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Heck ya glad to see a hunting thread outside of fire arm specifics. It only quasi counts as hunting since she does 90% of the work but I rat with my dog and occasionally tag along with her when she's hunting woodchucks lol. Anyone that's got a dog with some instinct (fascinated with squirrels is a good clue) can get into ratting, though obviously terriers are far and away the best at it. Yes, even if you live in NYC. If you have a strong stomach there are some incredible videos on YouTube showing off astounding skill, clearing barns of hundreds of rats with just a few dogs in less then 20 minutes. Before we got cats we had a real bad rat problem, I'd walk the farm looking for likely hiding spots (tarps, pallets etc) with a stick and when my dog indicates a spot I'd move the obstacle or beat it with the stick and go "ch,ch,ch,ch". She comes running from acres when she hears that. It's amazing to watch a dog work, and although it doesn't put food in the freezer (unlike urban hunters I do let her eat them tho) it saves huge amounts of food from going to waste bc you can't sell a squash with little teeth marks in it lol and there is literally no such thing as a rat proof barn. The cats fixed the rat problem better then she ever could but woodchucks are still a big problem. A single one of those bad boys can amble down a row of cabbage and nibble the growing tip off a hundred plants in a night and cause damage in the $1000s. We use humane control methods like electric netting and deterrents etc but for the woodchuck that gets through my dog is the go to girl. She took 2 that had been ransacking the crops in the last week. She also makes sure the meat never goes to waste. (She also "hunts" deer aka chases them a couple miles off the farm and comes back w a  look)I'm a big believer that allowing your dog to engage in the behaviors it naturally craves makes a psychology healthy and happy dog. Although we don't hear about it much anymore, rats are still a huge problem in agriculture and even city rats (which obviously have a right to exist) need their populations controlled to reasonable levels. If you think your dog would be pumped for it and you're not above hunting small small game, look for a club near you!
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Jul 19, 2020 01:19
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 13:46 |
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My partner tried to hunt the skunk last night that's been terrorizing the poultry and causing havoc with the dogs. They got several shots off but didn't hit her, despite having fine accuracy at much longer range. They think their 22 is sighted in at distance but not accurate at close range, is that even a thing? I think I might try to mount her if they can take her. I did a very brief taxidermy apprenticeship when I was 16 and mounted a pretty decent full raccoon and a buck wall mount which I no longer have sadly. I've done a lot of skinning and tanning since then, some using primitive methods, some with modern chems. It's a ton of fun, mostly I harvest road kill for materials, which is the ultimate ethical source. I'll post later about it, if ppl think it broadly fits under the hunting thread? Plus I'm proud and love to show off my rather large collection
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Jul 19, 2020 13:06
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extra stout posted:Thanks for making this thread Charlie. When working deer I believe a fleshing knife to be ideal, similar to this and a big PVC pipe. You basically hang the hide over the pipe and then push off the meat and fat and connective tissue with the blade. Obviously it's a little more complicated than that, but other then buying a $5-10k fleshing machine, the only other real option is to dry it flat and use a sander, which is great for think hides like bear but would destroy a deer easily
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Jul 20, 2020 01:05
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