A Grey Day

Saturday 25th January 2014

So with the weather forecast looking really bad over the weekend my shooting buddy and I decided to brave the elements and get back out to our permission. With last weeks haul on the grey population being rather good I was certain there would be more out this week. The presence of these vermin on this permission is strong in number and have been left pretty much untouched for years.

We arrived at the permission later than we normally would,  it was 11am already and the sky's were looking black and thick. The wind was blowing strong and with it came a bitter chill. It had been raining hard all night and the farm entrance looked like the bog of eternal stench. I didnt think the van wheels would pull through the thick muck as we drifted and slid our way into the farm courtyard. Even the cows looked miserable in their shed as the wind roared through the open sides and sent hay rolling across the ground. Due to sighting in the scopes last week I decided to forgo the routine zero check on a target board checking groupings as I knew with the howling winds it would be hard to see what was taken by the wind and what was a wobble. Instead I decided to wait for breaks in the wind and shoot at a few coca cola bottle lids I had placed up at 30 yards. Every one of them went flying with central impact marks so I was happy that the scope was still on target.

So, welly boots on and a 2 minute stroll through the muck to get out of the courtyard and into the fields and woodlands. I realised at this point that when I got to the first wooded area that I was about 4 inches taller due to all the mud welded to my boots and with that realisation came the worrying thought that this particular wooded area was slap bang on the side of a steep hill, this would make for interesting stalking sliding down the face of the hill ;-).

As we crossed the gate into the woods almost instantly we became aware of that rustling of leaves to our right in the distance. I knew that the noise was Mr Nutkins mooching around the woodland floor looking for his stash of acorns and edibles. Twenty yards of slipping and sliding later whilst holding onto trees for balance I spotted two Nutkins dancing round the wooded floor. I signalled to my shooting buddy like I was in the SAS, moving two fingers to my eyes whilst looking at him and then pointing in their direction and then giving the signal for two. Im glad my shooting buddy cottoned on and didnt think I had lost the plot and just giving him the V.

We both slid and skated a further 15 yards closer and were both now viewing both nutkins down the embankment at approximately 30 yards away. I steadied myself as best I could and brought the Pro Sport up to my shoulder. There he was, positioned facing back at me sat on his back legs at the base of a tree but he wouldnt keep still, he kept ducking into a hole in front of him and mooching around. I could see the top of his head and decided to take the shot. A phut and a crack later and Nutkins number one just slumped into the hole which he was so fascinated with in the first place. As I brought the rifle down I noticed the other Nutkins who at first was alarmed by the sound had now jumped from his perch and was venturing towards his fallen friend. A quick sniff and he didnt seem bothered, he continued to mooch the floor line. My shooting buddy took up aim next to me and had a small window of opportunity to take the shot through a mass of twigs. Unfortunately his .22 Air Arms Field pellet glanced a twig and went wildly off course. With that Nutkins was not hanging around and made his way to safety further into the woods sprinting and jumping like a gymnast into the distance.

I made my way down the mud slope trying to be as stealthy as I could to retrieve my trophy.

 

Pleased with my successful collection we moved on in the direction the other nutkins had run off in. We both decided to sit and wait to see what might come by. I took up residence on the floor sitting back up against a tree wishing I had put an extra layer of trousers on as my combats and boxers started soaking up the wet floor. I had only been sat about 20 minutes when I heard the unmistakable crack of my shooting buddy's Mk2 TX200 which I might add is approximately 18 years old now and has never had a service of relube in its life, all original parts and still kicking out 11ft/lb of energy consistently. I was there the day he purchased it when I were a kid and can remember many fun outing with my shooting buddy, my dad ever since. A lone figure, rifle in one hand and nutkins in the other then approached. A cracking head shot. I was assured that whilst waiting, this nutkins had come bounding out in front of my shooting buddy's view on the floor standing still long enough to be cleanly taken.

 

So an hour in and two nutkins taken from what was proving to be a nice little woodland. Brewski time, nicotine fix and ready to move on for some more.

It wasnt long whilst mooching on before another two squirrels decided it would be a good idea to start making a racket and crashing through the tree line right in front of us. These two required a little stalk as they were out of range at about 60 yards away and to many branches and twigs blocking a good shot. The first nutkins ran across a branch heading towards my shooting buddy, I glanced across and gave him the nod to go for it whilst I kept an eye on the other one. Again, the mighty crack of the boomstick, aka TX200 rang out followed by the crack and thump of a nutkins falling out the tree and hitting the floor. Another clean headshot none the less. I congratulated him on the shot and went to look for the second which had moved further into the distance. After a few minutes of mooching my second nutkins came bouncing out of a pile of logs about 25 yards to my front and leapt into the trees. Now I must admit that I had 3 shots on this occasion and missed every one of them due to twigs and incorrect hold under. I decided that nutkins had won and went to move on when nutkins decided to give me one last roll of the dice. He jumped from his hiding spot and made a dash along a thick branch 25 yards to me left. I swivelled round and took aim in the kneeling unsupported stance and let a Falcon Accuracy Plus .177 round fly. My aim was true on this occasion and a clean headshot sent nutkins tummbling from his branch. 

Both Nutkins 3 and 4 accounted for.

By now the weather had started to take a turn for the worse with parts of the sky a depressive black and grey colour and the wind now howling and rushing it were hard to stand still. We decided to leave the wood and take a walk up a field towards another woodland and monitor the tree line to our right for any activity.

Whilst walking this route and returning to the warmth of the van for banter and debrief one last grey would fall to the Pro Sport. A movement of orange and grey caught me eye, a full grown nutkins running over logs and through thick brash to my right, range to target 20 yards or so. Another perfect head shot and it really was time to call it a day as the drizzle started to fall. 

5 in total and 2 happy little hunters!

Thanks for reading!

Mawders