No kids for the night. We've just got back from holiday... That'll teach me for letting my wife book the holiday dates. I'd been away and pining a morning in the woods and this was my first opportunity for me to get up early and go (without the guilt of leaving my wife with the kids to deal with).
My alarm goes off just after 0400. F**k me, I don't need this. Can I snooze a bit longer?
I get up and look outside at the thick fog. Well if I can't see it I can't shoot it. At least I can make a leisurely start.
By the time I've got all my gear sorted and had a bowl of cereal, it's 0500 and I'm out the door.
The farm is only a few minutes away and I gear up, check the wind, and head into the first field. It's a gentle slope downhill, leading to another field and then the woods. It's really thick fog, but thermal picks out 5 deer along the fence line that separates the two fields. In clear conditions it can be a safe shot, however I can only see them on thermal. I get nothing optically. Moving along, they soon decide to hop the fence further up, giving them direct access to the woods. No bother, that's where I am heading anyway.
I'm dressed for summer, which means my feet are absolutely drenched by the time I get there. Nothing on thermal as I hop the stile into the wood. My arrival is heralded with a fallow running across the front of me barking its head off.
This in turn sets off others, deeper in the wood. They may be barking, but they aren't running. I slowly stalk in, thankful the ground has lost its leafy crunch from a few months prior. I see a fallow at my 10 O'clock, clear as day on thermal but it's behind a thin bush. It's like a softcore production... leafy cover covering just the right bits so as to not be able to 100% ID it. I think I see signs of a pricket, but I don't want to risk it so I wait and hope it steps out. It does, but runs off quicker than I can get a good look.
I move on, my destination being a perfect little offcut the tree guy left me. A 40cm diameter log seat that I can sit down, on and commands a nice open view.
Once I am sat, I lean my sticks up against the tree next to me and lean my rifle on my leg. I sit listening to the sounds of the woods. Branches swaying. The occasional fall. The constant patter of the fog's deposit on the overhead trees as it drips down onto the woodland floor.
I see movement ahead of me. A Roe has snuck in and is walking right in front of me. It's a doe, but it wanders left to right, no more than 10ft away with no idea I am sat watching. I get my phone out to take a quick snap as she walks away to my right, getting further and further.
I love watching Roe. I'm so engrossed in her that I don't see the other Roe until it's right on me. It's dark antlers really standing out, but I've got my bloody phone in hand like a ****. If I go for a pocket it'll make noise. I can't drop it either. I opt to pop it under my leg but the movement has the Buck staring straight at me. I slowly raise my rifle. No time for sticks, this is going to be straight off the shoulder so I try and control my breathing. It's standing there, still staring, at a 5 O'clock angle. Almost head on. I am still relatively new so I always chest shoot. No good here though as it'll go straight through everything. I'll have to try a neck shot. My first neck shot.
It's odd. You know when they say your life flashes before your eyes at a critical moment. Well, my rifles "life" since last season flashes through mine. I recall opening the car door and having it throw itself out onto my leg. I haven't shot it since but it wasn't a big knock. Had it affected anything though? I'm guessing I am overthinking the neck shot.
I clear my head, line up the shot, and squeeze.
Wow! Every one of my chest shots had some level of run in them. It may only be a few feet, but they never just drop. They also do the leg twitch for a short while afterwards. This was like hitting a switch.
The other reason I love Roe, is their extraction compared to Fallow. I do the gralloch and then lift it onto my shoulder. Rifle, sticks, deer, gear, all weighing less than just a fallow. Lovely. Woodland extraction of Fallow is no picnic so this makes a pleasant change.
All in all, a lovely belated start to my season and I'm back home by 0800. Perfect!
Now to decide what to do with this lovely head. Do I get it measured, or just get it on a nice pair of sticks?
My alarm goes off just after 0400. F**k me, I don't need this. Can I snooze a bit longer?
I get up and look outside at the thick fog. Well if I can't see it I can't shoot it. At least I can make a leisurely start.
By the time I've got all my gear sorted and had a bowl of cereal, it's 0500 and I'm out the door.
The farm is only a few minutes away and I gear up, check the wind, and head into the first field. It's a gentle slope downhill, leading to another field and then the woods. It's really thick fog, but thermal picks out 5 deer along the fence line that separates the two fields. In clear conditions it can be a safe shot, however I can only see them on thermal. I get nothing optically. Moving along, they soon decide to hop the fence further up, giving them direct access to the woods. No bother, that's where I am heading anyway.
I'm dressed for summer, which means my feet are absolutely drenched by the time I get there. Nothing on thermal as I hop the stile into the wood. My arrival is heralded with a fallow running across the front of me barking its head off.
This in turn sets off others, deeper in the wood. They may be barking, but they aren't running. I slowly stalk in, thankful the ground has lost its leafy crunch from a few months prior. I see a fallow at my 10 O'clock, clear as day on thermal but it's behind a thin bush. It's like a softcore production... leafy cover covering just the right bits so as to not be able to 100% ID it. I think I see signs of a pricket, but I don't want to risk it so I wait and hope it steps out. It does, but runs off quicker than I can get a good look.
I move on, my destination being a perfect little offcut the tree guy left me. A 40cm diameter log seat that I can sit down, on and commands a nice open view.
Once I am sat, I lean my sticks up against the tree next to me and lean my rifle on my leg. I sit listening to the sounds of the woods. Branches swaying. The occasional fall. The constant patter of the fog's deposit on the overhead trees as it drips down onto the woodland floor.
I see movement ahead of me. A Roe has snuck in and is walking right in front of me. It's a doe, but it wanders left to right, no more than 10ft away with no idea I am sat watching. I get my phone out to take a quick snap as she walks away to my right, getting further and further.
I love watching Roe. I'm so engrossed in her that I don't see the other Roe until it's right on me. It's dark antlers really standing out, but I've got my bloody phone in hand like a ****. If I go for a pocket it'll make noise. I can't drop it either. I opt to pop it under my leg but the movement has the Buck staring straight at me. I slowly raise my rifle. No time for sticks, this is going to be straight off the shoulder so I try and control my breathing. It's standing there, still staring, at a 5 O'clock angle. Almost head on. I am still relatively new so I always chest shoot. No good here though as it'll go straight through everything. I'll have to try a neck shot. My first neck shot.
It's odd. You know when they say your life flashes before your eyes at a critical moment. Well, my rifles "life" since last season flashes through mine. I recall opening the car door and having it throw itself out onto my leg. I haven't shot it since but it wasn't a big knock. Had it affected anything though? I'm guessing I am overthinking the neck shot.
I clear my head, line up the shot, and squeeze.
Wow! Every one of my chest shots had some level of run in them. It may only be a few feet, but they never just drop. They also do the leg twitch for a short while afterwards. This was like hitting a switch.
The other reason I love Roe, is their extraction compared to Fallow. I do the gralloch and then lift it onto my shoulder. Rifle, sticks, deer, gear, all weighing less than just a fallow. Lovely. Woodland extraction of Fallow is no picnic so this makes a pleasant change.
All in all, a lovely belated start to my season and I'm back home by 0800. Perfect!
Now to decide what to do with this lovely head. Do I get it measured, or just get it on a nice pair of sticks?
