The Unintended Keeper ( Diary of a keeping blagger )

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Aye foxes are cannibals or could it be GMs big cat

[Stavross 15,583]

Out for a wander this morning on some fields I haven’t been to for a long time, I wasn’t expecting much and I wasn’t disappointed a few wildie pheasants and a handful of hares, I flushed a small group of pheasants that I managed to walk into a corner of a hedge back, giving them no option other than to break cover, both barrels and a cock and a hen down, anyone who knows me and my shotgun ability would be amazed at this, walking down the bottom of the fields to check out the beck side for foxy goings on ( I’ve shot a lot of foxes on here ) I put a big hare up, missed with the first but connected with the second, a nice way to spend an hour on a cold morning and it made a change of me to take a shotgun with me instead of a rifle

[Stavross 15,583]

4 hours ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Aye foxes are cannibals or could it be GMs big cat

Puma, that, definitely a puma ( or another fox, badger, crow or domestic cat ‍ )

Edited December 12, 2022 by Stavross

[Stavross 15,583]

Feeding this morning and it was a bit nippy , there’s been no snow but the temperatures haven’t got above-3 for the past 4 days, I didn’t see loads of birds but there’s still a few knocking about and they look in very good condition, I’ve got a couple of drives that are really thick cover so I’d hazard a guess that they will be holding a few, I was talking to a lad that’s on a farm syndicate a mile down the road from us and there shoot is similar to ours, they won’t be shooting after Boxing Day as he said the birds just aren’t there, he said a few weeks ago they had some that didn’t look well and now it looks like the cold has taken care of them, 

after my rounds I had a quick run round to chuck a bit of lead at a few tree rats, only seen 5 and shot 4 of them, one was a cracking shot, I was over the piggeries looking down into a gutter and could see one in the top of a tree, I don’t know how far away it was but I could just see it’s head through the branches, anyway I threaded one and down it went, maybe with a bit more luck than skill

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

I've just been out too mate. Lovely just mooching about in the frost taking in the sights , saw loads of songbirds today including a song thrush which is a rarity these days and loads of robins. 

Shot really well today pulling off a cracking cock pheasant which was way out ...surprised myself.

Stood in a small copse for a while and scared a few woodies

Lovely walkout bagging 4 roosters to share out amongst the neighbour's. 

 

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

[ianm 2,594]

It was our fourth shoot last Saturday and it was a cracking day. The total bag was 50 head. I managed to shoot four ducks, four pheasants and a nice woodcock. Two roe ran out of the stream wood followed by a fox. So that is another job i will have to sort out.

[Stavross 15,583]

Just needed to get out for a bit today, so the plan was a last light deer stalk, got to my mates place an hour before dark and set off for a wander, it was already-3 and with the breeze felt a good bit colder than that, I’d seen 2 within 10 minutes of being there but was not able to get anywhere near them and they soon hopped the beck onto next doors land, following the beck a long I seen another doe that soon turned into 3, using the edge of the field along the beck as cover I managed to get within 70 yards of them, laying on the frozen ground and adjusting the bipod I was nice and steady on the one doe that was pointing out into the field, I gave it a few minutes to see if it would move a few feet out into the field but with it been very last light I decided to take the shot where it was, down it went with not even a twitch, I lay there for a few minutes longer on the off chance that another would present a shot, but nothing did, by the time I got it unzipped and back to the farm it was pitch black. As the day was going so well I decided to tap a cup of tea at the farm house before having a call for a ginger, setting up on the field at the back of the farm for a change, I normally head straight for the wood but for some reason thought I wanted to be in this field I stud on the hedge and put the caller 40 yards in front of me, with the temperature dropping further all I could think was vixen sexy call, it was a little over 10 minutes and a customer came charging up the field from the beck at the bottom, realised that something wasn’t quite right and started to head away, a quick whistle and it stopped just long enough for me to drop it on the spot, it paced out at a 128 paces, a dog fox in very nice condition, I moved towards the wood now for a half hearted call because I spent more time watching the meteor shower that had now started in the crisp, clear sky, an absolutely fantastic trip out

[Stavross 15,583]

Next door seen me in the garage with the doe, asked if I was allowed to kill deer, I explained to him the what’s and wherefore’s and said would he like some when it’s been butchered, he looked at me like I’d just took a sh*t on his chest and said he’d stick to Tesco, this is a 70 year old bloke, surely his meat hasn’t come rapped in plastic all his life I don’t understand people

Edited December 15, 2022 by Stavross

[bumpy22 414]

I got two to butcher tonight. My neighbours across the road help out at one of these animal rescue charity things. I used to try and hide stuff but then thought why should I. they  See my truck pulling up on the drive with all sorts of fur and feather goodies coming out the back. 

You are doing nothing wrong mate in fact you are doing a lot of good keep it up

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Feck me mate , it looks like it's just been hit by a lorry and scraped off the tarmac

[Stavross 15,583]

1 minute ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Feck me mate , it looks like it's just been hit by a lorry and scraped off the tarmac

Nowt wrong with that mate, they soon clean up nice once the jackets off

[Stavross 15,583]

Feeding this morning ahead of tomorrow and it was absolutely freezing, the temperature never changed from getting there to when I left, not loads of birds about but the drives with thick cover seem to be holding a few, and who can blame them not wanting to be in the cold of the open drives, we’ll see how tomorrow goes and what’s about after their 3 week break and make a decision if we carry on until the end of the season, speaking to next door, he’s in the same boat as us, not masses about, if nowt else it’s a day out with friends

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

The way I look at it is ,its a day out in the countryside.  

Its supposed to warm up after the weekend , thank God , sick of minus temps now.

[Stavross 15,583]

Ready for tomorrow