Squirrel Hunting With Dogs & Three Great .410 Bore Shotguns

A Bad Day Of Squirrel Hunting Is Still Better Than A Good Day At Work, Plus Three .410 Shotguns Ready To Hunt

I hadn’t been squirrel hunting in 25 years; I’d never participated in a squirrel derby, either. But I was intrigued by the idea of a squirrel hunting derby with dogs. There’s a guy who lives near me who hunts squirrels with dogs, so I was anticipating a pack of loud, running dogs with a ton of excitement.

Instead, what I got was something far better: an old timer’s inside scoop on squirrel dog training, the anticipation from a dog barking up a tree, and a history lesson about eminent domain and the land on which I was hunting.

A Primer On Squirrel Dogging With Donald

Donald was in his late 70s, a retired trade school teacher who had moved to Kentucky from Arkansas for work. His dog Robin, a terrier mix, was seven years old and nearing retirement age. You wouldn’t have known it, though, based on her trembling excitement to get started and boundless energy once in the woods.

Teamed up with friend Evan Ogden, we joined Donald and Robin in the Kentucky woods of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area near Kentucky Lake. That’s a mouthful, so it’s known locally just as LBL. It’s also huge, spanning more than 170,000 acres. Nonetheless, Donald has hunted almost all of it over the past 40 years.

It’s a good thing Donald knew where we were because Evan and I were almost instantly lost and Robin was roaming far out in front of us. The smartwatch on Donald’s wrist linked up with the GPS tracker on Robin’s collar, ensuring that he knew exactly how far away she was and in what direction.

.410 Bore O/U Shotguns & Eminent Domain Blues

Evan and I were armed with Turkey Fowl over-under shotguns from American Tactical Inc. and .410 bore game load shells from Federal. The idea of hunting squirrels with something other than a rimfire rifle seemed odd to me, but I would soon see why it made perfect sense.

Robin ran large circles around us as we trekked deeper into the woods. Despite being 100 yards or more from us at times, she always came right back to him when he called. She had been very well trained, which in her youth involved Donald getting a squirrel or two first and placing it out in the woods in a cage for her to find. A quick learner, it wasn’t long before she was out doing the hunting herself.

As Robin made her rounds and we listened for her to bark from a tree, Donald told us all about LBL and the effects of eminent domain. (The organizer told us he’d give $20 if one of the locals didn’t bring it up with a hint of disgust in his voice. He didn’t have to make good and knew that he wouldn’t.)

When the Tennessee Valley Authority came through, approximately 800 families were forcibly removed from their homes and their land to create LBL. Many of them had been there for generations and the idea of having to leave was heartbreaking.

Some of the property that was taken was flooded and the remains are underwater; entire towns disappeared that way. More obvious to us in the woods were the random patches of flowers, parts of brick foundations, and other rusted-out remnants of household items. If you knew what to look for and what you were looking at, it became obvious that these overgrown areas stood as silent reminders of what happens when the government has big plans that don’t involve you.

The result of eminent domain remains forever, both in the lives of the displaced and the people who enjoy the fruits of the government’s labor years later. In that sense, it made this hunting trip a little sad; knowing that others lost so much for me to enjoy a day chasing squirrels was bittersweet, and I found my mind drifting as we walked.

On With The Hunt

Before long, Robin’s barking snapped me back to the present. Between Donald’s smartwatch and three sets of ears, we headed her way. As we walked, Donald mentioned that mid-September isn’t the best time of year for this because there are still a lot of leaves on the trees, but he had a plan.

Robin stood there, staring up into the tree and barking like mad. One or more squirrels were up there and she knew it. Looking up, none of us could see exactly where our furry quarry was hiding. That’s where the ATI Turkey Fowl showed its advantage. We three took turns aiming up into the target tree and fired at large groups of leaves and branches. If we hit our mark, great. If not, we were at least removing some of the visual obstruction and encouraging the squirrel to run away from the blast and give away their location.

After a handful of .410 blasts, Donald decided that the squirrel must have moved on to another tree and we simply missed seeing it. He called Robin off and sent her back out in a circle in search of more squirrels.

Two more times, we followed her barking to more trees. One time, we caught a glimpse of a furry squirrel tail bounding from one branch to another. Alas, the thick canopy of leaves made it hard to pinpoint exactly where it had been and where it was going. Despite our best efforts to blast off leaves and get the squirrels to move, we never did manage to bag one.

At the end of the day, two teams tied for first place with three squirrels each. The other three teams all tied for last place. If the group of 10 had been counting on everyone’s success for lunch that day, it would have been a serious letdown.

Despite the overall dismal performance as a group, I’m confident to say that all of the blame belongs to us as hunters and our inability to see the squirrels through the leaves. Robin performed her job spectacularly. To say that she is a pro at finding squirrels would be an understatement. Robin, whose full name is Remis Little Robin, placed in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 National Kennel Club Squirrel Dog of the Year competition. She also took home the title of Grand Champion Class & World Champion at the 2022 United Kennel Club Feist Squirrel Dog World Show.

Versatile .410 Hunting Shotguns

The ATI Turkey Fowl shotguns also proved their worth. I’d be lying if I said that the three of us had initial confidence in the gun’s ability to reach up into the canopy and get the job done with such a small bore. We were all quite surprised and pleased to see that both barrels sent the Federal .410 shot no less than 50 yards into the air, bringing down leaves and branches aplenty.

As a hunting shotgun, it’s quite versatile. Sporting a matte black receiver and matching 22-inch barrels, the forend and stock are covered in Mossy Oak Bottomland camouflage. The fiber optic front sight made it very easy to get a solid sight picture upon shouldering the gun, but you could also attach a red dot by mounting a Weaver rail first. Since the receiver is made of aluminum, the whole gun weighs just five pounds, making it incredibly easy to carry through the woods for an all-day hunt.

Aside from being well suited to small game hunting, you could also very easily take this gun turkey hunting—as the model name implies. When combined with the Turkey Fowl’s 3-inch chamber, advancements in TSS shotshell technology have made .410 shotguns like this one a viable option for the spring hunting season. And, since the gun has extended removable chokes, you can quickly and easily switch them out to suit your specific needs.

Looking back on the experience, I’m really glad I had the opportunity to hunt over Robin with Donald. I’m grateful that he took the time out of his day to take two newbies into the field so that we might benefit from two seasoned pros. Aside from the joy of the actual hunt, I also had a great time learning a lot about the history of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area—and more than I ever thought possible about squirrel dogs.

Other Shotgun Options

If an over-under isn’t your ideal setup for a .410 shotgun, fret not. There are plenty of other options on the market. 

Rossi’s Poly Tuffy Turkey

Rossi’s Poly Tuffy Turkey is a single-barrel shotgun with a stripped-down design that offers a pistol grip thumbhole stock with a built-in shell carrier on both sides of the stock to quickly reload the gun’s single barrel. Sporting a 3-inch chamber, 26-inch barrels, and a black-and-green color scheme, the Poly Tuffy Turkey tips the scales at just over 3.5 pounds.

Mossberg 500 Turkey

If having just one or two shots at your disposal isn’t your style, look no further than the Mossberg 500 Turkey. Part of the brand’s iconic 500 family of shotguns, this .410 version has a capacity of 5+1 and can cycle through them just as quickly as you can pump the action. The entire gun is covered in Mossy Oak Greenleaf camo and it even comes with a Holosun HS407K red dot that’s been factory-mounted to the receiver. Of course, you can also remove it and use the gun’s fiber optic front sight. With a 20-inch barrel, the 500 Turkey weighs 6.25 pounds.