My son and I went in pursuit of reds yesterday......

...... My son Charlie is a very keen shooter, and after a day out pheasant shooting on Saturday, we had a day on reds lined up for yesterday......:D

He has shot a red hind previously, and - thanks to the generosity and hospitality of 243varmint and Bandit Country - last year he managed to shoot a very respectable roe buck which is now with the taxidermist (I did a brief write up on each at the time); he fancied another crack after deer and so I arranged a day......and, true to form for those that know me, my weather influencing skills held good and the forecast took a distinct downward turn, with plenty of rain and high winds predicted for yesterday.....:cry:

Anyway, with days booked off work (he's 17 but. Is an apprentice joiner), we set off early doors, stopping at the services to get him a bacon butty (what is it with teenage boys?? Hollow legs!!).....:eek:

After getting booted up, we set off uphill - and I very quickly remembered how unfit I've become :D. Charlie was off like a mountain goat.....

Before setting off walking we'd spied a group of stags on a hills face so the plan was to get up, around and above them to see if we could take one, or even two,out of the party. As we ascended, the rain got heavier and heavier, driven into our faces by the increasingly strong wind. On the upside, at least we didn't have any uncertainty over wind direction....:doh:

After around 50 minutes we found ourselves shimmying towards a crest to look down onto the group, who had moved upwards slightly since our original spotting, but were now at distances of between 140 and 220 yards.... We'd agreed that Charlie was to shoot first, and only if we were confident that he'd managed to safely take one that wasn't going anywhere would I try to line up on another; he got into position and it was agreed which one he would try for. 2 shots..... 2 misses! In the heat of the moment, he'd forgotten to aim a little low to allow for the steep slope as I'd told him to, and he'd misjudged the range slightly....however: between us we very quickly worked out what he'd done, he corrected himself and shot number 3 was bang on and dropped his first ever red stag :D. Result! (I managed to take a second out of the group, but this write up isn't about me ;)).

After the gralloch, the photos and the drag, we had a look to see if we could spot any suitable hinds to go towards the cull requirements; it was by this time lunchtime and the weather was deteriorating, so we agreed that we'd stick to the lower slopes and just have a look in a small wooded area in case we could see anything tucked up out of the weather. After all, what in its right mind would be out in those weather conditions? Oh. Hang on a mo......:lol:

After half an hour, a group of four hinds was spotted making their way away from us along the bank of the river; if we were going to try and get one,a rapid crawl into position was needed.....and Charlie was off like a greased weasel! He got into a suitable position, and by the time I'd got alongside him, he was up on the bipod and lining up on one of the two remaining hinds that were now visible....bang. Perfect. No second shot required this time. A very good shot indeed under difficult conditions.

Another very soggy gralloch and drag, and it was time to call it a day. But what a great day.

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Looks like a cracking day was has. Well done to both of you. Bet his heart was bumping hard after two misses!! Still all worked out in the end.
 
Looks like a cracking day was has. Well done to both of you. Bet his heart was bumping hard after two misses!! Still all worked out in the end.
Heart going.....I think so! Mine certainly was!! But (a) they were clean misses, no wounding (b) we all make mistakes at times and I think the excitement of the moment just clouded things in his mind ever so slightly. The important thing is that he realised what the mistake was, corrected it, and managed to get the deer down OK. It would have been easy to put up a sanitised version of events, conveniently omitting the fact he'd missed, but what good would that have done? The honest account is what actually happened on the day, and his nerves seemed to be very steady by the time he managed to take the hind in the afternoon!
 
Totally agree Quen. If you ain't never made a bad shot or missed then you won't have shot many deer. It adds to the write up for me, I can imagine my reaction when the rifle went bang and the deer stood there. I'd be sweating like a pig. Hope he don't beat you with that stick when your lagging behind!!!
 
Fantastic Merlin, superb write-up and pictures.

How wonderful to see your lad come of age as it were, and put into practice everything he's learned.

Hearty congratulations on your first stag too, Charlie :tiphat:
 
Congrats to the lad, a belting write up, the pics say it all

as as long as he doesn't miss the nail with his hammer at work and pop his fingers lol ( I'm a joiner by trade) his future outings with his old fella should be sweet,

great stuff

kjf
 
Congrats to the lad, a belting write up, the pics say it all

as as long as he doesn't miss the nail with his hammer at work and pop his fingers lol ( I'm a joiner by trade) his future outings with his old fella should be sweet,

great stuff

kjf

Ha, smacking my thumb/finger/whole hand with a BFH is usually my trick!!
 
Sounds like a cracking day. By the way his pellet gun that you kindly passed on to my daughter six or seven years ago is still going strong. It was ideal for her for a few years and she is no a good shot with the 410. I passed it onto to a young lad who was out with his father on a friends shoot. my friend had borrowed the pellet gun to deal with a troublesome magpie in his garden and had it in the car to return to me. The young lad was very keen to try shooting and after a cat with his father, the pellet gun went home with them were it continues to be used to teach youngsters to shoot.
 
Sounds like a cracking day. By the way his pellet gun that you kindly passed on to my daughter six or seven years ago is still going strong. It was ideal for her for a few years and she is no a good shot with the 410. I passed it onto to a young lad who was out with his father on a friends shoot. my friend had borrowed the pellet gun to deal with a troublesome magpie in his garden and had it in the car to return to me. The young lad was very keen to try shooting and after a cat with his father, the pellet gun went home with them were it continues to be used to teach youngsters to shoot.

Glad to hear that it's still being put to good use! :D
 
Good honest write up Quen. Well done Charlie, especially for keeping his head under pressure. Kipling had some relevant words on the matter - and it was nowt to do with cakes!
 
Great read - nothing better than taking your child out to the field with you. Brings back fond memories.
 
Well done Charlie - chip off the old block...:D Great write up Merlin - looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.
 
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