sandersj89 Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Out for our regular weekly lamping session with Sussex Lad tonight, seeing as it was a balmy spring day I arrived at the first bit of ground nice and early to snipe a few rabbits with the HMR. It is bang on at the moment and I was soon adding to the bag with some nice head shots. Brian then turns up and we have a bit of a chin wag and Brian takes a few more rabbits with the HMR as we wait for the light to drop and start a trip around this small spot. Ended the first part of the night with about 17 rabbits in the bag: We then moved along the A27 to the next spot, here they are in the middle of lambing so we go into fox mode, me with the 243 and Brian acting as lamp man as we can drive this spot easily. It is also pretty flat so some angles are not safe for shooting and I took along a set of shooting sticks to help a little. First field and eyes all over the place but nothing to get excited by, just ewes and the odd lamb here and there, these have mainly not lambed yet. Stick our noses though into the next small paddock and there is a ewe that has just given birth to twins, after birth still not fully dropped so they are only minutes old, Brian makes the comment that the scent could make something interested so we move into the next field. Here are some only lambs, just a week or so old and we start to walk to the middle of the field where there is an old hedge, walk around the end of this and shine to the left along it and there is something 120 yards away, we both think lamb but I put the scope to my eyes and it is a fox sat on his haunches looking at us. As I would be shooting towards a main road and no back stop to talk about we cant line him up so Brain calls to try and move him but he moves of to the right and back a little along another hedge line as I follow him in the scope telling Brian where he is moving all the time. He snuffles around a few lambs and then slips around a corner into the next part of the field....... We move to follow hoping he has made a bee line for an area of newly planted trees and is moving up the hill away from the road opening up the possibilities for a shot. At this stage there are ewes and lambs milling all over the place making spotting hard. But we shine the lamp up the hedge we hope he is following and right at the top far corner there he is. I settle down behind the scope with the rifle on the bipod but all I can see is the tips of his ears behind a clump of nettles so I change position quickly and take a look with the rifle on the sticks. Just as I do this he move to the left a couple of feet and I get a nice clear shot at about 120 – 140 yards. I ease the safety of and send a shot on the way but dont get a nice thud of contact. Missed!!! The fox breaks right 20 yards and then ducks back left and follows the hedge around to our right, Brian expertly keeps the lamp on him and I rack another round into the breech hoping he may stop long enough for a second try. He does but sheep are all around and he moves on to quickly for me heading around the top of a hedge. We move quickly to meet him on the far side but he is moving to the next hedge. However he is stopping from time to time for half a second so I set the sticks up and get ready by tracking him in the scope. He is in fact moving slightly nearer to us but looks like he will duck into this hedge until Brian yells “OI†at him. He stops long enough for me to squeeze off another shot and this time we get that thud of contact and he drops. But, it does not look a clean shot so we both run towards him to finish the job, as we arrive at the hedge he is not there but there is a big blood stain on the grass and a trace through into the hedge. I run to a gap in the hedge some 40m to the right and clamber through closely followed by Brian with the lamp. Through we go and I run back up to where I think he is but no light, Brian has pulled the cord from the battery pack as he clambered through the hedge....aaarrgghhhhh Light back on and there 10 feet in front of me I see the fox lying on his front dead. Phew!!! That got the heart racing a bit I can tell you. I had hit him a little too far back s he had managed to move about 15 foot but was dead when we found him no more than 90 seconds after the shot. Not best pleased with my performance but it was a reasonable result in the end. We hang around for half an hour checking the ewes but nothing else shows itself so we head back towards the landie parked up at the top of the ground. As we do we get 2 sets of eyes way away on a bank. Too far to positively ID them so we move up the tramlines in the wheat and have another shine, still two sets moving around and they are foxes. Game on again. Shot is too far, especially of the sticks here, cant lie prone due to the wheat being over a foot tall. Move forward again and move in closer to the wire fence between the foxes and us. Pick a straining post as it is big and solid and set up on top of it and start to call with the Wam call whilst Brain holds the lamp just over them. One breaks away from the pair and bounds towards us and stops at about 100 yards away side. I squeeze the trigger and get a dead mans click.....aaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhhh I had not moved the safety to the final firing position. Fool!!! On the click the fox moves back quickly, I call with the wam and he stops but is maybe 20 yards further back. Still safe and manage this time to send a round on it's way. Clean miss. Damn it!! He heads away at a huge rate of knots never to be seen again! Moral of the tale I guess is we all get too complacent with talking most of out shots of the bipod, either prone on the ground or of the back of a wagon. More practise needed of the sticks for me! Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Good write up. Get him next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awwintle Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Well done Jerry,nice write up & good results Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v-max Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Well done to you i was out this morning at 4am. I got to my ground at about 4.45am & got set up with lamp etc as i was on my own & use the clusion vehicle mount when on my own. Set up at wee layby off track 1min fae my first pack. Once set up i headed off up the track & checked my first park a wee park 1-2acre & as soon as i lamp it bingo charlie going round the lambs. He was caught out & started to zig & zaged till he decided to move out into another field opposite. I tracked him & moved my lamp a head of him & gave him the oi!!!!! too & got a very quick chance at 130m. The shot sounded good but i seen him run off in the scope & lost track of him & all this happend in less than a minute. I grabed the mounted lamp & searched but nothing gone!. I went & parked up & went out with the back pack & here he was 20m or so from shot i to was a bit rear with shot but i dident have much time & its the first in a while iv had run. It was a nobad older dog shot within 5min of getting there & one happy farmer here is a pic. Here is a pic of a nice buck we got the other night. & a cracker i got last year. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Well done Jerry excellent write up . A few Bunnies for the pot and you got the fox also. Got your pic last night on the phone, i can see what you are talking about ref shot placement. Nice shooting mate catch you soon Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash.gun Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 really good write up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Excellent write up!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet boy Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Well Done-Great write-up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev 1 Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Superb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerseaDavid Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Great shooting and a great wright up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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