Just a couple

[Scully]

Picked up Fergus ( the ferret ) this morning and had a look around a couple of fields I’d noticed some earth moving during dog walks. 
Haven’t been able to get out for a while with the ferret due to weather and time etc, and was feeling guilty as he’s a big lad and needs to get out more often than we do. 
First stop was a steep banking, the slope of which has several mature oaks leading down to a narrow beck as it tumbles its way from the Pennine Fells about half a mile away. It was early and I could smell the wet earth and damp wood from many broken tree limbs shattered by recent storms. We get the Helm wind here, and when it blows it sounds like a speeding locomotive.
All was still now though, and I sat on a broken limb for a few minutes just savouring the smells and stillness. 
The recent snow didn’t get down this far, which would have made ‘in use’ holes apparent, so picked those which while having leaves in the entrance showed signs of those leaves being compressed somewhat compared to others. 
Only one hole showed new soil so after slipping three cartridges in the Benelli, sent Fergus down this one. He was back up in seconds so I knew it was empty. He doesn’t waste time this lad, if he doesn’t get a scent then he’s back up. I let him relish being out for a while, and picked my way over and under broken branches as I followed him up and down the banking. 
Fergus is a silver, bordering on white ( not albino ) ferret and as he topples up and down through twigs and undergrowth he is easily spotted and tumbles around like a wind blown handkerchief, so it’s fine to let him get quite some distance away. 
Then I saw him drop into a hole and disappear, and stayed down. 
I sought a more or less flat piece of ground to make a stable platform for my feet and to give me a good field of fire over several holes and the many branches littering the banking. 
I had three steel cartridges in the Benelli as I intended any rabbits to be food for Fergus. 
Several minutes went by as I eagerly scanned as many holes as possible, and then as if by magic a rabbit head appeared and simultaneously perhaps five yards away so did the head of Fergus! Both were looking at me, Fergus with a grubby nose and a look of ‘where’d it go?’ and then I shot the rabbit which disappeared from view. 
I scuttled up the banking before Fergus realised what was going on and  got to the rabbit before me. I picked it up just as Fergus appeared from where it had been. 
I gutted it ( always ensure you empty the bladder first! ) and hung it on a branch to cool then called Fergus and boxed him. 
The next half hour consisted of me following him up hill and down dale and at one point rescuing him from his box after he climbed into it and it rolled over on the slope and shut him inside! 
No joy, so boxed him and we crossed the road into the adjacent field. 
I’m not keen on doing hedges on my own as it can be hard work constantly climbing over wire and hedges when your ferret inevitably decides to go walkabout on the far side. However, in this field the hedge has had a severe cropping and the barbed wire is hanging loose and low enough to straddle, so popped him down a hole with extensive, almost orange ( local sandstone) earth movings. He didn’t come back up so got ready by walking back about 10 yds from the hedge so I had a good view. 
Over the hedge is a field of frost rotted fodder beet, my only obstacle being a big pile of hedge trimmings. 
I started to think he’d perhaps met a doe which had turned her back on him to protect the nest, and he was busy clawing at her back, or he’d killed underground and was now having breakfast, after which he’d have a nap. *****x! 
Last time we did this hedge the bolted rabbit emerged with Fergus attached, and he rode it down the hedge until he was eventually kicked off, rodeo style! 
And then it was there! It ran perhaps three yards as I swung the muzzle up to it, then changed direction as it darted back to the hole but veered through the fence and off across the fodder beet. I swung on to it as it was fast disappearing behind the pile of brash, doubting I’d hit it. 
I collected Fergus and cleared rabbit fur from his front feet, as I had a grumble at myself for missing, then finding nothing further along the hedge, crossed the hedge to look for the rabbit even though I knew I wouldn’t find it. I didn’t. No fur, no blood, nothing. 
In the far hedge I found similar earth works to the last, and unmistakenly freshly disturbed soil, and against my better judgement dropped in Fergus, stepped back and slipped another cartridge into the gun. 
I waited, and waited, then waited some more with a growing sense of regret. The rabbit could be wounded, either by me or its recent battle with Fergus, or could already be dead, so he’d be busy dining, or he was boxed in. 
I took out an ear plug and knelt down with my ear as close to the hole as possible. Nothing, so I waited some more. Then I saw a glimpse of white and looking closer saw Fergus attached to the rabbit, which was struggling to break free from the hole while he tried to stop it escaping. 
I reached in and grabbed a front leg of the rabbit but quickly let go when Fergus flashed those fangs! Maybe not then! 😅

Back to waiting as they both disappeared from view, and as I listened it gradually went quiet down there and I b*******d myself. 
I thumped on the ground for a while but no joy, and after some time unloaded the gun, placed his box next to the hole and went back to the vehicle. 
My plan ( it’s worked before ) was to get the gutted rabbit and thump on the ground over the hole while calling him and jiggling the gutted rabbit in the entrance, hoping curiosity would get the better of him and he’d come to investigate, smell the rabbit and take hold. 
Slipped the empty gun and by the time ( 10 mins ) I got the vehicle and drove across the field, lo and behold there he was, above ground and as apparent as ermine, albeit with a grubby mask! 
I straddled the fence with the gutted rabbit and slowly walked towards him so as not to spook him, calling and swinging the rabbit slowly, hoping he’d get its scent. He did as I got closer, and when I laid it on the ground he grabbed hold of it by the head, so I took hold of him and boxed him with a huge sigh of relief. 
Job done and that was enough for now. We’d been out for the best part of three hours in which we’d thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I was ready for a coffee. 
Back at home I dismembered the rabbit and removed the head as it would be full of shot, then placed it in with Fergus where he quickly took it downstairs to his bed out of sight, and while he had breakfast I went home for mine. 
Not the most productive of mornings, but I achieved what was intended, namely to give Fergus the opportunity to get out and do what he does best. 

Edited February 13 by Scully

[wisdom]

Belting write up.Every outing is enjoyable regardless of the bag in my books.

[pigeon controller]

You’ve said it all , cracking.

[London Best]

Write a book!

[islandgun]

I enjoyed your hunt. Think I need to get myself a Fergus.👍

[mgsontour]

Wow, you made me laugh. . . . . . . . Fergus the ferret!

You have a fantastic sense of humour sir and hope your Mrs understands how lucky she is to have you!

Great

[Scully]

Thanks all. Am pleased you enjoyed it. 
I’ll be sure to tell her @mgsontour

😀👍

[islandgun]

Is it better to have two ferguses ?

[Scully]

10 hours ago, islandgun said:

Is it better to have two ferguses ?

It is. They’re very sociable creatures and it’s not ideal to keep just one really. He did have a brother, both placid and had obviously been well handled as kits. 
I originally got ferrets for some of the village kids, which they enjoyed as kittens until they got a bit bigger, but the first ‘nip’ and that was it, all interest waned and they were left to me to tend to. 
Fergus and his brother were given to me and so we had four in total, but had to keep those separate from the original brother and sister as they were tiny compared to the two Fergus’. 
Anyhow, time moves on and now only Fergus is left.
I’d like another to keep him company but they may fight when introduced as he will be territorial by now. 
Two are handy as you can often distract the other which has stayed down, by inserting the other. 
Sometimes though, you just end up with two ferrets stuck underground! 🙂

I once had 22 ferrets, many moons ago. Two jills I had both had litters of 10 each, but that’s far too many for a small market town back garden and I just gave them away to the local kids. 
The annoying part was that folk who’d tired of theirs would just drop them over my garden fence! 
 

[Penelope]

14 hours ago, London Best said:

Write a book!

What about the PW book? 

There's a few on here that could make a decent contribution.

[JKD]

14 hours ago, London Best said:

Write a book!

I'd agree 👍

Scully, you've obviously got one of those minds,,,, re your artwork and very descriptive tales 😀

Edited February 14 by JKD

[Scully]

15 minutes ago, JKD said:

I'd agree 👍

Scully, you've obviously got one of those minds,,,, re your artwork and very descriptive tales 😀

Thank you. 🙂👍

[JKD]

6 minutes ago, Scully said:

Thank you. 🙂👍

You're very welcome 😁

I used to write up my air rifle rabbit and roosting pigeons outings on a now extinct forum, which were similar to yours, but not as atmospheric TBH. Unfortunately, I didn't 'save' any of my tales, so they are now lost forever 😣

Edited February 14 by JKD

[Poor Shot]

Great write up! 

I had ferrets as a kid well before I had firearms. I do miss them and think that using the ferrets to flush rabbits to a waiting gun would be a quite enjoyable rather than just netting them. 

I don't miss the lingering smell of rabbit innards on thrice washed hands though!  

[Scully]

9 hours ago, Poor Shot said:

Great write up! 

I had ferrets as a kid well before I had firearms. I do miss them and think that using the ferrets to flush rabbits to a waiting gun would be a quite enjoyable rather than just netting them. 

I don't miss the lingering smell of rabbit innards on thrice washed hands though!  

Thanks all again. 
Yes, the smell does tend to loiter a bit. 😕

[islandgun]

11 hours ago, Scully said:

It is. They’re very sociable creatures and it’s not ideal to keep just one really. He did have a brother, both placid and had obviously been well handled as kits. 
I originally got ferrets for some of the village kids, which they enjoyed as kittens until they got a bit bigger, but the first ‘nip’ and that was it, all interest waned and they were left to me to tend to. 
Fergus and his brother were given to me and so we had four in total, but had to keep those separate from the original brother and sister as they were tiny compared to the two Fergus’. 
Anyhow, time moves on and now only Fergus is left.
I’d like another to keep him company but they may fight when introduced as he will be territorial by now. 
Two are handy as you can often distract the other which has stayed down, by inserting the other. 
Sometimes though, you just end up with two ferrets stuck underground! 🙂

I once had 22 ferrets, many moons ago. Two jills I had both had litters of 10 each, but that’s far too many for a small market town back garden and I just gave them away to the local kids. 
The annoying part was that folk who’d tired of theirs would just drop them over my garden fence! 
 

Thanks for the info, I was quite keen a while ago but I had two patterdales then (used for mink)  and didn't think they would mix. I've got a spaniel now and he is a friendly lad. I have a Fred j Taylor book on ferreting so will study that

 

11 hours ago, Penelope said:

What about the PW book? 

There's a few on here that could make a decent contribution.

Absolutely, there's some great write ups on here

[Scully]

21 minutes ago, islandgun said:

Thanks for the info, I was quite keen a while ago but I had two patterdales then (used for mink)  and didn't think they would mix. I've got a spaniel now and he is a friendly lad. I have a Fred j Taylor book on ferreting so will study that

 

 

I had a Border Terrier once. She was called Lucy and was a fabulous ratter and gun dog, and once got a mention in the Shooting Times after retrieving a goose from the river Eden! She was a brilliant nutter of a dog and a bit of a legend amongst those who knew her. Sadly missed. 
Anyhow, she didn’t like ferrets, and in particular my favourite hob Diesel, who had a wonderful polecat mask. 
My nephew ( then about 12 ) and me were bolting bunnies at the Fell bottom and I shot a rabbit just as it was about to leap from a wall it had bolted up. It actually fell on the other side of the wall, over which I was then bound to climb, completely forgetting about Diesel, who was still underground. 
Before I could climb back over with the rabbit I heard my nephew shout and I looked over the wall to see Lucy and Diesel rolling down the hill together, both intent on murder! 
I scrambled over as quick as possible to stop Lucy killing the ferret, although from what I could tell it was a close run thing! 😂

I took hold of the dog at which point she shook off the ferret, and while I kept hold of her I saw Diesel with a tail like a toilet brush! There was no way I was picking him up with a tail like that so told my nephew to pick him up, and not knowing any better he did so! 😳

Much to my surprise Diesel let him, but gave him a good spray just for good measure! Drove home with all the windows down! 😂

Edited February 14 by Scully

[islandgun]

21 minutes ago, Scully said:

I had a Border Terrier once. She was called Lucy and was a fabulous ratter and gun dog, and once got a mention in the Shooting Times after retrieving a goose from the river Eden! She was a brilliant nutter of a dog and a bit of a legend amongst those who knew her. Sadly missed. 
Anyhow, she didn’t like ferrets, and in particular my favourite hob Diesel, who had a wonderful polecat mask. 
My nephew ( then about 12 ) and me were bolting bunnies at the Fell bottom and I shot a rabbit just as it was about to leap from a wall it had bolted up. It actually fell on the other side of the wall, over which I was then bound to climb, completely forgetting about Diesel, who was still underground. 
Before I could climb back over with the rabbit I heard my nephew shout and I looked over the wall to see Lucy and Diesel rolling down the hill together, both intent on murder! 
I scrambled over as quick as possible to stop Lucy killing the ferret, although from what I could tell it was a close run thing! 😂

I took hold of the dog at which point she shook off the ferret, and while I kept hold of her I saw Diesel with a tail like a toilet brush! There was no way I was picking him up with a tail like that so told my nephew to pick him up, and not knowing any better he did so! 😳

Much to my surprise Diesel let him, but gave him a good spray just for good measure! Drove home with all the windows down! 😂

Nice one. How long before your nephew spoke to you again. My old terrier would retrieve a greylag occasionally but always dropped it a few feet away after munching it a bit, this ferreting seems a bit labour intensive, certainly at least two man if you want a shot. I'm not sure my long suffering wife would be up for it😁

[Scully]

10 hours ago, islandgun said:

Nice one. How long before your nephew spoke to you again. My old terrier would retrieve a greylag occasionally but always dropped it a few feet away after munching it a bit, this ferreting seems a bit labour intensive, certainly at least two man if you want a shot. I'm not sure my long suffering wife would be up for it😁

You’re quite right; much easier job with two. Your wife will love it! 👍 

[Poor Shot]

12 hours ago, Scully said:

I took hold of the dog at which point she shook off the ferret, and while I kept hold of her I saw Diesel with a tail like a toilet brush! There was no way I was picking him up with a tail like that so told my nephew to pick him up, and not knowing any better he did so! 😳

My left index finger knuckle is covered completely by scar tissue from making a similar mistake. 

I was ferreting with a mate who had a small hob was a brilliant working animal but could not be handled without welding gloves once it had gotten the scent of rabbit in it's nose. It emerged from a hole on the side of a warren I was covering, he told me not to pick it up and he would jump over to and get it himself, I didn't listen and it latched on the skin covering my knuckle and damn near tore it completely off. Little ******.. 😆Once it had that toilet brush tail it was an evil little ***. 

I've also made sure that any of my ferrets were well handled and I was able to pick them up no matter what. It makes ferreting much easier when you can pick them up not having to worry for your fingers. 

[Scully]

4 hours ago, Poor Shot said:

My left index finger knuckle is covered completely by scar tissue from making a similar mistake. 

I was ferreting with a mate who had a small hob was a brilliant working animal but could not be handled without welding gloves once it had gotten the scent of rabbit in it's nose. It emerged from a hole on the side of a warren I was covering, he told me not to pick it up and he would jump over to and get it himself, I didn't listen and it latched on the skin covering my knuckle and damn near tore it completely off. Little ******.. 😆Once it had that toilet brush tail it was an evil little ***. 

I've also made sure that any of my ferrets were well handled and I was able to pick them up no matter what. It makes ferreting much easier when you can pick them up not having to worry for your fingers. 

Oh heck! Yeah, it hurts doesn’t it! 😂

Yes you’re right, ferrets you can’t pick up aren’t worth having.