Yesterday afternoon I headed out to a rather tight permission with little expectation, as the wind was in 'the wrong direction' (from the NE) really.
Cloudy, with sunny patches, the light would be ideal for woodland stalking, giving good dapple and shadow in the trees. Just before 1700 I struck out to the top left of the permission and proceeded from the NW, hoping the NE wind would at the least be a crosswind.
I carefully probed in and out of the wood and brambles, treading carefully to avoid the crisp dry leaves and thorny claws which would alert any wildlife. If anyone had been observing I'm sure it would have looked like a drunk weaving about on a Friday night.
It was pretty quiet, with the odd squirrel, pigeon and rabbit scuffing about. I did startle a pheasant that loudly cackled off with a flurry of flustered feathers. After that little 'woodland alarm' I paused for a few minutes, allowing things to settle down a bit. I checked the wind again, which was more ENE thankfully, and not swirling in the trees too much.
I cracked on, heading predominantly south, and finally saw a Muntjac sized object feeding on some raised banks about 70m ahead of me. It was feeding away, and I couldn't make out the sex through the small trees and branches.
As is usual for Muntjac, they're not predictable and you really have to be aware they could pop out of anywhere, 20m away, once you lose sight of them for a moment.
Fortunately, it seemed to be more or less headed south and I was able to use brush, shadow and swearing under my breath to get closer. Once at 50m, I could make out that it was a mature doe and that it was feeding in and out of trees and furrows.
I maintained a visual check on her as I closed the distance, which was difficult as she was moving away and there was still a lot of crunchy leaf litter and clawy bramble to contend with. I finally got to a position about 30m away, where I had an ambush position to the right of her current location. There was a clear pathway with no trees or branches, that if she ventured into and stopped for a second, would be her undoing.
Once the quad sticks were out, rifle in place, caps off and a steadying breathe taken, I pushed the safety forward to 'fire' and waited and watched while the doe fed merrily around her, to the left of the ambush site.
Finally, she lost interest in the patch and headed right. She entered into the ambush site, head on, no good. She then turned, dropped her head and grazed, popped her head back up and turned slightly again, properly broadside.
It's always surprising how loud a suppressed centrefire rifle is in a previously 'silent' woodland! The shot was released perfectly, she dropped where she stood, the 150gr Hornady bullet striking heart and lungs.
A quick reload and observation through the scope to check she was down, just a few final twitches then still.
Once I was finally happy she was down for good, I slipped the safety back to 'safe' and gathered sticks and case and headed over to her.
A fine young mature doe, she had plenty of fat on her, the kidneys were completely covered. A quick gralloch and extraction and I left the woods and brambles to the rabbits, pheasants and pigeons, with a tasty offal snack for any passing badgers or foxes.
Cloudy, with sunny patches, the light would be ideal for woodland stalking, giving good dapple and shadow in the trees. Just before 1700 I struck out to the top left of the permission and proceeded from the NW, hoping the NE wind would at the least be a crosswind.
I carefully probed in and out of the wood and brambles, treading carefully to avoid the crisp dry leaves and thorny claws which would alert any wildlife. If anyone had been observing I'm sure it would have looked like a drunk weaving about on a Friday night.
It was pretty quiet, with the odd squirrel, pigeon and rabbit scuffing about. I did startle a pheasant that loudly cackled off with a flurry of flustered feathers. After that little 'woodland alarm' I paused for a few minutes, allowing things to settle down a bit. I checked the wind again, which was more ENE thankfully, and not swirling in the trees too much.
I cracked on, heading predominantly south, and finally saw a Muntjac sized object feeding on some raised banks about 70m ahead of me. It was feeding away, and I couldn't make out the sex through the small trees and branches.
As is usual for Muntjac, they're not predictable and you really have to be aware they could pop out of anywhere, 20m away, once you lose sight of them for a moment.
Fortunately, it seemed to be more or less headed south and I was able to use brush, shadow and swearing under my breath to get closer. Once at 50m, I could make out that it was a mature doe and that it was feeding in and out of trees and furrows.
I maintained a visual check on her as I closed the distance, which was difficult as she was moving away and there was still a lot of crunchy leaf litter and clawy bramble to contend with. I finally got to a position about 30m away, where I had an ambush position to the right of her current location. There was a clear pathway with no trees or branches, that if she ventured into and stopped for a second, would be her undoing.
Once the quad sticks were out, rifle in place, caps off and a steadying breathe taken, I pushed the safety forward to 'fire' and waited and watched while the doe fed merrily around her, to the left of the ambush site.
Finally, she lost interest in the patch and headed right. She entered into the ambush site, head on, no good. She then turned, dropped her head and grazed, popped her head back up and turned slightly again, properly broadside.
It's always surprising how loud a suppressed centrefire rifle is in a previously 'silent' woodland! The shot was released perfectly, she dropped where she stood, the 150gr Hornady bullet striking heart and lungs.
A quick reload and observation through the scope to check she was down, just a few final twitches then still.
Once I was finally happy she was down for good, I slipped the safety back to 'safe' and gathered sticks and case and headed over to her.
A fine young mature doe, she had plenty of fat on her, the kidneys were completely covered. A quick gralloch and extraction and I left the woods and brambles to the rabbits, pheasants and pigeons, with a tasty offal snack for any passing badgers or foxes.
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