pbro21

I have a yellow lab female that weighs a little over 50 lbs and is extremely versatile. She is normally out on goose hunts with us, but has picked up crows and doves when we hunt them. I took her on a Pheasent hunt for the first time this year, and she was fantastic. She even pointed twice before flushing. As long as you train your dog to stay within a resonable working distance they will do fine pheasent hunting. I haven't done anything special with her for pheasent hunting. Labs are definately some of the most versatile hunting dogs you can get.

Our group of 5 people killed 18 geese on Labor Day and then got out of there quickly so we could hunt it again in the near future. It was some fast shooting with groups of 10-20 dive bombing us for about 20 minutes. Here's some pictures of the pile.

Turkey, If wing supply is out of them, I just orderd one for a friend from http://www.midwestturkeycall.com/ Be sure to order the choke for the SBE II. The Beretta/Benelli choke will not fit. You can get the Winchester ER from Cabelas or Bass Pro. Just check and make sure what you want is in stock. Hope this helps.

Laid one down on opening day of MD season. 20 lbs 10 in beard 3/4 inch spurs.

Mudhen, Thanks for the reply. I think I'll stick with the Rhino Win XR 3.5" #6's for this year because I don't have time to get a Jellyhead in and get it tested. My turkey season starts next Tuesday, and it'll be pretty much non-stop from there until the third week in May. I did check Nitro's website and they do recommend the Rhino .660 with their hevi-shot 4x5x7. I may try that it in the off-season, and I will definately be getting my hands on a Jellyhead. Thanks for all the info.

Muden, Does the difference between the Jellyhead and Rhino warrant buying the Jellyhead? Is the pattern that much better or knock down power that much better in your opinion?

Mudhen, All of your testing has hopefully saved me some money. I bought the Rhino .660 and the 3.5" #6 Xtended Winchesters. I like the idea of a tight pattern that isn't so tight it will cause me to miss at close range. I will try to post some pics when I get a chance to pattern. Thanks for all of the good info.

I have the 26" and I use it for hunting doves, ducks, geese, and turkeys and I love it. Seems to be the right fit. Plus with some of the extended chokes I use it adds the extra 2" to the barrel anyway.

Paolo, for waterfowl look at the Wad Wizard and Patternmaster for long range shots, but try decoying them it's a lot more fun to shoot them at 10 yards than it is at 40. The Wad Wizard and Patternmaster will still work great on decoying birds as well.

Three man limit of Geese in Maryland's late season. This is my best hunt to date. Was hunting with my SBE II, and my friend was shooting an M1 Super 90. Awesome hunt. ] [ 02-27-2006, 02:23 PM: Message edited by: pbro21 ]

I was in the same situation as you last year. I picked up both when I went to buy the gun, and the 26" felt better, so I bought it. The gun has been a great performer. I don't ever think I wish I had bought the 28.

Tuker, I used a string of wings on a couple of occasions a few years back. The first time we put it up it seemed to flare birds like crazy, not to mention it was a pain to get in the ground. We decided to try it one other day when we were on the X, and the first two flocks didn't like it too much. We took it down and ended up stretching it between two blinds to act like a big string of flags. That's the only way it has ever worked for us. It's much easier to just flag with a regular flag. I would say the concept seems good, but it doesn't seem to work around here on our Resident birds. [ 01-23-2006, 06:36 AM: Message edited by: pbro21 ]

I bought a new SBE II in August right before our early waterfowl season opened. I've been shooting better with my SBE II this year than I ever have in the past. My wallet appreciates the break it gets on buying extra shells, but the geese don't seem to be too happy that I bought the SBE II. Here are a few pictures from the season so far.

Commando, Thanks for the kind words. She has made me get into waterfowling and bird hunting a lot more than I was before, and she's great in the house. Dogs add a lot to this sport!

Black Jack, Try one of these two. They seem to be the most accepted methods of training right now. I had the book gun dog, and apparently the strategies there are a little out of date. http://www.gundogsonline.com/1800/10307.htm http://www.coonriverkennels.com/pages/store_evangraham.html