Rabbits With Esp....

[Daz39 962]

Took the lads up to my new perm last night. It is just over the road from my work perm and consists of 3 x 20 acre fields next to each other and a 4^th of around 10-15 acres to the back of those. The fields have main roads on 2 sides, a railway on the 3^rd and paddocks to the back. There is a farm house (not a working farm) and 6 cottages sat in the lane between the 3 joined fields and the back one. I have already been to introduce myself to the farmer and the 6 cottages and they are all very nice. Happy for me to shoot and park my car up. One of the guys has even said he’d swap a salmon for a couple of rabbits when he goes fishing next….result!

 

Got up for around 8 and zeroed the scopes at 27 yards. Mac and I had seen rabbits run into these fields from my other perm so knew there should be some at the top of field 1. As we walked into the field, Vislauk took the first field and Mac and I moved on to the others. Mac took the second and me the 3^rd. The wind was on my back, so I walked along the bottom of the field as close to the road as I could, up to the top and then down the hedge row where I expected the rabbits to be. Sure enough I saw one, tried to stalk it, but it ran through the hedge into Mac’s field. I noticed 100 yrds of hedgerow full of runs and burrows, but nothing else out for now.

 

I got back to the car before the other 2 so decided to look in the 4^th field. Right away I spotted some eyes so jumped the first gate and took a shot from the fence where the second gate is. I didn’t put enough windage on the shot and saw it flick past the rabbits nose, he was away. I jumped the second fence into the field proper and flicked on the lamp. Again, 2 sets of eyes over by the cottages. I made sure that I didn’t put the light in the gardens and walked so that my shots would be away from the property. I got to what I thought was 30 yards, went prone, no wind this time so right on the eye and pop, rabbit drops without a twitch. I paced it to 28 yards and as I picked him up saw 3 sets of eyes 50 yrds in front of me. I stalked over towards them but just as I was going prone they ran to the fence line. That put them a good 45-55 yrds away so I decided to leave them, go back to the car and send the lads in this field.

 

 

The rabbit looking very skinny as the world had been squeezed out of its arse.

 

 

Perfect shot, right through the eye, not a twitch out of this lad.

 

 

When I got back, Vislauk was there, he’d seen a couple but not bagged anything. I told him about the field and as we were chatting Mac turned up empty handed too, he had also seen quite a few but had no luck.

 

We went into the 4^th field, vislauk and I went down the right side, Mac the left. Vislauk was stalking and we saw 4 set of 2 rabbits but each was away before Vislauk had chance to take a shot. When we got to the bottom we saw Mac walking up from the left stalking a couple more rabbits. Sadly again, they hopped under a fence onto the railway embankment before he could shoot.

 

After a brew and a bite we went off again. Vislauk and I went back up the first field, checked the horse paddock where he saw a rabbit, he got to what look like 20 yrds from my pov, went prone but missed the rabbit, the pellet falling short. We then hopped the road over into my other perm and stalked another 10-12 rabbits. Everything was so skittish we didn’t get close enough to take shots or they were in wooded areas where the branches blocked any kind of clean shot. On the way back, we watched 5-6 rabbits running about playing and eating. When we were -100 yrds away, they stopped (so we stood still). We had the wind in our face, no movement, silent night, good cloud cover, no lamps and STILL the rabbits ran!! Really tough work. On getting back over the road, we spotted a big lad under the light of a street lamp. Vislauk again stalked this, but due to no cover and it being fully lit up, took a shot from prone from a good 40 yrds but again missed. When we checked his scope his shots were falling short and left which explained the misses.

 

We got back to the car and Mac had no luck either. He’d chased a few, missed a few but most were away with the slightest hint of a lamp.

 

I said these rabbits must have bloody extra sensory perception or something, Mac says, “nah, its fookin radar they’ve got!”.

 

So only one rabbit to show for the night. Though there was a treat in that. I’d visited the butcher and he said have you tried squeezing the rabbits to gut them? I was like nnnnooooooooo, slice, flick and scoop to gut. He said you can squeeze em and all the guts come out of their arse. I thought he was taking this piss, then I saw a guy do it on youtube. I was stunned. Well as I got the rabbit back to the car, Vislauk says, here, I’ll show you a trick…..I knew what he was going to do, but none the less, was astounded when indeed, a squeeze and the world literally fell out of this poor rabbits arse. The only thing that didn’t come out were the kidneys, but when I felt the abdomen, I could feel that these had even dropped to the rabbits groin and I think a little additional push and they would have been out. That leaving only heart and lungs in the chest cavity. WELL impressed and I’ll have to try it next time out.

 

So the lads didn’t teach me much on shooting, but Mac gave me a cracking knife for my birthday and Vislauk showed me a new gutting technique. Nice to be out with the lads again, would be ace if we had a place big enough to get Denbell and Matt up too!

 

Cheers gents.

[BIG TOM 835]

Nice one lads at least you got out and got one better luck next time

I'm running low on rabbits here ATM they have all got mixi so not a lot about plenty of crows tho so will give them a bash on the week end

Edited March 25, 2014 by BIG TOM

[Daz39 962]

There are a good few rabbits out here, must have seen 30-40 last night but damn, they don't grow this big by luck! Clever clever rabbits in the NE right now.

[The one 8,503]

At least you where out and got some thing mate , but it does sound like there a bit lamp shy ?.

[Daz39 962]

ooooooooh a little.........

[The one 8,503]

I try to just lamp my permissions once a month and on one the minute you put a lamp on there off so I reckon I've drive by shooters but I will find out in the long run as there installing more CCTV

[j j m 6,555]

sounds like there lamp shy

[Daz39 962]

That is the thing, my work perm and the other field around it have 24 hour security. Certainly no one has been on site as its 12 foot fences and security guards. I'm sure someone has been having a pop on the other fields. To be honest though, the one I shot and its mate pretty much just sat there..... ah well. Makes the whole thing a little more even, I have a PCP, they have skitishism. LOL

[j j m 6,555]

good luck in the future mate

[Skot Ruthless Teale 1,701]

you need some nightvision Mr 39

[Darkie69 76]

damn good read made me laugh in places (gutting the rabbit), So what's Vislauk's new gutting technique or is it a case 'I could tell you but then I'd have to kill ya'

[Daz39 962]

It's where you squeeze the belly and use the pressure in the abdomen to force the guts and organs out the rabbits arse! It's in you tube! AmaIng.

[DenBell 149]

Nice read as always mate. Were they more shy than at the golf course?

[bigmac 97kt 13,807]

Nice read as always mate. Were they more shy than at the golf course?

Shy, shy, den, fitted with the most advanced up to date radar ,some run even with out the lamp on and the wind in your face at a distance of up to 200 yards and more atvbmac

[Daz39 962]

Nice read as always mate. Were they more shy than at the golf course?

I'd say so yes. At the GC I could stand with the lamp while you stalked, here, the slightest hint of red and they are away. I can only assume then had a bad valentine's day or something!