Good Friday Ferreting Up North.. The Resurection Of "chuckles"

[Guest vin]

Hello all,


Good Friday turned out very good.


As a few of you know myself and Tomo have been having some great sport this season up North and a few other places.


Anyway Yesterday was set for being a memorable day as it was good Friday,The weather forecast was perfect,We were going to some new ground recently acquired from one of our other estates...It was supposedly popping with bunnies and they wanted us to put a serious dent in the population before summer breeding.We had Trigger and his dog Buster up for the day and all was set for a big day.. we had an early start to meet the keeper who was taking us up there.


We arrived on the Tops of new moor after a long climb up the paths following the keepers 4x4 in my truck..We could never have walked the distance which winded slowly up to 2000ft on the area we were at.


After a chat with the Keepers and a bit of direction about boundaries etc etc we were off and at them.. we split off into 3 packs and off we went in different directions across the top of the earth .. lol.. ( well it felt that way to be up high on some of the most splendid land our country has to offer ).

 

 

The ground was very uneven and quite tricky running for the dogs even on the flat areas..The bunnies were up on top taking in some of the glorious sun on their backs,So the dogs were getting more sport just hunting up and the ferrets were scratching away in the box gagging for some action..eventually after a few good hunts and a long walk I found the source of bunnies in my area and it wasn't good.,,lol. they were all taking refuge on a rock face on the last plateau before a long climb down to the bottom of the valley I was on.

There was plenty of bunnies kicking about but no chance of ferreting them out from under solid rocks.
So after taking in the views and enjoying the weather for a while I headed back up to where I had started and found a few little warrens with the odd bunny at home,by this point I had about a dozen bunnies mostly caught by the dogs hunting them up.I was wondering how Tomo and Trigger were doing and thinking I had come to the wrong area and they must be in the thick of it etc etc.

The dogs were marking a little 1 holer in the bottom of a dip in the ground..So I let my hob "Chuckles" out of his plastic prison and let him do his thing..withing seconds there was a louder rumble followed by an explosion of fur which the dogs picked up before it got a few yards. . .Next sound is a very loud echoing screech from bunny number 2 below ground,followed by a lot of slapping and sploshing off what sounded like old drains if you know what sort of sound I mean etc etc..It wasn't drains but rocks and slabs etc etc.The ferret and bunny were rolling down deep into the depths of hell ! The screeching stopped quickly and everything went quiet. . . Out with the Locator and to my utter astonishment and disbelief its giving me 16ft on search. No way.. So I go and check locator on other ferret in box and all is working perfect,still its saying 16ft to my little warrior down below..,

So I did what I normally do in these circumstances... I sat down on the ferret box and contemplated the meaning of life ! and waited.. then waited some more.Then I got mad,Then started to worry. . then really worry. . "The thing is i know my ferrets and how the graft and Mr Chuckles is a killer of bunny and a hunter who hold my highest regard and I know once he's had his prey he will move onto the next or evacuate the premises" .. So after a very very long 10mins of sitting there I know its time to panic. and Panic I did..lol.

The locator is saying 16ft and its not moving very much,but appears to be slightly fluctuating up and down ever so slightly..

So I open up the fresh caught bunny and put it down the entrance in the hope of luring my little fella up from his prize...( this has worked for me on many occasions as he cannot resist the chance of killing another possible victim,Normally ! and the scent often brings him up from below ), Unfortunately today was not the day for this tactic.. After another worrying 10mins with the locator on watching for signs of movement ... nothing.

What to do,What to do.. my minds rushing about wondering the possibilities. . He's my best ever working ferret without a doubt better than any I've had before him and we've caught literally thousands of bunnies with him.. So its a no brainer..out with the spade of Excalibur and off I go....

Well after about 1 and a half hours of digging up mud and slabs of rocks that weighed so much I nearly killed myself lifting them out of the hole I was digging myself into I was in a state of Mental breakdown...Lol. . I was spent and done for and my whole world was crumbling around me...heheee. the ground was so unforgiving and the spade his hard rock every time i struck it upon the earth.. So far i had got down about 3 feet and widened it out into about the same and was on my knees chipping away at the rocks trying to find gaps to work my way into and below..it was horrendous I can honestly say the worst dig I have ever had up north .

By this point I was getting a reading of 6ft on the locator but i had hit a point of solid rocks and no gaps and the only option was to go Super wide and dig around and under..I was already done for and had no more fuel in the tank if you get my predicament..The locator was not showing no movement and I'm thinking after all this time below I could be digging to a dead ferret and only retrieving a collar for my punishment.. my mind at this point has already started to grieve the loss of my favorite little hunting partner and I'm starting to wallow in guilt at not starting to dig half an hour earlier and all these things I could have/should have done.. There's no phone signal up there so I can't call the lads i'm up with So basically I'm stuck.

Obviously i carry on slowly making the hole bigger and wider but still no movement on locator..

All of a sudden the dogs get up from laying besides me watching over my shoulders and run up the banking..I look up and see the most welcome sight I've ever seen... Trigger and Tomo up above me on the banking..I shout them and they cannot hear or see me... So I climb out of my pit and frantically wave my arms and shout up to them.. Aaaaaargh.Trigger spots me and starts heading down the slope..( So does Tomo but he cant resist doing a warren with the ferrets on his way down...hahaaa ).

I fall on my back and take a quick rest and start to calm down knowing helps on its way !


So then fun begins again..we discuss the probability of a dead ferret and £70 of collar and decide to carry on..We all think its highly likely that we wont have a healthy ferret.. I'm already gutted.

Its decided after another hour of digging and widening of mud,slabs and boulders that we need dinner and sustenance..So I trecked back up to the truck as my legs were still roadworthy and somehow managed to drive it down a quad track to the bottom of the plateau we were digging on... at this point one of the keepers turned up and joined in with our mission to retrieve Chuckles.

We had to use a tow rope and all 4 of us to hoist out a large boulder from below to open up the ground for more excavation,,It really did take all 4 of us pulling with all our hearts and Tomo underneath it pushing it out with his shoulders..

 

 

So far we were down to another 3ft below to the ferret on the locator..It was soul destroying and the only saving grace at this point was a nice hot cuppa tea and a pork pie from the local bakery.. We all sat there covered in mud with our backs aching and bones hurting,but the pies gave us all a new lease of life and we went back at it with some fresh enthusiasm.. eventually Young Trigger managed to work his way into a crack in the rocks below and opened up a little 6-8" gap which seemed to drop to a ledge below it..Out came the lamp and it was confirmed that he had broken through the depths of Hell into the abyss below..And thanks to him upstairs on this goodest of Friday's there is my little dark eyed demon killer of bunnies below on a ledge with his prize..he cannot get out as he is at least 2 1/2 feet below the gap in the rocks..He's sort of in a cave below us.. We cant dig any more boulders away as they would probably collapse on top of him at some point.. its all part of the challenge at the end of the day. . . lol.

Trigger widens the gap very carefully now and we leg a bunny onto a dog lead and he lowers it down to the cave of doom...On locks Chuckles and he is gently raised out of the pits below into the freedom of the world on top.. Yippeee !

We estimate that from the start of the dig to the ferret was at least 9 foot.

 

I have never been so happy to see my little friend..and will never forget the day I was almost beaten by the ground until being saved by some very very good what I like to call Mates.

 

As things didn't go to plan we didn't have that massive bag of bunnies we though we may have had.. But we had a great day on some fine land where I'm sure we will be back on very soon.

Or is that good day to end the season on ? the ferrets are going off the boil and the bunnies are starting to get marbled up even on the highest areas now,

 

It was a long long day and I'd gone through the whole range of emotions internally, its draining... I'm sat down here now and my backs killing me,I cant even pick my nose because my elbows hurt me so much.. Maybe its time for some sun on my back and a long rest till next winter.

 

I couldn't have done it alone and it good to know your mates won't let you down when push comes to shove.

 

Thanks chaps.

 

To coin a Phrase ... it was emotional

Edited March 26, 2016 by vin

[oxo 441]

Cracking write up with a happy ending!

[Maximus Ferret 2,063]

Well done to all involved in getting him back. "Never desert man, dog, or ferret....."!!!

[tb25 4,627]

Great read..well done gents..

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

Fantastic write up as always. I bet it was a fantastic day. Fair play to you lads for persisting and getting the grafter out. Plenty would have chucked the towel in.

 

I've only met Jon out of you fellas but he's a top bloke.

 

The ground looks fantastic too. You are lucky to have such wonderful permission.

 

Hope you all have a restful summer.

[frankel 2,123]

Great read,. We done a 13 foot dig with the terrier a couple week ago. Took over 8 hours. So I know the feeling with the stiffness and acheing!

[terryd 8,385]

Brilliant effort folks and well done on getting the worker back out. Top job

[nottzhunter08 898]

Sounds an intense day for you vin, and good man for sticking at it, persistence payed off, ATB next time mate

[neil b 2,296]

Fair play to you vin and the lads, were we hunt on the tops the land is covered in limestone rocks were the bunnies burrow under and round them it can be a nightmare trying to dig even the shallowest of holes. Well done for not letting it beat you

[Flacko 1,742]

Good read good ending good lads well done no jackers in that team atb Flacko

[marshman 7,757]

Proper read that well done all ?

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Superb post...

 

 

Well done to you all,...and great to hear that brave Chuckles has come home safely,...

 

I do hope he gets his reward,.. with that pretty wee Poley gal....

Edited March 26, 2016 by Phil Lloyd

[Trev70 5,185]

Well done lads and a good read

[Chicken_man 1,651]

Brilliant write up Vin and well done all involved.

Hell of a dig/challenge, but you did it. Hats off to you lads.

Atb

[devon flighter 421]

well done all round and an especially good write up , one of the best