Lurchers Vs Air Rifle

[mad al 146]

What would the lads and lasses on here prefer to use, a lurcher or an Air Rifle.

I know people who have lurchers but choose to use an Air Rifle.

Why?

Comments welcome.

 

 

Hey up, I use both, but although I always take a rifle with the dogs it's usually never used as they are much much quicker than I'll ever be, to give an example of this I let the dogs run on in the fields last week and they stopped under a tree, so I looked through the scope and above them was a tree rat, so then I knew I could get there and take the fecker out before it legged it, but as for rabbits/birds I have no hope as they are on to them before I can line them up.

 

So for me if I want to go shooting, I don't take the dogs as I like them to work. Shar Pei does the bush work with the other two there waiting and it works well for me. Good thread as I've often wondered what other do

[runforyourlife 361]

depending on the terrain and rabbits been the quarry, you def get more with an air gun. so if pest controll is your aim thats the way, but im in it for the sport so lurchers all the way. also if you was mouching round a wood and bumped into a large fallow stag it would take some stopping with a 22 pre charge,...unless you threw it at it and took a few close range shots......but then ive never been stalking so i dont know how easy that would be....cheers.

 

 

Moonlighting, that is so incorrect! you get more with a gun that lurchers....... nah

like i said, depends on terrain. where i live you do well get 10/20 rabbits on the lamp. my mate shoots on the lamp and offen gets 30 plus. rabbits are offen close to cover in little groups of 3's n 4's. my dog might get 1 where as a gun might get 2 or 3. mind you i think he as rim fire and not an air gun. any way im a lurcher man but just been honnest.

 

 

You never mentioned lamping in your first comment...even noe tho, i cant agree , go where the rabbits arent sat tight in cover...

[Guest Lamper18]

I wouldnt mind seeing some rabbitng dog owners input.

To me shooting a rabbit isnt sporting. its dead END OF.

come on give input,

A/ air rifle one good shot END OF.

B/ One good run maybe a catch maybe not, but the rabbit has a chance.

shooting anything isnt sporting if you ask me you aim you fire its dead thats it wheres the fun in that

[bullmastiff 615]

I do both, when I arrive at the farm I usually take a walk about with the Air rifle and Tia, through the fields to the wood for a bit of roost shooting I can usually pick up a rabbit or two and a few pigeons.

Back to the car and swap Tia for Roo and gun for Lamp then off out again for just ground game.

I only get out on Sundays so try to make a day of it.

The air rifles good for just a general mooch about getting dinner from field or tree (as long as it's stationary and within 30-40yds). Where as the Lurchers limited to the field/hedge but it's more exciting to watch the dog run and can take moving targets at further distances so you don't need to stalk as much.

To be honest they're both good sport in their own right but are so dissimilar they can't really be compared?

[bird 9,872]

I like to see my dog work, so i would say lurcher. If i want to sell some rabbits, i would use my gun, as a head shot rabbit, is 100% better than any caught by a lurcher.Even the most softest mouth lurcher will bruise a rabbit.??

[ulverston moocher 60]

I like shooting but my lurchers rate over the air rifle every time nothing beats the thrill of the chase.

[Malt 379]

Bit of a daft question to post in the lurcher section if you ask me, what next? A post in the ferreting section asking if people prefer to use ferrets or BOP?

 

Anyway, I like to do a bit of everything, shooting, ferreting lamping with dogs/guns, ratting with terriers, etc.

 

I couldn't possibly choose one above the others, although I did get a hell of a buzz seeing my lurcher pup catch his first rabbit...

[slip,course,kill 0]

What would the lads and lasses on here prefer to use, a lurcher or an Air Rifle.

I know people who have lurchers but choose to use an Air Rifle.

Why?

Comments welcome.

i perfer lurcher becuse it watching the thrill of the chase and noing what you put in to a dog makes it better when it kill then you no all that hard work you did was werth it with a air gun its one shot and its you alone but with your dog your a team

[Guest hunterside]

why choose i use both, used to use her as a poor mans gun dog

[Guest darlolad]

i have best of both worlds well all really i can get any dog needed for a job guns ferrets smokers long nets

[pointer 543]

I prefer working dogs to shooting but i enjoy air-rifle shooting.Last week i went out shooting rats two nights,caught a few rats with the dogs on two nights and spent saturday and sunday out with the lurcher.If you have the time you can do a variety of things in one week,if my spare time was limited id only go out with a dog...............or if i only had land more suited to a gun id maybe not keep any dogs

 

As for being sporting and all that,a keeper asked me on saturday to ferret a wood.The rabbits i caught in nets didnt stand much of a chance of escaping.I dont think air-rifle shooting is always easy,far from it sometimes.

[rab stewart 0]

I wouldnt mind seeing some rabbitng dog owners input.

To me shooting a rabbit isnt sporting. its dead END OF.

come on give input,

A/ air rifle one good shot END OF.

B/ One good run maybe a catch maybe not, but the rabbit has a chance.

[bANNED TEXT] i have lurchers and i prefer to get the chase if it get away well that is that if you catch even better.em shooting is good but on the write sort of game and it keeps the dog keen if it does not catch

[Tassa 64]

LURCHERS ALL THE WAY, guns are dead on for game birds but more and more rifles have mean't less and less foxes for the lurchers and terriers. Heard of men shooting big numbers at night, makes me sick. Your'e either a DOGGY MAN OR MARKSMAN. Can't be both.

[MR POACH 2]

DOGS EVERY TIME, ............... if your well into your dogs you wouldnt have asked the question , Ive had air guns and own shotguns and have got my firearms ticket, so my opinion isnt a biased one , i got into the dog side of the hunting last and for me theres definately no comparison , dogs all the way , atb MR POACH .

[Guest SJM]

I enjoy working with my lurchers first and foremost, but an air rifle can be handy too, for example railway embankments littered with rabbit holes, you cant run a dog on them and they can be dodgy to ferret, but an evening mooch with the air rifle can be very productive, they will often sit tight outside the holes, hoping not to be noticed, especially if there is a bit of cover like raspberry or rosebay canes. Then youve got the crows around this time of year, you cant send a dog up a tree to catch branchers so the air rifle is good fun for reducing the population.