Write Ups

The FAC finally landed on the doormat again last Tuesday. Quiet, numb exultation at a moment I never thought would happen again this side of glory. A Sako S20 in 6.5 was picked up the same afternoon from Dauntsey Guns and was followed by a cracking couple of hours load developing with Paul & Sallyann at Corinium Range, Kemble on Sunday. The health already wobbling after a week of great excitement and significant improvement in Light Sporting Rifle scores from the Lantac Raven 22LR, there was mercifully just enough left in the tank to risk a long awaited first solo stalk in nine long years yesterday morning. Wind was minimal and the perfect direction, very rare for the ground. Speaking to the farmer late afternoon the day before, he...

Today, here in Sweden, it's Midsummer Eve. It is a time of year much celebrated by the Swedish people. Here in southern Sweden, the weather is at least warm and sunny. I did my usual week day feeding round, 5-6 miles on gravel forest tracks, only seeing one other person and meeting one other car on the way round. After the feeding round, it was off down the river to give the lab pup some water retrieving practice. It's about a mile down a forest track to the river where the ground opens out to a large area of water, flood meadows. All the time I was down there, not a person was seen. It's hard to beat a bit of solitude.

In memory of @sikadog, Kieth Robinson. I was fortunate enough to win the memorial endowment set up in Kieth’s name. This allowed me to sit a DSC1 course. I enrolled with BASC a year ago for ‘the next Marford Mill DSC1 course’, @sikamalc organised the award payment etc for which I am very grateful. The course was pushed back from March to June, clashing with a busy time on the syndicate schedule but I was determined to sit the course. Chris Brooks delivered the training and was great, as were my 11 comrades. Over the four days in the classroom I really struggled with my attention span and impulse control. Each time I reminded myself to keep quiet the hundreds of irrelevant asides that should have stayed in my head, yet they invariably...

I headed off to Devon last week to go out stalking with/on a friends ground. Lots of different patches with some being better at first light and some later in the day. The .243 and Alpex came with me to give me that extra bit of shootable light first and last thing with a lot of attention being paid to the exact time to keep within legal shooting hours. Here we go :) Thursday evening - saw a few does and a buck but lost legal light. On the walk back a fox popped out so rude not to shoot something. The alarm went off at 3.30 on Friday which was a nasty shock. There is an old buck on this ground and he was the target. There is also a decent younger buck and the plan is for the younger buck to be left. Typically I saw the younger...

A local block with new owners just taken over who are dealing with all the changes afoot in the farming world, shot it for a number of years but like a lot of land surrounded by safe havens the deer are just rolling in, trialling lines of trees to see what holds well also a scheme in this quite stoney ground she said. "you will shoot the deer?" "yes will you eat it? :) was the answer. A brace cut across the field the other evening leaving me no time to get set for a shot, this nearly repeated itself as I leave a 20 minute window for the other part of this block so was heading back with a last look behind the doe was just going in but the buck was looking where a second buck was calling. He was not looking my way but I chose the longer...

Back out on this local block of peas with a slight change of plan as it was going to be a 2 hide position but the list fell off a cliff with it being Fathers Day (I had a call from my Son early doors) Last time the birds drifted around the rotary which was the usual 25 yards up wind, so I stuck it out in front with the decoys to my left as there was no second shooter. Also I moved 25 yards to put "those trees" in a decent range also some welcome shade, the "landing strip" is 19 yds wide so getting the timing took a while with birds landing just on the edge and some behind, Toby will pick anything but it is hard work in and under the tangle of vine so that is how I worked it. 70 today making a running total of 550 shot since it was...

Out and about yesterday afternoon for a muntjac on a shoot I go beating at. I had planned to go to a certain drive that we regularly see them on. As I was driving through the estate I go past a small spinney that has a grass clearing in the middle and a couple of pheasant feeders. Almost gave myself whiplash when I saw three in there. I pulled up a few hundred yards down the track and got out to see if I could stalk into them. Unfortunately they were gone by the time I got there (probably me bumping them, but I’m still learning this game). Knowing that by now I probably only had another 40 mins before I would have to pack up and finish, I carried on to the drive I originally intended to go to. I knew that I pretty much only had time...

This Buck used his luck up last night as he disappeared after chasing a doe around on this freshly drilled block, local and the showers stopped so off I went! I had to hustle as he was out and on what looked to be the same route over the ditch, a fair distance to get my **** together get him stopped and let the round do it's thing. 35lb with the head on so best part of 30 to check in the morning. A very good weight for a muntjac. The owner is there tomorrow so have the one from a couple of days ago all bagged and tagged for her.

So as always - my middle child is hot on the heels of his elder brother… didn’t waste any time getting his permit and heading out for a hunt. I’ve been making him practice in field positions - no point in printing nice targets while prone with a bipod if he can’t hold reasonably steady on an improvised rest… Mauser 4000 222 with slightly reduced LOP shooting 55gr SPBT at 2900fps, do pretty well on goats I find. We decided to go after a goat rather than fallow. The chance of success is much higher, I’ve found with younger/inexperienced hunters it’s fairly fraught going after deer, there’s so much more you have to get right. In comparison goats are very obliging! So we set out from the house on foot yesterday morning about 11:00 after the...

Since Fathers day is coming, thought this might be an interesting story to share: "Grandpa had promised the rifle to my father many years ago, and as anyone would, Dad looked forward to owning such a fine piece of equipment. What my Grandpa couldn’t have known, is how that same rifle would bring the family together in the Utah mountains more than 50 years later." Read Rebuilding a Hunter

Easier said than done. Truth be told, I am not much of a fisherman. Actually not much of a Stalker either, but let's not go there. So here we are. It was Monday of our week on Harris - by the Grace of the Hunting Gods, we had somehow made the 700 miles in the most atrocious weather conditions in my memory, but here we were. Amhuinnsuidhe is one of those places where the 'mythical' Macnab is a possibility. If you have not already done so, the book by John Buchan explains it all, and is a rather lovely way to spend a day on the hill from the comfort of your own fireside... The Macnab is a sporting challenge not for the faint of heart, nor come to think of it, those devoid of a sense of humour. To successfully complete the 'Macnab'...

Driving down the road with I had noticed two deer standing "about" 200 yards out a buck and a doe so we parked up with the wind right we opted to wait, as anyone that's stalked open ground actually judging distance is a pretty hard thing too do especially when you've not ranged landmarks before and Its very easy to mess a shot up so we opted to get setup and wait, originally the deer had presented a shot but being far and enough of a breeze we let It wander down since the doe had came down and It was safe to assume he would follow. Well... it was a smart decision, but he dropped lower than the doe and ended up going into a thick pile of rushes whilst the doe stood broadside completely in the open slowly moving across, as expected It...

Flew to Jo'burg with BA a week ago for some advanced field to fork culinary supply chain management. I know this process comes up fairly regularly so thought i'd post on a recent experience to keep the knowledge on the forum current. I like the challenge of doing something and if it should be possible then it should be done. (or give an engineer a problem and they can't help trying to prove they can solve it). At the JHB end I used an agency (Rifle Permits ) to sort my SAPS 520 at the recommendation of my outfitter - he said you can do it yourself, but it's a lot smoother if you pay the agency. And it was - exceptionally smooth at JHB pickup. Definitely do this. These are my steps and how i would do it again for ease. Kit Two rifles...

I was on camp so went for a look. Some absolutely fabulous big boomers. A rather nice 4bore double in amongst them. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalrifleassociationuk/albums/72177720326524649/with/54556575570

It has taken a few goes to finley get Jack out on his first days decoying as he has been studying hard for his exams, his uncle has been out the last few trips. He shoots game but as I explained the gloves come off with crop protection, mount and timing was going to be the thing to focus on which took a couple of hours but the difference was noticeable, he did get the first bird which came with the wheels falling off a few times but also the last of the day! Both of us being Left handed he sat on my left so could see that I was not pointing it like Harry Potters wand but as I explained he is used to birds at tree height not diving into a pattern, a slower day than the previous time but that would have been far too much traffic for a...

Out on fox patrol ,walked from the car to the 1st ,gate put my 635 pixfra up couldn't believe it . A fox staring at me from about 40 yards ,rifle up 1st down a vixen cub. Looking across 2 others in the woods but wouldn't answer any call. Off for a gad about nothing doing as Bearded theory festival was drowning out everything. About midnight walked up to see the others at play ,shot the 1st about 120 yards . The other one started moving towards me 🤔🤔 got to about 80 yards so down it went . 3 vixens from 1 litter ,very happy farmer .

Last nights trip also from 2 days previous, called in to see the landowner for a 20min catch up dropping some muntjac at the same time, always keen to find out what is in the drill plan as this block has very productive over the years, it has been left for an Autumn drill of a scheme then to be grazed off which will be rotated. Ground is dry as a chip also not a chance to make an even step as the machine left a rough tilf! not been there very long when the hare turned into a muntjac off in the distance! Not ideal to stalk across an open field let alone trying to keep an even gate! I moved as she was feeding but close to a comfortable distance she lifted her head! Only option is to wait it out, after a while the foot stamping turned...

With the long days of late spring upon us, @MR22 and I headed north to Galloway in pursuit of roe bucks with @Gallowaycountrysports. I was keen to see how the Alpex 4K LRF, a recent SD purchase, performed when mounted atop my Sako M591: a foxing rifle chambered in .22-250, deadly on foxes and legal for roe north of the border. Our journey up was pleasantly punctuated by a stop in Annan for an impromptu drink at our chance discovery: Westlands Shooting Ground. With its great facilities and welcoming atmosphere, it struck us as a destination worthy of a trip in its own right, a real gem tucked just off the A75. A couple of hours later, we met up with Alan at his hotel base. After a good-natured catch-up, the usual tales of Africa, and...

Back out on this block of peas with this side taking quite a beating as they just flit over the hedge from daylight! Down wind flight line which meant the report was away from the holding area, nice short walk also a bit of breeze to turn them into the pattern. Pushed off around 300 from the trees with them disappearing way back to give me time to set up waiting for the first one to arrive, steady trickle of birds most of the day, there was a few large bunches come in so just waved them off ( shoot 2 educate the rest) Toby on good form, picked 80 6 more dropped a long way fwd also 6 behind. How they came into the pattern

Just returned from a weekend in the Scottish Borders on Roe bucks with Heppy 123. Had a great time , this was my first visit stalking in Scotland and won’t be my last , I found the stalking itself a very challenging, the ground covered and the changing winds / bumping deer was never ending , The first 3 stalks drew a blank , no fault from Graeme he worked his arse off getting on the deer , all came good on the Sunday morning bagging a nice 6 pointer and again in the evening with a 5 pointer . The wild life was amazing, Hares galore, badgers ,fox with a crow in his mouth trotting towards us until he clocked us and done a 180 , as we jumped in the truck to go home a Barn owl was flying by the truck all the way out to the road then...