Hunting in the old days?

greenpeter

How did the generations before us manage to hunt? I guess it could be a stupid question but just sitting reading trough old posts it hit me that we have so many options now with high power rifles and bullets, scopes that you could see a mouse at mile, shotguns that can cycle a shell in the blink of a eye, camo cloths that sometime the dog cant find me or scent me because it wont allow scent trough, or the springer running by you with a collar on his neck and a bell ringing a lad back in the next parish pressing a button screeming come back you ****. Dont get me wrong for asking i know your all very skilled hunters but has the skill vanished some what with modren times and technology?

pajero2005

Well I'm new to it all so might not be fully in the know, but I think as the gear improves so does the standard of shooting. The addition of a scope to a rifle coupled with vastly improved rounds and more understanding of windage and drop off will allow for a shot far greater in terms of distance and hitting the mark than ones in days gone by. As regards the skill element of it all, getting great groups consistently is no walk in the park. (well for me at least!!)

CJhaughey

greenpeter wrote: »

How did the generations before us manage to hunt? I guess it could be a stupid question but just sitting reading trough old posts it hit me that we have so many options now with high power rifles and bullets, scopes that you could see a mouse at mile, shotguns that can cycle a shell in the blink of a eye, camo cloths that sometime the dog cant find me or scent me because it wont allow scent trough, or the springer running by you with a collar on his neck and a bell ringing a lad back in the next parish pressing a button screeming come back you ****. Dont get me wrong for asking i know your all very skilled hunters but has the skill vanished some what with modren times and technology?

All the technology in the world doesn't make you a good hunter.
It might make some aspects of the hunt easier/better.
Telescopic sights make a big difference but they don't guarantee you will hit the target.
All the camo and scent proof gear doesn't mean that you can stalk a deer from upwind and not have it smell or see or hear you.
Think of technology in terms of cars, antilock brakes doesn't mean no accidents.
It just helps sometimes, you still have to know how to drive.
Likewise you still have to know how to hunt, think like an animal, know where they will likely lie up at different times of the day/month/season.

fodda

CJhaughey wrote: »

All the technology in the world doesn't make you a good hunter.
It might make some aspects of the hunt easier/better.
Telescopic sights make a big difference but they don't guarantee you will hit the target.
All the camo and scent proof gear doesn't mean that you can stalk a deer from upwind and not have it smell or see or hear you.
Think of technology in terms of cars, antilock brakes doesn't mean no accidents.
It just helps sometimes, you still have to know how to drive.
Likewise you still have to know how to hunt, think like an animal, know where they will likely lie up at different times of the day/month/season.

This is exactly true.

Just as many targets of what ever kind were hit just as many times in the "olde":) days as they are now. Even a hundred years ago they were shooting targets at upto one mile? with open sights with hand loaded ammunition which was hand made so just as exact if not better than what you can get today.

The guns and equipment could have been mostly hand made and made to a greater spec than what they maybe are today unless you have plenty of cash of course.

And as regards hunting skills, well in those days it was passed down from generation to generation and with plenty of wars going on for years these skills were largely practiced and finely honed as they had to be.

cavan shooter

You dont have to go back 100 years. My Father was big into his shooting and my mother would sum it up and say that in the late 40's and 50's (when they married) shooting wasnt really a hobby but was used to supplement the food on the table. I was born later on in the early 70's but all my older siblings remember.

woodpigeon, pheasant, duck, geese, partridge, and rabbit served up for Dinner. Steak wasnt heard of cause you couldnt afford it.

He had an old 32" side by side hammer gun and a single shot 22 with iron sights. He used 4's for everything. Black Lab and red setters

On the vermin side, Dad used to supplement his pay again shooting foxes when there was a bounty. Made more doing that than what he got from work

This was North Dublin, in the fields that exist where now Darndale,Donaghmeade and Kilbarrack now stand. He shot rabbits for Portmarnock golf club and Clontarf Golf Club.

I shot rabbits fro a farmer last year and I couldnt give them a way:( Nodody wanted them, even offered to dress them

kowloon

Hunting for food? These days we have Tescos, meat comes from meat factories, no animals are involved in the process, right?

pullandbang

kowloon wrote: »

no animals are involved in the process, right?

There are some who would have us believe that!

The way things are going today I can see us getting back to the old ways. Rabbit stew is going to become popular again.

homerhop

I reckon if you asked some of the older generation who did a bit of poaching, they might be able to tell you a thing or 2 on old methods of hunting.

pullandbang

homerhop wrote: »

I reckon if you asked some of the older generation who did a bit of poaching, they might be able to tell you a thing or 2 on old methods of hunting.

Technically both my shooting buddy and myself do a bit of poaching in that we shoot certain lands that we are not allowed shoot.
The particular farm I'm talking about is owned by the same family of landed gentry going back yonks.
The difference today though is we brazen him out when we meet him whereas 30 years ago whem my mate was "shooting" it he'd have the guards set on him. Up to the early 70's you couldn't look over the ditch of these big landowners without landing in trouble. The poachers skills were a lot better than they are today. People couldn't afford cartridges so they made each shot count. The "gundog" usually a half Terrier, half Collie and half Jack Russell, was also highly skilled. He'd have the pheasant back to hand before he hit the ground.:)