Arriving soon!

The two new Basset pups are now 5 and half weeks old and will be in their new homes the weekend before Christmas (help!). We visited them on Sunday to see how they were progressing and all is good news as you can see by the video clips. The lemon and white is Jane's, name to be decided and the tri colour pup is Lucy, destined to wreck my house.

Another Blank

Another nights lamping to no avail occurred last night. Not surprising since the moon was 95% full plus hardly any clouds to dim the bright rays from the moon. We did locate two fox's, one being in a safe position for it i.e. not being able to squeeze the trigger as it was too near a house. The other was smack bang in the middle of a field when first spotted but soon took off as we were getting in a shootable position.
So we are not on a good run at the moment but that will change soon. We should start to see other fox's coming onto the farm as the breeding season comes in to full swing. Aweek on Friday should prove more profitable subject to weather conditions as we have an all night session planned.

Lamping

Stephen and myself went on a mission last night to try and ambush one of the resident fox's last night. The target was usually spotted in between the hay barn and the railway bank. After setting up the intruder camera on the fence line we climbed up onto the straw stacks in the barn with the intention to use the red light on the camera as a early warning if anything passed by it. Constant sweeping of the area with a gen one night vision scope by Stephen claimed no eyes throughout the night. Only a few rabbits deemed to come out to play. The conditions were good with an overcast sky and a good breeze blowing which usually invites our intended prey to forage for food. Alas nothing to point the point the rifle at this time.

Coming Soon

Time of mixed emotions as Lily is greatly missed, still expect to see her asleep on the sofa. Does time heal or do you learn to cope with the loss?

Some might say that it is to early to think about another pup(s) but we have taken the plunge and reserved two gorgeous little basset hounds, both girls. They are only a week old when we went to see them near Street in Somerset. The lemon and white pup will be Jane's and the tri colour girl is mine. We collect them on the Sunday before Christmas so that should be an entertaining festive period.

They will not replace Lily as no dog could.

Lily

This is Lily, a Basset Hound that passed away today at 4.30am this morning. She was Jane's dog, my birthday present to Jane earlier this year. She was only 10 months old when I got that call from the vets to say that she died. The picture here is Lily at 4 / 5 months, you couldn't want for a more gorgeous dog.

She was her normal self on Sunday night, legs in the air by the fireplace having her tummy rubbed, then by 7.30am Monday she was extremely ill. After going to her normal vets she was then transferred to a super vet in Hursley near Winchester. By this stage her colour was back in her gums and the outlook looked positive, as we kept telling ourselves. Update call from vets at 7pm and 10pm was also ok or least not worsened. Then I got the call at 4.30am today with a call I never want to take again. The infection on her lungs was very aggressive and had passed into her blood stream even after all the injections etc that they could use. This caused organ failure thus Lily passed away peacefully under sedation.

Even though Lily was not my dog I will miss her, more than words can describe. I would look after Lily very often and she was very much loved by Jane and myself, I would gladly take her place without one second thought if I could, that is how much she meant.

To a beautiful, gorgeous, loving, loyal Basset called Lily....you are safe forever and will be deeply missed until we meet again.

18th Oct 2008

Here we have two pics from yesterdays shoot at the farm.

My cocker Charlie with one of the pigeons that I brought down, the other showing Roger with some of the bag.

It was bright sunny day which started off chilly that soon warmed up. Not ideal conditions as far as pheasants are concerned as the weather encourages the birds to feed on the stubble fields and hedgerows. Once the weather starts to cold down then we will see the birds back in the coverts and woods. It is two weeks before the next shoot which should allow the temperature to drop.

So far my ratio is 3 shots 3 pigeons, which is pleasing. Hopefully Charlie will stop whinning non stop on the next shoot day, lost my rag with him. He is old enough and wise enough to know but I suppose he was eager to do what he is best at....

Which Night

Eager to get out to the farm in the next two nights. But which night, Friday or Saturday? Metcheck.com is forecasting a clear night tomorrow with a reasonable breeze whilst Saturday has a near 100% cloud cover with a lesser breeze than Friday. What should swing it is the moon that is clearly evident tonight dictating that Saturday would be the better time to go. Which ever night we decide, crossed fingers that the mist and fog do not make an appearance like it did first thing this morning, fog and rain are the lamper's worst culprits to ruin any chance of catching those reynard eyes in the beam.

4th Oct 2008 - Feed Hoppers

We achieved the main objectives this morning by placing feed hoppers and straw rides in the following area's

Beachwood Shore

Sausage Wood Strip

The Island (On the grass track)

Worthy Park Corner (Wood Cutters End)

Worthy Park Corner (Telecoms Tower End)

Hedge Row / Game Cover (Leading from Farm to River Field)

Game Cover Strip (Leading from Cow Shed).

All these hoppers were filled with corn and should last a week.

Modelling the feed hopper in pic are Stephen, Kevin and Greg (left to right). The spreading birds will now have food to rely on plus it should stop them wondering off to far. The other pic is just a good shot of the River Itchen. A good few grayling were spotted, reminds me of the days grayling trotting with very light tackle, excellent sport.

Fog Bound

Saturday morning proved to be a fog out on the stalking front. After seeing 7 Roe out on the last lamping night I was eager to get out and try for one more buck before the season end. Unfortunately due to the pea soup the only Roe spotted were making their way back into the maize for the day. I think both were doe's anyway.

Also had no luck on the search for the other fox from Tuesday. Searched high and low for a body in the tram lines but to no avail. Although I did find a blood trail going into Beach Wood Shore. It was not a heavy trail at all so by all accounts not a good strike.

The photo shows a good head of birds milling around the Shore which was good to see.

Education Education Education

As Tony Blair once said, Education Education Education! The relevance being that last night was an education on a few fronts. Firstly, not to take a shot on a fox that is hurried thus missing said fox giving it a lesson on not to get caught in a the lamp beam. Secondly, there are a number of Reynard's on the farm that are already lamp shy which makes it difficult to even get a shot off let alone getting them in the scope. There must be at least 4 of the beasts that are well educated to first degree honours in the fine art of running at full pelt when a beam of light comes their way. Thirdly, when taking a shot on a moving target a little more lead is required as the pictures demonstrate. This dog fox was acquired in the Ring of Trees field when at first he was spotted by Stephen in a nice sitting position. As I got the scope on him, he started to about turn and depart for the nearest hedgerow offering a going away shot which I took by aiming at his head. The bullet hit the back side area thus stopping the target but not an outright kill. Stephen had to finish him off when we located the animal.

Towards the end of the session another two sets of eyes were lamped. After a few minutes to determine that the bright eyes belonged to Reynard's I took another shot. The bullet strike sounded spot on to me and Stephen. At present no body found to confirm another kill. One of the targets slinked off in to Beach Wood Shore not looking too happy. I will have a good look again on Saturday. If it did hit then there should be either a body to pick up or at least a decent blood trial as 55 grain darts do tend to make a wide exit wound.

A big thank you to Stephen for putting up with the effing and blinding as various targets moved off.

Withdrawal Mode

Absolutely nothing to report from the weekend, just mundane boring home stuff like gardening, hoovering, polishing....where's my pinny..........
Need to get out lamping soon. Hopefully the farm have harvested the maize over the last few days if not made a good start. If that is the case then a major field comes into play where we had a good number on last year.
Crossed fingers!

Indian Summer Shoot Day

Saturday as per the weather forecast was warm and sunny. In fact too warm to be walking across stubble fields trying to find some partridges. Not a day to be dressed in shooting attire.

The end bag was just 4 pigeon, two in the morning and Stephen adding another two later on in the afternoon.

At least the dogs got some practice in for the serious stuff come late October, they got a chance to hunt the ground with Charlie finding the only partridge of the day. Unfortunately he was a little too eager, flushing the birds a good 50 yards in front along a hedgerow. No one was near to take advantage so they made a clean getaway.

We also gave the ducks a bit of flying practice as well which gave a us a lesson on where to place a flagman come October as with last years attempts the ducks tend to lift off on the corner of the river and plop back in by the bridge. It was good to see a good head of wild ducks mixed in with this years batch.

I was glad to get home and change into shorts and T shirt....although Tim (new member of shoot) had brought with him a cracking black cocker, could be a potential suitor for Cody come her season.

Sod's Law

Not brilliant pictures I'm afraid, these are showing a decent buck chasing a doe this morning on the wrong side of the shoot boundary. The buck got to within 75 yards at one stage and although very shootable the trigger finger behaved. Crossed fingers he'll be on the right side next time.

This morning's stalk concluded a Sunday evening at the Alton wood where Martyn eyed 6 doe's (no bucks) followed by my stalk today.

The only bulls eye from the weekend was when a large fat woody managed to score a direct hit on me whilst smoking a cig, never seen so much s**t come out something reasonably small. I have been told though that I should have some good luck coming my way............

Buck Trophies

Before they go on the wall at home here are the two roe buck heads taken at Winchester. The top trophy was the young buck back in May. The head below is the five pointer from the Railway Bank high seat.
I am reasonably happy with the finished trophies as these are my first that I have done.

Long Day Saturday

This dog fox was shot at around 2am Sunday morning on the field by the railway bank. For a change it was not a messy kill. It was on the field above the barbed wire sharing with the cattle until Stephen's honed squeak brought him into a safe position to squeeze the trigger on. We had seen other targets during the night and I had taken another shot at a tricky 200 yarder but to no avail.

We had also called in a youngster on a freshly harvested field, but unfortunately it kept itself tight to the hedge if not in it, so no safe shot could be dispatched. The mist ended the session at around 3.30am which was a real shame as previous weather forecasts had promised(!) ideal conditions.

This was our second visit to the shoot on Saturday. Stephen, myself and Jason's son, Tom spent the morning creating feed rides in Beachwood and below the pen at Worthy Park plus up on the Railway Bank. There are also two traps now in operation on the Worthy Park Pen to try and thin out the rat gang. Please double check when on the feed rota.

There will be another work party soon to creat a feed ride on the island and at Sausage Wood. All hands on deck will be needed.

25%

Please excuse the picture quality, not up to my usual standard. Last nights lamping session included three of us, Stephen, Martyn plus me. The result being one body plus two to be 100% confirmed. The reason for the 25% heading is that 4 reynards were shot at with only one picked up. One was a complete miss whilst the other 2 will hopefully be confirmed as kills later today when Martyn takes a look in daylight. One was lost on the ploughed field so it should be in a deep rut and the other after taking a good wallop slinked into a hedge row. There should be a blood trail to follow on that one. The one pictured is a young dog fox which even after the damaged inflicted by the bullet managed to run approx 20 yards. The instinct for survival is overwhelming.

Nifty Fithty

More poults for the shoot were released into the new pen. The previous batch have suffered due to the bad weather and several have died. Thus another 50 were purchased from Graham Rawlings who is based near Romsey. Stephen had the smelly task of collecting the two crates in the back of his Terrano, Shelly was not impressed.

This new influx should boost the numbers for the season which along with the reported wild population being seen and noted allowing for a positive outlook for October.

If the weather is kind for the next or so then the fresh poults will gain in size quickly, as long as the food and water is in plentiful supply.

Vix & Chips

Another lamping session last after feeding the pens. Net result was another young vixen shot in the dairy field.

Another shot was taken again in the same field later into the night which connected with the target but not an out right kill. It looked as though the fox was fatally wounded but unfortunately it got up and moved towards the hedge cover crop, another shot was dispatched which sounded as though it hit. After two drive by's with headlights on and lamp penetrating the undergrowth no body was found. I will have a thorough look for it during day light hours this Saturday. Hopefully it will die quickly.

Stephen and myself made the Worthy Park pen a little more comfortable for the poults last night. We placed some straw under the cover lean to's which hopefully will add some warmth for the poults. Plus two more feed bags were emptied into the bin. Crossed fingers that the weather will improve which should help the young poults out no end.

Federal Choice

If I had the time on my hands would I re load my own ammunition? Presently no I would not. I have found that buying the required darts from off the shelf serves the purpose it was designed for.

My two choices are both made by Federal. The first being the Federal Premium V Shok .243 55gn Nosler Ballistic Tip. These I use on the fox and not one target has survived more than a few seconds after being hit. As shown on earlier entries to this blog the effects are devastating to say the least and this is the desire result required to ensure that the fox that is hit dies instantly and without any undue suffering.

The second bullet is the Federal Power Shok .243 100 gn Soft Point which I use on Roe. So far on each buck taken the bullet has again served its purpose.

Of course it all depends on your own individual choice and what you feel comfortable with and the confidence along with trust that your choice does what it is supposed to do.

So far the Federal does its job.

Double Bubble

Good news on the fox front from the weekend with two young vixen's added to the bag. Both were spotted by Stephen and dispatched by myself. As you can see by the bullet exit wounds it was lights out very quickly, I doubt very much it either knew what occured!

It was the Lovedean fields which proved effective again, the top vixen (as above) was taken first followed by the other within ten minutes of each other.

Better Picture

This picture was taken by Roger Buss on his own camera of the buck taken on the 9th August 2008.

Cheers Roger.

Five Point Buck

A great start to Saturday morning before the shoot work party with the 5 point buck in the bag. Got to the farm yard at 5.30am with the sun just starting to appear, the clouds were reflecting a red glow pre the rain to come later in the morning. Had already decided the destination of the mornings stalk which was to the first high seat on the railway bank. A lame fox had been reported by the farm staff to be working along the hedge row leading from the bank which if it showed was to be the main target. If that did not make an appearance then if a buck did..........
Got to the seat by 6am with two doe's spotted at the far end of the bank, had to get up the seat without making too much noise as to not alert the doe's. Literally within ten minutes a doe came out of the undergrowth approx 40 yards away from the seat closely followed by the buck. Managed to knock the rifle butt against the tree when lifting up to my shoulder thus making the buck twitchy, so without any delay the first opportunity was taken to dispatch the 100 grain Federal bullet which duly hit the target. It was a clean kill with the buck stumbling 20 yards before going over.
Roger was also on the farm at the time so a call was made to inform him of the buck. I was then shown a quick and cleaner way to clean the carcass as opposed to a method shown on a training dvd.
Another trophy to prepare now which will be done next weekend.
All in all a good week on the shooting front with one fox and one buck.

Work Party 9th August

After unloading Wouter's furniture from the van on Saturday morning the work party went onto finish the pop hole at Beachwood pen plus the poults in residence were fed and watered. Also Tristan placed 3 of the blue feed hoppers around the Beachwood area ready for the corn feed when supplied.

We all then moved up to the Worthy Park pen to ensure that it is in good condition for the next batch of poults. A new pop hole was installed at the top of the pen and one of the original holes was improved to stop the birds from hopping over the chicken wire. Lets hope that the farm workers are careful when operating any machinery along the track so as not to undo the work done. The electric fence was checked by Tristan and given the ok. I will order two more small car batteries for the units.

Those attending on Saturday along with myself was (left to right on photo) Tristan and his springer Macey, Kevin and Greg. Macey looks a cracking dog and so far well trained by Tristan, had no hesitation in alarming the poults at Beachwood. Should prove to be an excellent asset for Tristan and the shoot come the season.

Bullet Crunch

Apologies for those who are squeamish but the picture demonstrates the result of a 55grain Noslar Federal .243 bullet on a dog fox taken on the Lovedean Rd fields last night.

It was a quiet night with regards to the fox count with only one other spotted, that being the resident Reynard in between the farm house and the motorway. One glance from the lamp and he was away to ground. Both myself and Stephen have pondered many minutes on how to ambush this convict to no avail so far, although I might have a plan for the next time. Will let you know if it works.

To say I was mighty glad that my shot was a clean kill was an understatement, especially after last weeks miss. The shot was taken approx 80 yards away after a bit of chess board play before the young dog kept still long enough to get a safe angle to shoot at. My thanks to Stephen for lamping the target..

Stuffed with Roe!

There is a block of wood at Dibden that we take the dogs to for their exercise that seems to be stuffed with Roe. The picture here is of a doe that was only 60 yards away and was not put off by us at all, including the dogs. The area is very popular with walkers so hence the lack of nerves re the Roe. The previous evening we came across 3 doe's and 2 bucks both of which had a decent set of jewels.(No camera that time). If only the Forestry Commission would allow stalking in the New Forest........

The last lamping session was frustrating again. Took a shot at an adult fox for only to miss again. Doubt soon took over whether the rifle was zero'd in. Stephen set up a target approx 50 yards away with the shot 1.25" above the bull which answered my worry about the zero. Must of got fox fever and pulled the shot...plonker!!

Fox 2 Lampers 0

Apart from the night sky picture the lamping session proved fruitless with regards to any shots taking at reynard. Two were spotted during the night which started after the feed and water of the poults. The first was a fleeting glimpse and the second was a rather frustrating attempt to get an adult fox into a safe area so that a shot could be taken, to no avail unfortunately. The weather turned against us as well with the sky almost crystal clear and the moon doing a good job of lighting everything. Metcheck proved right.

Good news though is that the farm have started to harvest the oil seed rape so the next session should allow additional fields to be scanned plus with the current good weather other crops will mature and maybe also be cropped. Hopefully some hotspot fields will come into action........

Be aware there is someone's beloved moggy (has a reflective collar on) in the left field on Lovedean Road.

Bullseye for Martyn

Lamping session on Saturday night resulted in Martyn taking a young vixen from one of the Lovedean Road fields, it came in from my attempted calling on one of my fox callers (the first time it has worked - or maybe I managed to work it properly).
Saturday was a long day to start, took one of Rogers stalking first thing, so at the pub by 5am. Walked the top side of the farm without seeing a buck and then proceeded to Sausage Wood with no joy. Weather was against us with a strong wind and overcast conditions. Client, Thomas, was from Denmark and had cracking eyesight with tow doe's spotted in amongst the crops.
Back home by 9.30am and then back to the shoot by 10pm to meet Stephen and Martyn. The pressure was on to get a result before the recently cropped fields were ploughed again. The first field in and bingo the resident fox as out to play. After waiting for it to get in a safe shootable position I took a position leaning against the truck bonnet, it didn't feel comfortable but as it was a chance on this sly resident I took the shot and plainly missed.....was not impressed at all and spent the next half hour swearing at myself.
All was not lost though as Martyn redeemed the night and killed the young vixen, down to my calling, ha ha and Stephen's lamping.
Back out tonight again, a chance to amend for my miss.

The blighters are in!

After a few hours prepping the release pen on Friday with the help from Keith and wife plus myself and Roger the first batch of poult's were delivered in the afternoon. These youngsters were fit and healthy, caught me by surprise when half a dozen took flight straight away and not just clearing the fence height but a good 15ft......they are going to be very good sporting birds come the season, apparently they tend to bolt straight up. Will be interesting to see what the shot to kill ratio will be.

Libary Pics

If anyone requires a decent pic of wildlife etc I should be able to source. There maybe a small fee attached. Please let me know what you require and I shall try and get it free.

Roe Buck trophy.

Collected back from Roger the Roe Buck head from my kill back in May 2008. I now have the gear to prepare the head myself. The picture shown is of the skull being bleached. Spent Saturday night boiling the head before peeling away must of the skin and flesh. The antlers were covered in velvet hence the pale colour. The skull was then blasted with the pressure washer to remove the remaining stubborn flesh on Sunday morning. Then back in the pot with fresh water and a bleach solution to gain the white look on the bone. Once that was completed it was left to dry for a few hours before the first stain on the antlers. Will post a pic once the trophy is fully completed. It is not a medal head but my first roe buck so hence the trophy being made etc plus it will give me good practice for future heads, bronze, silver or even gold....yes I'll keep dreaming.

Saturday Pen Work 12th July.

Kevin & Greg at work on the pen door (Left) Keith digging a tunnel trap hole (Below)

Saturday's work party on the pen at Beachwood included Roger, Kevin, Greg, Keith and family plus myself. General maintenance work was carried out around the pen including the pen door frame, a new tunnel trap plus cutting back the privot shrubs inside the hedge on the top side. Feed bins and drinkers were brought up from the farm in readiness for the arrival of the poults this coming Friday. This leaves 3 bolts holes to fix in and the electric fence to be in operation which will be done on Friday hopefully before the poults turn up. I think we have a number of people who have said that they will help out on Friday so it should all go smoothly.

Turkish Delight

(The below was a description of an eventful day a few years ago..sent the artical to Shooting Times who did not wish to publish it so on it goes to the blog)

Turkish Delight

I will never forget one delightful day, if that’s the expression I can use, during a season a few years ago when a ‘shooting agent’ had booked a day for a team of guns on our estate in Hampshire. The agent when making the booking said all the right things and asked all of the right questions and of course I enquired as to the experience of the team. All seemed perfect and the date was duly booked followed by a deposit to secure the day.

The shoot itself consisted of relatively flat grounds utilising game cover crops and wood spinney's with two or three of the drives using the higher ground, this proved no problem showing the birds at a good sporting height as Michigan Blue Backs were the main stock and as everyone knows they do not need much encouragement to flush. There were also a number of larger wooded areas in the shoot boundary that were untouched until the later part of the season and duly kept aside for the main resident syndicate. Throughout the season to supplement the shoot coffers a few let days were sold mainly to local roving teams, on this occasion to a new team to our shoot.

The date arrived in early December, weather perfect, clouded sky with a slight wind, nature was on our side to provide a day that the guns should enjoy. The keeper had done his rounds earlier in the morning ensuring that all was well on the drives and pegs still standing plus dropping of one or two beaters to act as stops on the early drives. I had no concerns as to the guns arriving safely and on time as had phoned the agent a few days prior detailing directions and timings. We usually asked guns to arrived from 8:30 till 9:00 allowing every one a comfortable coffee and bacon sandwich in the gun room before sorting out dogs and guns into various vehicles. The keeper liked the guns to be on the first drive at around 9:30 before the birds started to wonder.

By 8:30am the gunroom smelling of fresh coffee and a full team of beaters plus the loyal dog team eagerly awaiting outside with the usual banter and laughter. The Keeper was nice and relaxed and instructions given to the beaters as to which drives and in what order. Half hour later and no sign of the guns, Keeper starting to get a little anxious, will hold on another five minutes before calling the agents mobile.

“We’re stuck in traffic on the M3 just north of Basingstoke, just passing the traffic accident, should be with you in 30 minutes” replied the agent. “Ok, no problem but we will have to go straight to the first pegs as soon as you get here, no time for coffee unfortunately” I responded. Details passed to the Keeper with the estimated time of arrival with another fithteen minutes added just in case. Keeper mutters under his breadth that the birds will start their morning stroll as he turns to inform the expectant beating team.

9:30 passed by, proceeded by 9:45 and the seconds ticked slowly to nearly 10:00am, the keepers face turning from normal jovial complexion to a near thunderous red.

Another call dialled, “Many apologies, had to stop at a service station as one the guns needed to visit the gents, will be with you in five minutes” I duly inform the Keeper who ranted “They have got ten minutes otherwise might as well cancel the bleep bleep day cause the birds won’t bleep bleep stay put for ever”

Tick tick tick tick……………….

At last, two gleaming Range Rovers pull into the drive by the Keepers cottage. Both of the vehicles look brand new with never a blade of grass passed under the tyres let alone a muddy field. By the time I’ve guided these 4x4’s down twisting gravel tacks over hanged with brambles and across rain drenched ploughed ground they will look like what they were designed for!

The beaters had already been dispatched to the first drive thus leaving myself and the Keeper to witness the passengers and drivers depart from their luxury chariots. Hopefully it goes without saying that on a fully driven day 99.99% of the participants would dress accordingly, green/brown boots, tweed/moleskins breeks, appropriate shirt and tie plus suitable coat. Not today, it was the 0.01%. Half of the team was dressed as though going to the gym, white trainers, multi coloured jogging bottoms and the other half in jeans ready for a walk down the shopping high street. I’m just waiting for the Keeper to explode. To top it all, the agent dressed in a shooting vest (black and red with a guns makers name emblazoned across the breast pocket more akin to the clay ground) and jeans, introduces himself. Clearly not a shooting agent at all and to make it complete his team of guns are on their first driven day having arrived from Turkey the previous day……..I just wished it was Aprils Fools day or would wake up from a nightmare dream.

What do we do Keeper? Cancel the day due to lack of sunglasses to avert the glare from bright white jogging pants or if very brave cross our fingers and crack on. Best of British we decide to give it ago, after all the guns had travelled all the way from Turkey and the beaters were ready for the off. After the sternest of safety talks vehicles are loaded up and the team change into their ‘shooting attire’.

First drive, birds to be pushed from wood into maze cover crop with the guns pegged in large open field. High excited voices from the team with shouts denoting every pheasant seen as I position each gun onto his peg pointing in the direction from where the birds will be flushed. At last, all guns on their correct peg and ready, cartridges loaded even before whistle blown to announce the start. Instructions strongly repeated to shoot the high birds only with slightly nervous glances from the flagmen, who included the Keepers wife, as they look over their shoulders. At this point I pray to a higher authority!

The beating line under orders from the Keeper slowly gets underway, a slow trickle of birds is needed so as not to confuse our over excited guns who cannot contain their adrenalin. It seems like an age before all hell breaks loose as the first hen bird flushes and heads towards the line, four of the guns are raised as the bird curls across towards number 6 peg and yes you guessed it every gun takes a shot, mercifully safely. As each bird took flight the levels of shouting rose until there were too many birds to contend with. Thankfully the first volley of shots continued to be safe and most birds taken at a good distance until it had to happen. Peg 8 was of course on the fringe of the action, whilst his colleagues enjoyed their good first peg positions his air space was thin of sporting birds that was until he decided to drop to his knees and shoot which resulted in two clouds of feathers and two minced pheasants landing with a squelch at his knees. But worse was to come which understandably turned the airwaves blue on the radio communication, whilst I was keeping a very focused eye on peg 8 the keeper had witnessed an action that could of led to dia consequences if I had not blown the whistle to end the drive early.
After the initial flushes of birds some of the guns whilst waiting for their next opportunity to shoot were holding their closed guns horizontally and not just pointing directly towards the beating line but also their own friends and even the picking up team as they turned to see the fruits of their shooting. Who likes to stare down two barrels of a shotgun when it’s loaded?

Both myself and the Keeper were for calling it a day there and then, no one likes to see pheasants blown apart and of course the safety aspects are paramount to all concerned. The guns were gathered round to here our views and a demonstration of how to correctly hold a loaded gun. I even resorted to pointing a broken gun at them to drive the message home. After ten minutes of declaring their intentions to abide by the strongest ticking off given we agreed reluctantly to carry on with the day. Thus not one foot was put of place or any other misdemeanours occurred throughout the remainder of the day, in fact it was good to see and watch a team of guns who thoroughly enjoyed their first taste of driven game and improve their prow ness when taking on the higher birds as their confidence grew.
There were just two sticky moments left to overcome as the day drew to an end, firstly I had to explain the voluntary tipping of the keeper and approximately how much and secondly as we sat down at the dinner table in a nearby excellent local restaurant to enjoy a hearty three coarse roast meal, with all of the trimmings, my forehead broke into a cold sweat. Here we are waiting for the main coarse surrounded on both sides of the table by Turks who included among them a Mayor from their town. Far to late to inform the chef that pork was a no no….my fingers were firmly crossed as the waitress deilivered the first plates, thank goodness for British beef!

Stalkers UK

I would like to recommend the following internet site www.stalkersuk.com if you require any items on the stalking front. (that's of course if Roger does not have access to said item) According to the home page blurb they only stock relevant items and none of the silly gadgets that sucker you in. Have placed an order with them which was posted that day and arrived within 48hrs without any hitches. Makes a change to some other internet sites that seem to take your order without the item instock therefore having to wait for that provider to get the item in stock themselves.
I was impressed with the trophy presentation items listed that has eased the concern about preparing my first roe buck trophy.
I now have a decent size boiling pot and gas cooker (camping sort) that will allow me to attempt my first roe buck head...will post pics when available.

Serious Mag

For those of you who enjoy rifle shooting then this publication is the magazine you shouldn't fail to read each month. Sporting Rifle covers most aspects of the sport and is available at W H Smiths on the high street of most towns etc etc. Once purchased I will not put down until read cover to cover and it's great to overcome the boredom factor at work which strikes now and again. It can push certain products in the editorials which is a little annoying but once you get past that it is a very enjoyable read.

Looking forward to the next work party on the shoot. The poults are arriving soon so at least one of the pens must be 100% ready. Which reminds me to check the battery condition for the electric fence. Subject to weather conditions I will probably try for a morning stalk prior to the pen work, even if no bucks to stalk maybe a fox might show itself......

No lamping this week as Stephen is away in the Lake District plus the weather is not playing ball anyway. At least a few more days have past, nearer to those harvest machines making an appearance, although I guess that a good spell of sun shine will help now. Need to make a serious dent in the fox population before they chump on the poults.

Unlucky Cub

Martyn strimming away at Worthy Park & Stephen attacking some overhangs!

Please excuse the quality of the pics, taken on a useless mobile phone (next brand of phone will not be Motorola!). This cub was taken last night at the farm inbetween the railway bank and the hay barn.

The second shot proved to be the bulls eye, literally up it's arse as it was going away from me. I had already missed with the first shot, god know's why although the excitment of having a fox in the scope was enough after all this time.

As harvest is just around the corner the next victim(s) WILL not be that far off in time.

Prior to the lamping session, Martyn had strimmed the fence line around Worthy Park pen (job well done). Myself and Stephen repaired the electric fence where it been damaged. This pen could do with two more pop holes in at the top end of the pen to ease the task of poults going back in. It was then over to Beachwood pen to list the jobs required to be done prior to the birds arriving. Next main work party date is set for the 12th July.

Saturday 17th May 2008. Work Party.

Stephen, Kevin and Keith along with his wife and son plus myself attended the second work day on the shoot. As you can see from the photo's two wind breaks were installed in the Worthy Park pen, kindly modelled by Charlie and Cody. The breaks were built on either side of the pen offering the birds some relief from any wind on each direction. It will also allow under cover feeding stations.

The materials were salvage from the old pen site plus a few posts from the farm yard.

Work started approx 9.30am and finished by 2.00pm. Once the weed killer has been applied to the fencing and killed off the green stuff we will be able to complete the additional work required before the birds arrive i.e. two more pop holes to be installed, electric fence check etc etc.

I have suggested that two work parties dates to be arranged for June thus allowing work on the other pens to be completed in time prior to the arrival of the birds which I believe begins in July.

Martin has six feed hoppers now at his garage to overhaul which were collected yesterday.

Roe Buck taken yesterday, 4th May 2008. My first!

Full report in previous report.

Another 'At Long Last'

After 18 months on the stalking attemps success was at long last acheived with a young buck still in velvet. He was shot a approx 8.30am yesterday morning just after the rain had stopped.
I had got to the farm at 5.30am and sat in the car waiting for the rain to clear which was forecasted to stop at 6am. After waiting for an hour the rain continued so the car seat went back and a few zzz's caught up with. Came to just before 8am and still it rained so decided after coffee and a chocalate breakfast to try my luck anyway.
As approaching along Beachwood Shore and beyond onto the hedgerow leading away from the tree's the buck was spotted laying up. I am sure that he knew that I was there but this did not seem to annoy him in the slightest. After closing the gap to approx 75 yards I set up the rifle waiting for him to get up. This took some time even after making one or two unnatural sounds to encourage him. It appeared as though nothing was going to disturb the beast until at last he stood up, broad side on, shook his coat to rid himself of the rain and met the 100 grain .243.
I was mighty relieved to see him virtually drop on the spot, the bullet strike was a little further back than I would of liked, but the exit wound was spot on so the bullet had done the job and gone through the engine room.
As this was my first deer it was also my first gralloch. After watching the BDS dvd on the method the previous night for the tenth time I hope I did not make a mess of things. I am awaiting Roger's verdict when he collects the beast from the roe safe so fingers crossed.
Now also looking forward to hanging the trophy on the lounge wall, even though he was only a youngster he was my first and therefore will always be remember for being in the right place at the right time and for that I am eternally grateful. May his soul chase a thousand doe's.

15th April 2008 - At long last

As the title describes it has been a month or so since the last fox was shot on our weekly lamping sessions. For what ever reason(s) the previous month has been very frustrating with a lack of co operative reynards (or just very cunning), a rifle that was not in zero and a wire fence that got in the way of said bullet!

Anyway, Tuesday night changed the luck and a dog fox was brought to book. It was early, approx 8.30pm when his eyes were spotted 300 yards away. It was at the end of the Sausage Wood Field up towards the Ring of Trees. Stephen did the best impression of a rabbit in distress and in it came like lassie! Had to whistle to stop him before he decided to join us in the truck.

After not hitting anything for some time the heart started to race when the scope was filled with orange, thankfully Mr Fox was obliged to sit still for a few seconds longer before the new Federal Premium V Shok 55 grain bullets in Nosler Ballistic Tip form performed its duty. When counting yards back to truck after collecting charlie it was approx 130 yards so a little further than first thought, just goes to show that lamping at night can distort range estimations.

Back in business and roll on next week.

8th March 2008

Woke up approx 5.30am and hmmm & rrrrrr about a trip up to the shoot, anyway about the time I decided to go it was approx 6.30am. The objective was to try and ambush a fox on the railway bank that we can never see during the lamping sessions. We had left some dog meat on our previous trip so I was hoping that it might of done the trick to entice the bugger out.

Anyway, stalked the long way round due to the wind to the top of the bank by the stubble field. Three roe doe's were spotted approx 400 yards away and of course now out of season. Whenever I see the beasts it's always the wrong sex for the season!

Proceeded along the bank at a slow pace, stopping every ten yards to emit a few squeaks from the mouse call but to no avail.

The picture taken is of the fox den from last year, obviously now in use again but I am sure that it's Badgers that have taken residence this time judging by the rubble. If anyone agree's please let me know.

Other Kills 2008

These kills were from Jan thro to Feb 2008