Wet Morning On The Does

[sussex 5,802]

I needed to make a start on some does so rain or no rain I was going out .Up at 5am & a quick look out confirmed the worst , it was chucking down but I had every thing loaded already so a quick coffee & into some wet weather gear I was on my way .The farm is only 15 min away so I was there in plenty of time for first light ,sitting in the motor with the rain lashing down I must confess the thought did cross my mind to turn around & head for home but as the light began to appear the rain eased slightly so making sure all the optics were covered out came the quad & of I went .

 

I always do the fields behind the offices first so the girls (& some of the boys ) are not upset by seeing the deer shot , stopping a couple of hundred yards away I stalked to the offices which originally was an old granary , peering round the side of the building to the field at the back I could make out the dark shapes of dozens of fallow , getting down as flat as I could I crawled forward to get a decent position on the decking that goes round the building on this side.The bipod open I waited for the light to give me a true picture ,there were perhaps 90 deer spread out across 8 acres , more or less all grazing in one direction , I glassed up the herd & selected an old long faced doe almost in the middle , partly because she was old & partly because I fancied in the ensuing panic another one might leave its self on .Settled on my plan the covers came of the scope , I put the IR on the target & squeezed , at no more than 60 metre she died on her feet , the deer split in every which way some exiting the field , some racing to one end , some to the other but crucially 8 or 9 then decided they didn't like the end they choose & trotted back stopping briefly to look at the doe laying down , another squeeze of the trigger got the same result but this time every thing exited the field ..Getting up from the deck I realised how wet I was as I went over to move the deer to the edge of the field for removal , no need to check they were dead as it was self evident .

 

Loaded on the quad I was taking them round to were I gralloch when the phone vibrated , it was the owner saying he forgot to tell me they had people on the estate later to erect some sort of canopy for an event this weekend , my day had been cut short , with only an hour or so before they arrived I decided to drop the deer of & check the valley .

 

There is a lot of leaf & cover still up but I could see several small groups of deer in the scrub , working my way down & along , the cover was a big help As well as a hindrance ,I watched a small group come up from my right , across the track & start to feed on the plentiful supply of acorns , another doe selected it was covers off but just as I was going to fire a very small pricket walked into the field of vision , not much bigger than a buck fawn his time on the acorns was short lived ,he fell to a 6.5 from about 90 yds of the sticks .Checked & bleed I started back for the quad , realising it had stopped raining , not that it made any difference I was wet through anyway .

 

On the way back I noticed about a dozen or more deer bolting through the wood , 40 yds to my right & running parallel to me , spooked no doubt by the quad , I slowed down but there was no chance they were stopping to offer a shot , so I turned left on the track to pick up the pricket .As I got within a couple of hundred yds a yearling doe was working her way through the scrub she payed no attention to me as I rested the rifle on my new rifle rest on the quad , & waited to see if their was an opportunity for a shot .Three or four minutes later , head & neck obscured by a tree the 6.5 hit her middle heart , she jumped back & up , spun a couple of times before crashing into the undergrowth .....She was loaded on , down to pick up the pricket & we headed back to join the other two deer that were waiting to be cleaned out ..The rain started just as I started to gralloch & continued long after I was home , the deer were washed tagged & on the hook in the chiller & I was taking a hot shower not desperately sorry the day was cut short .Out again Thursday & Friday ..

 

[hutchey 147]

Good write up Rich

[seprim 32]

Great read Rich ! and well done on the Does

Andrew

[stevie67 42]

I needed to make a start on some does so rain or no rain I was going out .Up at 5am & a quick look out confirmed the worst , it was chucking down but I had every thing loaded already so a quick coffee & into some wet weather gear I was on my way .The farm is only 15 min away so I was there in plenty of time for first light ,sitting in the motor with the rain lashing down I must confess the thought did cross my mind to turn around & head for home but as the light began to appear the rain eased slightly so making sure all the optics were covered out came the quad & of I went .

 

I always do the fields behind the offices first so the girls (& some of the boys ) are not upset by seeing the deer shot , stopping a couple of hundred yards away I stalked to the offices which originally was an old granary , peering round the side of the building to the field at the back I could make out the dark shapes of dozens of fallow , getting down as flat as I could I crawled forward to get a decent position on the decking that goes round the building on this side.The bipod open I waited for the light to give me a true picture ,there were perhaps 90 deer spread out across 8 acres , more or less all grazing in one direction , I glassed up the herd & selected an old long faced doe almost in the middle , partly because she was old & partly because I fancied in the ensuing panic another one might leave its self on .Settled on my plan the covers came of the scope , I put the IR on the target & squeezed , at no more than 60 metre she died on her feet , the deer split in every which way some exiting the field , some racing to one end , some to the other but crucially 8 or 9 then decided they didn't like the end they choose & trotted back stopping briefly to look at the doe laying down , another squeeze of the trigger got the same result but this time every thing exited the field ..Getting up from the deck I realised how wet I was as I went over to move the deer to the edge of the field for removal , no need to check they were dead as it was self evident .

 

Loaded on the quad I was taking them round to were I gralloch when the phone vibrated , it was the owner saying he forgot to tell me they had people on the estate later to erect some sort of canopy for an event this weekend , my day had been cut short , with only an hour or so before they arrived I decided to drop the deer of & check the valley .

 

There is a lot of leaf & cover still up but I could see several small groups of deer in the scrub , working my way down & along , the cover was a big help As well as a hindrance ,I watched a small group come up from my right , across the track & start to feed on the plentiful supply of acorns , another doe selected it was covers off but just as I was going to fire a very small pricket walked into the field of vision , not much bigger than a buck fawn his time on the acorns was short lived ,he fell to a 6.5 from about 90 yds of the sticks .Checked & bleed I started back for the quad , realising it had stopped raining , not that it made any difference I was wet through anyway .

 

On the way back I noticed about a dozen or more deer bolting through the wood , 40 yds to my right & running parallel to me , spooked no doubt by the quad , I slowed down but there was no chance they were stopping to offer a shot , so I turned left on the track to pick up the pricket .As I got within a couple of hundred yds a yearling doe was working her way through the scrub she payed no attention to me as I rested the rifle on my new rifle rest on the quad , & waited to see if their was an opportunity for a shot .Three or four minutes later , head & neck obscured by a tree the 6.5 hit her middle heart , she jumped back & up , spun a couple of times before crashing into the undergrowth .....She was loaded on , down to pick up the pricket & we headed back to join the other two deer that were waiting to be cleaned out ..The rain started just as I started to gralloch & continued long after I was home , the deer were washed tagged & on the hook in the chiller & I was taking a hot shower not desperately sorry the day was cut short .Out again Thursday & Friday ..

 

poor pricket .JPG

good read sussex, worth heading out in the rain.