I’ve been meaning to get on top of the muntjac on one of the farms I do the foxing for after the landowner had a word about them, and have shot a couple over the summer when sitting out before dark plus one from a morning stalk, but have had no chance to properly knock them over due to the sheer amount of cover there.
Yesterday morning, my mate C (shot plenty of rabbits and foxes with me but only one deer before, and is an annoyingly good natural shot with rifle and shotgun) and myself decided to have a go.
We drove in just as the sun was rising and spotted 3 or 4 in the deep wooded ditch next to the track with the thermal. Noting whereabouts they were for later, we drove on slowly then parked up and kitted up, with me handing C the .308; it was to be his turn to shoot first, which pleased him no end!
We checked out a bank with a couple of acres of ash plantation on it that I’ve seen plenty in before. This time? Nothing…
We moved on to a wood across a small valley, the chestnut leaves fortunately softened by the rain the evening before but with a hint of frost on the grass underneath them; proper weather at last! We crept in with the wind in our faces and me tapping C with the sticks occasionally when he forgot to walk directly behind me.
Working our way uphill along a gently snaking track, I noticed movement in front under some mature chestnuts, so set up the sticks and C moved in silently next to me with the rifle. Telling him to keep his eye on the second big tree along and wait, I alternated between thermal & binos, checking that it wasn’t just a fat squirrel. After what seemed like an age but was probably 30 seconds, a muntjac doe ambled out of the low brambles and paused to feed with the track rising safely behind her. I gave C a whispered ‘yes’ and before the ‘s’ had left my lips, the .308 cracked and she dropped on the spot with her lungs taken out.
As he reloaded, I noticed another munty-sized heat source moving in the brambles to her left. This turned out to be a young doe that strolled out without a care and trotted off up the track without presenting a shot.
Righty then, gralloch time. I carried her back to where we shot from as there was a convenient tree to hang her in afterwards, and began the process while C carried on spotting with the thermal. I’d just finished the bumhole & udders when he hissed at me; the youngster was coming back! I stood up slowly and grabbed the sticks next to me, timing my movements to coincide with her feeding. C very carefully passed me the rifle and, at 30yds, she paused side-on just long enough for me to shoot her too. Two down then!
Grallochs finished and deer hung in the tree to collect on the way out (rather than lugging them around in the roe sack unnecessarily), we decided to leave the upper track and drop down, using the wind in our favour to stalk a ride heading downhill and adjacent to fields with fodder beet in, leading on to a large patch of miscanthus (fuel for the heaters at the turkey units on the farm). Spotting nothing in the wood above us, I scanned below into the fields and spotted heat next to the miscanthus. A check with the binos revealed another munty but no way to get closer to her without being spotted. C got on the sticks and, with a guesstimate of 150yds (it was actually 162 when we checked it afterwards), I told him to aim just a tad high on the shoulder when she stood still. She obliged, and C dropped her on the spot, the 150gr Sierra creating one hell of a thud on impact that echoed around the wooded bowl we were in.
I’d love to say we had the 7 more we saw on the drive around to pick her up too but my chiller is only so big! We definitely know where we are heading next weekend though, and C finished up as a very happy chap.
Yesterday morning, my mate C (shot plenty of rabbits and foxes with me but only one deer before, and is an annoyingly good natural shot with rifle and shotgun) and myself decided to have a go.
We drove in just as the sun was rising and spotted 3 or 4 in the deep wooded ditch next to the track with the thermal. Noting whereabouts they were for later, we drove on slowly then parked up and kitted up, with me handing C the .308; it was to be his turn to shoot first, which pleased him no end!
We checked out a bank with a couple of acres of ash plantation on it that I’ve seen plenty in before. This time? Nothing…
We moved on to a wood across a small valley, the chestnut leaves fortunately softened by the rain the evening before but with a hint of frost on the grass underneath them; proper weather at last! We crept in with the wind in our faces and me tapping C with the sticks occasionally when he forgot to walk directly behind me.
Working our way uphill along a gently snaking track, I noticed movement in front under some mature chestnuts, so set up the sticks and C moved in silently next to me with the rifle. Telling him to keep his eye on the second big tree along and wait, I alternated between thermal & binos, checking that it wasn’t just a fat squirrel. After what seemed like an age but was probably 30 seconds, a muntjac doe ambled out of the low brambles and paused to feed with the track rising safely behind her. I gave C a whispered ‘yes’ and before the ‘s’ had left my lips, the .308 cracked and she dropped on the spot with her lungs taken out.
As he reloaded, I noticed another munty-sized heat source moving in the brambles to her left. This turned out to be a young doe that strolled out without a care and trotted off up the track without presenting a shot.
Righty then, gralloch time. I carried her back to where we shot from as there was a convenient tree to hang her in afterwards, and began the process while C carried on spotting with the thermal. I’d just finished the bumhole & udders when he hissed at me; the youngster was coming back! I stood up slowly and grabbed the sticks next to me, timing my movements to coincide with her feeding. C very carefully passed me the rifle and, at 30yds, she paused side-on just long enough for me to shoot her too. Two down then!
Grallochs finished and deer hung in the tree to collect on the way out (rather than lugging them around in the roe sack unnecessarily), we decided to leave the upper track and drop down, using the wind in our favour to stalk a ride heading downhill and adjacent to fields with fodder beet in, leading on to a large patch of miscanthus (fuel for the heaters at the turkey units on the farm). Spotting nothing in the wood above us, I scanned below into the fields and spotted heat next to the miscanthus. A check with the binos revealed another munty but no way to get closer to her without being spotted. C got on the sticks and, with a guesstimate of 150yds (it was actually 162 when we checked it afterwards), I told him to aim just a tad high on the shoulder when she stood still. She obliged, and C dropped her on the spot, the 150gr Sierra creating one hell of a thud on impact that echoed around the wooded bowl we were in.
I’d love to say we had the 7 more we saw on the drive around to pick her up too but my chiller is only so big! We definitely know where we are heading next weekend though, and C finished up as a very happy chap.
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