Busy May weekend

[cooter]

A few pictures from the weekend.

I was out at stupid o’clock on Saturday morning, looking for two munties that have been causing problems for the last few years.

I had stalked right up to a doe that I know of old, and I knew she was close by as she had been browsing when I first saw her but had vanished without a bark, which is not her style.

 

I was scanning the area but staying in the aim for at least ten minutes when I saw a fox making its way toward me through the brush. In a choice between one of my two long time adversaries and one of the far too many foxes on this shoot I have to take the fox (under orders as one cleared a chicken pen recently).

 

As I already had the rifle on the sticks I adjusted position to where he would finally appear and give me a clear shot.

 

He stopped behind a tree no more than five metres away but was still clearly unaware I was there, until that is he stepped out and, as I adjust my hand position, he glanced in my direction.

He got spooked and lightly hopped off, which was just as well as he was so close I couldn’t focus down on him, only to do that fox thing and stop for another look at a much better distance (for me that is) of eight metres.

 

By the look on his face he was a little surprised when the 125grn SP hit him in the head.

 

 

This photo is of his good side or should I say his only side after the impact.

 

Fox down, and loud .308 bang, I figured the doe would be long gone.

How wrong I was.

She had clearly been laying up not far in front of where I shot the fox but must have stood up unnoticed when I fired.

As I lifted the rifle off the sticks she hopped off to a safe distance in cover then set off barking.

 

I decided to follow the barking, as it also leads me to a well used track which my other adversary uses daily.

 

I followed slowly until she went silent, which didn’t take that long but it seemed like an age as she had set off two others, which had probably been within fifty metres of where I was standing, giving me a great 5am chorus.

 

A few more metres and I would be in line with the track I was making for. I got the sticks up, and the rifle in the cradled (I use Austrian shooting sticks more recently called quad sticks), a long slow scan with the bins to familiarize myself with the ever changing surrounds now that spring is here, then it was stand patiently and slow head movements looking for shadows.

 

Not long and he appeared. I knew it was him as his battle scars are like Maori tattoos.

 

He was in the clear and broadside when I first caught sight of him 50 metres away, but by the time I was in the aim he was partially obscured, then I lost him altogether.

I was sure he was heading straight toward me so I got in the aim on the track where I thought he would reappear.

An age later and he did just that, but he was less than twenty five metres away and moving fast.

I stopped momentarily to check something out on the ground and that was my one chance of a shot, but it was almost fully front to back.

 

He dropped on the spot, which I expected as I was using the .308 and not the deer friendly .223 I normally use.

 

 

He only had one antler which could have been because he had cast but he had a broken tusk as well.

 

 

He was covered in scars, they were on his legs and his under belly as well.

 

I managed to recover the bullet and the only weight loss was fragments where it had hit the bone in his back leg.

 

 

 

I was allowed out later that evening and while checking one of the fields that normally has sheep in it at this time of year I noted a fox trying to sneak up on some pheasants that were picking at the clover.

 

It was so distracted I had time to open the gate, drive in, set up the .308, drive to within a reasonable shooting distance, and it was only when I bumped the door frame with the mod that he decided to hop off through a hedge.

 

I chambered a 110grn V Max then set about calling him back.

Not even five minutes later he was back out.

I lined him up and he turned to go giving me front left to rear right shot.

There was very loud pop as the round hit which I could hear even though I was wearing ear defenders and he was close to 150 metres away.

 

 

Another dog fox.

 

I won’t show the exit would but it was clear why he popped the way he did as most of what should be inside was spread across the field and the hedgerow three metres away.

 

 

Sunday afternoon saw me on the bunnies.

I always like the vermin photos with loads of bunnies laid out on the bonnet of a land rover, so I thought I would do one next time I shot enough to make it worth doing.

 

 

All I can say is never again.

 

It took me an hour to get all the slime and claret off the bonnet, then the bits I had missed (where it ran into the gullies) attracted all the local cats, so this morning I have a bonnet covered in muddy paw prints, and a garden full of cat scat.

 

It was a good few hours in the field though. I haven’t done this many since I was last out in Taunton on a buddies livery stables.

 

I started using the HMR at ranges from fifty to 120 metres but after not too long I thought I was going to run out of ammo, and I had missed two due to hitting shoots from the blackthorn that I couldn’t see at the longer ranges.

 

With the HMR I had a few three's, one set of six and a set of seven as fast as I could cycle the bolt and acquire (I had to change mag for the seven).

 

After missing the second bunnie due to clipping a second tree shoot I changed to using the .22lr and was happily dropping them at ranges from twenty to ninety metres, until I rolled the windage turret down the door jamb and missed one before I realised what I had done. I wound it back to zero and it was spot on again.

 

It was twenty one in forty five minutes with a total of thirty one for three hours with four not recovered due to the dense blackthorn.

It could have been an easy ten more, not including the four missed ones, but the mossies were trying their best to eat me and it was a bit of a distraction.

[rabbiter]

excellent write up mate,enjoyed reading that,great pics too.............DAZ

[the pigeon man]

Amazing wright up felt like I was there cracking pictures well done

[Bunnyblatter]

What a read that was !!!

Well done mate fantastic shooting

[Martin&Oakley]

The top fox looks as if he has nothing left in its head.

Quality write up and photos.

[yds]

well done, what was the mushroomed bullet you recovered?

Edited May 21, 2013 by yds

[Rimfireboy]

Well done cooter, good write up fella.

[cooter]

Thanks for all the comments. Much appreciated.

 

 

 

The top fox looks as if he has nothing left in its head.

 

There was nothing left of the scull apart from bone fragments.

 

 

 

well done, what was the mushroomed bullet you recovered?

 

It was the same .308 125grn Sierra Pro hunters I used when I was out with you John.

[Zulu]

Enjoyed the read , thanks and well done .

[HotShot!]

Looks like you had a good weekend !!

[Richy p]

A very enjoyable read, top shooting fella.