hunting reports!

eoinkildare

hey guys, i've looked through the olds posts and i've noticed that arent really many of what i'd call reports.
from my experience with forums, which is mainly based on angling forums, people always write reports of how their day out went, detailing catch reports and funny stories from the day or whatever. just wondering what people's feelings on the matter are. mods if nobody goes for it you can remove this thread!



i'll start it off with a short one about the other night and my first fox;

went out the other night with my mate brian. our intention was to either get a rabbit or two, or else a fox. both of us are new to he sport so we didn't really know what to expect, but we had borrowed an electronic caller and a tracer max lamp so we were full of hope! things didn't start all that well as we went across a few plowed fields which were very heavy under foot with after the recent rain. there wasnt one pair of eyes shining back at us until we got to the end of the fields for which we had permission. we shone the light into the next field, (where we daren't go!) and we saw a pair of bright eyes looking back at us. we wished it was in one of our fields, but it didn't matter as when we looked at it through the scope we could see it was a badger, which we weren't interested in shooting obviously.

anyway, we walked back through the field and found that there were grass fields across the ditch which we did have permission for. anyway, we couldn't cross the ditch because brian didn't have wellies to cross the stream with, so we walked back to the start of the fields and entered on the other side of the ditch into the grass fields.

after a walk to the first nice level clear field (the others had tufts of high grass as the farmer hadn't made hay last year) we found a nice fallen tree and sat in for the long haul. we turned on the caller and found the call we were happy with. brian was on the rifle and i was on the lamp and call. i gave the call a few blasts of ten or fifteen seconds each and then i'd lamp the field and see if i could spot anything. after about five or ten minutes of this we were settled into a pattern, and i don't think either of us even expected to see anything!

little did we think that after about fifteen minutes when i shone the lamp around the field i was greeted with two eyes looking across the filed. i tunred the lamp of straight away and told brian to get ready. i waited about 10 seconds and lit up the area where i expected to see the fox and found that he was still running in our direction. i turned it off again and let it run even closer. the third time i turned on the lamp, the fox was at about fifty yards and i kept the lamp on him. brian had the rifle at his shoulder at this stage and the fox stopped and looked at us. he was facing us dead on. not the easiest shot as the target size was reduced as he was facing us, but brian took a great shoot and got the fox right in the patch of white on his chest, dropping the fox on the spot with one shot. over the moon would be the onl way to describe us as we shook hands, got up off the ground and walked to the fox which we found to be a dog fox in great health.

what a great night, we were delighted and got a result. now we can't wait to buy a caller and get out again. we've baited the field now since and we're hoping to get another one soon!

hope you all like the report and follow suit by putting in your own ones.

eoin

Mac Tire

great write up and i think that this could catch on...and hope it does..

Invincible

Fair play to ye,good concise,entertaining report.Keep it up!

thehair

top class story great to see hunting reports you can learn a lot
10 out of 10:cool:steve

thed4king

Top class report! Very entertaining. Only thing is eoinkildare said that he would like other people to do likewise......... so if anyone else has been out over the weekend, they should write a report for us to read. And hopefully, it will get the ball rolling and more and more people will do the same.

Good idea though eoinkildare! Hope it catches on!:)

thehair

i only shoot target at this time i need to learn to shoot out to 100yards a lot beford i can go hunting with somebody skilled in hunting at night:D

eoinkildare

don't think i'd call myself skilled at night! only starting out really and could count my lamping trips on one hand!:)

mallards

Here's one I did last year for a different forum about the last day of the season.


Well, the first days hunt is over. My feet are in bits from going the extra mile! I started this morning at 10AM, I would have started sooner but the rules of this ground are duck only before 10AM. I parked up in a likely spot, readied my gear, adjusted my dog and set off. The weather today was a little overcast but very mild with bright spells here and there. With a soft breeze I reckoned it would be a perfect hunting day. I took Rosie with me first she was the most experienced and as I was stepping out in prime snipe grounds I wanted to give myself every chance! We bore into the breeze and she began to take up ground to either side of me. We had only started our hunt before the first shrieks of departing Snipe could be heard, unfortunately these were too far in front, but at least I knew they were there. We walked till lunch without seeing another bird. Rosie had worked her heart out so I owed it to her to bring her to some better snipey ground.



I thought I would give Rosie a break and run her daughter a while. Now Holly isn’t your typical French Brit, She runs a bit like an Irish Setter very wide and very pacy. To top that she is very head strong and I and only I can put at least some reins on her! She was trained by my better half and has had, shall we say, her own way a little too often! The one thing I will say for her is that she is a very exciting dog to follow!

We hunted some yellow grass first, this is interspersed with patches of heather and damp or wet open ground, the very place a snipe could pop up! She quartered her ground for a good 20 minutes before she begun hinting that something was ahead of her. I know enough of her now to know that it wasn’t a snipe and this bird was running hard ahead of her. Her area she was hunting got smaller until I knew she definitely had a line. Her head lowered as she cantered forward, her rump quivered and her ears rose listening for what was ahead. She stood on point. I crept forward and nudged her in. Up got the bird rocketing away I fired and watched it fold on the far side of a huge drain. Holly had sat for the flush and I now sent her for it. She brought me back a beautiful plump hen pheasant.



Now on this particular shoot we shoot hens and cocks. The ground is peat bog and the landowners cut deep drains everywhere to dry out the peat before bagging for garden compost. The result is that any broods the hens raise are killed the minute they hop over a drain. So in midsummer we release pheasant poults into the wild to supplement the small wild stock.
Itching to get down to the Lough shores I bring Holly and bird back to the trailer and change her for the now rested Rosie. We cross the area where I shot the hen, let her have a sniff around and get her Geee’d up. We cross the old gate and look at the Lough stretching out before us. I thank God for such a great day and to be spending it this way. I have the dog, the gun and this stretched in front of me, hopefully full of snipe!




We start working the shore, me slipping and sliding about like a horse on roller skates and Rosie tip-toeing through the puddles like a gundog should. We must have walked a mile without stopping, I could see duck out beyond the hides flying back and forth, there was no hope of them coming any nearer. I stopped to take a picture of the hide. I wish I had a zoom lens to show you all those duck just beyond the hide, if you can zoom in on the picture on the right hand side, those dots above the horizon are a flock of about 50 Pochard crossing right to left.



As is my luck, concentrating on the picture, Rosie sends two snipe out and up above the water. I watch them for as long as I can until they disappear. Rosie now with the scent of game in her nostrils charges on. It isn’t unusual for a snipe to sit tight while his buddies are making a fast exist around him. So I let Rosie work out her ground and BAM she comes rock steady on point. There is a little clump of rush ahead of her and I figure the snipe was at the base of it. She is inches away from it and as I move in to nudge her, up gets a cackling rooster. In pure shock I put up the gun, swing through and fire. He’s down but running, I send the dog. Rosie catches up with him just as he jumps a small stream. She pins him with her mouth and I whistle her back. As she jumps the stream I see she has grabbed him by the base of the tail, and the tail has come out! Off the bird runs again hopping the small stream. This time she makes no mistake and brings him to me with head up and a spring her step. I was very proud of her.



Two pheasants in the bag, but I was really after a snipe. I hoped for red letter day and fill the hoops on my game bag with 10 snipe! I told myself I wasn’t leaving this place without one as it will be September before I get the chance again! I dropped the bird and some gear back at the trailer with all the walking I was feeling the pinch!
I took Rosie onto some dryer ground; I figured that the birds hadn’t been in the wet areas of the Lough as it was too wet to feed. There was about an hour of light left so we had to crack on. We moved out into the yellow grass areas again, this time keeping Rosie nice and tight in the hope of walking up a bird as much as pointing one. I didn’t have to wait long Rosie before my eyes went rock hard into point. She was so steady I took the camera out and snapped away.



I could not see what she was pointing even though the grass was so short. I nudged her forward and at last I heard the rasp of the snipe as it leapt forward. I took my time, mounted and swung, BANG, nothing. Refocus, BANG, nothing. It flew on then it staggered and tumbled towards the ground. I was so relieved I ran out and picked it myself!



It was the most enjoyable day; we worked hard for our birds. They may be the only birds of the weekend, tomorrow is a different day. But for now I feel just as tired as Rosie!




Day 2.


Well, day two found me fit and well, the feet had recovered and the dog was itchin’ to go! The weather this morning had a very cool feel to it. It was still overcast with quite a stiff northerly breeze. The plan was to hunt my own ground today. It covers quite a large area of mountain bogs mixed with rough pasture and small parcels and clumps of trees and bushes. After settling myself and dog for the path ahead, I decided that today I will hunt the out of the way places on my shoot. I always do this on the last days of the season. I don’t know why, maybe it’s to give me an overall view of how the place is doing. The ground before me can be a mecca for snipe, sadly this year it has been disappointing.


As I rarely cover this ground I know only a few places that definitely will hold a snipe. My plan is to work the poorer areas first with the hope that my hunting would improve as the day progressed. I started to work Rosie out of the long grass and pushed her out onto the bog. This is a magical place were photos can’t do it justice.



It wasn’t long before Rosie made her first point. She produced a rabbit which I helped her put in the bag. I have to say I do love rabbit and wonder why it isn’t eaten more?

Back to the job of finding snipe. I started to cover better snipey ground, I came across the Whin bush as we call it, I think in the UK they call it gorse. In the spring and summer the flowers smell like grated coconut and is one of the sights of Ireland when the countryside is covered in them.



Rosie was covering the ground well and a few snipe had already rose ahead and out of shot, but the omens look good. A few more steps forward and a snipe rose far out and I downed it with the second barrel. Even thinking about it now it surprised and pleased me as it was at the limit of my range.



Up over a small hill I came across this stone circle made by hunters a couple of thousand years ago! There are a lot of examples of these in my county and I would say not many people other than me know of this one.



As per usual Im taking pictures when Rosie, fed up of waiting, decides to flush a snipe! I turn round to see it making off downhill but its call rises another bird to my left which I snap a shot of to. To my surprise it crumples and folds. Rosie makes a nice find and I now have two in the bag and the day looks a lot brighter.




I now crossed over to an area I rarely hunt for two reasons. Firstly it’s way out of the way! You have to do a lot of huffing and puffing to get this far. Secondly, the near side has rough pasture on it and the cattle are turned out onto it in the late spring. Generations of cattle have left the bog pot-holed with their foot prints. Any time I had been before I left with a twisted ankle or a fall or both!

I tell you I was glad I made the effort. As I crossed the brow of the hill the first snipe rose as it sensed our presence. As it shrieked down hill I fired, I kid you not, at least 40 yes 40 snipe rose in pairs or packs of five at the sound of my shot! The hill was alive with them. I fired my second barrel, reloaded, fired again. I missed every one! I didn’t mind as I knew there would still be a few brave souls that had stayed behind plus my stance was all over the place on the rough ground. I Hunted the area with Rosie and a single broke here and there, all were at my extreme range I missed cleanly, but my, what shooting and fun! At the bottom of the area Rosie pointed ahead of me, as she did a snipe rose and turned heading back up hill to my left towards me. As it passed by it was to close to shoot. I let it out some, then some more, I fired near the limit of my range and it folded into the heather. I was very pleased with my shot and felt for the first time since I got this gun that it actually fitted me. You know? Rosie came back with the birds head still up. I kinda wished I could have let him go to fly away for another day.




I decided to call it a day there and then. It had been my 'Day of the Season', I knew it would be a good note to finish the season on. Unfortunately my Dad has a bad dose of the Flu and won't be joining me for tomorrows trout fishing trip. There will be other days i'm sure, enjoy the rest of your season guys, I hope you get as much or more shooting, and more birds in the bag, as I did.


Mallards.

thehair

Mallards now that a long hunting story well done:cool::cool:

thehair

eoinkildare wrote: »

don't think i'd call myself skilled at night! only starting out really and could count my lamping trips on one hand!:)

i can count my hunting trips on one hand=0

Remmy

great idea eoinkildare and great story!cracking pictures there mallard!

cavan shooter

very good Mallards, did you know that Irish shooters digest was looking for people to contribute articles. You could easily be chosen and even though I know SFA about literature, you just told a good story as a closet archaelogist the Fulacht Fia (ancient cooking site) is amazing.

mallards

Is that what they are C.S. I always thought they were too small to live in. You can make out doorways in them facing East. And they all are in alignment East/West with a large stone circle at right angles to the middle one to the North. Then half way between the stone circle and the Fulacht Fia is a spring rising up underneath a very out of place, huge lump of glacial granite. Interesting.


Mallards.

eoinkildare

excellent report mallards. thats just what i was hoping to see when i started the thread! well done on a cracking two days of hunting and your photography is great too.
eoin

Mellor

congrats on the fox eoin, where did you get him?
I've noticed extra wildlife along the N4 stretch from palmerstown to leixip, fox on the N4, squirrels etc, must be the road works

eoinkildare

i got the fox up in ashbourne/ratoath area actually mellor. i think i know the fox you're talking about, is it the one just before the liffey bridge on the m4 at leixlip? yeah, there seems to be a good bit of wildlife around at the moment for some reason.
great to see the place is alive!
eoin

bitemybanger

i got the fox up in ashbourne/ratoath area actually

I do most of my shooting around here, Ash/Ratoath/Kilbride dunshaughlin to navan. which club are you a member of?

bunny shooter

Mallard, well done. I must do a few soon as I will begin bunny shooting shortly

thed4king

Well done Mallard, and i agree with "cavan shooter" that this is at the standard you might see in a magazine. Also the pics are very good.

Hope more people submit reports;0

bitemybanger

Just wanted to renew this thread:)

Headed out last night at around 10pm to a known fox area near my house.
We met up with Meathstevie and headed up from there, arrived full of confidence that we would get a couple of fox. Headed down the laneway to an open field divided by a low ditch that sloped gently down, we were upwind so we had to change that, we walked for about 10 mins to get to a spot downwind where we could see a the whole field and where i tought a fox might appear, stayed there for a good 15 mins but to my surprise, no sign of charlie so we headed into a newly planted barley field, a massive field at that, walked about half way up the field and started calling again but to no avail.
Walked on to a spot where i knew there were foxes as we had seen them on the lamp before but never got a shot off at any of them, a beautiful field with a raised bank on one side giving you an elevated view of the whole field, started to call again, about 7-10 mins into it we see a pair of green eyes looking back at up like a pair of headlamps, She came like a bat out of hell and when we put her in the spot light she stopped broadside to us not sure weather to proceed or leg it, she didnt get the chance, BANG, Meathstevie with a perfectly placed shot to the heart dropped her on the spot, stayed there for another few mins with no luck.

Started to walk back the way we came into the huge barley field and got to the end of the field, Colin shined the lamp across the gate before we jumped it and there was another fox at the other end of the field along a ditch with a small stream running through it, started to call and the fox seemed interested and started to make his way up the ditch going in and out of sight, we heard somthing behind us and Colin turned to invstigate in that direction, nothing and panned right with the lamp and there about 40-50 yards was a fox, motionless staring back at us, I was at the gate ready to shoot the fox we seen before so Meathstevie got on his belly with his trusty 22 hornet to take the shot, BANG, fox legs it unscaved by the shot, I wont repeat what Meathstevie siad:D he had missed completly:eek::p.

Moving on, we peered into the next field to find another pair of eyes looking back, called for a few mins but the fox didnt seem to interested, she was walking away from left to right at 200 odd yards so i lined up to take the shot, couldnt see her as she kept looking away but i then saw her clearly through the scope, she looked again so i took the shot, didnt see her run so we walked up to where she was and out of the darkness, there she was, dropped on the spot, another vixen, we were happy and by this time it was 12.30am so we started heading back to the cars and colin wanted a rabbit so we go to the top of the field, a known rabbit haunt and there was a rabbit, Stevie lind up the shot from his knee and took it, he literaly decapatated the rabbit from about 60 yards, made up for his earlier miss:D

So there you go, took me AGES to type cause im a slow typer:o. enjoy

meathstevie

Thanks for an enjoyable evening man. Have to return the favour at some stage sooner rather than later. Wouldn't be the greatest fan of shooting foxes at this time of year. Neither are you or Colin I noticed but I can well imagine the farmer that owns the place getting more than just a little bit upset with them. There must be a serious amount of them around his place to be able to see at least 4 and drop 2 on less than a square mile.

Yeah, the four letter dictionary got a good run through missing the one that should have been an easy shot allright:D.

Anyway, two tails for your freezer and stew for Colin. Happy days and thanks again.

eoinkildare

good report man. sounds like a nice interesting night of shooting. i'll have to head out again soon, the rabbits are taunting me everytime i drive past!