Well It all started a couple of months back when Sikamalc called me and Tika308 and invited us both back down to Sussex for an early year stalking weekend. And what a weekend it turned out to be
Me and Andy travelled down to Sussex friday evening after work & met malc ( and Todd his bavarian) at the B&B about 9ish, Dinner was ready when we arrived, Cooked by malc himself. Fantastic haunch of Roe washed down with beer & followed by a few glasses of port & cheese Several drinks and exchanges of various stalking experiences later we finally hit the sack (Not all together i must add)
The weekend weather looked grim at best but we hoped it would hold out We woke at 6.30ish & sat with a nice cuppa thinking of the day ahead. Andy said it hadnt rained in the night & as he finished the sentence the heavens opened up It didnt look good Loaded up Malcs truck (Pimp my Ride) And set off to the stalking ground 5 mins down the road (Still raining) As soon as we arrived it stopped so things looked promising at last
Malc showed me the map and pointed me in the right direction and sent me & my steyr on our way to stalk the ground while him & andy set off on the opposite side of the estate to try and get andy his 1st Roe :!:
I slowly walked the ground along the edge of the wood stopping and glassing the land for signs of movement as well as familiarising myself with safe shot areas! I moved along 1 field and didnt see a thing.
I entered the next field from a high point looking down onto open ground with the wind on my face giving me an excellent advantage if any Roe did decide to show up. Glassing the field again i then spotted a fantastic Roe buck that will easily take a medal. If only it was april I watched him for several mins as he made his way across the field out of sight. I made my way down the field using the wood as cover heading towards some rough ground that looked inviting to Roe. Peering around the edge of the wood i spotted several Roe in the field, After checking them out through the binos i picked a suitable young Roe doe about 100yds off grazing, Sticks up, safety off i sent a .243 on its way. She dropped on the spot. No chance for a shot on any of the others as they had found there way into the wood before i even chambered another round Gralloch complete i felt my ears burning thinking back to April last year when me and andy stalked with malcolm, I took a nice Buck that morning & andy had no luck. I thought o no ive done it to the poor Tika308 yet again Hes gonna go mad. Hoping that andy had already had 1 before i did. well the phone rang and uncle malc asked if i had any luck, The good news was swiftly passed onto andy, I heard various words of abuse thrown at me Sorry andy
We met back at malcs Pimp mobile and set off to the other side of the estate. Malc said we should check a piece of rough ground that the Roe like so off we set. Andy in front & me tagging along with my tail between my legs We reached the ground but the wind wasnt in our favour this time. Slowly walking across the ground 3 Roe stood up 70 yards away and looked straight at us, Andy had the sticks up rifle ready and sent a 308 towards its target, I watched the roe in the binos & whack, The 308 hit & the roe ran off down the field before dropping another 40 or so yards off. She was down but we couldnt see her. malc let todd off his harness and off he went, Straight to the deer in an area short of where i thought it had dropped. He had done his job well and sat by the roe until we arrived looking very pleased with himslf Andy was made up, Absoloutly fantistic, The look on malcs face said it all, He had got andy his 1st roe & his bavarian Todd had done his job and found it. i was pleased as punch as well as all the times i have had andy out on my patch he hadnt managed to down a roe. We set off to the larder then back for breakfast with some fresh kidney for the pan
The day was spent chilling out waiting for the evening stalk. We set off at around 3ish and returned to the area where andy shot his roe, We spotted a Doe laying in some stubble along with 2 others in the hedge row, After some thought & encouragement from andy & malc i was challeged to the task of stalking her across the open field Off i went while andy & malc drove off to another piece of ground. Using the hedgerow as cover i headed down the field to get in a better position down wind from her. 10min later i had reached the bottom but had no safe shot as the dual carriageway would be behind her I set back up along the hedgrow keeping my eye on her & the other 2 making sure i hadnt been spotted. I had no option but to crawl 100yards across the field to get a shot, wet mud, clay, stubble! It was great I stopped 100yds from her as she stood up thinking i had been spotted, I had to take the shot now or she would be gone, Up on my elbows i sqeezed the trigger........................ F**k it i had missed 5 roe run up the field then down again then towards me, They wasnt sure where the shot had come from thanks to the moderator on my rifle and soon settled again after a couple of mins! They were now 70 yds off and the doe presented herself for a shot again. Squeezed the trigger & the round hit her clean in the ticker. She ran 20yds and dropped stone dead. The others ran down the field & out of sight but i was a happy man A text sent to malc to let him know of my luck and my phone rang.......... Malc congratulating me & words of abuse in the background from andy again That Bloody fester has done it again.
We headed back to the B&B for a shower ready to meet up with Robin & Darren from the site for dinner in the local.
A great meal was had by all & washed down with a few beers and stalking stories between us were exchanged. Its great, we had not met darren before but he is a top bloke & we all chatted as if we had known each other for years. As for robin the last time we see him he was a bit worst for wear after downing a bottle of malt at the CLA whilst we sat around Malcs caravan Great bloke with lots of stalking experience.
& a great sence of humour. the evening was spent with Great food, great people with a genuine interest for stalking. Fantastic. its not just about the stalking its about meeting up and making new friends, It wouldnt of bothered me if i hadnt even seen a deer that day let alone shot any Thank you gents
Andy was invited to stalk with darren the following morning hoping to get the chance at a shot on some fallow. the offer was accepted hoping to get him 2 species of deer in 1 weekend. 8)
That was saturday over with so we hit the sack again.
I will post sundays events in a bit chaps
Fester..
Me and Andy travelled down to Sussex friday evening after work & met malc ( and Todd his bavarian) at the B&B about 9ish, Dinner was ready when we arrived, Cooked by malc himself. Fantastic haunch of Roe washed down with beer & followed by a few glasses of port & cheese Several drinks and exchanges of various stalking experiences later we finally hit the sack (Not all together i must add)
The weekend weather looked grim at best but we hoped it would hold out We woke at 6.30ish & sat with a nice cuppa thinking of the day ahead. Andy said it hadnt rained in the night & as he finished the sentence the heavens opened up It didnt look good Loaded up Malcs truck (Pimp my Ride) And set off to the stalking ground 5 mins down the road (Still raining) As soon as we arrived it stopped so things looked promising at last
Malc showed me the map and pointed me in the right direction and sent me & my steyr on our way to stalk the ground while him & andy set off on the opposite side of the estate to try and get andy his 1st Roe :!:
I slowly walked the ground along the edge of the wood stopping and glassing the land for signs of movement as well as familiarising myself with safe shot areas! I moved along 1 field and didnt see a thing.
I entered the next field from a high point looking down onto open ground with the wind on my face giving me an excellent advantage if any Roe did decide to show up. Glassing the field again i then spotted a fantastic Roe buck that will easily take a medal. If only it was april I watched him for several mins as he made his way across the field out of sight. I made my way down the field using the wood as cover heading towards some rough ground that looked inviting to Roe. Peering around the edge of the wood i spotted several Roe in the field, After checking them out through the binos i picked a suitable young Roe doe about 100yds off grazing, Sticks up, safety off i sent a .243 on its way. She dropped on the spot. No chance for a shot on any of the others as they had found there way into the wood before i even chambered another round Gralloch complete i felt my ears burning thinking back to April last year when me and andy stalked with malcolm, I took a nice Buck that morning & andy had no luck. I thought o no ive done it to the poor Tika308 yet again Hes gonna go mad. Hoping that andy had already had 1 before i did. well the phone rang and uncle malc asked if i had any luck, The good news was swiftly passed onto andy, I heard various words of abuse thrown at me Sorry andy
We met back at malcs Pimp mobile and set off to the other side of the estate. Malc said we should check a piece of rough ground that the Roe like so off we set. Andy in front & me tagging along with my tail between my legs We reached the ground but the wind wasnt in our favour this time. Slowly walking across the ground 3 Roe stood up 70 yards away and looked straight at us, Andy had the sticks up rifle ready and sent a 308 towards its target, I watched the roe in the binos & whack, The 308 hit & the roe ran off down the field before dropping another 40 or so yards off. She was down but we couldnt see her. malc let todd off his harness and off he went, Straight to the deer in an area short of where i thought it had dropped. He had done his job well and sat by the roe until we arrived looking very pleased with himslf Andy was made up, Absoloutly fantistic, The look on malcs face said it all, He had got andy his 1st roe & his bavarian Todd had done his job and found it. i was pleased as punch as well as all the times i have had andy out on my patch he hadnt managed to down a roe. We set off to the larder then back for breakfast with some fresh kidney for the pan
The day was spent chilling out waiting for the evening stalk. We set off at around 3ish and returned to the area where andy shot his roe, We spotted a Doe laying in some stubble along with 2 others in the hedge row, After some thought & encouragement from andy & malc i was challeged to the task of stalking her across the open field Off i went while andy & malc drove off to another piece of ground. Using the hedgerow as cover i headed down the field to get in a better position down wind from her. 10min later i had reached the bottom but had no safe shot as the dual carriageway would be behind her I set back up along the hedgrow keeping my eye on her & the other 2 making sure i hadnt been spotted. I had no option but to crawl 100yards across the field to get a shot, wet mud, clay, stubble! It was great I stopped 100yds from her as she stood up thinking i had been spotted, I had to take the shot now or she would be gone, Up on my elbows i sqeezed the trigger........................ F**k it i had missed 5 roe run up the field then down again then towards me, They wasnt sure where the shot had come from thanks to the moderator on my rifle and soon settled again after a couple of mins! They were now 70 yds off and the doe presented herself for a shot again. Squeezed the trigger & the round hit her clean in the ticker. She ran 20yds and dropped stone dead. The others ran down the field & out of sight but i was a happy man A text sent to malc to let him know of my luck and my phone rang.......... Malc congratulating me & words of abuse in the background from andy again That Bloody fester has done it again.
A great meal was had by all & washed down with a few beers and stalking stories between us were exchanged. Its great, we had not met darren before but he is a top bloke & we all chatted as if we had known each other for years. As for robin the last time we see him he was a bit worst for wear after downing a bottle of malt at the CLA whilst we sat around Malcs caravan Great bloke with lots of stalking experience.
& a great sence of humour. the evening was spent with Great food, great people with a genuine interest for stalking. Fantastic. its not just about the stalking its about meeting up and making new friends, It wouldnt of bothered me if i hadnt even seen a deer that day let alone shot any Thank you gents
Andy was invited to stalk with darren the following morning hoping to get the chance at a shot on some fallow. the offer was accepted hoping to get him 2 species of deer in 1 weekend. 8)
That was saturday over with so we hit the sack again.
I will post sundays events in a bit chaps
Fester..