To my shame I have not taken a rifle out for a while. Work has got in the way!

Who has been out shooting and what have you shot recently?

Ed

Well, I have to share your shame, I have not been out for the past two weeks and have shot nothing but paper in that time. I think it will be pretty much like that until Roe Buck time with maybe the odd look at the Doe's, but I think it wil be waiting until the Bucks.

I have some cast loads that I want to get sorted out, so, the time will not be wasted,

John

John

I have a new 25-06 that I need to get dirty. It's on a Remington action with a Shilen barrel and promises to shoot well. Just need to worh up some loads for it and get out there!
Ed

Shame on you lurking in the house just because of howling winds, snow and arctic conditions!

Drove up to Milton Keynes during the week with the aim of getting my stalking partner her first Chinese water Deer. Moved onto the ground and after watching for 20 minutes, noticed a deer get up and start browsing about 200yds out. Poor visibility (driving snow) meant we were able to move across the field to within 80yds before the deer noticed something was amiss. I was kneeling with a set of short sticks and in a position to take a shot before the deer moved. To her eternal credit - the words 'take it' were whispered in my ear. The rifle cracked and the Chinese fell with a cleanly broken neck.

Chinese are notoriously difficult to sex in the field unless you have good very good visibility - this one turned out to be a doe. Dragged her over to the side of the field and sorted the gralloch - while my partner kept scanning the ground either side of a thick hedge. As I finished sliding the carcass into my bag - I got a series of excited whispers that let me know another Deer had emerged from cover and was even now grazing up the headland towards our position.

Head down, it munched its way along - never really presenting a shot until it turned into the hedge at about 150yds. We slipped to the other side of the hedge and carried on scanning. Seconds later it emerged onto another headland and continued browsing away happily.

With thickish cover blanketing the field to a height of about three feet - a shot off the bipod was out of the question. We have hunted together enough that I recognised what was meant by an opened hand thrust in my direction. The sticks changed hands and seconds later she was set up in a stable sitting position, lined up on a clear lane through the bush.

During these couple minutes, the Deer had changed direction and was now angling towards us. Keeping cool was difficult after waiting for an opportunity over the last ten minutes - eventually however, a shot presented and the Chinese was downed with a single well placed bullet.

My buddy moved forward to check the carcass - then turned and jigged up and down - body language barely doing justice to her happiness! It was the buck she had been hoping for - and another milestone passed in her career as a stalker.

All in all - a fantastic session that more than justified the resulting soaked clothes and dripping rifles. The snowy landscape just added to the memories.



Damn, I love what we do!

Rgds Ian

Great story Ian,

I had a great couple of days arlier this month too. I was out and about on a saturday morning on my regular ground when I decided to have a stalk through the wood and try to get onto the fallow I had seen go through just before dawn. I had spied them from the seat about 200 yards away.

I worked through the wood and out onto the other side with out seeing a thing. After a brief look about I had the feeling of a blank coming on so I leaned aganist some round bales and just ran the binos around. About 600yds away through the tops of the trees I could just make out the shape of some deer. I crept round the corner and through the woodjust in time to see two deer dissapear into the shaw at the far end of the field, having passed just under the seat I had been in an hour earlier!!!

I leant onto thesticks thinking what to do next when a small goup of bucks came over the brow in front of me. three bucks and a couple of prickets were coming stright down the hill towards me. I set the sticks up and rested the 308 in place. I watched them come down the hill waiting until I realised quite how close they had got to me... I quick whistle and the 308 had taken it's first fallow. A 4 year old, broadside at 50yds. The curious thing being that I recovered the bullet from the far shoulder.

A couple fo days later I was back in the seat on a very misty morning at 5-20am. I sat patiently waiting for the mist to lift and slowly but sureley I got what I wanted. It was a bit cold, but I decided to resist the temptation to get up. At just before 7am a group of bucks walked straight out of the mist. In the lead was a good buck followed by a handfull of asorted males. I had decided this year to take a good buck for the wall, and had "bottled" every time the opportunity arose so far in preference for a cull beast. This time the stalking gods were smiling on me, as the old fella was dragging a leg, and stopping every 15 yds or so. When he stopped the next time 150grs of super hammerhead went through his heart. The others ran into the mist the decoyed back to the first buck. Another 3yo came clear and he joined his friend. I also recovered the bullet from this second buck and will post photo's when I work out how to do it.

All in all a great couple of mornings. My errant spaniel has since found the heads in the compost heam and chewed a little off the top of the big fella... On closer inspection it's not too bad so I've just put him into a bag of compst until i get round to boiling him.

Typically I had left the camera at home that day so I drove 20 miles to a mates house who I knew did have one handy!!! When I get them I'll try and post them.

Rgds,
FB

I spent last week in Northumberland stalking roe does and a couple of days of pigeon shooting as well. For once the weather seemed to work with me, snow to North and South concentrated the pigeons and it wasn't too windy to stop the deer from coming out of the woods. First time I've stalked using reloads for the 308 and they worked very well.

Mark

We have Arctic conditions, indeed. Snow since mora than two weeks and temperatures up to -10 degrees. Still, dressed well the hunting is just beautifull.

Last Saturday I got a wild pig on a baitsite at about 10 PM, had been there only 15 minutes, the timing was just perfect. It was a yearlin male, pretty thin with little fat, about 30 kgs gutted.

Friday night, sitting under an apple tree overlooking a meadow where they'd started to root. Clear sky, full moon, saw three pigs shortly before midnight, one I presume was a big female, plus two smaller ones. Couldn't get closer to get a better look, the night was just too bright but killed a marten about 15 minutes later.

Saturday night, not as cold but snowfall, saw many roe deer, another marten but no more pigs.

If there's again activity on the baitsite by tomorrow, I'll give it another try. Would like to get another fox as well, I got six so far this season..

Like all of us I am waiting for the roe deer season to openb but at the moment the winter hunting is just fantastic. We haven't had that much snow for years.

FB.
>On closer inspection it's not too bad so I've just put him into a bag of compst until i get round to boiling him.

Would that be the spaniel? If so, I understand perfectly!!

I have used 30 cal Super Hammerhead in my '06 - and had a few unexplained failures. Do let me know how you get on with them, I've sworn off them for the time being.

I've gone over to Hornady Interbonds. Grouping happily to .6" but yet to blood them. Great reports and very economical for a bonded bullet. Time will tell.

Rgds Ian

hey jayb, hope you see this,
you mentioned roe buck time coming up.i"ve hardly even seen roe bucks outside of the late april/may territorial activity. was hoping to go to Scotland for some action during the rut,(i live in Northern Ireland) but since i started leasing ground in Scotland(last 3 yrs) there"s been no rut to speak of, as the weather just has"nt been up to it. last year i was in D&G, and this year in south ayrshire. have you(or anyone else) seen much daylight rutting in Scotland, or is it just something seen further south?

Hey Ian,

Trans will tell you about Fern's enthusiasm.... I went skiing for a week and left the heads in the compost. when I got home and weent out into the garden to seee her, she ran to the heap, tail wagging sort of pointing her excavations!!! "Look what I found for you Dad" was the gist of it I think!!!

I re burried them but forgot to put the wood on top of the heap, and a week ater she hhad chewed off ont of the points from the top of the head. It's not too bad and mmeans that they taste prettty awefull as it is not like her to stop eating when she starts!!!

They do drive you mad but spaniels are just wonderful in my eyes. She found the Third buck in the mist for me. It was her first find and she wasn't ttoo sure what it was all agood idea to get involved with something so much bigger than her. A bit of liver helped her decide.

Typcal sprnger thinking with her stomach.... Much like myself!!!!

Regards,
FB

Went out yesterday afternoon for final foray...
Spent a pleasent but unproductive couple of hours, walking the dog!! Bumped a couple of small packets of black fallow in tall timber under a leaden sky.
Heading back along narrow ride, the dog stiffens; to indicate a pair of roe grazing ahead. Kneeling, I knock the front one over. The other is out of sight in two bounds.
20 minutes later with the last of the daylight, I'm nearing my truck, the leaden sky is unloading big swirling flakes of snow. I'm walking purposefully through a cutting with clearfell and new planted trees (the fellows were still heeling them in an hour ago!)Four fallow standing admiring the trees and the swirling flakes fast covering the ground..oblivious to the 308 120 yards away. Heaving myself up the bank, to lie prone on the lip they're still there, though heads up . One steps clear and staggers to ballistic tipped 150 grain through chest. The others are away pronking into the snow. I gralloch and drag the final doe of season to the track and ten mins. later I've loaded her on the truck, it's dark now and snowing like hell. I enjoy a welcome cup of tea prior to braving the high roads of Exmoor...Reluctant to leave this place, on a whim I put spotlight over the ground and pickup some eyes,switch off then back on, they' coming this way, leastways to where the doe fell and was gralloched... get the rifle out again lay the lamp on a stump and watch a very bold dog fox eat his last mouthful...(Rien Poortlviet- been there, done that)
Left it bit long to go home, snow is thick now. 4wd three parts of the way home no other vechiles on the road for 20 miles.. just as well because I had an exciting journey home including a slalom and a pirouet . Back to the warmth and turmoil of the "lambing shed."

Went out yesterday afternoon for final foray...
Spent a pleasent but unproductive couple of hours, walking the dog!! Bumped a couple of small packets of black fallow in tall timber under a leaden sky.
Heading back along narrow ride, the dog stiffens; to indicate a pair of roe grazing ahead. Kneeling, I knock the front one over. The other is out of sight in two bounds.
20 minutes later with the last of the daylight, I'm nearing my truck, the leaden sky is unloading big swirling flakes of snow. I'm walking purposefully through a cutting with clearfell and new planted trees (the fellows were still heeling them in an hour ago!)Four fallow standing admiring the trees and the swirling flakes fast covering the ground..oblivious to the 308 120 yards away. Heaving myself up the bank, to lie prone on the lip they're still there, though heads up . One steps clear and staggers to ballistic tipped 150 grain through chest. The others are away pronking into the snow. I gralloch and drag the final doe of season to the track and ten mins. later I've loaded her on the truck, it's dark now and snowing like hell. I enjoy a welcome cup of tea prior to braving the high roads of Exmoor...Reluctant to leave this place, on a whim I put spotlight over the ground and pickup some eyes,switch off then back on, they' coming this way, leastways to where the doe fell and was gralloched... get the rifle out again lay the lamp on a stump and watch a very bold dog fox eat his last mouthful...(Rien Poortlviet- been there, done that)
Left it bit long to go home, snow is thick now. 4wd three parts of the way home no other vechiles on the road for 20 miles.. just as well because I had an exciting journey home including a slalom and a pirouet . Back to the warmth and turmoil of the "lambing shed."

Brassthief,

I think you have been a bit unlucky, the rut has not been great for the last copuple of years but it has been there. You have rented shooting ground in a prime area, hope you have a better season this time.

John

[url="http://www.hunt101.com/?p=259791&c=500&z=1"] [/url]

The first lie in for a good while was had yesterday!

Shame on me! I'm glad to see that others are keeping their end up.

Not quite shooting to the extent you locals have done, but I managed a roe doe (see pic) and helped with a couple formal bird shoots as well as participated in my first keepers day in early February. Had a blast and can't wait to go back!!! My liver is a little bruised from the keepers day evening festivities, but I think I'll recover