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going on a show snow shoe hare trip advice

whacko

whacko

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The wife bought my son and I a guided hunting trip to Maine for snow shoe hare. Leaving next weekend. I think I have everything we need.......stocked up on ammo, the guns are ready to go. Spent time shooting clays with IC chokes to get on the targets quick (from the ready not mounted first). licenses all purchased. Plenty of warm clothes......hand warmers extra gloves socks etc. Using Pine Grove Lodge. Any recommendations from guys/gals that have done a trip like this before? Just want to be sure we get the most out of it.

Thanks.
 
Be safe, those things are dangerous. Watch out if they turn and start to stamped, run in a zig zag motion. I've seen a quite a few hunting videos my mate Elmer did, boy he was lucky to survive some those encounters.

Have fun, stay warm and watch out for the horned ones....

harry
 
HarryPottar said:
Be safe, those things are dangerous. Watch out if they turn and start to stamped, run in a zig zag motion. I've seen a quite a few hunting videos my mate Elmer did, boy he was lucky to survive some those encounters.

Have fun, stay warm and watch out for the horned ones....

harry
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[rofl]
 
boilermaker said:
what gauge are you using? Sounds like a fun trip.
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12 gauge. IC chokes with #4 or #6 shot according to the people I talked to at the lodge that is going to work fine. I'm bringing an extra shotgun though in case we have a malfunction.....don't want the trip ruined because of a "breakdown". The extra gun is a 20 gauge.

Going to hunt for 3 days. The price is actually VERY reasonable at pine grove. VERY excited for this trip.....have not taken a vacation in 2 years!
 
Most shotgun work is done at targets in the air and rising. Most rabbits are missed by people shooting over them. If you are not connecting, aim lower.

I inherited my grandfathers rabbit shotgun (16 gauge Ithaca double) that has a ridiculous drop at heal so when you mount the gun it is already pointing downhill! He traveled to Ithaca factory and had a matched set made, one for birds with normal drop and the rabbit gun. Sounds weird and feels weird, but it works great on rabbits.

Will you be working with dogs?
 
pupchow said:
That looks like a fun time

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2014/03/march-snowshoes-rabbit-hunting-maine
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I met the owner at the hunting expo a few weeks ago. He runs a charity......brought over 300 veterans on hunting and fishing trips! The charity pays for everything.....the flight and all! I'm a veteran but am going as a paying customer (I do ok in life and can afford to pay my way). I thought that was amazing thought that he does that! His cost for rabbit hunt.......$175 per person per day and includes lodging and meals! A frigging bargain in my book!

- - - Updated - - -

northny said:
Most shotgun work is done at targets in the air and rising. Most rabbits are missed by people shooting over them. If you are not connecting, aim lower.

I inherited my grandfathers rabbit shotgun (16 gauge Ithaca double) that has a ridiculous drop at heal so when you mount the gun it is already pointing downhill! He traveled to Ithaca factory and had a matched set made, one for birds with normal drop and the rabbit gun. Sounds weird and feels weird, but it works great on rabbits.

Will you be working with dogs?
Click to expand...

This is what I was looking for! Great tip! I've only hunted birds and squirrels for small game so this will help! I'll tell my son to aim low! We will be working with 12 beagles!!!!! That gun set up sounds amazing! I'll be letting my son use my prized possession shotgun......a 1969 browning auto 5 in pristine condition I bought a year ago......I've acquired a full choke 30 inch barrel and recently purchased at auction a 24 inch IC barrel.....both pristine. I'll be using the old Mossberg 500.......my first long gun I ever bought.....its a beater but will still butter your bread. Yeah......I love my son!
 
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Please do a write up and provide pics afterwards. My son is almost 6 and doing really well with all the aspects of safely handling a firearm. Would love to do something like this a few years down the road
 
Definitely need to pack one of these

142234-1.png
 
Beardy 508 said:
Please do a write up and provide pics afterwards. My son is almost 6 and doing really well with all the aspects of safely handling a firearm. Would love to do something like this a few years down the road
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Good on you for getting your son started. My son has been hunting with me since he was 12. He has harvested tons of squirrels......6 pheasants......and a duck during waterfoul season. The Danvers fish and game does a youth hunting program every year for kids 12 to 17. They hunt pheasant and duck after they get some training shooting trap and attend a couple of seminars on wildlife management with the fish and fame folks.


In mass 12 is the legal age to use a fire arm in the act of hunting......but the child has to be in direct control of a licensed adult. That means only one gun between the two of us......I supervise....he holds the fire arm. You'll find it interesting that the reason I chose Maine is because they have an apprentice hunter license up there. At age 10 for $10 he can have his own fire arm.....and I get to hunt with a fire arm too. He still needs to be in my direct control but at least we both get to actually hunt! He is 14 this year and next season he'll have his own hunting license as he has already completed hunter ed.
 
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whacko said:
The wife bought my son and I a guided hunting trip to Maine for snow shoe hare. Leaving next weekend. I think I have everything we need...
Click to expand...

Enjoy! If you plan to cook any hares up there, be sure you've rented an appropriate room. Some only have a kitchenette or less, while others have a fully equipped kitchen.

giphy.gif

LuvDog said:
Definitely need to pack one of these

142234-1.png
Click to expand...

Field-expedient substitute:

bottle-chambord.jpg
 
AHM said:
Enjoy! If you plan to cook any hares up there, be sure you've rented an appropriate room. Some only have a kitchenette or less, while others have a fully equipped kitchen.

giphy.gif



Field-expedient substitute:

bottle-chambord.jpg
Click to expand...
i plan to bring the meat home. All the meals are included in the package!
 
whacko said:
Good on you for getting your son started. My son has been hunting with me since he was 12. He has harvested tons of squirrels......6 pheasants......and a duck during waterfoul season. The Danvers fish and game does a youth hunting program every year for kids 12 to 17. They hunt pheasant and duck after they get some training shooting trap and attend a couple of seminars on wildlife management with the fish and fame folks.


In mass 12 is the legal age to use a fire arm in the act of hunting......but the child has to be in direct control of a licensed adult. That means only one gun between the two of us......I supervise....he holds the fire arm. You'll find it interesting that the reason I chose Maine is because they have an apprentice hunter license up there. At age 10 for $10 he can have his own fire arm.....and I get to hunt with a fire arm too. He still needs to be in my direct control but at least we both get to actually hunt! He is 14 this year and next season he'll have his own hunting license as he has already completed hunter ed.
Click to expand...
I haven't hunted since well before he was born but would love to get back into it. Started a new job with a little more flexibility and am hoping to start hunting again in the upcoming years. Going to start bringing him along for some scouting and get the process started soon

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
 
Beardy 508 said:
I haven't hunted since well before he was born but would love to get back into it. Started a new job with a little more flexibility and am hoping to start hunting again in the upcoming years. Going to start bringing him along for some scouting and get the process started soon

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Started my son with squirrel hunting. Open mid oct through jan 2 each year. It can be highly successful which is good for the young ones rather than dragging them into a deer stand for a long day of sitting still. Used it to teach woodsmanship.....explain how a compass works.....shoot your azimuth into the woods.....made him calculate the back azimuth (add or subtract 180) and had him use the compass to find our way back to the truck. Never seen him as proud of himself to walk out of the thick woods right in front of the truck! Taught him moving quietly through the woods.....that is a lot of work to teach a kid. Taught him to look for stands of oak and hickory and look for chewed mast....all the signs of where squirrels hang out. had some great success with him and bonded with him even more! Squirrels taste good too! He loves em. Then moved on to pheasant and deer (have not gotten him a deer yet unfortunately.......still a bone of contention in the family as his mother got a 138 pound 6 pointer 2 years ago and he is still working on it! Duck hunting with the youth program was by far the best hunting experience we have had together! Duck hunting is exciting as hell and plan to do more of that next year. It is all good for them.......he is an outdoor kid and spends little time on the video games. Signed him up for the 2 week conservation camp run by fish and game this summer. He has aspirations of being a game warden.
 
whacko said:
Started my son with squirrel hunting. Open mid oct through jan 2 each year. It can be highly successful which is good for the young ones rather than dragging them into a deer stand for a long day of sitting still. Used it to teach woodsmanship.....explain how a compass works.....shoot your azimuth into the woods.....made him calculate the back azimuth (add or subtract 180) and had him use the compass to find our way back to the truck. Taught him moving quietly through the woods.....that is a lot of work to teach a kid. Taught him to look for stands of oak and hickory and look for chewed mast....all the signs of where squirrels hang out. had some great success with him and bonded with him even more! Squirrels taste good too! He loves em. Then moved on to pheasant and deer (have not gotten him a deer yet unfortunately.......still a bone of contention in the family as his mother got a 138 pound 6 pointer 2 years ago and he is still working on it! Duck hunting with the youth program was by far the best hunting experience we have had together! Duck hunting is exciting as hell and plan to do more of that next year. It is all good for them.......he is an outdoor kid and spends little time on the video games. Signed him up for the 2 week conservation camp run by fish and game this summer. He has aspirations of being a game warden.
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That is great. Was def thinking about going the squirrel route. I love the way they taste and it is much more engaging than what my dad did when I was a kid. I quietly sat in a stand all day and waited for a deer (that never came). That probably would of turned most kids off but I have always loved the outdoors

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
 
funny, I always used 12ga on cottontails and .22 for hare. They don't go in the ground so you can track them and get long shots.

Have a blast.
 
Mike-Mike said:
funny, I always used 12ga on cottontails and .22 for hare. They don't go in the ground so you can track them and get long shots.

Have a blast.
Click to expand...
Absolutely......we will be hunting with dogs so I'm assuming the hares will be cooking right along.......shotty will be the gun of choice on this trip! Not sure how much I'll enjoy hearing beagles bellow all day......never hunted with beagles before.

Believe it or not we use the shotty for squirrel! full choke too! Full choke 20g or 12g with remmy extended range loads will reach the top of any tree in these parts. If yu have a close shot we learned to hit em with the fringe so we don't blow em to bits.
 
whacko said:
Absolutely......we will be hunting with dogs so I'm assuming the hares will be cooking right along.......shotty will be the gun of choice on this trip! Not sure how much I'll enjoy hearing beagles bellow all day......never hunted with beagles before.
Click to expand...

Yup! love hunting over dogs.
 
My son is now 17, hrs been pheasant & squirrel hunting since he was 12. I can't say enough about the MA youth pheasant & turkey hunts. Check them out, turkey is this April
 
I used to hunt hares in Maine years ago. Lotta fun. When you hear the beagle coming, be as still as you can be. The hares have amazing eyesight and will see you long before you see them. They are usually way ahead of the dogs. I used to get them while walking too, look for the black eyes under cover. Beagles aren't as smart as most dogs, but definitely love the chase. Have a great time and good luck!
 
Leaving to get this thing started in a few. Cold as a witches titties in a brass bra today and tomorrow! Talked to my bil and forcast for -11 tomorrow morning will probably have us wait till after lunch tonhead out. Rest of the week looks good
 

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