A game of two half’s

[Sausagedog 7,381]

I go through periods of no confidence for some reason. It happens.

It's a shame it's now educated but it happens. I've done it, once I think, can't remember......I joke, I've done it loads of times.

[Stavross 16,164]

I’ve done it myself more times than I care to recall and it’s always the easy ones, I’m sure he’ll come good again, he just won’t be getting the practice in on the sheep farm where it matters during lambing 

[Meece 1,958]

8 hours ago, shovel leaner said:

Nice pics and write up Stavross. I used to have a mate come with me and we took it in turns to shoot . He went through a bit of a “miss everything “ period. I got so wound up and pissed off about it that the partnership dissolved . He’s still a mate and to be fair he shoots a lot of deer . I think a lot of it was me pressuring him to take shots because I knew they were about to disappear, and he wasn’t comfortable or ready . Now that I am a “lone wolf “ I can only blame myself if anything goes wrong . If someone comes with me now they hold the rank of “Chief opener and closer of the gates “.

Although I am part of a vehicle team I have mainly shot on my own walking.  I operate on my own because a second person makes more noise and just makes the visual package much bigger.  And when two people get together there is more noise both in movement and talking.  Some people just can't keep still and be quiet. With the exceptional hearing ability that rabbits and foxes have It doesn't need foghorn leghorn out there making a racket alerting everything out there.  A bloke that I know kept pestering me to come for a walk and against my better judgment I  agreed. He made that much noise that it wouldn't have been worse if the local primary school had come with us. After a while I  told him to stay by a gate whilst I  went to the end of a hedge to view the side field.  Whilst I was gone he lit up a flag.  With a lighter !  As I walked back I could we the flag glowing brightly like a beacon everytime he had a drag on it.  I told him that it was a good job that it wasn't war and I was a sniper.  He didn't realise that he would have taken one about an inch and a half above the glow.  Luckily we did see or educate any.  He'd had a walk and no harm was done .  I'd learnt a lesson or two also.

2 hours ago, ianm said:

Good shooting Stav!

Shooting off the top of a vehicle certainly has advantages especially on moonlit nights. Foxes see movement before anything else.

My mate that i shoot with isn't the best shot either although off the vehicle he is ok up to two hundred yards or so. It's when you have to stretch the range that he comes unstuck, i think it's a confidence thing. He always says that's too far for me you better shoot it, which i suppose is better than missing it.

Problem you have now is it is educated. You cannot use the same call or try and call to the same place as it will know what's coming  and will just go the other way. Maybe a bait and wait job using a trail cam for a time.  

 

 

 

 

No matter how much blokes want to shoot, if they know that they ain't up to it They shouldn't.  All it leads to is educated foxes and frayed tempers. My as well stay home and watch the tv.

1 hour ago, Stavross said:

I think this customer will now be a bait and wait, if he wasn’t confident in the shot I wish he would of said and past me the rifle but he’s not the type of person to do that, he’ll take the shot and blame something or other for the miss, don’t get me wrong he knows what he’s doing and I’ve been with him when he’s dropped 300+ yard foxes, lately he seems to have gone right off the boil, he has always been better at shooting baited foxes, I think it’s because he knows where they are and there’s no pressure to get a shot off, I told him that I have to get up the sheep farm in the coming days ( before his miss ) and he wants to come, there’s no way he’s shooting there, I certainly can’t afford a miss there this time of year 

don't shoot at foxes out at range. A fox at 300 is a very small target.  I use the wind and ground to get to between eighty to 100. At this range you can see that it's Charlie and not someone's stray mutt. He might not miss also.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Meece

[Sausagedog 7,381]

14 minutes ago, Stavross said:

I’ve done it myself more times than I care to recall and it’s always the easy ones, I’m sure he’ll come good again, he just won’t be getting the practice in on the sheep farm where it matters during lambing 

Your account reminded me of when I was still in my 20's and out with my first 308.

I was waiting in a wood edge facing west watching the sun go down waiting for Charlie to emerge after info from locals.

Dam thing came out on disc 25yds to my right. I distinctly remember thinking " can't miss" and guess what!!

It took two months to get that one but to this very day I have no idea how I missed that fox under 30yds! I'd of been better off with a 410!.

SD.

[Meece 1,958]

Yep seen it many times. I saw a bloke miss one across a field ditch.  Another the other side of a hedge along a track out of the back of the hilux and I  missed one  just the other side of a small Apple tree.  I blame the pruning of the tree branches.    missing targets is  not acceptable.  One shot one kill.  Shoot to kill

Edited January 13, 2020 by Meece

[Stavross 16,164]

17 minutes ago, Meece said:

19 minutes ago, Meece said:

Although I am part of a vehicle team I have mainly shot on my own walking.  I operate on my own because a second person makes more noise and just makes the visual package much bigger.  And when two people get together there is more noise both in movement and talking.  Some people just can't keep still and be quiet. With the exceptional hearing ability that rabbits and foxes have It doesn't need foghorn leghorn out there making a racket alerting everything out there.  A bloke that I know kept pestering me to come for a walk and against my better judgment I  agreed. He made that much noise that it wouldn't have been worse if the local primary school had come with us. After a while I  told him to stay by a gate whilst I  went to the end of a hedge to view the side field.  Whilst I was gone he lit up a flag.  With a lighter !  As I walked back I could we the flag glowing brightly like a beacon everytime he had a drag on it.  I told him that it was a good job that it wasn't war and I was a sniper.  He didn't realise that he would have taken one about an inch and a half above the glow.  Luckily we did see or educate any.  He'd had a walk and no harm was done .  I'd learnt a lesson or two also.

No matter how much blokes want to shoot, if they know that they ain't up to it They shouldn't.  All it leads to is educated foxes and frayed tempers. My as well stay home and watch the tv.

don't shoot at foxes out at range. A fox at 300 is a very small target.  I use the wind and ground to get to between to 100. At this range you can see that it's Charlie and not someone's stray mutt. He might not miss also.

At the risk of sending you off on a massive scope rant I’ve always been a massive fan of high mag scopes ( but they must be very high quality)  and what is bolted to the top of that .243 is more than capable of giving a very clear image at them distances, most foxes i shoot are between 100 and 200 but every now and then I will take them further than that

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Nice honest posts , we all miss   its infuriating but it happens.  I used to have sleepless nights when I was younger over a miss but can live with it now even though I'm still peed off. Well done under the full moon , not the best conditions but it pays off sometimes.