What Are Your Preferred Hunting Rifles and Calibers?

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I am a new guy hear and this is my first post, so take it for what it is worth. I am 53 and have been hunting since i was 15, most of the hound/ dog hunters i have met did it for the thrill of the chase and to watch there dogs work. A group of guys i used to hunt snowshoe hair with in Maine loved to just hear the dogs run and would let the dogs work all year long. They would drop them off in an area to work, set up a comfortable chair and have cold drink and listen to the dogs howel and run. The same with some bird dog owners, they loved to see the dogs work a pheasant or grouse. A lot of them would bring anyone who wanted to go just see the dogs work, they didn't want to shot anything themselvs.

Maybe if you go down the dog route and let him handle the dogs and do what he loves the most, from the little info i gathered from your post, it would reignite the spark. Maybe find some one young that is getting into dogs and team them up if you can't do the dogs yourself. If he has trouble getting around maybe team up with some one in a similar situation that has an ATV or side by side to get the senior members around easier and give them a place to rest and have cold drink. You could be the shooter and work him slowly into the shooting side of things. As our parents age the roles get reversed we are the ones that becolm the parents, gardian, and guide to some one that did it for us. I lost my dad at the age of 58 just when i was starting my adult hunting life and my brother and i were looking forward to taking him hunting in Maine but we lost him fast.

I hope this helps, just some random thoughts.

Steve
 
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@Steve_the_chimneysweep This post is a breath of fresh air. YES!! That’s pretty much it except we didn’t sit down and have drinks while listening to them. We often tracked the pack as they tracked quarry. In mountainous terrain we’d be in Jeeps or on foot. In hilly terrain a truck or ATVs. On flat land a truck or on foot. On occasion I can recal using bicycles on flat land hunting smaller animals. I was actually thinking about getting a young hound because he’s mentioned it a few times and sent for sale ad. The ads always seemed to have dog too old for my liking. If I can find a suitable young dog, I can get my father to help train it. I recall him using hides and liquid animal scents to train our dogs. He’d also trap raccoons and keep them to train dogs. I don’t ever recall the raccoons being harmed. He had an elaborate system. He even used to workout and condition the dogs. I think that’s a hell of an idea. I really think he may be able to get into that again. I was also looking at a tripod setup I’ll be putting on my list of things to get. I figure after bagging a hog or two, I can get him to sit with me in a blind and let him shoot the Texan since he really took interest in it. Perhaps when I figure out a sort of scope system with an LCD screen for him to view for shooting he can shoot. This will all take time of course, but they’re things I’m considering to accommodate him. 

Training dogs is one thing, but hunting with them is another issue out here. Using hunting dogs in this part of Texas can present a problem in this area in the form of trespassing. The animals don’t know anything about property lines so if the game or varmints being trailed traverse boundaries with the dogs in tow it can present a serious issue. Some people will shoot your dogs for various reasons (barking, disturbing their hunting setups, disturbing their livestock, or disturbing who knows what they have going on in the deep woods, etc). All in all I think the training element would interest him. We may have to go out of state to give the dogs the kind of workout we’re talking about. And your right, the roles reverse in time. I’ve experienced this with caring for older family members, but it’s a different type of situation when it involves my parents. Thanks for the suggestions and understanding. 


Dave
 
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I am sure you will get it done. Having the desire to get it done is 90% of getting it done. The rest is just figuring out the logistics. Half the fun in any project is the planning. 



I wish you much luck and look forward to your progress.



Have fun in the jurney and take pictures for you and your kids down the road.



Steve
 
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Since creating this post I've grown fond of .25 rifles. The ammo is more affordable, I get more for my money, I can produce enough fpe to adequately dispatch a variety of quarry and pests, I good a great shot count per fill, and the rifles aren't too heavy. My dad ended up getting some sort of Gamo Co2 pistol and I gave him a springer. The limited pellet and bullet supply has caused me to shoot larger calibers less frequently.
 
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I have two guns:

  1. AEA HPBP .25 cal for squirrels, rabbits and pest birds like starlings and sparrows.
  2. Benjamin Bulldog .357 for groundhogs, raccoons, fox and coyotes. I have no hogs in my area, but the Bulldog would work well for them too. I'd also use it for Bobcat, but maybe I'd go for a tweaked version if mountain lion was game, so you can get into the low to mid 200s fpe while keeping velocities around 950fps.
    [/LIST=1]
 
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For possums and coons: I use my .22 Crosman NP2 Summit Ranger w/ a Tasco 2.5-10X42mmAO w/ mil dots & an LDC. Not shown in the pic is a sling I have on it.
CrosmanSummitRanger1.1625153839.jpg


For hosps I have lately been using my homemade flat topped Crosman 1389; it has a 12 inch barrel and an LDC for quiet shooting. It's deadly. 

I also have a Winchester 1977XS of which I'm fixing to modify the pump arm w/ JB Weld to make it stiffer & hopefully remove the flex I get when I pump it up more than 5 times. Using Crosman 10.5 gr domes at 10 pumps it gets 745 fps / 12.9 fpe. I'm hoping to turn it into a 50 yard shooter; but, for possums / coons, my max range for either one will never exceed 20 yards.
 
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