So my main permission consists of 140 acres of fruit trees which dip into a valley, the farmer stated he wanted the tree rats dealt with as they become a problem all year round. The land consists of small lines of trees following the borders of the fields in which the tree rats set up home. At the top of the permission is one of the biggest woodlands in the county and has an endless amount of tree rats which venture out into the fields on the permission. These woods are not shot on as they are national trust and as such the tree rat population is getting out of hand. They venture into the permission and take whatever food sources they can get their grubby mits on. The farmer also has a large patch of hazlenut trees which the little beggers love to get their teeth into. Ive even on occasion seen them running around with whole apples in the their gobs from the apple orchards on the permission. Really goes to show the strength of these little fellas.
So the time: 17:00 hours - late in the day but a family christening held things up! The view from entering the permission,
A mooch through the apple orchard constantly scanning the ground for rabbits as they are also shootable on this permission but none around as I made my way slowly to the nearest line of trees which lead down the valley and up the other side finally meeting up with the large woodland. I could hear the screeching of my first tree rat coming from approximately 100 yards to my front. I moved slowly down the line of apple trees but all had gone quiet. Then as I stood looking at a large tree directly in front of me marvelling the vibrant colours which had formed recently since my last visit a large grey tree rat scuttled around the trunk of the tree approximately 5 feet off the ground. It was one of those moments where he saw me and I saw him, i couldnt move and within half a second he scuttled around the far side of the trunk. I dropped to the kneeling position and judged the range to be 20 to 25 yards. I waited for what felt like a few minutes trained on the trunk where he previously showed himself. Then as if it was meant to be, he scuttled back around into the same position as before. I took aim, trained the crosshairs onto the side of head just below the ear and gently squeezed the trigger of the Superten, thwack, the JSB Exact stuck firmly and accurately sending the tree rat up into the air and tumbling down into some thick grass, a few thrashes around the ground from nerves and the tree rat lay still. Life expired.
The tree he stayed still to long on pictured above.
Moving on and feeling good about the accuracy of the Superten I continued up the line of trees down into the valley and then up the other side. I stood still looking into the tree tops and scanning the trunks as the tree rats on this perm spend more time on the ground due to the abundance of fruit and nuts than they do in the trees. All of a sudden a massive thud and crash directly above my head. I stood still but just looked up to see a huge male tree rat running along the branch above my head chasing a smaller and I would guess female tree rat, his huge balls swinging in the may breeze. He stopped in a V of a branch and I took aim, again 20 to 25 yards and stood side on. Thwack and the second tree rat ate his last meal of JSB Exact. However he did not jump or leap from the tree as the pellet struck but rather rolled over on the spot and was left hanging over the V in the branch, blood dripping down from its head. I could not believe it, how on earth would I get it down from there.
I left him hanging and mooched off to see where the other tree rat had gone but could not locate her so after a few mins returned to the male tree rat still hanging in the V. However the wind had picked up and I could see with every gust of wind he inched over the V becoming front heavy. I took aim on his head and fired. The force of the shot did enough to swing him further over the branch and down he fell.
I thought it only appropriate to enjoy the thrill of the hunt with a nice roll up so sat up against a tree enjoying the breeze and sunny rays. A view from my tree,
A lovely feeling knowing everything you can see when you look around is yours to shoot on, a very humbling and welcome feeling for which I am truly thankful to the land owner.
The sun was fast setting and so a gentle walk down through a new field I had previously not ventured into whereby I viewed a nice fresh warren full of rabbits. There must have been around 10 out playing in the setting sun. However they would have to wait another day as its one of those places where you cant really stalk towards them but rather get in position early and wait their arrival as they come out to play.
The walk back to the car was long over 140 acres and fatigue had set in, a few rabbits out playing which I managed to stalk within distance but completely buggered up both shots due to poor lighting and over range finding them with the naked eye, to many mildots given and kicks of earth flying up a few inches past them so they will have to wait for another day.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening out and much needed due to recent weather keeping me indoors. Hope you enjoyed the read. I enjoyed the day.
Mawders
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