Lamping The Night Away January 2010

[JohnGalway 1,043]

We've had a pretty cold spell going on here out West, much like the rest of Ireland. I'm in a bit of a contradiction here, thankfully in the line of farming and general getting around living right next to the Atlantic we're still pretty warm so we've not been hit by the worst of the snow and icy roads. The contradiction is that I'd have given someone else's right leg for a few inches of proper dusty snow, imagine all those tracks!

 

Tonight I'm out on a solo run, no particular reason other than I wanted to get out. Since before Christmas I wanted to go to a valley that's always been a productive spot. What with the weather I wasn't sure what the narrow steep mountain road was going to be like and until now had decided against going there. But, we've had a lot of dry weather so I thought hoped there wouldn't be ice on the road, otherwise I'd be in for a hell of a long walk. Extra socks packed in case I needed them over the muckboots.

 

I made my way to the beginning of the valley. Being in two minds whether to drive up to the top as I wanted to or go half way, call it a good job and mess about on foot from there, I went for broke. To my great surprise, there was little to no ice on the road whatsoever. This isn't the nicest place to go off the road, one side there's a nice drop most of the way up and rocks a plenty to run into.

 

Got out, geared up and set off up past the shed and out into the cold of the night. Bloody freezing up here, and there's a pretty decent "lazy" wind as Sprags would describe it, in that it'd go through you rather than around you! I think my 507 layers put up a decent fight, Michelin man has nothing on me tonight!

 

In the middle of what best could be described as a "rabbit" farm, I picked a spot that had a decent line of sight in most directions. I tried a vixen call first, let that run for a few minutes then knocked it off for a while to scan about. I expected a fox to show up pretty quickly but was left disappointed. After some time I tried the rabbit in distress call, and again waited for no reward. 45 minutes to an hour had passed, standing in one spot I was losing the feeling in my left hand (guess which glove I'd left behind), time for a walk to a new spot down near the river.

 

Passed the remains of the last fox I'd shotgunned, and made my way down to where Niall had shot the fox across the river. Again, a hill with decent views. It's probably popped up in someone's mind, why's he on hills when the moon is full? Fair question, I'm enclosed by some pretty steep mountains on three sides, the moon isn't getting in here for a while yet!

 

The rabbit in distress isn't having much luck tonight, I thought I'd see more foxes with this hard weather I'd imagined they'd be pretty hungry tonight. Maybe these bunnies aren't the easy meal I thought. Another half hour passes and no sign of an eye, time for a vixen call, then move on to greener pastures if that doesn't yield the desired result. I've not had the call on long when a fox appears, where, behind me! He's moving up along a small stream which has hidden him from view. If he's not already winded me he's come pretty close to it, but doesn't seem either bothered by me or interested in the vixen gagging for it. A gay vegan fox??

 

First time I see him he's maybe yards away, moving up and away from me slowly but steadily. I've to move a few yards to get a prone spot for the rifle. By the time I'm down and have the lamp clipped on he's at 110 yards mooching just behind some trees. Waiting for a gap I seize my chance and put a Vmax in his boiler room, down he goes into the withered bracken and out like a light. A nice dog fox in good condition, might have a go skinning this one, entry hole and exit hole both small so I'm not too bothered, probably end up with a bald crappy bit of tough leather anyway lol.

 

Edited January 4, 2010 by JohnGalway

[Jamie93 57]

Great post mate and souds like a good trip

Happy Hunting Jamie93

[hw100sniper 2]

Nice read John ,well done on the charlie

[the cheater 1]

Well done John,nice to see you were rewarded for venturing out

 

Only got 1 trip out over the festive period...not even a rabbit was daft enough to venture.Got over a foot of snow and freezing temperatures but seen a few sets of tracks and 1 of the farmers is going to bait for us tomorrow,so hopefully get at them before the weeks out.I might even use a normal scope in the snow..nah! prefer to cheat

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Well done John,nice to see you were rewarded for venturing out

 

Only got 1 trip out over the festive period...not even a rabbit was daft enough to venture.Got over a foot of snow and freezing temperatures but seen a few sets of tracks and 1 of the farmers is going to bait for us tomorrow,so hopefully get at them before the weeks out.I might even use a normal scope in the snow..nah! prefer to cheat

 

Howdy Stranger

 

Yeah, ye should have had a good dump of snow over your neck of the woods. Pretty cold here too but no snow once you're down off the hills. I don't reckon you know how to use a normal scope anymore There isn't enough buttons to fiddle with on one of them for you Off out tonight for a while, mate saw two last night and shot one with shottie, got the call to come over and shoot the other with the rifle but honestly couldn't be arsed last night.

[JohnGalway 1,043]

5th January

 

My mate John was out last night, he was at me to go as well but I'm suffering from a very fatal dose of man-flu, so I wasn't budging. Strangely the rain and sleet showers didn't encourage me at all. Tonight is a lot different, light breeze, bitterly cold, but dry, that'll do me. John shot a vixen last night, uncomfortably close to his hen house, so we were on the look out for the dog tonight.

 

We set up first in one of his neighbours fields, overlooking a small tight valley filled with gorse, stone walls and other rubbish to get in the way. Last night's pair of foxes had come in this way. Tonight's fox was of a different mind. I first spotted him approaching from the sea side of us, about 300 yards away. Due to the crunchy frozen ground we decided against moving, hoping instead that he'd cross the road up towards us. He did come in to around 150 yards, I wouldn't take the shot, it would have meant shooting above a public road and quite close to a house, that's not on for a fox.

 

He never did appear above the road for us. So we moved back across Johns place, into the next neighbours field and up onto a high flat rock. We had a false alarm in some more gorse farther over, blink of an eye for a half second, I suspect it was a cat. Tried a couple of calls but nothing was doing.

 

We hatched a new plan. John would move in a wide circle off out to our right, down across the road and do a sweep of the fields between the road and sea with the shottie. I was staying put on the high rock to mostly freeze my arse off. The hope was he'd flush the fox up towards me, as he didn't think he could get close with the crunchy ground, even with the noise of the sea there wasn't enough wind to hide footfalls from a fox.

 

Off he went taking his time to avoid slipping on the deadly ice covered sheets of rock we're blessed with. John had completed about half the circle when he flashed the spotlight at me, then my phone rang. "Fox, no more than 100 yards in front of me, can't get to him", "OK, I'm on my way".

 

I made a beeline for where John was, standing on a rock the wrong side of a wall, topped off by a wire fence. I had a fairly good route planned down, except for unplanned six foot drop the wrong side of a fuchsia hedge, reflexes of a cat I tell ye, of a cat! Skated my way over the road, with the fear of God sunk into me I safely reached the grassy margin on the far side. Over the gate and "Crunch, crunch,crunch,squelsh (that bit's not frozen)" my way down to John.

 

There's our fox, still mooching around in the same field as we seen him in 90 minutes ago. John's been watching him while I was on the way. He's been jumping and pouncing and following woodcock about - which, much to the foxes disgust have been risen by an evil minded git with a lamp.

 

"I was going to try for him myself", John says, "But, I can't get over that wire gap, I know it'll make noise", "Can you get him from here?". I can't lay prone. All I have is two inches of the pointy end of a stake tacked onto sheep net wire on top of the wall. Lovely, just lovely, I'm such a fan of shooting this way...

 

I get the fox in my scope, getting the shakes out of the way early I've steadied on him just in time to see my lovely fox vanish behind a gorse bush. I thought he was going to head over the wall in that bush and away. But no! He circles back out of that bush. I follow him, he stops briefly on top of a rock in front of a hillock, my crosshairs comes up to meet him BANG!

 

"Well, he's still there anyway" comes the laughing from beside me.

 

Lovely dog fox, 106 yards, in great condition. Think the new Panasonic Lumix I bought takes a half decent picture.

 

[the cheater 1]

He was a fat litle bugger..till you killed him,evil man Hopefully it,s the mate of the vixen John got the previous night.

My turn tomorrow hopefully.

Good shooting by the way,had to use the same type of rest myself on more than 1 occasion

[hw100sniper 2]

Nice read and going again buddy btw cracking looking rifle you got there

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Thanks lads. John didn't think it's the same fox as the other one he seen. But, I know that's a ruse to get me out another night cos he's looking at a spot half a mile away, and, it might just work too. Stock makes a complete tart of the rifle lol, does look good though

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Saturday 16th January

 

There isn't an awful lot to this story, the reason why will become apparent pretty quickly. My plan tonight was to head out on my own, a bit of peace and quiet (broken by extremely loud noises granted) does a body no harm, and nab a fox quick. I was thinking of heading to a different spot afterwards to try out my new EagleTac torch properly with the shotgun.

 

I pulled up at the farm gate and began walking to one of my preferred stands for calling. I thought to myself if I don't see a fox quickly tonight it's a bad omen. Well, I wasn't at my stand any longer than three minutes when two of the loveliest fox eyes you ever did see blinked at me on the first note of a rabbit distress call.

 

I clipped my Striker onto the scope and settled down on a rock to steady myself. This fox is over two hundred yards out, coming in no particular rush crossing me diagonally left to right. I would have expected him to go the opposite direction, because the wind was coming from the right heading left and going behind me.

 

I watched him in the scope for a time with the lamp on half power, I upped the juice a bit for the shot. I could have let him come in closer except there were two fence lines in front of me and as it was he was as close to the second one out as I'd like. There was no need to be shooting through fences with their associated risks so a light squeeze on the Jewell and over he fell.

 

Decent dog fox, 142 yards.

 

 

I was sitting down on the bog beside my fox taking the above mugshot, when I'd finished that I grabbed my lamp only to see an unusual kind of flash. I checked the terminals and most of the cable, so I changed the bulb, no light. When I got home I discovered the wire coming out the lamp side of the dimmer had pulled and frayed. Expensive fox.

[the cheater 1]

Nice picture there John,very artistic Good shooting again

 

More luck than i had on Saturday night.Cracking day on Friday on the Pheasants,started with 3 out of 3 including a left and right.Shot 10 Pheasant and 1 Woodcock.

Went to check the bait tree and there were Fox footings all around it.Headed up to the barn on Saturday evening to wait.Farmer came out too (he,d been baiting for a week for me)and we waited patiently from 7-45 till 10-20 without a sniff.Had tried a few calls and got the impression foxy had been and gone earlier.

Had to pick the missus up at midnight(out for her birthday) so said let,s call it a night.1 last check with the NV and here comes Charlie up the treee line towards the bait

Nv attached bolt closed and i,m on the window sill ready.I pick out foxy straight away and it,s very clear as there is still snow about.It stops behind a tree and looks straight at me.I have the x on it,s neck at about 70yards and i,m just about to squeeze the trigger when it moves off to it`s left,farmer gives a little squeak and the fox starts to trot towards us.It stops about 65yds away.This is where it all went wrong

I,m not that comfortable and i,ve not set the trigger(very heavy when not set)i start to squeeze and start to wonder when the bloody thing will fire.Next problem,i,ve held my breath for too long and don,t feel steady so i rush the shot a little and pull to the left seeing the bullet strike the snow and watch through the scope as the fox heads off to the right

 

Felt like a total newbie and won,t be able to get back for about 10days due to work and her Birthday commitments so Stewy is going to go...won,t hear the last of it if he shoots it

At least i now know what they look like.on the + side,got 2 invites at Fridays shoot to sort out foxes on other shoots with the NV...better not mention what happeneed on Sat eh?

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Stewy is going to go...won,t hear the last of it if he shoots it

 

Knew that cheating craic wasn't the be all and end all What's the tally now btw?

 

No harm in letting someone who knows what they're doing at the job I spose

 

Trail camera would be handy near that bait tree, give ye times and what's calling. Won't get out again until Wednesday night at the earliest, mind you I've splicing, dicing and soldering to do to get my lamp back in action.

[dafmla 1]

nice hunting