The culling has started

Most of us opened our accounts on the first night.

Some horrendous traffic meant that most of were rather late in arriving but after greeting old friends, and meeting new ones, we were out and hunting.

7 down so far, at this point and with the numbers wandering around, I don't know how many to go...

Gerry has dropped his Viagra box.

Hi Ben!

Sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun already! Looking forward to the pictures being published. Wish I were there! Give the guys a hello from me.

Cheers,

Geir AKA Mr.G

Just finished dinner

All retired in the drawing room

Talking about the 24 point buck we all missed sorry pissed ......

530am start tomorrow morning ...

Hope to be with you next year Ben!
Say hello to the bunch, and pictures please

Good night

Have only 4 hours to sleep

Ghubert still up with Dig !

Our new recruit from Mauritius have invited us

Bat culling next season ......

Can we have a caliber discussion

Ghubert is troubled about the test load for his new harpoon gun

Sitting here at home, sipping some reed vine, and regretting not being with you shooting some deer, is just BAD. I talked with Dave aka Trapper Dave and he told me that there was a spot, with a glass of good vine at the table, made my think, what the f—ck am I doing listen to the doctor for?
I bet I am still capable shooting a ´308 .
Well I just have to wait for next year, but give the bunch my best

It's all over finally
I am posting this from the sitting room
Everybody is pissed except me

After dinner conversation ranges from the merit of mauser action to planning next year's hunt

Final count

31 deer shot
43 shots fired
09 hunters

Pigeon shooting tomorrow to come

It's a hard life

Solvi you are seeing the wrong kind of doctor my friend

In the airport on the way home. Gerry and I were joint top-guns for the weekend, with four deer each. I fired four shots only, I will say no more than that.....

6 Roe Does saunter past my High Seat yesterday


Hares play in front of the High Seat. I idly wonder whether to give one an ear piercing!

Very good company as usual. Everybody had a lot of fun and a lot of wine and whisky got put away. Food was good and plentiful.
We started the evening meal with a toast to Kiri's Father in Law and other absent friends.

Somehow Brian and Amir roomed together but Amir snores were so loud that Brian went downstairs to sleep on the sofa.
Last night it was Amirs turn to sleep in the lounge ......unaware that Quiddy was curled up in the corner.
Quiddy woke at seven and decided to investigate the snoring with a friendly nuzzle of his cold, wet muzzle.
This caused an outbreak of profanity which rose up the stairwell!!!
Cammo pyjamas appeared and after a while coffee and tea was made
Happy Days..
Quiddy also perfected the art of mooching sausages at breakfast from the dog lovers on the team.

Hi All,

Sorry I did not make it over to say hello to you.

Glad to hear you had a good time.

Moonlight Munty Gralloching



Amir demonstrates the DSC Gralloching method



Gerry & Tommy do it the Continental way



The evening's haul laid out for gralloching

I've been wandering around in circles this weekend, regretting not being there. Looks like you guys had a great time. As usual

More pictures please!

Reflecting on the weekend now that I am home, it was pretty good. There were fewer of us than in earlier years, 10 in total. Kiri was obviously missed, he is normally the organiser and centre of the fun.

Deer were in evidence from the minute we arrived with two Muntjac in the garden.

I was lucky and did not have a single blank outing, taking deer from three different highseats.

Friday night had me just inside a wood with a field of winter wheat over my shoulder. Mist rolled in at around 5.00pm and I thought that was going to mess me up. However, it cleared again in a few minutes and I took two bucks on the ride in front of me; a larger buck first at about 90m and a smaller one at about 60m. The larger buck just seemed to "appear", not there one minute, the next, just THERE. The bucks were shot about 15 minutes apart, there were two deer in the ride when I shot the second one, I could not sex them in low light, so I just picked the smallest one and shot it.

Mist clearing the field a few minutes after it rolled in:



Muggins here checking out the area, I was not hopeful at this point:



Friday nights two bucks:



Saturday morning broke very wet. Kick-off was stalled 30 minutes until 6.00am. I was up a very rickety highseat under an ivy covered tree, again over looking a field of wheat, with woods to both my right and left. It was pissing down and pitch black. I was glad of the ivy as it sheltered me from the worst of the weather.

Within a few minutes of settling in the seat, I was aware of movement within a short distance of the seat. At one point there were deer nearly directly under the seat, but I could not see a thing to take a shot. I later saw the fresh tracks of at least five Muntjac within 40m of the seat.

The rain eased off at about 6.45am as it started to lighten. At about 7.10am, a doe made a run from one wood to the other across my front. As I followed her in the scope, she made the mistake of stopping about 75m in front of me; I immediately shot her before she could move again.

Saturday AM's "highseat", it has seen better days......



Saturday Morning's doe:



Saturday evening was dry and sunny, I was inside a wood in a seat I was in last year. Inside a wood was probably a poor postion on a sunny afternoon after a wet morning.

I was ready to give up and get out of the seat at about 5.15pm, when a doe stepped out onto the ride. She immediately turned away from me and walked away up the ride showing only her rear end. After a minute or so, she made a partial turn to the right and stuck her head out, I took the only shot I had and she dropped on the spot.

A bit messy:



The deer were all fat and in great condition despite the hard winter. The does I shot both had good foetuses inside them.

The other thing about Muntjac is that the little buggers never seem to stand still. Accept for the large buck on Friday evening, every deer had to be followed in the scope and shot the instant it stood still. If you weren't on the trigger in a fraction of a second, it was gone. Some of the guys had not shot Munties before, I suspect this is why the struggled a little.

Generally a good weekend I thought.

Looks like a good time was had by all.

Brian - can't see you sitting in that deathtrap. Nothing quite like a nice rickety seat.

Phew!

I've just slept since Sunday afternoon and am just about feeling human again.

It was great to see the boys again and some great sport was had by all.

I bagged three does from the two outing I managed, one at fair old whack. At this range and at low light half the thrill was playing "muntjac roulette" on whether it was actually a doe or a talented transvestite of a buck. Lady luck was on my side however and it turned out to be a nice doe at 210 paces.

I'll not embarrass anyone, not Gerry, by recounting any stories about any misses, either of them, because that's just not me.

The new hunters Yogan and Chris gave a good account of themselves.

Yogan, whom I sat up with on the first night as he had never seen a muntjac before, missed his first buck which ran off in to the woods. Thirty seconds later we heard the unmistakable blast of an unmoderated rifle in the direction the munty had just departed in.

I congratulated Yogan on what was the first deer he could claim to have a hand in and talked him through baggin the next two that appeared. The estate rifle they had lent him was a .243 loaded with Norma 75grain V-maxes and so I was rather dictatorial as to which shots he could and could not take. Needless to say when the shot was on, the muntjac was usually down...

The morning of the Saturday was the my first on my own account and i was determined to do some damage. Making sure I woke up Dig this year, , I was up and about at sparrow's fart in anticipation. It was drizzling quite nicely at half five and by the time we'd gotten up into the seats it was pissing it down quite nicely.

I had taken along a stainless steel/ laminated rifle just for such an eventuality but had neglected to pack a magazine owing to some excitement with automotive electrics and country lanes after leaving Stu, Gerry and the Winkelmeister on the Friday.

In anticipation of the Somme-like carnage I was planning on wreaking on the Muntjac, A single shot would just not cut it and the three shot magazine of my Tikka was only just marginal.

My seat for that morning was with my back to a wood looking over fields, with the wind blowing into my face and on into the the wood I was not particularly hopeful in the bucketing rain.

A few moments after we I was dropped off I happened to glance to my left along the ride as I was sorting my kit and caught a dark blob near the trees and a bout a hundred yards away trying to sneak back into the wood without me noticing. Such unsportsmanlike behaviour did not sit particularity well with my mood at that moment and so I threw the rifle up and as suspected the blob turned out to be a small munty of indeterminate sex attempting to sneak back into the wood from a pile of sugar beets it had been munching on.

In the dark I overestimated the range by a good fifty yards and shooting my "muntjac special" load of a 180 grain bullet at about 2500 out of the '06 and held a touch high. The bullet took the immature buck, that's why they call it muntjac roulette, high through the shoulders and it dropped like sack of (new) potatoes. That was the last muntjac I saw that session but was kept amused by attempting to get a bead on hyperactive white stoat that was buggering about in the field margins. I confess that I had the little blighter in my sights more than once, but being a soft bugger at heart and not sure if he did much damage as the game birds aorund didn't seem overly concerned, didn't blast him in the end.

We went back for a spot of breakfast and a little rest before heading out again that evening for a gloriously clear afternoon. i was put in the corner of a field bordered with woods and with the wind in the right direction to boot for the afternoon session. I had not been in the high seat long when a big mature doe wandered out from the woods to my right and cut across "my" corner of the field, heading towards the woods that ran out in front on my left and glancing up at my seat every few metres as she went. As Brian says the fun of muntjac shooting is that they never sit still and you have to be cunning and quick sometimes to get a shot. I played Grannie's footsteps with the doe in the most earnest sense, moving my rifle up and on to aim an inch or two at a time when she wasn't looking. She was five yards from the woods and sniffing the tire tracks on the ride by the time I was looking at her through the scope. She had her bum to me unfortunately but at only 50 yards away I was already drawing a bead on the back of her neck when for some reason she turned broadside and looked into the woods.

"Thank you very much" I thought and touched off the round. It was a classic "third of the way up the front leg" heart shot that dropped her where she stood. Just in case I haven't mentioned before how a great a muntjac calibre the 30.06 is before, let me take this opportunity to extol it's virtues just this one time.

In short, it rocks.

All of those hunting this mighty midget with mouse guns (.243's, .260's, less than 50 grains of powder more generally) and varmint bullets ( V-maxes, ballistic tips, anything with an SD less than .27-odd more generally) have missed the joy of knocking the unholy hell out of them with no meat damage that a heavy slow 30 cal(ish) bullet provides. Co-conspirators in this Church of Second Coming of the Holy Elmer Keith were Stu C, The Winkelmeister and my good self, the rest electing to talk at great length about "efficiency", "overkill" and such borderline vegan concepts.

In that vein as the rifle came down from recoil I could see the doe on her side, doing that thing that looks like they're waving "goodbye cruel world" with their one functioning shoulder before twitching it's last. Start to finish it was ten seconds and I must admit I felt a good deal better about myself after the amazing soaking, myself, Gerry, Stuey and the Winkelmeister's second in two days, of the morning. Not much else happened until almost last light when a small indeterminate muntjac stepped out of the woods a good 200 yards away and paid for it by being ranged with the meopta graticule and promptly shot. Harsh perhaps, but in the circumstances fair.

The evening was as always a good crack, we were understandably a bit quieter this year in the absence of a few of our dear friends but with a toast to those absent in person yet with us in spirit we managed to do them suitably proud in the end.

Good times.

Waidmannsheil to all the AR buds on a nice time and good hunt. Really makes the gatherings special the stories, good times, and friends. Glad to hear you all didn't disappoint

Of course Dom!

I just noticed that I left a vital part of my report out in my haste to get the (repeatable) funny bits down.

A big thanks to Kiri and Dig for organising and hosting this years event.

Even though Dig kept calling the deer, birds ( can take the boy out of pheasant shooting but not the etc...) and almost put Dave in detention for getting merry at the dinner table and interrupting his debriefing with using a butter knife to make the same noises that I used to make with a ruler at school!

Feeling unable to tell Dave off, who would, he kept telling me to behave and pay attention!

His TT Proctor Imperial worked just fine by the way, either the scope mounts and rifle are magic.

Thanks for the write up and picture guys.
Been thinking about you, and hope to be there next year (even plan to invest in a camo pyjamas).

Ahhhh, the English Countryside, The Livermere Hall, a great place to spend a weekend with good friends

(still got the knife Amir, or is it resting under some brush or hedge?)

All those Deer and not one of walked past my high seat when i was there Well i will just have to come back over.

The 4th AR Weekend ......

Thank You Kiri for your (as usual) superior organizational talents and then as a tragic personal loss occured - handing the Football off to Digs; who managed handily; occupying Kiri's position at the Head of the Table (normally a position of responsibility but in this case the Septere was a (limp) Viagra package .....)

It was a pleasure to share our passion with the Charter Members, Members & Initiation Members present:
Claret Dabbler = Brian, HRH Jagdkönig I
Yours Truly = Gerry, HRH Jagdkönig II
Benjamin = aka Bennie the Bear; of 9.3x66 Chang fame,
Trapper Dave & Quiddy, the Wonder Lab
StuC = Stuey, cigarette lighters are made w/an Idiot Cord, you know?
Digs, appreciate you taking "The Lead",
Amir = The Zipper Virgin, aka, "Use Enough Gun" (the 45/70 may be almost adequate for Muntjac)
Chris = on his First Buck
Yogan = Fruit Bat
& Winkelmeister, my steadfast Cohort in Crime

Great fun, excellent banter and of course lots of Muntjac & Pigeon opportunities at a superior venue; Livermere Hall in Great Livermere.

Thank You all for sharing AR Euro Forum Weekend IV with The Winkelmiester & myself.

Kiri, in abstentia - Very Well Done!

Gents,

Well done to all involved. It looks like the weekend went well for all involved with a good few deer put in the larder again.

I wanted to just say a big thank you to Dig who dived in to my place at the last minute and steered the ship in my absence. I know hosting these things is not always easy so I think he did a great job for us.

We still have a small amount of culling to do this year on the Muntjac there so there may be some additional days added in over the next couple of months for those that wish to join us.

Best regards,
Kiri

Wow 31 animals for 43 shots. That seems a poor. Any particular reason?

Why ?

Porn and hunting don't mix that's why

Never bring your iPad hunting

Made a fatal error won't do it again

Thought I was going blind for a moment

Nobody missed just miss fire that's all

Right boys ?

I guess it must help while away the time whilst stuck up a tree in the rain. Note to self, get an iPad.

quote:

Wow 31 animals for 43 shots. That seems poor less than optimal. Any particular reason?

I agree, but since this isn'nt a By-Standers Sport Yours Truly managed 2; incredible as it sounds - 2 shots went wild at the same Beast ...... O.K. it was a long shot, the Muntjac are small, the Moon Jupiter & Mars weren't aligned, etc, etc, etc .....

Sounds like you all had fun, thanks for the write up and the pics

Hopefully I will be able to join you all next year.

Here are some pictures of my buck from the Friday evening session








Broadside, at 20m, over a pile sugar beats, in good light, wasn't much of a test for rifle or marksman. Sometimes you get lucky.


It was another great weekend. Thanks, K and Dig for organising it. Looking forward to the next one.


stu

Congratulations!
Looks like a nice head Stu.
Must be an old one?

Arild, we missed you and the rest of the Norse contingent. Hope you get that Namibia trip out of your system and come back to join us next year.

Yes, that buck looks like he's going backwards. About 5-6 years old? Not sure.


cheers,
stu

He looks a younster to me no more than about 4-5 years max.

His pedicles are still long and the corenets are not yet angled, his ears are not ripped, he still has a canine (I guess he still has both) and the antlers are quite short.

All of these clues suggest his age is younger rather than mature to old.

Muntjac live to around 14 years and when getting old start to get quite short pedicles and angled corenets below is an extreme example.



Stu, if you can put up a photo of the bottom jaw I could give you a better idea of age.

quote:

Stu, if you can put up a photo of the bottom jaw I could give you a better idea of age.

D, wish I had more photos but they're all I've got. The head is now with Amir but I suspect the bottom jaw may have been discarded in the cleaning/boiling process.

Thanks for adding your photos. Gives me a good idea what to aim for next year.

Congrats on a nice muntie, Stu!

Gentlemen,
It was a pleasure and a privilege hunting with you at the AR weekend! I apologize it has taken me a few weeks to get up and running with an account on AR. The weekend exceeded all my expectations and I look forward to my next chance to participate in another adventure. Waidmannsheil and agin, thanks for the adventure.
Winkelmeister

Tom,

Let me one of the first to welcome you to the AR Forums.

Waidmannsheil, on your excursion to the UK. I hope to join you, Gerry and the gang next year.

Good luck on the DJV circuit this year.

WH,

Don

Hey Tom,

Good to see you on board. Plans are already afoot to sort out next years venue.

K