When tracking wounded big game with the special dogs for this purpose (like the Hannoverian Bloodhound or the Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound) you need a short, absolutely sure and fast handling rifle. Because of this, the standard are modified Mauser 98, now often in use are the Blaser R93, Mauser 03 and Sauer S202 in modified variations.
I used and still use a modified 98, but I used also also a R93 - Nachsuche and a Sauer S 202 Hardwood TT.
Now, since 1,5 year, I use a highly modified Sako 85 Stainless with laminated stock in 8x57IS and tomorrow I`ll get the same rifle in 9,3x62. Barrellength is 48cm, open sigths are mounted with nitrated barrel bands on the barrel. I use the open bladed Krieghoff sigth - in my opinion the best sight for this purpose.
Because I often was wondering why the sling swivels on the Blaser and the Sauer are full of rust, I use on the Sako Titanium sling swivels and there will be never a rust problem.
Not the optimum at the Sako is the standard safety - I`m looking for a better thing!

I use what ever rifle I wounded it with.

blaser pro TRACKING or the Merkel whatever they call it are optimal for these purposes.

Although I am not a nachsuche specialist, I would think it would be hard to beat the safety aspects of the R93. Stumbling through the brush with one in the chamber, as long as it's not cocked, would seem to be a great benefit. Trusting a chambered round in a standard bolt and relying on the mechanical safety has never appealed to me. Is the rust issue on the studs or on the swivel, I keep mine oiled, but I know over time if you don't keep at it they rust. Can you use those Sako Titanium Swivels on the R93 and viola, you've found the perfect rig

I feel for you, I've only been on a few nachsuche's, they can get llllooonnnnngggg, especially if there are hills to cover, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

I bought a GWP so dont need to worry about how I will finish off a wounded Deer it will be dead by the time the dog has finished playing with it.

short barreled 12 bore and horse along with swisshound for the optimum results.

if not just short barreled 12 bore and the dog

best

peter

quote:

short barreled 12 bore and horse along with swisshound for the optimum results.

if not just short barreled 12 bore and the dog

best

12 for big game?

When I go in search of wounded bears, I always prefer 12 bore rather than my rifle. For short distances every hunter shoot faster with 12 bore than with a rifle.

I prefer plain open sights chasing roadaccident moose. Any decent headlamp will make the sights clearly visible if its dark.

I use a Highwall with a 20" barrel and its very handy, my only fear is that it looks to easy to get snow and ice into the mechanism. Halfcock is preferable to boltaction safeties, luckily I use a dog as well and when she catches up and stops the moose I hear her bark, so I dont really need to carry the gun loaded that much.

While hunting in Europe ,precisely in dense forests of POLAND near the frontier with germany i used a DUMOULIN 9,3 very short and handy that my friend DRDON HEATH give me.But here in Argentina ,i use my MARLIN GUIDE GUN 4570 very short in dense brush.Sometimes i use a mossberg 590 .or my short 458winch.depends if im tracking boars ,bufalos or pumas.juan pablo pozzi md.

I have too make my responce in the form of a question because it seems to me that some of the best desings for short range fast shooting on wounded or driven big game are German made.

Any Kipplauf system will be short. I think the Merkel light weight 9.3x74 double rifle with it's 22 inch barrels would be almost perfect.

With the others who have mentioned a 12 bore Another kipplauf system gun that is both as fast as a 12 or 20 and is a rifle would be the Merkel drilling. The barrels on the last one I handeled were only I think 60 cm.
I handeled one of these the last time I hunted in the thick woods of Florida last november and it felt perfect for the short fast shooting we have there.

One other thing that comes to mind for me is that I have seen several rifles in the German hunting catalogs like Waffen Frankonia selling a variation of a druckjaged stutzen. Again it seems to me if I were shopping for this kind of a rifle or gun Germany is a good place to look. That's why my question is whats wrong with any of these?

quote:

Originally posted by Goldeneye:

quote:

short barreled 12 bore and horse along with swisshound for the optimum results.

if not just short barreled 12 bore and the dog

best

12 for big game?

rifled 12 bores or slug guns makes most things very dead when up close and personal

best

peter

What will you do with your shotgun, when the dog has stopped the stag in open country where it is impossible to go nearer than 100m?

Safety: I´m sure that the safety of a Mauser 98 is as safe as the handcocker of the R93!

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
I use what ever rifle I wounded it with.

Perhaps you have not understood right! It is very rare, that a prof. tracker ( in german Schweisshundführer) is tracking the game, he has wounded himself! In most cases you are doing it for other hunters and, if you are leading a dog - in this case a Schweisshund - you need a special rifle for this purpose!
It is not a good thing to follow the dog with a scoped sniper rifle!

quote:

Because I often was wondering why the sling swivels on the Blaser and the Sauer are full of rust, I use on the Sako Titanium sling swivels and there will be never a rust problem.

Titanium is a great solution.

Here another.

The first thing I do w/any Blaser is remove the Swivel Sling Studs and bin them.

Install Uncle Mike's Studs (which fit the threads, either wooden or metal, anyway).

W/Euro swivels on shotguns I bore them out to fit the Uncle Mike's, too.

Give 'em a spray w/whatever lube is on hand.

Now all my slings fit all my rifles & shotguns; leather & synthetic and they're not rusting, either.

quote:

What will you do with your shotgun, when the dog has stopped the stag in open country where it is impossible to go nearer than 100m?

Slink back in to the Wood ..... Cellphone.

"Fire Mission ..... Enemy in the Open ..... Add 100 ..... Fire For Effect ..... Out!"


Rumage through my Rucksack for the Hirsch Gulash Recipe.

well, I would not go after a mouse, red stag or fallow with a 12 gauge but's that's just me..

and of course because it wouldn't be legal in sweden.

Break bone if you have something at close range that can trample, gore, bite or claw you!

Double gun SXS like the Pedersolli Kodiak 45/70 or better yet the Sabatti Basic Double Rifle. Use modern bullets over 400 grains. Here in the states you can get one from Cabela's for $3k in 45-70 or 9.3 x 74R.




with bear and boar it is nice when the shoulders ger broke in heavy brush so they cannot come forward. Our blk bears and boars are smaller than yours in Europe, but these guns should do fine...

quote:

Originally posted by Monastery-Forester:
What will you do with your shotgun, when the dog has stopped the stag in open country where it is impossible to go nearer than 100m?

Safety: I´m sure that the safety of a Mauser 98 is as safe as the handcocker of the R93!

monastry-forester

as i wrote i use rifled 12 bores, and my SxS double rifle gives a 4-6" spread with 6 shots at 100 meters, so with your example, i will proberly aim and squese the trigger, bringing the stag down on the spot.

best

peter

P.S i have a smooth bore 12 gauge that gives me about the same spread with brenneke slugs at 100 meters, it is just a matter of knowing what you shoot, and shoot it enough to know what it will do and what it wont do.

quote:

Originally posted by Goldeneye:
well, I would not go after a mouse, red stag or fallow with a 12 gauge but's that's just me..

and of course because it wouldn't be legal in sweden.

goldeneye

that is not quite right. these babys at 2000 fps is quite legal as far as i remember

peter: sorry I was referring to a 12 gauge shotgun. shotguns can be used for boar but not the ones I mentioned.

I prefer a good bolt action like all the other prof. trackers!

since i was a swisshoundfuhrer for quite a few years, i were considered a prof. and most of us used a SxS or a O/U rifle if we could afford it, but hey some even used r-93 if they felt like it, just no comparison for the 2 fast shots you get from a double, especially in the thick stuff.

best

peter

Only some weeks ago, I met some danish "Schweisshundführer" (Ole Knudsen, Carsten Pedersen) here in my area, they use bolt rifles (R93, Rem 788)!

quote:

Rem 788

A Dane who knows what a great rifle is!

IIRC the largest cartridge chambered in a Remington 788 was .308 Winchester?

Why not? I used the .308 in a R93 and a Sauer Hardwood fore more than 10years and I finished some hundred Boars and red deers without problems with it!

peterdk, that bullet looks quite nice. Do you have any ballistics for it?

To Monasteryforester and other.

Peter doesn't know anything about tracking wounded game in Denmark. Peter has never been a authorized tracker here in Denmark. His talk about using horse for tracking is hogwash. Totaly stupid, and tells a lot about Peters myths.

I'm sorry about Peter, and he giving nonsense about dogwork and tracking here in Denmark. All trackers here use boltaction rifles.

It is illegal to use slugs in smoothbore barrels here in DK.

"golden eye"

If you go after wounded game in Sweden you dont have to follow the ordinary rules about calibers. U can use a shotgun for moose or other but its better to use a rifle in most cases.

quote:

Originally posted by Monastery-Forester:
Not the optimum at the Sako is the standard safety - I`m looking for a better thing!

There used to be an aftermarket shotgun style safety for the Sako 75. I would not be surprised if it is now also available for the 85. Also, Browning A-Bolts and X-Bolts have shotgun style safeties. Took me years to get used to the mod 70-style, if I only could find a shotgun style for that...

The Blaser Tracker was designed for the dog handler. The sling swivels are positioned on the end of the barrel and on the side of the stock so the rifle hangs in front across the body, exactly like SWAT teams do with their AR's...

I have a Tracker stock, the system works.

Also because of the way a Blaser R 93 operates, ie the cocking mechanism, there is no chance that the safety can be knocked off in heavy brush, or by the actions of the dog or dog.

quote:

Originally posted by JTK:
To Monasteryforester and other.

Peter doesn't know anything about tracking wounded game in Denmark. Peter has never been a authorized tracker here in Denmark. His talk about using horse for tracking is hogwash. Totaly stupid, and tells a lot about Peters myths.

I'm sorry about Peter, and he giving nonsense about dogwork and tracking here in Denmark. All trackers here use boltaction rifles.

It is illegal to use slugs in smoothbore barrels here in DK.

Do you kow which year they became illegal to use?.
I have never used them anyway back when we could buy them.
Personally I don`t see why anybody would need a special gun for a follow-up of wounded animals, with the exception of a revolver, so both hands are free...one to keep tight on the dog leash, and the other hand to remove limbs from your face.