pianoman 3,587 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Fed up with the rain and winds so far this summer, Andy (FR1968) has just landed a cracking dairy farm permission over near Leeds and he and Paul/theflashingblade have been reporting solid bags of rabbits into the double figures there so far. So, I took my TX200HC .177 and had a run over and a walk and a stalk with Andy tonight and see what the land of this new permission lies like. Beautiful undulating landscape of fields, meadows and woodland culminating in a river valley of about 70 acres It really looks like superbly managed and cared-for land and beautiful to behold....and it's running with rabbits. A zero-up in the shelter of a barn had me running pellet-on-pellet at 30-metres range and off we went into the drizzle and mud of early evening. It was remarkable to see so many white scuts flashing into undergrowth in such bad weather. But, a rabbit has to eat whatever the weather and a promising evening looked likely. I set myself down into prone position, (my preferred shooting position) on the grassy bank on a farm track bounded by steep banked wood and hawthorn to my left and hedgerow to right. After half an hour in drizzle and getting a bit fed up, getting soaked, I saw a rabbit dart out and cross the track about 40 metres ahead. I kept on the scope watching the spot where it appeared and re-estimated the range. My scope for this evening's shoot is a time-honoured Bushnell Scopechief 4-14x50 with a 30/30 reticule and its rangefinding is absolutely on the mark. And on this .177 TX200HC it is lethally, perfectly in tune with this rifle. The rabbit reappeared in about 20 minutes and stopped on the opposite bank...THWACK! Down it went with a 45-metre head shot fast and clean. A second rabbit, flushed by the sound of my shot darted out and stopped in a startled stare as I made a hasty reload. Refocusing the paralax ring gave me a range of 65 metres, no wind but, rainwater pooling into the objective lens. Worth a shot though! And down went No2. Shot clean behind the left eye. I'm now ringing wet, cold and my leather shooting glove is like a soggy bag of skin! So. I set off for a stalk back towards the car and some of that promising ground we passed along. Despite the poor light fading to dusk, this scope is bloody lovely in such poor light and weather condition and three rabbits from standing shots fell to the TX200HC. This is where good money spent on a top scope on a top rifle pays off. There is no fogging problem with humidity or temperature changes in the wet with lenses this good. This 4-14x50 Scopechief shrugs off the worst of the weather and provides me with a crystal clear sightpicture till there is hardly a jot of daylight left to work with. God knows why Bushnell no longer make this range of scopes??!! Amazingly well-matched for Air Arms spring rifles. My final bag was six decent rabbits in about three hours of shooting time when I caught up with Andy and his HW90 gasram .20 cal. rifle. He'd clobbered a solid bag of 8 bunnies Including a cracking shot on a three-quarter buck at 65 paces in thick grass pasture. In conclusion a great night's bit of sporting shooting despite the bloody awful "Drought" falling mostly throughout! (HOSEPIPE BANS? MY FECKIN' BOOTY!) So looks like this is going to be a great rabbit shooting ground when the warm summer evenings are finally with us. Big thanks to Andy for landing such a cracking permission wet or dry, and giving me a share of his good fortune. Cheers pal! Simon. Pianoman. 3 Quote Link to post
StevoSmith 147 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Excellent write up Simon sounds like you and Andy had a cracker even though it was pisisting it down lol......Some nice long range shots also guys...top shooting Quote Link to post
Daz 7 563 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 (edited) Lovely write up Simon aka Spring Rifle Jedi Master. Top shooting by Yourself and Andy, Next time though Good sir take a camera so we can feast our eyes on this lovely Permission and look in envy at the lovely Haul of Mr Bugs. atvb Daz 7. Edited June 16, 2012 by Daz 7 1 Quote Link to post
Mawders 595 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Really good write up mate, that permission sounds like heaven. 1 Quote Link to post
Elliott 436 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Nice write up and impressive shots with springers, I doubt I could match that with my precharged Quote Link to post
kanny 20,597 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Nice style of shooting there bud Quote Link to post
andyfr1968 772 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I'm glad you enjoyed it Simon, it was really good to have you over. It was a shame the weather was a bit pants but I don't mind a bit of rain whilst shooting, it always seems to put a slightly different slant on things somehow. Hopefully next time the sun will be kind to you!! Anytime you want to come over, you know where I am Take it easy, mate. Quote Link to post
deano26 16 Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Sounds like you all had an excellent time out on a good permission. nice write up simon. How are you keeping mate? ive not been online for a while Regards Dean 1 Quote Link to post
milegajo 595 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 A .177 tx in the right hands is bound to draw blood! Quote Link to post
hutch6 550 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 It was a shame the weather was a bit pants but I don't mind a bit of rain whilst shooting, it always seems to put a slightly different slant on things somehow. Takes me back to the rice fields of Nam with Charlie's hot breath hanging in the air making the rain feel like icey daggers that paved the way on the Ho Chi Minh trail. 1 Quote Link to post
AR177 588 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Great write up simon, I would hate to be a rabbit at any range with you around! Great shooting with those spring contraptions! ATB Adam Quote Link to post
porkycrook 466 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Great write-up and as we have come to expect from you, cracking shooting big guy. Quote Link to post
andyfr1968 772 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 It was a shame the weather was a bit pants but I don't mind a bit of rain whilst shooting, it always seems to put a slightly different slant on things somehow. Takes me back to the rice fields of Nam with Charlie's hot breath hanging in the air making the rain feel like icey daggers that paved the way on the Ho Chi Minh trail. I've been picking bamboo out of my back ever since Quote Link to post
hotshot2me 31 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Sounds like a good time was had by all, giving those Bunnies hell despite the inclement weather:Dave Quote Link to post
gurtwurz 792 Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 rabbits and rain, a damn fine combination... glad you had a good time lads, and its really nice to read one of your write ups simon after what seems like ages cheers, wurz Quote Link to post
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