"Regular" firearms season shotguns.

[10ga]

Just to let some here know what happens here in Eastern VA. Well it is a "hound" hunting area, yes use hounds to hunt deer and I love it. We (club guys) use all types of dogs, from small 12" beagles to big old Redbones - Black and Tans - Blueticks and even some hound - retriever/bird dog crosses. The only legal firearms are shotguns and ML. Well lots use slugs and ML for stand hunting but for hunting with the hounds buckshot is by far the preferred ammo and many clubs require it's use. The shots are pretty exclusively close shots due to the terrain and vegetation. My arsenal for this hunting is pretty varied. I have 2 #10 autos, Ithaca Automag and a Browning Gold. Both guns have had considerable work done on the barrels and shoot very good. Preferred ammo is "Nitro Ammo" in 000 buckshot shooting 14 pellets, unless in very dense vegetation and then it's home canned 0 buck with 24 pellets. Then the #12 guns, a Browning Field with a 22" barrel and a Patternmaster and an 870 wingmaster with a Hastings Wadlock barrel and Rhino choke. For the 12 ga guns it's Federal Premium 000 buck 10 pellets, and then home canned 24 pellets of #1 buck for close dense areas. The 000 buck shoots dense tight patterns and carries plenty of energy out to "longer" ranges and the smaller buckshot gives good more open patterns and plenty of power at close ranges.

I know a lot of people don't understand using buckshot but in the manner we hunt it is very effective. Lots of people talk about crippled and wounded deer with buckshot. Well most any deer wounded and trying to get away is soon caught and killed or brought to bay by the dogs.

Hunting in this manner in this area has been done since the early 1600s, in the initial colonial period, and continues to this day. The guys with dogs take extreme pride in the health and quality of their packs and often $ are passed on which dogs are best in a hunt with mixed owners.

Nov 16 is gen firearms opener here but I'll be taking the SML to stand hunt for the 1st week as rut is still kicking here. Then it will be on to the chase!

Hope all have a safe and enjoyable season. 10 ga

And yes, I have a pu "hunting truck" with a dog box and chase stickers on it and a gun rack behind the seat. And yes, I'd love to go out to Sluggers country and hunt big cats and bears with dogs.

[Deleted]

Good luck. Lived in Newport News for my Navy term, I tried like crazy to get in somewhere to deer hunt but was never able to. To my surprise then, hunting deer with dogs was most common or at a minimum, very popular in them parts, got a lil education on it from some locals but never got the chance to try it. There was an old "closed" Navy base between Newport News and Richmond I was on a list to get in and it was a no hound zone, all I ever got to do was fish the lakes but I do remember they took some really fine bucks off of there.

[mrbuck]

Good luck ,10ga.!! Have seen dog hunt videos on Ytube . Keep the tradition alive !