Just in time......kind of...

[scolopax]

I got back from 24 days away on an oil rig last night so set the alarm clock for an earlyish start this morning. I went mainly to have a look at the poults in the pen (my brother got themen days ago) but took my rifle along just in case.

 

It started off well, I pulled off the road and went fifty yards down the track before parking the car. A clump of low docks on the track justin front of me suddenly started to walk away, so up went the bino's and I counted a lovely covey of 13 wild grey partridge. After that pleasing start I got kitted up, loaded the .243 and walked the rest of the way down the track to our wood. At the corner of the wood I spied round the edge and there was a roebuck stood broadside on not 60 yards off. I put the rifle to it but without sticks and standing free hand the cross hairs were doing a nice figure of eight around his chest. He was the much better of the two bucks I knew resided in the wood and I was really looking for the spiker that lurks around when the big boy is not at home. Anyway I was not too disappointed when the buck clocked me and walked away up the hegde.

 

With that one hell of a racket started from the direction of the release pen, which was about 100 yards further into the wood. It took me a second or two before I realised the noise was from guinea fowl calling out. My brother had mentioned something about guinea bods but I did not know he had got some for the pen. Never having had them before I did not know if the calling was an alarm call or just the birds calling as they came down from roost. I approached the pen cautiously and found the pheasant poults scattered all over, mainly outside the pen and either up in the trees on squat down in cover. The guineas were still making a hell of a racket from inside the pen. The pen is surrounded by dense bracken and bramble, but we have cut a big ride down one side and a narrower path around the remainder of the perimeter. I stood for five minutes overlooking the wide ride but nothing appeared on that side of the pen so I crept round the perimeter to the top of the pen. A handful of pheasant flushed from just in front and flew towards me, and there was Mr Fox stood not even ten yards away, he was having a great time!! He stopped on the path as he saw me but stood right behind a big clump of bracken, all I could now see was his two ears above the greenery. Not wanting to shoot through the cover I waited a couple of seconds hoping he would trot away down the wire side and give me a clear shot, but it was not to be and the little devil slipped away through the cover almost on my barrel end. From first seeing the fox to it disappearing was about 10 seconds.

 

So time to knock up a high seat and have an evening or two sat up with the shotgun.

Edited August 22, 2008 by scolopax

[Quist]

He'll be back, but I daresay you will too. I sense that this story isn't over yet

[Poacher]

hope you get him before he gets to them, get on it

[kev 1]

Let him have it.... ,Nice read too

[scolopax]

I went back early this morning and stood quietly near the pen. I think Foxy came down for a look as I heard a cock pheasant chucking away from the top of the wood, followed a couple of minutes later by another calling just fifty yards above the pen but in thick cover. I waited for a while but did not see anything, I watched over the poults as they came down from roost and they seemed happy enough. Maybe after our face to face encounter yesterday the Fox is a little bit more wary now. Put alot of Renardine down and there are two snares set on the pen perimeter.

[garyb]

Isn't Renardine banned ?

 

:o

[scolopax]

Renardine, I don,t think you can buy it any longer but do not know if it is banned from use.

 

Went tonight to walk in any escapees, did a slow circuit of the release wood, only saw a roe kid until I got back to where I started. Then I saw a fox coming along a 12meter margin from the neighbours wood. Lost sight of it, worried that it had gone into the wheat so called a bit, still no sign of it when all of a sudden there he was no more that fifteen yards away. The rifle was probably a bit too much for that range but dead is dead. So thats one down but I dare say he has a few brothers and sisters tagging along.

[garyb]

You have PM

[Quist]

Renardine, I don,t think you can buy it any longer but do not know if it is banned from use.

 

Went tonight to walk in any escapees, did a slow circuit of the release wood, only saw a roe kid until I got back to where I started. Then I saw a fox coming along a 12meter margin from the neighbours wood. Lost sight of it, worried that it had gone into the wheat so called a bit, still no sign of it when all of a sudden there he was no more that fifteen yards away. The rifle was probably a bit too much for that range but dead is dead. So thats one down but I dare say he has a few brothers and sisters tagging along.

Renardine was withdrawn from use some time ago. The manufacturers couldn't afford to carry out the neccesary testing to ensure continuing compliance under the pesticide regs. As with most withdrawals, notice was given and a short time allowed to use up existing stocks. That time has now run out.

Sorry