Probably the last buck of the season .

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Invited down to Martins ground this evening for a stalk followed by a shine out .Martin has recently been granted the use of a centrefire ,namely the .243 on a patch of ground he has had for a while and being the gentleman that he is ,he invited me to share the first time out .He had previously seen a buck here and told me exactly where he would be and its action if disturbed .The ground in question is a sloping aspect down towards a road .We stalked down to a small spinney and Martin set me up in a position that overlooked the bottem of a sloping field ,just off the point of the spinney whilst he walked around the top of the ground ,hopefully to gently move any deer around the bottem hedge and along infront of me .Not long into the wait when the phone goes and Martin explains that the buck is there and on the move .He mentioned it had a tall set of antlers but i was shocked and surprised at just how tall .The buck could be seen making his way along the hedge towards my position and at one point he tried to get through a gap in the hedge but decided against it .Glassing him ,i was undecided whether or not to shoot him as he was truly magnificent but as he grew closer i decided to take him as he wasnt an even head, ie 6 pointer .He was missing a front tine which made him a 5 .He picked up speed a bit as he neared the bottem of the spinney and i had to shout to stop him.He folded to a chest shot at roughly 85 paces .I bled him there on the spot and took some time to admire him before Martin arrived .Hand shakes and smiles as we took pics and began the gralloch .Martin offered the whole carcass to me but i declined ,knowing that i had more than taken enough of what was his ,settling instead for Martin to boil out the head for me .

People like him are few and far between in my experience and i just hope he gets lucky when up with me to repay the debt .

Anyway ,took the buck to the truck then it was a short drive to the next ground whre we were to lamp .We got down the fields abit and i had a squeak .A few minutes into calling and a fox arrived infront of us ,unseen on its aproach .It went through a hedge and appeard on a bank only maybe 15-20 yards away .I took him quickly and called again .Nothing else appeared but we did see a muntie buck in the next field which pranced off ,tail erect .

Thanks again mate for another cracking evening .

Edited September 17, 2008 by foxdropper

[sounder 9]

very good mate, a good outing well

done

[Hywel 53]

An excellent night out guys Likewise FD, I agree Martin is a top bloke of which there are not many around

[martin 332]

Hey you two STOP IT NOW!!!!! I'm blushing here,you are more than welcome 'FD' you have been a true gent as well,and,it was my pleasure to put him in front of you mate.And,I know you will reciprocate,and,maybe even put a muntjac in front of me.Just as a side issue,when I was taking his jacket off,I found this under the skin,and,wondered if it might be a warble fly egg sac????

What do you think mate? Oh,and,I will be cooking the head out tomorrow,and,wil post pics when it's done.............Martin.

[wildfowler-2007 0]

Great write up lads and pity about the head as it would have been a cracker if the other point was there and not broke

 

regards

[martin 332]

Great write up lads and pity about the head as it would have been a cracker if the other point was there and not broke

 

regards

 

It wasn't broke,it just wasn't there.Saying that the tine on the other side does look like it has had some sort of growth problem,and,there is a lump half way down it...........Martin.

[v-max 2]

Nice beast & good right up it looks to be an old beast hence the length & no brow tine on one side. The other looks to have frost damage from when in velvet or has knocked it when in velvet hence the lump in it.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

V-max -I guessed at him being about 7 old by the teeth and general appearance but the back was pretty much straight and he carried himself well .Anyway thanks for the comments .

Edited September 18, 2008 by foxdropper

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Well done mate , another good outing!

 

That bucks antlers are long , let us know the length ?

 

Cant wait til next week when you come up , see if you can grass a sika and land a salmon , I hope

[Guest remmy]

nice write up lads and good shooting, very nice buck, vmax i think your right mate, frost damage i shot one last year with the same kind of lump, keep it up lads thats what this site is all about rgds dave.

[martin 332]

I said I would treat the head for 'FD',and,here are a couple of pics of the process,and,I must say I am getting better at it...........................here it is on the cooker..........

And,a couple of the finished head(before Bleaching)....................

I finished this one off with a pressure washer,and,it really did do the job.

I will add another after I have bleached it on the weekend...........Martin.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Nice one mate ,teeth dont look too bad to me ,although top plate is worn flat .Did you weigh him at all not that it matters .

[martin 332]

I haven't weighed it yet mate,cos,it was still a bit wet.I'll weigh it tomorrow........Martin.

[martin 332]

I've just weighed the head,and it has gone 555 gr. so you can see now that it is a big'un...........Martin.