Guys

Another season gaining steam and another hunt report thread for those that only have time for a short post and/or photo, rather than the full monty.

Nothing major for me so far this season. Three fallow prickets in August taken in wheat and barley fields with my newest banger £140 rifle.

Parker Hale .243 with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 and Ase Ultra moderator (soon to be sprayed black...who makes a moderator this colour!).


I went to a new spot in Kent yesterday, but only managed to pick up a dozen mosquito bites and this grainy blackberry picture of a particularly dozy badger which nearly walked across my feet.



The consolation prize was a dog fox I managed to squeek in at last light as I stalked back to my truck. The 243 made sure it wasn't a kodak moment.

Another one and another chance to use my new John Foxwell knife. A nice tool.

Three prickets is a good start, isn't it!?

I've been in the mountains a lot so far this season. Not as a shooter, but as a camerman. And after many unsuccessful days, we finally got a nice buck last weekend. Here's a few pics (they're a bit grainy, screenshots from video footage).

Wonderful photo sequence Anders. Also nice to see a clean bull, a lot seem to be shot in velvet.

Yeah, they do. When hunting season starts the 20 th of August most of them are still in velvet. But during the first days they start cleaning. And a week into the hunt most of them are clean. A lot of people shoot they're bulls first, because they wan't to be sure to avoid the rut. During the rut the meat is no good.

Great photos Anders.

Reindeer bull meat in the rut not being good is a huge understatement

I think even a Wolverine had to be very close to starve to death before it considered to eat meat from a rutting Reindeer bull

Last week I was in Sweden and hunted Fallow for 5 days myself.
I got 3 spikers.

quote:

Originally posted by Norwegianwoods:
Great photos Anders.

Reindeer bull meat in the rut not being good is a huge understatement

I think even a Wolverine had to be very close to starve to death before it considered to eat meat from a rutting Reindeer bull

Last week I was in Sweden and hunted Fallow for 5 days myself.
I got 3 spikers.

Thanks! Yeah, an understatement for sure!

Congrats on the fallow! What area did you hunt?

Only managed to get out yesterday for the second time this season. Went down to a new bit of ground in Wicklow. Gorgeous spot. Heard the first Sika whistle of the season as it got dark. Amazing.

I did get a Sika in the last 20 minutes of light. He stuck his head out of some spruce, I only had one shot available, so he got it between the eyes. It still took me 15 minutes to find the brute, he manged to slip 20 feet down a steep bank and stuck under the branches of a tree. Photos are not fit to publish....

Scenary was good, typcial Sika country. I put up some steam getting into position...

Nice pics Brian. I blanked yesterday. Only chance came while I was taking a leak...

Is that the short 13" bipod you have on your rifle?

Gabe, it is a Caldwell 9-13". Set at the lowest point in the photo. Not as expensive as a Harris, but does the job. I rarely use a bipod accept when on an open hill.

There are some really big hybrids up there but I would only shoot one in the morning. It would take all day to get them out...

Great photos guys and beautifull scenery

So far only a four pointer roebuck for me, and a trip to souterne Sweeden for wild boar and fallow.
Got a smallish pig and a fallow pricket, but forgot the camerea so not pics to prove this feat

Southern Sweeden did remind me a lot of Suffolk and Sussex and I halfway expected to se muntjacs popping up in the grass.

Moose hunting still to come, so hopefully the 375 Ruger will se some work as well!

quote:

Originally posted by Claret_Dabbler:
Gabe, it is a Caldwell 9-13". Set at the lowest point in the photo. Not as expensive as a Harris, but does the job. I rarely use a bipod accept when on an open hill.

There are some really big hybrids up there but I would only shoot one in the morning. It would take all day to get them out...

Thanks - just checking because I struggled with a 13" bipod last year in Scotland. Now back to the 13-25" which allows for more bog sinkage and grass.
I know extraction can be a chore in Wicklow. I sometimes wonder whether the UK/Eire penchant for extraction whole is a rod for our own back. Hind legs/loins in a good pack would be a lot easier if for home consumption.

quote:

Originally posted by Boghossian: I know extraction can be a chore in Wicklow. I sometimes wonder whether the UK/Eire penchant for extraction whole is a rod for our own back. Hind legs/loins in a good pack would be a lot easier if for home consumption.

Gabe, funny we had that very discussion on the way home. If we do get a big hybrid, take off the haunches and the loins, one of each apiece in the back packs and leave the rest for the ravens....

Or maybe it is time to MTFU?!

Kiwi He-men

Just kidding, I would still be in favour of whipping the good bits off and making tracks.

quote:

Originally posted by Anders:

quote:

Originally posted by Norwegianwoods:
Great photos Anders.

Reindeer bull meat in the rut not being good is a huge understatement

I think even a Wolverine had to be very close to starve to death before it considered to eat meat from a rutting Reindeer bull

Last week I was in Sweden and hunted Fallow for 5 days myself.
I got 3 spikers.

Thanks! Yeah, an understatement for sure!

Congrats on the fallow! What area did you hunt?

Thanks.
I hunted in the north part of Kalmar county.

Well done guys!

Went out on Saturday with my Shooting buddy Mark. It was only the second time we had been out this season and this was the 1st time on this new ground we had been given permission on.
the land owner had been complaining about damage to hedges and also had cattle with TB
and was blaming all his problems on the deer

a very early, cold and frosty start to the morning, we got tooled up and left the pick up in the farmers yard.
we walked to the the field where the farmer had been seeing the deer in the evening. we where only there about 10min when Mark spotted something trashing about in the headge about 100m to are right.

sticks up and "crack" off went his moderated 243. I heard the thud and the stag took off like a greyhound!! it ran about 50m up hill then luckly it turned and ran back down the hill to more or less where it had been shot and the dropped on the spot!

we walked over to find a very nice Sika stag.
when we opened him up the 100gr SP had took out the top of the heart and both lungs but also it had more fat than any other deer I've ever seen!!

Well done guys!

A week in Scotland yielded plenty of nice stalks and a lot of windy/wet weather. No big stags this year but plenty of good times nonetheless.

Some more pics.

Had to track down this one the other day

Sep_2012_043_(2) (2) by adshools, on Flickr

Shot in the classic Swedish way ........... Stalked on clearcut and shot prone over pack I'm not complaining but as soon as I built a dog handlers rifle (M700 Ti in 308, McMillan Edge, Recknagel Secura safety and 18" barrel for 7.9lb weight with ASE compact) I get prone shots on clear cuts

Nice beast!

Thanks for sharing, guys!

@1894mk2
That's quite a decent moose for sweden, isn't it?

I was happy enough though I doubt many would keep it in the north. I sawed the antlers off and presented one each to my kids.

Boghossian - is that a Zeiss Diavari V series 3-9x42 with 1" tube?

quote:

Boghossian - is that a Zeiss Diavari V series 3-9x42 with 1" tube?

Nah, just a Conquest 3-9x42 with a 1" tube and #4 reticle. Works well for me and not too bulky. I think a lot of people are over-scoped.

Here are some pics from a Portugese monteria I was on in February 2012. My pegs were not very lucky but I did manage a nice dog fox and finished a boar that the neighbouring gun wounded.

Gabe well done on the Scotish hunt. Looks like some nice eating deer there.

mouse93 Good Chamois. Please excuse my ignorance, do you normaly find Chamois in timbered areas like in your photo. I am use to them being on steep mountains with a lot of rocky/grass open areas with some bushes.

1894mk2 that looks like a good sized Moose. Well done even if it was with the wrong rifle

Some weekend fun. The fallow rut hasn't really kicked off in this wood so I concentrated on the prickets.

nice pics boghossain. Has ur number changed? Ive been trying to call you to catch up.

Rut in full swing now - bucks already lost a lot of weight. Should be fun on Saturday with the cold weather coming!

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
Rut in full swing now - bucks already lost a lot of weight. Should be fun on Saturday with the cold weather coming!

Roll on the weekend! Fingers crossed it goes for a few more days. It's always nice when the rut spills into doe season.

I think Saturday morning should be fun! I reckon it might last until does on Thursday. A couple of people have said it was a bit late starting though I didn't notice that.

Recently finished the tour England, Scotland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia. Now I'm looking forward to trip to Slovenian Alps. Last driven boar hunt ended up with 92 boar and stalking in the Alps will be a special thrill. After that for 10 weeks I'll be shooting only wild boar with groups.

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
I think Saturday morning should be fun! I reckon it might last until does on Thursday. A couple of people have said it was a bit late starting though I didn't notice that.

They were rutting hard yesterday. I got quite lucky.

Congratulations!
Why is the right eye missing?

quote:

Originally posted by Caracal:
Congratulations!
Why is the right eye missing?

It was an old buck with sunken eyes and plenty of loose skin.

Looks good. I saw only does locally as stalking has become popular and there is a dearth of prickets.

Day off on Tuesday and off to my good ground - late enough in the rut I may take one off stand if it's exceptional, otherwise I'll be trying to pick off prickets on the edge.

...nothing to write home about...

Just back from filling tags (helping my friend in one of the finest grounds our country has to offer)...romantics and beauty are deceiving...bloody hard work:

Even dog doesn't like it after completed 3 trackings from the day before...at 4 am (do I realy have to?)



After 1 hr drive we are somehow ready:







...



Better part



Back to camp - a peek into storage - my friend's 2012 Red Stag Harvest - 2 left to go -deadline December 31st:

Hey, no one said hunting is always easy! Seriously, it looks like a good time.

That's a nice stack of bone btw. I hope he has plenty of wall space.