One of those days

[gollum 1]

It looked promising to start with...

A strip of woodland at the end of one of my permissions gardens. Meadows on one side and buries running along 40 or so yards of bank top hedge next to a road. I spent a couple of hours clearing nettles from the bank and brash from the woodland floor before running out three 50 yard long nets. Tailed through the hedge they made a zone from which no bunnies should pass......in theory.

 

My little ferts were on to the job at hand and the first bolted within minutes. Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the hedge. I had 2 choices..50 yard sprint then up the bank, over a fence and round to the bolter....or 9" gap under hedge about 10 feet from it. 9" gap seemed good.....on the belly crawling through all kinds of crap...its was like the end of Shawshank Redemption, twig slapped, stung, scratched and covered in filth...anyhow, I'm through the hedge, I can see the rabbit in the net and its just inches to go, Im lowering my hand, the bunies fate is surely sealed but NO!!!!!!! the little scrot has seen me coming and decided he doesnt want to meet me after all. He looked at me and said " call yourself a hunter, pish, I'd go veggy mate" well actually he just flicked his tail at me, then he's out and off.

 

Whilst I sit picking thorns out of my face and cursing the rabbit and all its relatives theres a crashing in the nearby bramble jungle...the other side of the hedge! Ok, I think, 9" gap bad, sprint good. Sprinting and woodland..oops. Bruised and battered I finally arrive at the rabbit on the other side of the hedge, its only just netted, Im closing in and.....he's off.

 

Rabbits 2, Gollum 0 !

 

The locator is steady at 3 foot.

Spade.

Dig.

Dry Clay.....

3 month old rabbit!

 

By now the light at the end of the tunnel was dim.

After packing away half of the woodland with the long nets it was home for me.

 

A pang of guilt shook me from my morose state, my poor dog had been tied throughout the entire mornings chaos due to the road. I felt I owed her a good run out. We headed across a beautiful estate, Buzzards mewing and soaring on the strengthening Southerly, the woodpeckers knocking as we passed and my bosses longhorns grazing and content. Sorrel was straining at the leash, she'd caught a scent and her pace quickened. Sitting 30 yards out in the meadow was a halfling. Slowly we edged closer the leash slipped and just fingertips holding her back, at 20 yards I let her fly.

 

Sorrel 1 Rabbits 0

 

She gave me the rabbit and danced around soaking up the fuss and chorus of "well done girl" etc

 

I wanted to explore the far side of the estate, its a new permission and large. As we rounded some woodland she caught a scent and pointed excitedly toward another small rabbit sitting out. This time I let her go at about 30 yards...

 

Sorrel 2 Rabbits 0 :)

 

Having found more many more great looking buries and several miles later she repeated the performance and got another one!

 

Life's a bitch...and she's called Sorrel

 

[scothunter 12,609]

cracking wee dog and its named after a very famous horse

[roryh 0]

never mind u cant cant catch them all

dogs coming on well

[stubby 175]

another good story, and another good reason to get yourself a ferreting partener, one of you either side of hedgerows/embankments etc

[olliedakennard 0]

Funny story well written, looks like you should start mooching in those ares with youre dog(s) it can create a nice size bag....atb ollie

[The one 8,512]

everybodies itching to be out but theres just too much cover yet but at least you got a few rabbits