Cindi never looked back; we found it was surprisingly easy to give Dan as much exercise as he needed. I think, should you decide to go ahead and get a dog, you'll have the same experience. The thing is--you are thinking about it beforehand: good for you. The same mindset will pretty much assure that you'll give pup a good home, wherever you live, IMHO.—"Skeet"

 

[warbird]

I missed this thread. I must have been hunting somewhere when it was up.

I am not typically what you would call a vintage dresser as in actual or repro vintage clothing. However, I do dress in very traditional colors and fabrics and rarely am seen in a slovenly state.

When I hunt though, it is almost always very very traditional. I don't go in for the latest in camo wear or the fanciest in fabrics. I like old styles, but admit I do really like my Gore Tex Boots, but they are in an old style as well. I wear them more than any other, excepting in the winter old cold climes where I need insulation or in places where snakes are prevalent and I need my snake boots, which come up to just below my knees. I usually wear some form of a fedora to hunt with as well.

My glasses would be the most modern style of any piece of clothing I wear. Now when I shoot sporting clays, unless I am at a vintage event, I wear a modern shooting vest, though again tan in color with leather shooting pads.

I also shoot vintage SxS and Edwardian events. These I enjoy immensely and look forward to dressing the part. I did that just recently. In April I shot the Southern SxS Classic in Sanford NC.