So after having had to unfortunately cancel my first booked large game me hygiene course, I managed to snag space on another one that was run yesterday.
The guy running it obviously needed deer for the practical portion, so a few people went out before the 08:30 start and I offered to go on my ground and see what I could drum up.
Annoyingly first shooting light was only about an hour before I would need to really get moving with any extraction in order to make the course start time.
It was super tight but a really nice mild morning and perfect conditions for the thermal making a drastic change from the solid grey that my screen has been giving me in all of the drizzle we've had lately.
The wind is being awkward so I have to go all the way through the ground and approach from the rear, picking the easiest wood for extraction as I know I'm short of time. I spend about the first 30 minutes stalking that wood and seeing absolutely no sign of anything.
I head off into the second word and luckily it's not long before I see something on the thermal, it's heading towards me but it's not the usual fallow but a Roe Doe.
Needs must, we need the carcasses for the course and this one's heading straight towards me. Approximately 30 m away but slowly edging closer. Being a Roe, they are thankfully quite obliging to being shot at so I've no problems getting my stick's up and getting the rifle un-shouldered.
It stood behind a tree but I know it's going to pop out so I just wait. This is the second time I've shot anything with the new Alpex, but the first time it's actually recorded.
A few people have assumed from the video that it was got shot. It wasn't, it was a perfect heart shot and it expired behind the tree. You see at the very end of the video. About 6 or 7 m away from the shot site, if that.
At least being of the smaller species meant an easier extraction, which was good because I had around 25 minutes to get back to the truck and make way to the course. Tight to say the least.
Luckily I live and stalk very close to the course location. So I make it only 4 minutes late and drive around to the chiller triumphantly, the only person attending the course that actually managed to bring their own deer.
The guy running the course had only managed 2, some other local stalkers that usually are pretty reliable in supplying deer for the courses had only managed one. During the introductions one was brought in from an RTC, which was no good for the food chain, but obviously good for a practical carcass inspection. Between the 13 of us on the course, we just about had enough to all get involved.
It felt like quite a good moment in my dear stalking journey, given that the guy running the course was Glyn Ingram. That's the lovely chap that did my DSC 1 reshoot test and helped me greatly in getting comfortable behind a rifle by convincing me to shoot left-handed due to my left eye dominance.
Big thanks to him and Mark, dear manager for the high Weald. A very well-run course that hopefully achieved the right results (we'll have to wait and see on the exam front), as well as being able to provide lots of hits and tips from their wealth of experience.
I think I'm now a full convert to the suspended gralloch, and having seen Glyn Go through one, and then being able to immediately puddle that into practise on my own, was probably one of the best learning experiences I've had in this game.
My first few paid stalks all did it themselves with me watching even one where I explicitly asked to do it. I've then done about a reasonable amount on my own but whilst they achieved the desired results they were nowhere near as clean as this. I definitely now feel a lot more prepared for the next outing
The guy running it obviously needed deer for the practical portion, so a few people went out before the 08:30 start and I offered to go on my ground and see what I could drum up.
Annoyingly first shooting light was only about an hour before I would need to really get moving with any extraction in order to make the course start time.
It was super tight but a really nice mild morning and perfect conditions for the thermal making a drastic change from the solid grey that my screen has been giving me in all of the drizzle we've had lately.
The wind is being awkward so I have to go all the way through the ground and approach from the rear, picking the easiest wood for extraction as I know I'm short of time. I spend about the first 30 minutes stalking that wood and seeing absolutely no sign of anything.
I head off into the second word and luckily it's not long before I see something on the thermal, it's heading towards me but it's not the usual fallow but a Roe Doe.
Needs must, we need the carcasses for the course and this one's heading straight towards me. Approximately 30 m away but slowly edging closer. Being a Roe, they are thankfully quite obliging to being shot at so I've no problems getting my stick's up and getting the rifle un-shouldered.
It stood behind a tree but I know it's going to pop out so I just wait. This is the second time I've shot anything with the new Alpex, but the first time it's actually recorded.
A few people have assumed from the video that it was got shot. It wasn't, it was a perfect heart shot and it expired behind the tree. You see at the very end of the video. About 6 or 7 m away from the shot site, if that.
At least being of the smaller species meant an easier extraction, which was good because I had around 25 minutes to get back to the truck and make way to the course. Tight to say the least.
Luckily I live and stalk very close to the course location. So I make it only 4 minutes late and drive around to the chiller triumphantly, the only person attending the course that actually managed to bring their own deer.
The guy running the course had only managed 2, some other local stalkers that usually are pretty reliable in supplying deer for the courses had only managed one. During the introductions one was brought in from an RTC, which was no good for the food chain, but obviously good for a practical carcass inspection. Between the 13 of us on the course, we just about had enough to all get involved.
It felt like quite a good moment in my dear stalking journey, given that the guy running the course was Glyn Ingram. That's the lovely chap that did my DSC 1 reshoot test and helped me greatly in getting comfortable behind a rifle by convincing me to shoot left-handed due to my left eye dominance.
Big thanks to him and Mark, dear manager for the high Weald. A very well-run course that hopefully achieved the right results (we'll have to wait and see on the exam front), as well as being able to provide lots of hits and tips from their wealth of experience.
I think I'm now a full convert to the suspended gralloch, and having seen Glyn Go through one, and then being able to immediately puddle that into practise on my own, was probably one of the best learning experiences I've had in this game.
My first few paid stalks all did it themselves with me watching even one where I explicitly asked to do it. I've then done about a reasonable amount on my own but whilst they achieved the desired results they were nowhere near as clean as this. I definitely now feel a lot more prepared for the next outing
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