Old Buck For A Young Buck

[Yokel Matt 918]

Foxdropper came down the other day with his lad for him to have a crack at a Somerset buck. The plan was to have a look at a new piece of ground that neither of them had seen before and the idea was for me to act as guide, FD Junior to shoot and Senior stay at the back and behave himself. Keen to interfere as little as possible FD made the concious decision to leave his binoculars at home on the kitchen table - at least that's what he said.

 

Anyway - they arrived at mine at 8pm and with a 15-20 minute drive to the ground we would be a bit pressed for time. The trip out nearly ended even earlier when the door latch on my trusty Landrover failed whilst going round a corner and if it wasn't for his seat belt and a grab rail on the dashboard FD would have been taking an early bath - oh how we all chuckled the rest of the way!

 

I had a cull buck in mind which i'd seen several times before and planned to stalk to a lay up spot in anticipation of him moving from a favourite couching area to one of a few likely fields. The trouble was that both the timing had left things a little late to get into position and the wind meant that stalking the ground in search of him left very few options for a safe shot as the lay of the land, country lanes, distant farmyards / houses etc meant that any sighting would more than likely have to be re-worked to make safe, not ideal for a experienced stalker let alone a novice and we simply didn't have the light.

 

I couldn't have the lad come all this way without having a good crack so decided to go to a part of the farm where I knew a buck held some territory and was likely to be making his rounds. The first few fields yielded nothing but shortly after entering a large, steeply sloping field we noticed a doe up against the hedge on the far side of the field. Leaving FD with a good view Jr and opted to try for a good vantage point closer to the doe where we could wait in the hope of a buck (hopefully THE buck) emerging. The wind wasn't great for us and I wasn't that surprised when we got into position that she'd gone as for some reason the roe are flighty as hell round here. Still, we could see a doe in the neighbouring field (off-perm) and decided this was as good a place as any to wait. No sooner had we settled down and the lad got comfortable on the bipod than a stampede of cattle came past us from some neighbouring field where the gate must have been recently left open by the farmer / dog walker. With this fields chances now well and truly buggered I shouldered the rifle and fast marched down the slope to a scrubby hillock which obscured a large part of a adjoining wheat field at further down the hill. With less that 15 minutes shootable light left I pointed out the most likely area to see the buck moving and that there would be little time to act and a rough plan of action to minimise any titting about.

 

Five minutes scouring the shadows later I almost swept over him but his movement gave him away as he marched along the hedgeline. Saying that we were 'on' I unslung the rifle from my shoulder and scurried over to a mound between two bushes extending the bipod as I did so. Lying prone the mound gave us a perfect platform and I quickly found the buck in the sights and moved aside for the lad to get on him. Our movement into position had obviously caught his attention and, having never seen this buck do anything other than crash through the nearest hedge without looking back new we didn't have long to hang about. Watching through the bins I asked if he could see the buck clearly and was happy with the distance (about 150 meters). The answer was a calm yes, I heard the click of the safety and an unhurried deliberate breath..... Booom....... Whoomp! From the bins if looked textbook characteristics of a heart shot and I told him not to re-load as I had to spring up and follow the bucks run which meant getting in front of the rifle as the bush was obscuring my view. After 50 meters or so he went down and I marked the spot and watched for a while for any movement which there wasn't.

 

FD came to join us from the hilltop and we went straight to the drop spot and found the buck dead and as doornail shot through the heart. The lad was well please with his buck, dad was full of pride at hearing our account of the stalk and shot and I realised how rewarding it is to see the next generation come up to through the sport. Can't wait to do the same with my own lad when he's bigger.

 

[sussex 5,777]

Cracking read Matt & a cracking result for the lad .. Fair play on you for giving him the chance .The lad definitely has a cool head on his shoulders that's for sure ..Well done every one

[bumpy22 414]

well done you did your homework to find him at last minute and top lad for a composed shot under pressure. good write up.

[The one 8,476]

Nice read and a great result for the youngster

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

As ever mate ,great write up and fine descriptions .George says thanks again for the outing and the buck .The assination attempt was poor mind but that ladies face in the car on the roundabout was priceless .Up our ground next mate .

[Yokel Matt 918]

The confidence of youth! He was very cool about it but obviously very happy with the animal when we got to him. His biggest buck as far a I understand and he was welcome to him with a performance like that.

 

Dragging the buck back to the truck was another story though!

[Gaz6br 193]

Stunning mate, well done to you all

 

Good going

 

Gaz

[martin 332]

Well done George,keep 'em coming mate the larder needs more of the same

[firthy 54]

Great read and great buck well done lad

[Skull Hooker 185]

Shame about the star shaped birthmark on his face... God bless him,,well done son LOL

[Hydropotesinermis 724]

Utterly brilliant

[Wullz 408]

Fantastic, hope to do the same with my pair some day in the not too distant future....get them hooked early! Also, fair play to the wee man for an unhurried and unexcited shot.....I still get excited every time I get a buck in my sights.....I think when I dont, its time to give up!!

[j j m 6,539]

Good read mate