Bulldog owners (.357), have you seen these African hunt videos

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Crosman is definitely a Corporation and they have to show what their product is capable of doing so people will buy. I have followed alot of the threads about this rifle and until I saw these videos, I was quite skeptical about it's ability. I am originally from Indiana where the only rifle that is legal is a black powder rifle (except .22). Most deer are taken on small farms at under 100 yards with black powder or shotgun slug. Yes, I believe you are correct, these are advertisements but I can now see the application for larger game hunting for conditions under 75 yards. The applicable for this rifle might be very good for deer hunting on Indiana farms.
 
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I agree ztirffritz, I myself would much rather see them in the hands of say wild hog hunters from Florida or Georgia non pro guys...show there normal setup then there thoughts on the Bulldog at the range and then on hogs ...that would be a lot more useful to myself anyways to hear first hand hunters views and thoughts about the system, there likes and dislikes.
just my .2 cents 
Jonathan
 
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I would agree with both of you. (I would like to see some hog footage with the bulldog as well!). I'm only about a 4 hour drive to the Texas panhandle to hog hunt. Following yours and Aarons threads have really perked my interest in this rifle. It is a very interesting rifle!
I was only attempting to bring out a discussion for the potential use of this rifle and it's ability to bring down large game here in the US. I have no future plans for a Safari Hunt. Most of the other air rifle hunting required the shot placement to be in the head. this was the first that I saw where the shot placement was heart/lung. I was looking past the marketing ploy and really wondering what all of you thought about it's potential as a big game rifle. 

Doc
 
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Doc, I think it has great potential as a hunting rifle for large game in the right hands ..if it were legal to do so i would hunt deer with one here in Ontario Canada and feel comfortable in doing so rather then using my slug gun ...in reality my slug gun is shooting giant pellets as I shoot the Lyman 525gr sabot slug that I hand cast!
I think it would be awesome to hunt with air over powder in my areas as it you reduce the non hunter/hunter iterations greatly!
Jonathan
 
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Thanks 1k, I have been an avid bird hunter (even up in your neck of the woods goose hunting) but never got the big game bug…….. until now. Air rifle shooting has really opened my eyes to more opportunities of hunting. I have shot black powder and shotgun slugs with my brother but never really felt confident hunting with these. I am very confident hitting the vital area with an air rifle especially if it has enough pentration energy. I have read the posts regarding deer hunting and you can bet Crosman will do everything they can so they can increase the sales of there guns by legalizing their rifles. I just ran across theses videos last night and thought they may be of interest. It wasn't my intent to present anything controversial.
Sorry guys,

Doc
 
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No worries. I watched them too. And, they did help persuade me to buy a Bulldog. I'm not gonna lie. I just felt that they were too scripted. It felt like there was likely some poor guy holding a duiker on a leash off camera who set it loose on cue so that it could be shot 30 feet later. I think if they'd been presented less as an advertisement and more as a documentary, I'd have no problem with it though. They did the same thing with the Rogue too when it was released.
 
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I did the first Airgun hunts in South Africa for big game 10 years ago, which were done under permission of the Minstry of Tourism with oversight by the East Cape Game Management Association. I've also taken more big game with an airgun than anybody else (including Afircan game), dozens of warthog, springbuck, Impala, bleesbuck, bushbuck, duiker, steenbok, other antelope and a few kudu. A 200 fpe .357 can do the job, but it's the wrong gun and I consider it more of a promotional exercise than a demonstration of an optimal gun for this game.

The first guns I took over were Quackenbush's in .50, .457, and .308. On seven hunts since that time, I've also used the Dragonslayer .50, BigBore 909 .45 which are lower power and used only for the small antelope. Have also taken the Extreme in .457 and a few other models on my hunts. My opinion is that an adequate gun for the African antelope should be at least a .40 or over and generate 400 fpe. You can easily kill a whitetail or a black bear with a .22 rimfire, but there is a reason it's illegal almost everywhere. I think when companies use the wrong gun for the wrong game, it gets attention but is not good for the sport in the long run.

I am not the Airgun police and don't want to come across that way, and have made my share of wrong decisions. When we started with big bore Airguns nobody knew what they could do, so we were pushing boundries..... that is no longer the case and there is no longer the need. What Crosman is promoting is not unethical, shooting a hog with a sub 20 fpe springer is unethical, a 200 fpe .357 simply is not the best tool for the job. I have every big bore on the market and some that are not, and I know which I'd use on my hunts.
Jim
 
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Don't mean to sound like a wanker, there are a lot of Airgun hunters out there that are doing some great hunts. Guys like Manny, Eric Henderson, Chip Sayer all have a lot of big game and each has their own view. I've been doing this a long time, have used a lot of different gear, shot a lot of game and a lot of different species, made a lot of mistakes, had my share of bad shots and too much lost game ..... very often because I was using a marginal gun.

The problem is you might shoot 2-3 warthogs perfectly with a lower power/smaller caliber and they drop quickly, but the 4th one is slightly off and you loose animal. There is a point of diminishing returns of course; there are few animals I'd shoot with a 550 fpe gun that I wouldn't shoot with a 450 fpe gun, so if the 450 fpe gun is more compact and lighter I would probably grab it when I head for the field. In the same gun I'd go for the 550 fpe gun (providing the accuracy is equal). In my experience around 350 fpe and a .40 is a gun I'd use for almost anything.

With respect to the Bulldog, I don't mean to imply this is not a solid hunting gun, it is, I've shot a couple hogs and a couple coyote with it. It's fine on hogs, but I really like it for a flat shooting predator gun. Mine shot accurately out of the box and you get a good shot count. But if I'm going to shoot a kudu or a long range bushbuck I want more power and a bigger caliber. Again my opinion and my preference.

Jim
 
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I dont travel and therefore only hunt what is legal here in Ohio. Since we don't have hogs in my part of the state, coyotes are the biggest animal I have to worry about. From my own experiences, I feel 40fpe is the minimum energy for coyotes. That is at the target not at the muzzle BTW.

I bought the bulldog for my main coyote gun. I haven't taken one with it yet, but as well as my 70fpe .25 and 73fpe .30 have worked, I am sure the bulldog with JSB'S at 150 fpe will work awesome. It has been proposed to the state to allow .357 and bigger for whitetail deer. If that ever passes, I would only feel comfortable shooting deer at bow ranges and not much further if using my bulldog with a good bullet.

I have killed alot of deer with bows, crosbows, slug shotguns, and modern muzzleloaders. I have unfortunately wounded deer with this same equipment. I have seen alot of horribly wounded deer because of carelessness and poor choices by other hunters. I have used my tags to harvest deer wounded by someone else so the animal didn't have to suffer. Seeing all this over the years, makes it hard for me to support airgun use for larger game. However, I do support it because it is such a small group of people that will partake. Most of these people will probably be very serious about ethics and shot placement.

Based on watching video from guys like Jim and doing alot of research coupled with my own experiences on other animals, I trust the bulldog for taking shots on deer out to 50 yards. If Ohio allows airguns for deer, I will be buying another bigbore. Probably following much of what Jim suggests.
 
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Ian Harford is the hunter behind those videos. Ian played a significant role in the development of the Bulldog and had already proven the .357 caliber’s capability on large game with the Rogue. If you’re concerned about “hunting for advertisement”, yes, that’s absolutely what this is. So is all of outdoor television. Rest assured Ian’s kills were donated to local communities.

We work with professionals who are knowledgeable about hunting, confirm our own beliefs about our products and then commission or conduct our own hunts to prove their performance. Ian may not be a familiar name here in the States but in Europe he is as popular as Shockey for his hunting pursuits and articles and is regarded as an elite airgunner. For South Africa, we knew of no one more qualified to help us develop a product and prove it in the field. Without question the Bulldog is fully capable for the game Ian pursued at the ranges he pursued them.

Be sure to watch Ian’s post-mortem:
http://www.crosman.com/connect/unleashed-ian-harford-and-the-bulldog-357-part-3/ 

Another good source of videos on the Bulldog, and now the Airbow, is The Management Advantage. Very down to earth about capability and performance with high production value, I think you will enjoy them. They also flat out know their stuff. 

http://themanagementadvantage.com/home/family-fortune/ 
http://themanagementadvantage.com/home/benjamin-pioneer-airbow/ 
 
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Another .357 bullpup to look at is the American AirArms Slayer. I've been shooting this gun a lot, and took one of my javalina down in Mexico with it recently. Putting out about 300 fpe and it's very quiet, compact, and probably the most accurate midbore I ever shot. Still, I'll take a .40 or larger 400+ fpe for my bear, deer, and South African (for the big stuff) hunts this year. For hog hunts I'll use the .357 because I take more head shots and the accuracy is the main thing. Again, if you're selective a lower power .357 will work....... but as I have better options I'll use them.
 
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