wild fallow cull part 1

well as i am off work today i thought i might right up last weeks fallow cull .
my mate picked me up at my gate at an early 4.45am and we trundled off to the estate some 20 mins away to meet up with the keepers and other stalkers first to sign in and safety brief then quick cuppa .as we knew what we were upto and where to go we were the first off out to our wood and seats ,my favorite wood and seat .
we pottered along the back track and spotted a group of fallow in the darkness making for the next wood to mine ,i unloaded my kit and took a steady pace across the wheat field to my wood leaving my mate to position himself in ambush for deer leaving either wood after the first shots ring out into the dawn .
as i approached my seat a munty decided it didnt like me and barked a series of noisey chortles for what seemed like ages great start ,i settled into the seat had a almost mandatory snickers bar and waited for the first sparrow to fart .the birds of the wood came down from roost and the hare i always seem to see ambled along but no deer which is unusual ,i texted my mate to ask if he had seen deer and the first shot rang in the distance ,this seemed to trigger movement as almost at once to my left a line of fallow does and followers came across the ride ,a blast on the buttolo stopped them and i picked a sandy coloured prickit and squeezed off the 6.5 ,this split the convoy and four deer carried on forward while the others went back .
I thought the four had gone but after a few minutes they ambled some 75yrds to my left between the trees coming my way so another call stopped the lead nobber and down he went resting almost in front of the seat 50 YRDS away,this was about 7.30 am now so i relaxed a little although i couldnt see the first prickit ,after half a hour i decided to have a look for him and sure enough he was only 20 yrds inside the wood good heart shot after dragging him to the ride i noticed a bunch of deer just outside the wood heading along a hedge so i nipped along the ride to have a peak and sure enough 30 odd fallow were looking down the valley toward the village .i snook along the hedge to within 150 yrds but a safe shoot was just not on untill 3 walked in front of an old brick chimney laying down and on the bipod i could see the heads and necks but nothing else ,i would like to say i necked one at 150yrds with a 120 gr 6.5 but a little noise in my head said NO .and i retreated back to the wood and gralloched the two deer ,shots rang around the estate till about 8.30 and my mate picked me up ,i let the keeper know were to pick the deer up and we started off back to the larder .
10 fallow had been accounted for and after they were preped for the chiller and we got washed up we headed off to the stable block for a very hearty breakfast and a meet up with some of the other estates who were doing the same thing .
after a good old gas with the lads about the morning we headed out for a stalk of some of the ditches and game covers on the undulating fields surrounding the big woods and it wasnt long before i stalked into a bunch sheltering along a deep ditch although they didnt see me they were a bit jumpy and walked off out of sight to my right ,with this i doubled back and stalked through a maize cover to try and get above them and try a shot at about 200 yrds sweating buckets and covered in mud i didnt manage a shot as they sussed me :doh:.never mind .
so i continued on along the ditch to my wood again ,by this time i was knackered what a wimp must be getting old and i have an ankle injury too so i got in my seat and had 40 winks .woke up fresh as a daisey i dont think and got myself together when i heard the first shots of the afternoon had a mars bar this time and heard a noise behind me .....an injured deer, my mate confirmed by phone he had seen one come along to me and i should try and account for it with this it appeared walking but wouldnt stop i shouted it paused and i shot i did put it down and i was more than relieved but i hate seeing injured deer and i decided to give it best and get back to the larder and await the carcases i really do like the larder work side of it ,well we accounted for 25 fallow and i can say my favorite seat in my favorite wood didnt let me down lets see what happens in a couple of weeks will keep you posted
good hunting
norma
 
sounds like a good day . Not just about the shooting good to read about the larder work
 
CULL DAY TWO
the day started much like the last as there is a pattern to them and i found myself in my favorite seat again ,as it broke light a fallow doe danced across the ride and i expected a few to follow it but she skipped back and i saw a bunch exit the wood onto a wheat field .
my wind was good so i dont know what moved them and after 3/4 hr i got down and slowly stalked to the edge of the wood ,a text from my mate said a bunch were spotted a short distance from me but alas they had shifted.
anyway after a fantastic breakfast and several cuppas i was dropped off in the same general area at about 12pm ,we all have an area so as to allow a safe area of fire and the estate is large enough for this to be quite generous .
i had a bit of a sit down in a new seat in my wood and i must admit to shutting my eyes for a while lol .i kicked my arse into gear and went walk about down wind of where i wanted to end up and didnt see a carrot except for loads of fresh sign along most hedge rows .
i reached another wood were i intended to spend the afternoon and it was a new seat on top of a badger earth ....should be interesting i thought and no sooner had i eaten my snickers bar ...other snacks are available ,i heard the first shot ring out a little after 2.30 pm well after 2 hours another shot from a different location and i still hadnt seen a deer .
i decided to leave the seat for a pee and as i left i could see on the other side of the wood obscured from my view in the seat was a bunch of almighty great hat racks looking my way ...bugger .
we dont shoot the big boys but i was hoping there may be a sorrel in amongst them so crept into the wood and along a green lane bordering the field, just as i was creeping along a lady with her spaniel came from the opposite direction the dog spooking the bucks ....not my day !
they trotted off back to cover and i was left wondering what to do .
i decided to head back to my favorite seat and spend the last hour there in the hope that deer would be moving through it and as i entered the wide ride at the woods edge i couldnt believe my eyes as a train of does and followers were already crossing some distance down the ride .
i got down prone flicked out the bipod and still they kept coming ,i yelled an oi a couple of times and a doe stopped and i squeezed the trigger and the 6.5 dropped it on the spot .
after a short drag and gralloch i left the doe for pickup and stalked back to the field with the big boys in earlier nothing showed so i went back for pickup light failing by the second ,i could just make out as i walked back down the main ride the does now coming back the other way despite the carcase and blood trail not 50m away ,too dark for a shot i was content with a nice doe and another great day in the field ....knackered .
 
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