When things go slightly wonky

[henry d]

The farmer who`s farm I`ve been shooting woodpigeon and fallow on recently was moaning about the rabbits, again, even though I had been shooting every fortnight through the summer. I had told him on Tuesday that I would be out with the lamp through the week, but didn`t know which night. I decided to go last night as there was a good wind all day and a wee splash of rain on and off through the day.

As soon as I had loaded the motor the wind died off, typical ! It didn`t stop there though, I got to the farm and asked the farmer if it was still OK and he said "Aye no bother, I got 30 odd last night"

So every field I passed or went in the rabbits were out of the blocks and running as soon as the lamp hit them, which didn`t make it easy for me to say the least, then in one field that is an old established grass park with cattle and loads of rabbits and therefore is very attractive to foxes etc. I had driven to the top of the hill and could see 90% of the field and there 150 or so yards away was a nice big set of red eyes gleaming at me. I stopped the motor, killed the engine got the scope onto him and as I got myself settled for the shot there was a deafeningly loud noise, or so it seemed in the quiet of the night.

 

I`D HIT THE HORN WITH MY ELBOW.................... B)

 

Well I can laugh about it now ! only 9 rabbits though :o

[lurcherboy]

The farmer who`s farm I`ve been shooting woodpigeon and fallow on recently was moaning about the rabbits, again, even though I had been shooting every fortnight through the summer. I had told him on Tuesday that I would be out with the lamp through the week, but didn`t know which night. I decided to go last night as there was a good wind all day and a wee splash of rain on and off through the day.

As soon as I had loaded the motor the wind died off, typical ! It didn`t stop there though, I got to the farm and asked the farmer if it was still OK and he said "Aye no bother, I got 30 odd last night"

So every field I passed or went in the rabbits were out of the blocks and running as soon as the lamp hit them, which didn`t make it easy for me to say the least, then in one field that is an old established grass park with cattle and loads of rabbits and therefore is very attractive to foxes etc. I had driven to the top of the hill and could see 90% of the field and there 150 or so yards away was a nice big set of red eyes gleaming at me. I stopped the motor, killed the engine got the scope onto him and as I got myself settled for the shot there was a deafeningly loud noise, or so it seemed in the quiet of the night.

 

I`D HIT THE HORN WITH MY ELBOW....................

 

Well I can laugh about it now ! only 9 rabbits though

 

And they trust you with water

 

Got one for you but will have to sit down and edit big time H.

 

Watch this space

 

 

 

LB

[twelvebore]

Going back a few years, I lived on a farm in bedfordshire and part of the deal was that I helped the farmer with the day-to-day running of the place. This involved ploughing, baling, drilling, sorting the cattle, looking after the pheasant, and pest control.

 

It was common for us to go out maybe once a month and shoot (clear) the rabbits from the fields holding crops or grazing for the cattle. The usual method was to take a swb land rover and I'd stand on the passenger seat (soft top) and shoot the rabbits in the headlights. Please try to remember this was not for the sport, just to keep the rabbits down. Normal was once around a field shooting, then round again to pick-up.

 

One evening, my mate the farmer decided that I would shoot a lot better if I sat in the spare wheel on the bonnet and kept the carts in between my legs. Fine with me, I thought, I'll give it a try. Off we went and, yes it was a good idea. I was slightly lower and closer to the ground so the shots were easier to take. Also I was just a few feet closer to the targets and the lighting was improved.

 

This system ended that same night when I shot a wing mirror clean off the rover. Off side, missed my foot by a few inches, not a way to shoot safely.