njc110381 Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 (edited) I was out with the combi gun again today. The manager of the land I shoot decided there are too many Deer in the gardens so something had to be done. I got one yearling two weeks ago (no photo unfortunately because I was too busy sorting it out before it got dark), and now I'm pretty sure this one was the mum. I spent the whole day after Deer. In the morning I saw a group of three Roe and then another group of Four, but none were safe shots. On the way back to the shed for lunch we spotted a lone Doe led in the brush at the side of the ride so stopped the Gator and I took the shot. She was about 60 yards away and as you may see I hit her a little low. Nothing serious, she didn't run far. I think it was because she was led down, I had to guess (educated guess) where to place the bullet! We dropped her off at a local farm and I went back for lunch. After a good sit around I headed out to the other side of the valley to see if I could get one of the many Muntjac which are trashing the gardens. I spotted 4, got barked at and didn't get any. Is it me or are Munties Much harder to stalk than Roe? I need to get back with a scoped rifle for them, it seems they're just too alert and twitchy to get into open sight range. It feels really strange to shoot with open sights but I'm keeping ranges short and seem to be doing ok. I've done enough target work with it now to know I'm nowhere near as good with it as I am with a scoped rifle, but if I respect that and keep things close it works very well. For anyone doing close work in dense woodland in daylight I'd highly recommend it. As a bonus I also got to send a few shots up at Squirrels and Pigeons too. Try doing that with a regular stalking rifle (well actually, don't)! All in all it was a good day. I got wet and passed up loads of shots because they were unsafe, but I got one in the end. :o EDIT.... Oh my god, what do I look like in that hat! Edited March 24, 2010 by njc110381 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker3 Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 good shooting buddy looks like a big doe did you get a weight and was she carrying young Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 She was pretty big and yes, she was pregnant. I didn't get a weight, in fact due to the help I had with the stalk on this occasion I didn't even have to pick her up! She was on the back of the Gator before I had a chance to think about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretmanabu Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Nice work Neil. Settling in nicely with that combi I see. I finished my exams today, so went stalking for Muntjac to celebrate. First time actually stalking. The answer to your question is yes, they are bloody hard to stalk. The place was crawling with Muntjac but I must have seen about 30 **** ends of them as they ******** off deep into the woods. They are much more alert and nervous than roe and the first sign of trouble leads them to run off and keep running. The roe seem to run for a bit and stop and look back at you presenting you with shots even when you've been scented. I finished up with a nice little Muntjac doe just before it got dark. In short, Muntjac stalking is hard but bloody good fun. Write up and pics to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Elvis Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Nice one.....Im not sure i could do without a scope now.....too used to having one!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 It feels weird, really weird! The first time I shot a Deer with it I had a nasty feeling it would just get up and run off - and it did! It took a while to find it but when I did get to it the shot was perfect. It feels all wrong at first but I just figured that if I could hit a target well I could hit a Deer the same.... Turned out I was right! You have to really limit the range, 100 yards is pushing it, but apart from that it works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 EDIT.... Oh my god, what do I look like in that hat! Roger Whittaker ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Cheers for that Henry, I feel much better now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet boy Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Well done.Nice pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Excellent. Well Done. What caliber/s is the combi gun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 It's 7x57R under 12g. It's a very nice rifle calibre, runs at less pressure than the 7x57 Mauser but still packs a decent punch which is a little more than a .243. Because it's low pressure it has lower muzzle blast which is handy because there's no room for a moderator! The recoil is very gentle too and you can easily see the bullet strike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 It's 7x57R under 12g. It's a very nice rifle calibre, runs at less pressure than the 7x57 Mauser but still packs a decent punch which is a little more than a .243. Because it's low pressure it has lower muzzle blast which is handy because there's no room for a moderator! The recoil is very gentle too and you can easily see the bullet strike. Cheers. Sounds like a gun I could use. I used to have a 20 bore/.22 combi many years ago, and had a lot of use out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 They are extremely handy guns! I do worry about pulling the wrong trigger when I take a shot at Pigeons or Squirrels but so far I've just unloaded the rifle barrel if I expect to b shooting up. It's a bit of a pain but better safe than sorry! I'm yet to see how my shotgunning suffers when I scope it. To be honest I can't see it getting much worse than it already is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Nice shooting but i have never seen one of these combi guns before, how does it work, is it a single barrell sg with the other barrell for the shell to go in? sorry if its a daft question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Well done Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Is it me or are Munties Much harder to stalk than Roe? Yes, they tend not to stand still for very long, so you need commit quickly - oh, and you hit them in the right place as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjimlad Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Good shooting and a nice gun. Looks like typical Stroud countryside to me too ! Plenty of game was taken over open sights before scopes were so readily available. It's good to see that continuing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 (edited) Nice shooting but i have never seen one of these combi guns before,how does it work, is it a single barrell sg with the other barrell for the shell to go in? sorry if its a daft question Spaniel, that's pretty much it. It's just like a double trigger O/U shotgun layout but with some basic sights set into the rib. You set windage by tapping the sight sideways and elevation by changing the foresight blades for different lengths. Top barrel is 12g with 1/4 choke and fired with the rear trigger, bottom barrel is the rifle and is fired by the front trigger. I cursed it when I first shot it, the rifle trigger weighed a ton (maybe five pounds). Then I talked to a chap on another forum who had one and he said "you know if you pushed the trigger forward on mine it would set!". Well it did, and I'm happy now. It will let go at a crisp 1/2lb or so! It takes some serious getting used to and also very strict discipline to be safe with it. I always unload the rifle barrel before taking a sky shot and when shooting Deer I take the shotgun cartridge out. That way a wrong trigger pull (and I did it several times early on) just results in a click and a missed chance. In fact just the other day I followed a Squirrel across a branch and click, had I not unloaded the rifle that could have been a very serious issue! If you find yourself over my way at some point why not drop by? Take a closer look and put a couple of rounds down it if you want? It's all good experience! Edited March 25, 2010 by njc110381 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Yes, they tend not to stand still for very long, so you need commit quickly - oh, and you hit them in the right place as well That's me out of luck then. I mess about like you wouldn't believe! As for my shooting skills, well the less said about that the better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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