a bit off topic but.......

[hw97k 36]

well the weathers still bad ,heavy drizzle and gusty winds.so i decied to leave the gun at home and take the border as per usual.i thought id go to one of my permissons and have a recce and see whats knocking about with the dog.one this permisson its a disuesd railway and on my stretch it runs for around 2 miles,its the mecca of rabbit warrens and over the past few months ive been in the process of cutting all the brambles down just leaving the heather up both sides of the embankment, now i can see the warren entrances and all the runs and have a clearer view .ive also built 3 or 4 natural hides at strategic points and must admit ive had some belting bags from this area.also on top of the embankments are leylandi and oak trees and its good for the woodies if i sit down in the bottom of the embakment shooting up in to the trees.the dog often sits with me and retreives the rabbits after ive shot them.today however hes happy just to bush and mark the holes and any rabbits that are feeding of give chase to .ive noticed though over the pasts few weeks theres more and more fox droppings and signs of rabbit fur scattered here and there.ive seen a few foxes in this area ,around 6 or 7 and have found 4 seperate dens further up the disused line but its not my thing ,and really the only thing that they disrupt on this permisson is the number of rabbits they take from me.oz the border has never failed to get some rabbits from here and after around 40 mins came up the middle of the railway sidings with what i thought was the first of a few of the rabbits he automatically gets from here.this time though he kept stopping and would violently shake his head from side to side as if to make sure it was dead.the closer he got i could see it wasnt a rabbit but a fox cub.it was around 2 to 3 months old and very dark nearly black in colour, i gave him the command to drop which he did ,praised him then sent him off again. i put the cub in my bag and after an hour or so re called oz ,had a brew and proceeded to leave the cub in the open for the crows or whatever came first.the rain eased a little so i sat under the leylandi with oz and was taking in the scenery when he shot up and sniffed the air ,i stood up slowly and looked over towards where i left the cub and stood over it was a fox ,it sniffed at the cub and turned it over with its nose a couple of times,i told oz to stay which he reluctantly did giving a small cry of disgust,the fox then picked up the dead cub and ran off down the other direction .we didnt see anything else after that usually see 60 or 70 rabbits in here but nothing at all .no wonder really a frantic border,and a couple of foxes.enjoyed all the same though ,ozs first fox cub today,but with what we saw today i dont think its his last.atb carl.

[ArchieHood 3,692]

Sounds like you have a nice little retreat there Carl,just make sure the Foxes don't disrupt your shooting.

[PIL 7]

That was a really good read happy hunting

Atb Steve

Edited April 8, 2012 by PIL

[ftm 3,357]

nice write up pal ive just got in from a similar morning out but took rifle [rapid 7] along and koda only saw one squirrel never got a shot off but the dog worked his socks off bushing etc and i get great satisfaction fromjust watching himand all the wild life around me- billy

[ArchieHood 3,692]

  On 08/04/2012 at 12:16, ftm said:

nice write up pal ive just got in from a similar morning out but took rifle [rapid 7] along and koda only saw one squirrel never got a shot off but the dog worked his socks off bushing etc and i get great satisfaction fromjust watching himand all the wild life around me- billy

 

I agree mate,I often take the dog knowing she will tell the whole world that I am about but you do get to see a lot more being flushed out,you also get the best of both worlds,the dog gets a good run and if your lucky maybe get a shot or two.

[kanny 21,129]

ive had a simlar thing happen when i had terriers a few years back. i was out for a mooch along a dissused railway when my bitch megan went to ground i quickly got a mark it was only shallow 18 inch or so. so i opened it up to two now dead cubs i got the dog removed the cubs and patched up the earth i walked up the track abit and digged a couple of feet hole and buried the cubs and thought no more of it until i passed the same way a couple of days later to find the cubs had been dug out of there grave and removed i can only presume it was the vixen claiming back her cubs.

 

kanny

Edited April 8, 2012 by kanny

[hw97k 36]

thanks for the replies lads ,ozs me mate and i take him every morning with and without the gun.if its a good day i return with the gun and have a proper do ,but funny thing is after a couple of hours out i seem to miss him being there.its good sometimes just watching youre hard work that you put into them come to fruition and the little grin that appears on your faceatb lads.

[roughcoat 8]

Nice read mate sound's like you have a tidy spot there and look after it as well

[Ratsmasher 36]

Just be careful with taking foxes with your dog, if your dog goes off on the scent of a fox and kills it theres nothing you can do and the law reflects that so for that cub you were fine, but if it can be proved that you set out to deliberately take the fox with your dog (and I do know that its not easy to prove) then you would fall foul of the law.

Sorry if ive put a bad note to your thread, but wanted to make sure that you knew.

Beside that it sounds like you got a cracking little permission over there and keep up the rabbit control

Atb Ratty

[hw97k 36]

  On 08/04/2012 at 19:54, Ratsmasher said:

Just be careful with taking foxes with your dog, if your dog goes off on the scent of a fox and kills it theres nothing you can do and the law reflects that so for that cub you were fine, but if it can be proved that you set out to deliberately take the fox with your dog (and I do know that its not easy to prove) then you would fall foul of the law.

Sorry if ive put a bad note to your thread, but wanted to make sure that you knew.

Beside that it sounds like you got a cracking little permission over there and keep up the rabbit control

Atb Ratty

didnt know mate ,foxes arent my thing ,just in the right place at the wrong time.thanks ill keep it in mind allthe same atb carl.

[The Duncan 802]

I'd grab a shotgun and some 'sg' carts and cull as many foxes as possible - good for conservation and good for your rabbit 'mine'.

[Ratsmasher 36]

  On 08/04/2012 at 21:14, hw97k said:

  On 08/04/2012 at 19:54, Ratsmasher said:

Just be careful with taking foxes with your dog, if your dog goes off on the scent of a fox and kills it theres nothing you can do and the law reflects that so for that cub you were fine, but if it can be proved that you set out to deliberately take the fox with your dog (and I do know that its not easy to prove) then you would fall foul of the law.

Sorry if ive put a bad note to your thread, but wanted to make sure that you knew.

Beside that it sounds like you got a cracking little permission over there and keep up the rabbit control

Atb Ratty

didnt know mate ,foxes arent my thing ,just in the right place at the wrong time.thanks ill keep it in mind allthe same atb carl.

  On 08/04/2012 at 23:27, The Duncan said:

I'd grab a shotgun and some 'sg' carts and cull as many foxes as possible - good for conservation and good for your rabbit 'mine'.

Could even be a reason to get an FAC - lots of rabbits + fox numbers

atb

[hw97k 36]

the local gamekeeper baits them up sometimes and shoots them with his rifles.i keep out of his way cos on one occasion he took the local butcher with him and the butcher shot[ under darkness]i might add his own terrier.so i have the morning and afternoon ,and he shoots everything in sight at night .go out at night no feckin way.