First day back at work in what will seem a very long drawn out week till I next see some time off. But what's this, a phone call from my shooting partner asking if I fancied a few hours out after work for some bunny bashing down at a local permission. Well why not, this will give me something worth while looking forward to for the rest of the day at work.
The time soon came and 6:30pm and my shooting partners van rumbles onto the drive way. Off I go, food in my belly and well hydrated now the weather has picked up.
Pulled up on the perm about 7pm and had a quick look out over the two small fields which make up part of the perm. A few bunnies spotted out and about but disappearing fast into the hedge rows. A delicate step over the barbed wire fence and away we went, sun beating down on our backs. Now this particular permission has cows on it and some of which are bulls with very large sharp looking horns. A quick look round and we could see they were in an adjoining field so we were safe for now.
The field we were in and started our journey contains a hand full of trees in random places, these provide great strafing cover moving in the chosen target and also great for running round when being chased by the resident bull!
I spotted my first target roughly 80 yards away near the hedge, a rabbit out munching the grass. I crept along and towards the first tree which blocked my sight and the rabbits, I then moved over to another tree and when I next looked I judged the distance to the rabbit to be roughly 40 yards. I dropped to the prone position and extended the legs of the Harris Bipod! I then took aim and allowed nearly one mildot for pellet drop using the heavy JSB exacts. squeezing the trigger gently and following through all I heard was a faint hammer strike, the superten bbk with twink silencer sent the JSB towards it target at 11.5ft/lb. whack and the bunny toppled, just rolling onto its side and sticking the leg in the air. I moved towards the bunny to claim the prize only to find my eye sight had let me down once again! A Bunny, not a rabbit laid before me. I can only use the excuse the rabbit looked alot bigger in the scope, but then most things will at 10x mag! Now the permission owner keeps cows in these fields so this rabbit would cause as much damage as any other full grown rabbit creating holes in the ground that the livestock could fall in but it still didn't make me feel any better for shooting such a young rabbit even though they are on the cards as much as the full grown.
Moving on I walked up along the hedgerow towards the top end of the field but made the mistake of letting the cows in the adjoining field see me, like bees to the honey pot they started walking towards me and the gap in the hedgerow. I knew at this point I was screwed, because as soon as daisy and heather start their walk the resident bull decides hes gonna get there first! The thing is huge and white and when it starts running towards you no amount of arm waving or rain dancing will scare it away, its a feckin beast of an animal!
I started walking with purpose towards the top of the field listening to the stampede behind me, looking nervously round every other step I made. Its at this point I then see the bull running as fast as its big fat legs can carry it across the hedgerow and into my field, now only 15 to 20 yards away and heading on a collision path towards its chosen destination - ME!
I started running but hit what my dad and I call the bog of eternal stench, its a patch of the field so churned up by the cows and full of water it stinks and sucks up anything stupid enough to stand in it. That said it was my only route away from being nothing more that a Jack Pyke cap poking up from the mud!
I ran as fast as I could into the bog with my gun held high above my head like a soldier in Vietnam crossing the streams of the jungle. Squelch, went my feet into the mud, where got stuck! nearly knee deep in shit and mud every effort to get one leg out meant the other went deeper. No time to stop and worry or get emotional, Bully Beef was fast approaching. I managed to get my legs out as you would when instant death is fast approaching. I then managed to jump, at least I think I jumped a small barbed wire fence into another field. Phew!!!!! death avoided I continued on with my hunt a little out of breath.
But whats this, no time to stop and rest I spot a rook in the tree approximately 30 yards in front and hes getting anxious. I stood and shouldered the rifle and took aim. A gently breeze and the rook swaying on the branch. Taking aim I let loose another JSB Exact which hit the rook in the side of the neck, it tumbled from the tree but was flapping at the same time, which sent its path of descent off, landing in some tall grass in another field which I had no permission on, I could see it over the barbed wire fence approximately 40 yards into the field motionless. I dared not pick it up as the field had horses and stables in it and I wasnt sure if there was people around. Must not be the most pleasant experience seeing an armed combat dressed countryside warrior walking round your field! I left it there in the hope it would attract more rooks and wasnt disappointed as about 3 minutes later a group flew over going batshit crazy at their fallen brother. One rook made the mistake of landing on the same tree the last fell from and was quickly within my sights. This time roughly 25 yards away and at a steady angle. taking another standing shot this time the JSB hit the brain box and the rook let out its final squawk before plummeting straight down from its branch!
The time was now fast approaching 8pm and so I decided to set the rook out as a decoy but had no wire to make it stand up so instead hoped in vein that others would be stupid enough to land in the tree looking at their fallen but they didn't. I hid in the shadows of a bush waiting but they circled low and flew away knowing something wasn't quite right about their brother.
On meeting up with my shooting partner he showed me his prize of a good sized rabbit and with that we decided to call it a night.
I really enjoyed the night as to get two rooks in 5 minutes was most pleasant, they are not the easiest birds to hunt and cant recall the last time I have shot one its been that long.
Mawders
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