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Worth Getting out of Bed For!


Frenchieboy
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Woke up early, had a brew and decided to go out for a walk with the HMR at a farm where I was expecting to find a few bunnies. After chatting with the farmer while he was doing the milking I got "togged up" and realised that I had been chatting longer than expected as it was nearly 7.00 o'clock. "Oh well" I thought, "The bunies will be off to bed now but what the heck, I am here so I had just as well have a look and see if there is anything about"! Boy am I glad that I did! I hadn't been out long when I came across a large rabbit "grooming" itself in the grass. It was on an angle of about 45 degrees to me with it's head down so I had to get on aim and then "click" my tongue to make it lift it's head, which it did (Very obliging of it) and got a 17gr Blue tip in the side of its head for its troubles!

After about 20 minutes of walking in the dew covered grass without seeing anything except a few very young rabbits I spotted a ginger shape moving about around a bed of nettles. This young fox was totally oblivious to me standing watching it about 55 to 60 yards away and carried on looking in the grass as if hunting for some small rodent. I could see that it was a youngster but there was no sign of the vixen or any other youngsters about so I guessed that this one was in fact old enough and bold enough to be out hunting on it's own - Big mistake with me about!

There was practiclally no wind whatsoever and very little I could use for cover to get in a position to see it's head unless I wanted to crawl through the wet dew coverede grass so moving about was not really an option to get a better shot in. Because of this I decided to go for an "Engine Room" shot rather than a "Head" shot (which I would have perfered at this close a range). All I had to do was to bide my time till I had a clear view of the chest and shoulder which did not take long. A gentle squeeze of the trigger and the fox fell as dead as a dodo without even a twitch. On inspection the fox looks like it is in fact one of this years vixens judging by the teeth (See photo). She was quite thin but in remarkably fine condition with a perfectly marked coat and brush (If you ignore the blood)

As I was fairly close to a footpath that gets used by dog walkers I decided to drag her back to the farm where she could be burried in the dung heap out of the way of any of the "Antis" and "Furry Friend Huggers" that might chance by.

All in all only one rabbit but a nice start to the day with some peace and quiet coupled with a pleasant walk and one less Vixen to steal the farmers chickens!

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Edited by Frenchieboy
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nice one, have to say I far prefer boiler room shots with the HMR, gives you far more room for error and if one were to run then you know it won't go far, unlike a jaw hit one.

 

I agree with you to a certain extent there Al4x, but much is depending on the range and the shooter and the circumstances. (I would ALWAYS go for the Boiler Room Shot when working Charlie "On The Lamp") Please allow me to explain what I mean:

I tend to keep a very close eye on the zeroing of my scopes so I have total confidence in the knowledge that they are spot on and inch perfect, so as long as a fox is withing say 75 yards I am 99% confident that I can put a bullet straight between the ear and the eye (if it is sideways on to me) or I can get one straight between they eyes (if it is looking straight at me).

I would also have to add that I have total confidence in my rifle and my ability, if I didn't then I would almost certainly go for the "Boiler Room Shot" every time just as I tend do with my .222 when I use that on Charlie and I would ALWAYS go for the Boiler Room Shot when working Charlie "On The Lamp"! (I have just done some renovation work on the woodwork and fully floated the barrel on my .222 rifle so I am hoping that I might have improved the accuracy on that rifle! I could shoot a one and a half inch group at 100 yards with it before so I was quite confident with it anyhow, a quick zeroing session will answer that for me!

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That is where it comes down to confidence in your own abilities and being able to "read the situation". All I can say is that in all the foxes that I have shot (Well over 30 this season alone) I have not had a single one that was a "runner" or needed a "follow up" shot!

If head shots (At closish ranges) are a concern to you then by all means stick with Boiler Room Shots but while I am confident enough and decide that the situation warrants a head shot then that is what I will stick with.

I do however have one golden rule ; "If there is any doubt whatsoever then you do not touch the trigger"!

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That is where it comes down to confidence in your own abilities and being able to "read the situation". All I can say is that in all the foxes that I have shot (Well over 30 this season alone) I have not had a single one that was a "runner" or needed a "follow up" shot!

If head shots (At closish ranges) are a concern to you then by all means stick with Boiler Room Shots but while I am confident enough and decide that the situation warrants a head shot then that is what I will stick with.

I do however have one golden rule ; "If there is any doubt whatsoever then you do not touch the trigger"!

 

 

well said and cracking shooting- I use a Tikka 222, can you tell me what ammo you use currently- Im still trying to sort out the best to suit

 

 

Les :good:

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well said and cracking shooting- I use a Tikka 222, can you tell me what ammo you use currently- Im still trying to sort out the best to suit

 

 

Les :blush:

 

Hi Les Mate, I am currently using Prvi Partizan 50 gr Softpoint in my .222 Bruno Fox Model 2. This is not because it is particularly good ammo or that my rifle "Likes It", it is purely because I am what is basically known as a "Tight ****" :blush: and I can get Partizans at £10.00 per box (As long as I buy a minimum of 3 boxes at a time) compared to something like £18.00 per box for other makes of ammo! :good:

I will say that my rifle is fairly good with Partizan Ammo and I can get a group of around 1.5 inches at 100 yards with it while aiming through a set of 4-16X50 Nikko Gameking Scopes and shooting prone or from the bonnet of my 4X4 with a bipod. :D

I have just refurbished the woodwork on my rifle and found that the barrel was not floating :blink: so I have sorted that out now. :lol: Maybe now that it is fully floating I can get slightly better accuracy with it now, time will tell. :lol: Who knows, I might even really splash out and give my wallet a major heart attack and try a "more expensive" type of ammo, but I have to say that I have never had a fox complain about what type of ammo I use yet, mind you they are nornally very dead and not feeling up to talking much when I get to them! :lol::lol::lol:

Regards

Pete

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