Back up at the shoot

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

SL .....that is a small cub. I'm impressed by having fallow , roe and munty in the same field

[sparky the hunter 72]

I used to go out with a mate all the time but he would never leave the car or do any static calling.  I always felt we were missing so much ground, i bought a thermal and he is still a lamp man so i always go on my own now.  I prefer it as i can do as i please.

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

1 hour ago, sparky the hunter said:

.  I always felt we were missing so much ground, i bought a thermal and he is still a lamp man so i always go on my own now.  

I do all my shooting on foot for that very reason , I think if you are in a vehicle you miss out a lot of ground. Plus it keeps you fitter as well. 

[Stavross 15,365]

I’m about to lose my sh*t up at the shoot, back up tonight on the cut barley again, this time with the NV set up, got there just after 9, people walking the edge of the field from the campsite, now I’m ok with this, I’ll tell them where they can be and off they’ll go, got set up and we had just lost the light and there’s 2 girls walking in the middle of the field, though I’d just let them walk on until they started walking towards where the caller was, now I didn’t want to shout at them in the dark and frighten them so I thought I’d put the torch on so they could see we were there, big mistake, they started screaming and running around the field, they finally went back over the fence to the campsite field where they were joined by what appeared to be the rest of the family, I then had another half hour explaining to a bunch of morons why they shouldn’t be where they were. Set up again and half an hour later my mate picks something up through the thermal a long way off and not on my land but heading our way, 10 minutes later and I heard “ crack/thud” then a lamp in the field the other side of our boundary, fu*k my life, next door were sat in the gateway of that field and shot the bugger as it crossed their field

I’ll be going up to the campsite in the next day or two to see the owner because this sort of thing needs to stop

Edited July 28, 2021 by Stavross

[shovel leaner 7,650]

5 hours ago, Stavross said:

I’m about to lose my sh*t up at the shoot, back up tonight on the cut barley again, this time with the NV set up, got there just after 9, people walking the edge of the field from the campsite, now I’m ok with this, I’ll tell them where they can be and off they’ll go, got set up and we had just lost the light and there’s 2 girls walking in the middle of the field, though I’d just let them walk on until they started walking towards where the caller was, now I didn’t want to shout at them in the dark and frighten them so I thought I’d put the torch on so they could see we were there, big mistake, they started screaming and running around the field, they finally went back over the fence to the campsite field where they were joined by what appeared to be the rest of the family, I then had another half hour explaining to a bunch of morons why they shouldn’t be where they were. Set up again and half an hour later my mate picks something up through the thermal a long way off and not on my land but heading our way, 10 minutes later and I heard “ crack/thud” then a lamp in the field the other side of our boundary, fu*k my life, next door were sat in the gateway of that field and shot the bugger as it crossed their field

I’ll be going up to the campsite in the next day or two to see the owner because this sort of thing needs to stop

 

[BenBhoy 4,706]

For one reason or another I've not been able to get out on anything I've cut until last night. Was raining but I was desperate to get out for a bit! 

Got there & first thing found lamb with head stuck between two rows of fencing!! thick as pig poo!! Free him & onto field of week old hay cut. Just through gate, not even set up & spot one head down grubbing about. Now I'm trying to get set as quietly as possible, don't bother with tripod as think it might spook, so get on one knee and take it freehand (first time I've noticed weight of varmint barrel!!) 147yds clean thud drop on spot, average size dog. This is easy!! 

Carry on, don't see anything else until I'm heading back down. Spot through thermal in next field, about 250yds. Get set up on bogpod, nv on and good clear image. Pard lrf it at 206yds. It's mooching down field towards hedge. Now I know left undisturbed it'll slip through hedge & into field I'm in, presenting simple shot at 130yds. But I've not shot a 200yd fox yet........ and I still fuckíng haven't!! Missed it at 203yds! First miss with. 204 

So pisseđ at myself for not just waiting. But I've been hitting targets at 270yds so felt confident in myself. When I got home the collar of wildcat was loose so I'm pinning it on that!!

Bit wet, bit annoyed but still glad I went out! 

 

[shovel leaner 7,650]

2 hours ago, BenBhoy said:

For one reason or another I've not been able to get out on anything I've cut until last night. Was raining but I was desperate to get out for a bit! 

Got there & first thing found lamb with head stuck between two rows of fencing!! thick as pig poo!! Free him & onto field of week old hay cut. Just through gate, not even set up & spot one head down grubbing about. Now I'm trying to get set as quietly as possible, don't bother with tripod as think it might spook, so get on one knee and take it freehand (first time I've noticed weight of varmint barrel!!) 147yds clean thud drop on spot, average size dog. This is easy!! 

Carry on, don't see anything else until I'm heading back down. Spot through thermal in next field, about 250yds. Get set up on bogpod, nv on and good clear image. Pard lrf it at 206yds. It's mooching down field towards hedge. Now I know left undisturbed it'll slip through hedge & into field I'm in, presenting simple shot at 130yds. But I've not shot a 200yd fox yet........ and I still fuckíng haven't!! Missed it at 203yds! First miss with. 204 

So pisseđ at myself for not just waiting. But I've been hitting targets at 270yds so felt confident in myself. When I got home the collar of wildcat was loose so I'm pinning it on that!!

Bit wet, bit annoyed but still glad I went out! 

 

Good work Ben , I hope you took the knee purely to get a better shooting position? We don’t want any of that BLM nonsense around here . Keep politics out of shooting I say . 
      The good thing about Thermal and NV scope shooting on foot is if you do miss , I hasn’t got a clue  what’s happened, unlike lamping where it will associate a light or vehicle noise  with danger . So your paths should cross again. 
 

[shovel leaner 7,650]

I’ve been too busy this morning to do any posts . So I’m sat in a high seat overlooking the big pen  while I have a bit of a break . 
         Having shot that cub the other night on the cut barley got me thinking where there is one there is usually another sat out again at dusk but this time further along the field and nearer to where it appeared. There is a couple who have bought a very large property nearby who bought a section of woodland and have planted stuff that butterflies like and call it the butterfly wood . It’s basically now a very dense unmanaged impenetrable clump of vegetation…… perfect fox habitat! So guess where I positioned my caller ? Pointing its speaker at the butterfly wood . It worked, and within no time I added another cub to the tally . Again very small and I would guarantee it’s from the same litter as the one from the other night. Nothing else showed. I will wait for them to finish bailing and maybe have another go . 

Edited July 28, 2021 by shovel leaner

[BenBhoy 4,706]

25 minutes ago, shovel leaner said:

The good thing about Thermal and NV scope shooting on foot is if you do miss , I hasn’t got a clue  what’s happened, unlike lamping where it will associate a light or vehicle noise  with danger . So your paths should cross again. 

Yeah I watched him go through scope, could tell it wasn't at all sure where it had come from, it did stop again looking round at about 280yds & then carried on snuffling about 

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

How many deer came into the field SL

[shovel leaner 7,650]

1 hour ago, FOXHUNTER said:

How many deer came into the field SL

The same as the night before. Didn’t see Brock this time though. 

[Stavross 15,365]

I had a walk around the sheep farm tonight to kill a couple of hours, seen one fox but sadly it was in next doors first, I didn’t fancy the shot as there’s about half a million quids worth of horses wandering around in it and try as I might I couldn’t get it onto my land, so I called it a night and went and splattered a few rabbits with the .223. I did see a good roe buck to take that had a very wonky head and will never make a good animal 

[ianm 2,594]

On 28/07/2021 at 07:19, BenBhoy said:

For one reason or another I've not been able to get out on anything I've cut until last night. Was raining but I was desperate to get out for a bit! 

Got there & first thing found lamb with head stuck between two rows of fencing!! thick as pig poo!! Free him & onto field of week old hay cut. Just through gate, not even set up & spot one head down grubbing about. Now I'm trying to get set as quietly as possible, don't bother with tripod as think it might spook, so get on one knee and take it freehand (first time I've noticed weight of varmint barrel!!) 147yds clean thud drop on spot, average size dog. This is easy!! 

Carry on, don't see anything else until I'm heading back down. Spot through thermal in next field, about 250yds. Get set up on bogpod, nv on and good clear image. Pard lrf it at 206yds. It's mooching down field towards hedge. Now I know left undisturbed it'll slip through hedge & into field I'm in, presenting simple shot at 130yds. But I've not shot a 200yd fox yet........ and I still fuckíng haven't!! Missed it at 203yds! First miss with. 204 

So pisseđ at myself for not just waiting. But I've been hitting targets at 270yds so felt confident in myself. When I got home the collar of wildcat was loose so I'm pinning it on that!!

Bit wet, bit annoyed but still glad I went out! 

 

Everyone misses now and then, and those that don't are either liars or haven't shot at many foxes.

I presume a bogpod is some sort of tripod for shooting off. It is relatively easy to miss off sticks as you aren't as stable as off a vehicle for example. 

You should of cycled another round and shot it at 280yds, the rifle is more than capable of that.

[Stavross 15,365]

Back to the sheep farm tonight and put an end to my run of bad luck ( sort of) went to the far side of the farm on the field of cut barley, 50 minutes in and spotted a fox at the bottom of the field along the fencing, I thought it was on the field side of the fence, took the shot and it disappeared, turns out it was sat up against the wire the other side and was down in the gutter where I was unable to retrieve it, I seen another one on the way back to the yard but something had spooked it as it was flat out across next doors field, one for another day

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Surprised you got out mate as the weather was mist and drizzle all night up here. I was having a new boiler fitted so was indoors all day but not to worry as I've got all week off to get some shooting done. Off out tonight to try for an old buck I've been after then lamping to see if any foxes about