Dear all

Griff and I have just got back from a couple of days on our patch in Gloucestershire.

We had a brilliant couple of days but for me it was a landmark achievement as I called my first Roe buck in using the Buttolo.

First morning out I started by giving a few pheeps on the call and ended up with this fellow coming to within 15 yards of the seat I was in. Not sure if this was a reaction to the call or just coincidence that he was coming my way.





Incidentally that is the exit you can see and I was using 125 grn Nosler BT's going at 3100 feet out of my .308 and range was 15 yards.

We went back to the house and then we decided to go and clear out some foliage and resite one of the lean to high seats in the woods where the Muntjac above came out.

We left the back of the farm and got to the end of the first field and we spotted 2 Roe bucks zapping across the rape field we were skirting round but we had no rifle with us! The dominant buck came back and he was a very nice animal so we started to formulate a plan. Griff went back to the house to get his rifle and I stayed and observed so we could see which direction he might move off in. As Griff went back and I got myself wedged into the hedge bottom, a doe appeared on the banking followed closely by the buck. Then the buck which had been chased off came back across the rape to see if there was a chance for him to sneak in on the doe. By this time Griff was back and I relayed the situation to him as he was getting set up (at this point no animals were visible as they had gone up the banking and into the wood but almost on Q the doe reappeared and soon after the big buck). He came side on and as soon as he presented a shot Griff let rip with his 7mm Rem Mag. The shot was spot on and at about 160 yards and this was the result:-







Then that evening I went in the same seat that I shot the Muntjac out of and got there about 2 hours before dark. I had my Buttolo with me but in the 10 years I have had it, it has never yielded a result. I could see the antlers of a buck 284 yards away and he was bedded down on the edge of the wheat field I was in. I decieded to give it a few pheeps and there was little reaction however in my peripheral vision I saw and then heard a doe steaming through the wheat and coming to the call. I thought there was perhaps a buck in pursuit but it was not to be. She came to within 15 yards of the seat and stayed there for over 20 mins before turning round and ambling back into the woods. I kept watching the buck bedded down, for another hour or so but dark was fast approaching. I decieded to try the pheep job again and did this on 3 seperate occasions with no reaction. As it was approaching dark I thought I would try the rape call (or so it is referred to in the instructions) where you press down quickly and firmly on the call as I thought that I would have nothing to lose. As soon as I did it he stood bolt upright and came running down the side of the field. When I stopped so did he and when I started again he did too. I got the hang of it fairly quickly until he was well into the wheat field and coming on strong. I ranged him at 84 yards after going quiet for a moment and all I could see was the head and neck. I decieded to take a neck shot and he was down and this was the result as per below. Even though he was a young buck and the antlers were nothing to write home about I was absolutely over the moon as this was a first. I have called Red stags in the rut successfully but never roe and I was elated.



Anyway a really good couple of days and our efforts on the fallow were hampered by the fact most of the fields of wheat and rape had not been cut as yet.

They will be there next time so all is good.

Thanks

JB

Damn you JB,I didn't know just how good looking I am...

Made a pleasant change,although the crops were still to be cut there was enough to keep us occupied.
There were plenty of fallow around mostly does,I did see one big fallow buck but missed him cleanly just on dusk.
JB as his usual self was being a deer magnet, he did apologize for shooting the Munty as he knows I had been after him for some time..

Looking forward to the next trip when the crop is down,and the fallow are in season, hopefully my new boomstick will be up and running by then...

Griff

Congrats to you both

Just 4 more days till our season starts

Griff,
You don't look a happy bunny mate...there's no pleasing some folk. Nice buck.

Waidmannsheil!

jon, really good effort,

its nice when they come in to the call, had three nice yearlings come in to it last week

keep up the good work

a

Good shooting!

nice going JB,
the Buttalo is a fantastic call and even better when it works like it has
ATB

Good to see that that traffic is not all one way and that you scottish lads occasionally venture over the border to come stalking.

Are you sure you weren't a little over gunned? .308 and 7mmMag.

Like you I have found calling to be a very hit and miss affair. I am starting to think that the weather plays a big part in the success or failure rate. Just how big a part I've yet to determine.

I have been using a Buttolo call on Muntjac for about 7-8 years. You need to tweak the tuning slightly to get the best results but it certainly does work. It enables me to entice them out of the deep cover and increase my productivity of that I'm certain.

Thanks all

I don't think I will get out again before the rut has finished but I will certainly be giving it a go next year.

I was thinking of chucking the call in the bin but have now changed my mind

Jon,

Thanks for posting and glad you and griff connected.

I 've had a few Muntjac come in to a roe call, but they've always come in from behind staying in heavy cover until right under the seat so I've never managed to shoot one..

Unlike roe they respond any time of the year and in my very limited expirience, it can be either sex that comes in..

If I were trying to call Muntjac in particular, I think I'd have to pay a lot more attention of where I were calling from...You could almost do with being out on a clearfell or similar so they have no chance of working their way around you..Unlike roe, they don't seem to be willing to cross much open or generally leave cover..Calling one out onto the edge of cover seems to be the best I'd hope for...

Maybe others here with more expirience will chime in with their thoughts on the subject..

Regards,

Peter

quote:

Originally posted by Pete E:
Jon,

Thanks for posting and glad you and griff connected.

I 've had a few Muntjac come in to a roe call, but they've always come in from behind staying in heavy cover until right under the seat so I've never managed to shoot one..

Unlike roe they respond any time of the year and in my very limited expirience, it can be either sex that comes in..

If I were trying to call Muntjac in particular, I think I'd have to pay a lot more attention of where I were calling from...You could almost do with being out on a clearfell or similar so they have no chance of working their way around you..Unlike roe, they don't seem to be willing to cross much open or generally leave cover..Calling one out onto the edge of cover seems to be the best I'd hope for...

Maybe others here with more expirience will chime in with their thoughts on the subject..

Regards,

Peter

Pete

I think you've got it in 1. I found that by using the retuned Buttolo call at least entices the wee sods out of their preferred thick cover allowing that all important clear view to get the shot away.

The fact that either sex will respond is a huge plus IMO. Anything that increase the opportunities to nail the does, who as we know are the fundamental population control requirement is a bonus.

Interestingly Pete, behind the Roe doe (when she came to the call) was a Munty doe and I was pretty sure she had come to the call too.

I will be trying this a bit more with regards to the Muntjac down there.

Jon

Calling munties can be the easiest thing in the world if you get the situations right

most of the does I call in are mostly those with young upto around 4 weeks old
they will come in like steam trains sometimes almost knocking you over, after that I find those that hav older young often just skirt around you trying to get a better look at what the noise is, if that happens I try the terror call
the response is usually instant, they either come at you or run off
if you call a doe in that you think may be on heat the chances are a buck will follow in shortly on it's trail anyway
so if you do shoot the doe, just wait for a while just incase, it may take upto half hour for the buck to appear
I haven't as yet worked out why some bucks call and others don't, you can stand there looking at it barking away completely ingnoring the call then all of a sudden just walk out of the bush towards you, other times they come running across an open field with attitude
but mostly they stay tucked away in cover just watching you,you only realise they are there when you bump them as you go

Richard

Thanks for the info.

The Muntjac in the area don't seem to do that well (not like in some other parts of the home counties) and I have never bothered to take the Buttolo with me with view to using it on the Muntjac but I will start trying it more.

Thanks

JB