22's or Shotguns

[Hare Hawk]

I was wondering if any of you would have a problem if a hunter wanted to use 22's when hunting over your dogs? The reason I ask is because I met another beagler a couple of weeks ago while hunting and he was surprised to see that we were using 22's. He said he would never use a rifle when hunting with dogs.

I've been using a 22 when hunting rabbits for most of my life. For years I always used them for cottontails and would then use a scatter gun for snowshoes because the cover was typically thicker. Lately though I've been using the rimfire on snows and really enjoy it. I like using them for several reasons:
1. I rarely if ever ruin any meat because I typically wait for a good head shot.
2. The dog usually gets to run longer because I have to wait for a good clean shot.
3. I really enjoy gunning over my pup and this allows me to hunt without killing so many rabbits.

I really don't think that a 22 would be anymore dangerous for the dog as long as the person behind the gun is not an taking stupid shots. I've heard of 2 beagles getting shot in the woods and both were hit with a 12 gauge. I guess my point is that it was the person behind the gun not the type of gun that created the problem. I wasn't there in either case and don't know the circumstances.

All that being said if I ever met someone to run with and they didn't feel comfortable with me using a 22 I would be happy to use a shotgun. I'm certainlly not looking to make anyone uncomfortable. God knows I'm selective when it comes to the people that I let hunt over my hound.

[mtneerbp]

I wouldnt have a problem if I knew the guy I never shoot close to my dogs anyways the rabbit is in front and if they are that close to the rabbit I wouldnt shoot at with shotgun or 22

[arkyhunter]

JMO but i just don't like someone hunting around me or my hounds with a .22, i can't really explain why, it just gives me a bad feeling. Now i'm not saying i have a problem with .22's in general, i like to use one myself when hunting alone, i just don't like to carry one around other people or someone carrying one around me. It just seems like the bullet would travel pretty far if a shot went wild.

[warddog]

I will not go with anyone shooting a rifle towards the ground. I have seen shot from shotguns ricochet off of rocks let alone a rifle buttet. As someone else stated a rifle can travel much further than shotgun shot and I don't want me or my dogs anywhere in the general vacinity of someone shooting one into the ground. I've seen .22's ricochet off of water let alone the ground and having been in the US Army I've seen what a rifle bullet can do when just hitting bone. I just feel it is NOT safe for man nor beast so if you want to get me outta your way just show me someone hunting rabbits with a .22 and I'm loading my dogs and gone. I can't say that I have seen or even heard of a dog or anyone getting injured from the use of a .22 while rabbit hunting but I'd rather be pro-active and not re-active.

[wvduece]

i am almost 60 years old n have been rabbit hunting since i was a child not even big enuf to shoot a rabbit i would get to carry a empty single shot shot gun till we got to where we would hunt then my dad took the gun i have hunted with lots of different guys over the years i have never seen anyone use a 22 to rabbit hunt with i know there are guys that use them but i just have never seen it where we usually hunt it so thick with briars ya need a shotguin to penetrate guess it woulkd be fun though jb

[awood]

we use 22 all the time thick cover or not. if we have a big crowd we will carry a shotgun."2 or 3 responsible hunters" we use 22 and have a ball.makes a dog earn his keep.1 shot with shotgun kill the rabbit or 50 with a 22 and everybody gets laughed at.

[bluemouse]

50 with a 22 and everybody gets laughed at. awood

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Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:03 am danger danger , will robinson