Evening gents ,
I finally managed to get out after a Roe buck this morning and was fortunate enough to take one.
I set the alarm for 3.15 and arrived at my friends farm at 4am. I sat in my motor until it just started to get light . Firstly I mooched s long s dirty track that leads to the open stable fields/ on this part of the farm they are wheat. The field to my right had been cut around the headlands only the field to my left was standing. I walked a few yards then peered into the gloom through my cheap,nasty but actually quite good binos. I could make out a few hares in the distance about 250 yards away their white tails betraying them.
As the sky became clearer I made my way along the left field. About 300 odd yards away is an old pump house (shed) this headland runs along a little rectangle spinney under an acre or so. This always has resident muntjac. I stopped at the pumphouse in anticipation as the field runs away from it as there could of been a muntjac round the corner. I rested on my sticks for 20 minutes or so with out seeing anything apart from a rather startled rabbit that jumped out about 5 yards away!
After this I decided to sit down but leave my sticks set so that I could still rest my gun on them. All of a sudden a thick mist descended over the field and visibility went down to a mere 50 yards, and up in front two muntjac ran from the spinney to the Wheat one was a doe and I didn’t catch the other , now as I was sitting down I couldn’t see over the wheat so cursed my self for not standing another 10 minutes! I waited for 45mins without seeing anything-there was no point of moving until visibility was restored.
When the mist departed I headed off, once id passed the spinney the ground drops down about 3 meters and there is a grass field for grazing sheep with a willow tree spinney at the end. Is walked another 100 yards to the corner of the wheat field and anticipated crossing over a barb wire fence to access the willow tree spinney . As I approached the ditch the same two muntjac broke cover over the long grass of the willow tree spinney and Started making their way across the grazing field I turnt on a sixpence and back tracked under the cover of some sort of rush growing in the ditch. I got to the ditch and mounted onto my sticks. Both of the muntjac were Does the second one I presumed to be this years fawn still following its mother, I would of preferred to shoot this one so waited until she came side on at about 90 yards, as she did her mother must of clocked me as she quickly spun and bounded off to the other side of the field -with her sibling hot on her heels. When they reached the long grass they casually meandered through it at about 150 yards . I was tempted to take a shot as I was presented with one but I haven’t tested the rounds I was using further than 100yards (my rifle is zeroed for a 75g fox round but my 100g soft noses are the same zero at 100 yards I don’t however assume they will be the same further out and won’t shoot further until I’ve tested them).
Excitement over...for about 30 seconds! as I turned around to continue on my way along the field out of the corner of my eye I noted something protruding from the wheat . As I focussed I realised it wasn’t just some wheat heads or weed it was a bloody Roebuck with its antlers covered in grass and weed from its fraying and it must of followed the tram line about 10 yards behind me and now stood facing me about 40 yards away! I mounted my gun but new I couldn’t take a neck shot as I had no backstop. He turnt and trotted off for a few yards which then changed to a canter and then he just disappeared!.
By now I was just content with what I had witnessed and wasn’t I worried about goinghome empty handed. I continued around the field which is probably 120 acres or something like that , as I got to the top I witnessed rabbits and few handsome Michigan blue pheasants running next to a fern wood which this year has a pen in.
The wood runs for about 150 yards then joins a hedge which is the boundary of this field the hedge runs for about 60 yards and then it is just a ditch. The field the other side was the one with headland cut. I creeped along the hedge again in anticipation of maybe just maybe spying something on the vast expanse of cut wheat. As I climbed in the ditch and traversed the other side I set up my sticks and scouted about with my Binos, as I did this I spied another roe buck about 200 yards away in the mist and then lost sight of it -to far for me at the moment. As I puzzled on how to close the 50 yard gap to the standing wheat and then remain unseen , again low and behold another buck was making his way a long a tramline his head just bobbing along. I froze and inched my gun back in to my sticks again the shot wasn’t safe, so I just watched him. His ears were cupped straining to hear danger his nose was in the air . My statue like disguise somehow worked and he Carrie on his merry way along the tramline. Luckily I was only 100 odd yards away from the corner of the field and the tramline stopped before the end as the headland had already been cut. I waited and then he done exactly as thought he would do and left the safety of the tramlines and quartered over to the woods I was ready, I flicked the safety off waited for a broadside shot and pulled the trigger as I did he went to take another step. The bullet was on my crosshair which due to this was a fraction further back than I would of liked , he ran 20yards then disappeared into the hedge. I paused for a second , adrenaline pumping and little pangs of panic setting in -had I mis hit him? Did I rush the shot? I started walking towards where he was before I came to my senses, stopped and waited for ten minutes. I called my friend and told him to bring the dog just in case. Thankfully the dog wasn’t needed he was the other side of the hedge surrounded by blood the bullet had certainly done its work. A wave of euphoria came over me! I’d hit him just behind the soulder. It was an inch too far back for my liking, on inspection of the gralloch id taken the top right hand corner of his heart out.
He appeared to be a nice healthy clean buck
This is my second Roe buck and I am a happy man today ! Thanks for listening hope you enjoyed the ramblings!
I finally managed to get out after a Roe buck this morning and was fortunate enough to take one.
I set the alarm for 3.15 and arrived at my friends farm at 4am. I sat in my motor until it just started to get light . Firstly I mooched s long s dirty track that leads to the open stable fields/ on this part of the farm they are wheat. The field to my right had been cut around the headlands only the field to my left was standing. I walked a few yards then peered into the gloom through my cheap,nasty but actually quite good binos. I could make out a few hares in the distance about 250 yards away their white tails betraying them.
As the sky became clearer I made my way along the left field. About 300 odd yards away is an old pump house (shed) this headland runs along a little rectangle spinney under an acre or so. This always has resident muntjac. I stopped at the pumphouse in anticipation as the field runs away from it as there could of been a muntjac round the corner. I rested on my sticks for 20 minutes or so with out seeing anything apart from a rather startled rabbit that jumped out about 5 yards away!
After this I decided to sit down but leave my sticks set so that I could still rest my gun on them. All of a sudden a thick mist descended over the field and visibility went down to a mere 50 yards, and up in front two muntjac ran from the spinney to the Wheat one was a doe and I didn’t catch the other , now as I was sitting down I couldn’t see over the wheat so cursed my self for not standing another 10 minutes! I waited for 45mins without seeing anything-there was no point of moving until visibility was restored.
When the mist departed I headed off, once id passed the spinney the ground drops down about 3 meters and there is a grass field for grazing sheep with a willow tree spinney at the end. Is walked another 100 yards to the corner of the wheat field and anticipated crossing over a barb wire fence to access the willow tree spinney . As I approached the ditch the same two muntjac broke cover over the long grass of the willow tree spinney and Started making their way across the grazing field I turnt on a sixpence and back tracked under the cover of some sort of rush growing in the ditch. I got to the ditch and mounted onto my sticks. Both of the muntjac were Does the second one I presumed to be this years fawn still following its mother, I would of preferred to shoot this one so waited until she came side on at about 90 yards, as she did her mother must of clocked me as she quickly spun and bounded off to the other side of the field -with her sibling hot on her heels. When they reached the long grass they casually meandered through it at about 150 yards . I was tempted to take a shot as I was presented with one but I haven’t tested the rounds I was using further than 100yards (my rifle is zeroed for a 75g fox round but my 100g soft noses are the same zero at 100 yards I don’t however assume they will be the same further out and won’t shoot further until I’ve tested them).
Excitement over...for about 30 seconds! as I turned around to continue on my way along the field out of the corner of my eye I noted something protruding from the wheat . As I focussed I realised it wasn’t just some wheat heads or weed it was a bloody Roebuck with its antlers covered in grass and weed from its fraying and it must of followed the tram line about 10 yards behind me and now stood facing me about 40 yards away! I mounted my gun but new I couldn’t take a neck shot as I had no backstop. He turnt and trotted off for a few yards which then changed to a canter and then he just disappeared!.
By now I was just content with what I had witnessed and wasn’t I worried about goinghome empty handed. I continued around the field which is probably 120 acres or something like that , as I got to the top I witnessed rabbits and few handsome Michigan blue pheasants running next to a fern wood which this year has a pen in.
The wood runs for about 150 yards then joins a hedge which is the boundary of this field the hedge runs for about 60 yards and then it is just a ditch. The field the other side was the one with headland cut. I creeped along the hedge again in anticipation of maybe just maybe spying something on the vast expanse of cut wheat. As I climbed in the ditch and traversed the other side I set up my sticks and scouted about with my Binos, as I did this I spied another roe buck about 200 yards away in the mist and then lost sight of it -to far for me at the moment. As I puzzled on how to close the 50 yard gap to the standing wheat and then remain unseen , again low and behold another buck was making his way a long a tramline his head just bobbing along. I froze and inched my gun back in to my sticks again the shot wasn’t safe, so I just watched him. His ears were cupped straining to hear danger his nose was in the air . My statue like disguise somehow worked and he Carrie on his merry way along the tramline. Luckily I was only 100 odd yards away from the corner of the field and the tramline stopped before the end as the headland had already been cut. I waited and then he done exactly as thought he would do and left the safety of the tramlines and quartered over to the woods I was ready, I flicked the safety off waited for a broadside shot and pulled the trigger as I did he went to take another step. The bullet was on my crosshair which due to this was a fraction further back than I would of liked , he ran 20yards then disappeared into the hedge. I paused for a second , adrenaline pumping and little pangs of panic setting in -had I mis hit him? Did I rush the shot? I started walking towards where he was before I came to my senses, stopped and waited for ten minutes. I called my friend and told him to bring the dog just in case. Thankfully the dog wasn’t needed he was the other side of the hedge surrounded by blood the bullet had certainly done its work. A wave of euphoria came over me! I’d hit him just behind the soulder. It was an inch too far back for my liking, on inspection of the gralloch id taken the top right hand corner of his heart out.
He appeared to be a nice healthy clean buck
This is my second Roe buck and I am a happy man today ! Thanks for listening hope you enjoyed the ramblings!
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