Went out the other day, late as usual, needed to be on the road for 11 but only managed 11:50am. Something was telling me I shouldn't go. It briefly went like this...
Spent more time than I intended sorting a visitors permit for someone coming here in March (which he'll likely not get), so went off in a rush. Drove 5 miles and needed to fill up with fuel. Whilst filling up, realised I forgot my fuel can for the quad kept on site but suspected there would be enough in the tank. Drove another 20 miles and then realised I forgot my sticks
. I was out for an evening and morning so thought I'd have to use a high seat for the evening and find suitable trees in the morning. Anyway, had a brainwave and rang a friend, half way there, who I hadn't seen for 15 years but have been talking too recently. "Do you have a spare pair of sticks I can borrow"? Yep, have an extendable bipod... call in. With that I did, loosing a bit more time but after be showed me his taxidermy set-up and explaining he had shot 100's of deer with them there sticks over the years, I was on the road again.
Everything tried to stop me getting there, roadworks, traffic signals, learner drivers and tractors, sprayers and wildlife. But get there I did, and after a quick chat with the farmers, I went to get the quad, which of course wouldn't start as it has been stood for quite a while whilst I've been working on a house renovation. Managed to find a battery and jump leads and after loading up, bag with flask, sandwiches, rifle and sticks, I was off. Rather than taking the hard track I cut across a field and as I passed under some oaks, there was a loud crack and thinking I had run over a branch, I turned to find my friends aluminium extendable sticks, laying in the grass with both sections fully snapped
Back to plan B, high seat. A half mile drive through some woodland I lease for the buck season, I stopped a couple of times to chase the Sika off a banking and up to my fields. Do you think they wanted to go, despite my shouting and arm waving? Well eventually they got the idea.
So I parked up and was in the high seat to suit the Northerly wind for the last hour, which is quite early for me. A little while later, I opened my bag, grabbed a sandwich and though I'd have a cup of tea until I discovered I had forgotten the flask cup, so nothing to drink out of
A brainwave later, I decided to leave the top off the flask off until it cooled down enough to drink out of, but thought that "today is not the day" and when the deer appeared, I'd have to be particularly careful as a cocked up shot was a distinct possibility.
Anyway, a group of 6 hinds and calves left the woodland to my right in plenty of light and a couple of stags left the woodland at the opposite side of the field. I had loads of time and decided to take the smallest calf. I lined up on it at various distances from 175yds to 135yds, but it wouldn't quite stand in a perfect position, allowing me to end up with a carcass with no shoulder damage. A couple of times I lined up for a neck shot, but knowing how the day had gone, I decided against it.
Eventually it stood perfect and I touched the trigger to find I had not picked up a cartridge when I loaded the rifle, still in the slip on the quad
Click.... and being a windless evening, it was heard by a couple of the hinds. What the feck is it about today went through my mind as I recycled as quiet as possible 
Anyway, a few minutes waiting had the said calf standing again and I touched the trigger. The only thing good about what had happened was that the first attempt tested for any flinch, which I was happy didn't happen.
The 6.5 Cr struck, and all 6 animals headed off towards woodland, with the one I shot peeling off. I expected it to make max 50 yds, but no....it ran, and it ran, and it ran all 130yds to woodland By this stage I was thinking I definitely should have not left the house. The remaining 5 along with another hind that joined the group stopped at the woodland edge, and by their reaction, I suspected the deer had fallen just inside the wood. I thought it best to leave the said deer until the group had moved on as I didn't want them running into the wood, possibly taking my animal with them should it not be dead.
Some 15 mins later, after deciding not to take a second animal from the group, I was able to collect the quad and get to the last sighting of my animal without pushing any more deer in the same direction. Fortunately, my animal was lying some 15yds inside the wood with an exit a little far back, showing it had been quartering towards me, more than I thought, hence the shot had done the liver and not taken heart lungs..... so much for me trying to protect the shoulders
So that was my day, not the best but could have been worse. Next morning I set out looking for deer and a suitable tree and managed to find deer and trees, where I approached to some 50 yds and added a neck shot calf and neck shot hind. When I got home, the first thing I did was to put my sticks in the truck and order a set of replacement sticks for my friend
Spent more time than I intended sorting a visitors permit for someone coming here in March (which he'll likely not get), so went off in a rush. Drove 5 miles and needed to fill up with fuel. Whilst filling up, realised I forgot my fuel can for the quad kept on site but suspected there would be enough in the tank. Drove another 20 miles and then realised I forgot my sticks
. I was out for an evening and morning so thought I'd have to use a high seat for the evening and find suitable trees in the morning. Anyway, had a brainwave and rang a friend, half way there, who I hadn't seen for 15 years but have been talking too recently. "Do you have a spare pair of sticks I can borrow"? Yep, have an extendable bipod... call in. With that I did, loosing a bit more time but after be showed me his taxidermy set-up and explaining he had shot 100's of deer with them there sticks over the years, I was on the road again.Everything tried to stop me getting there, roadworks, traffic signals, learner drivers and tractors, sprayers and wildlife. But get there I did, and after a quick chat with the farmers, I went to get the quad, which of course wouldn't start as it has been stood for quite a while whilst I've been working on a house renovation. Managed to find a battery and jump leads and after loading up, bag with flask, sandwiches, rifle and sticks, I was off. Rather than taking the hard track I cut across a field and as I passed under some oaks, there was a loud crack and thinking I had run over a branch, I turned to find my friends aluminium extendable sticks, laying in the grass with both sections fully snapped
Back to plan B, high seat. A half mile drive through some woodland I lease for the buck season, I stopped a couple of times to chase the Sika off a banking and up to my fields. Do you think they wanted to go, despite my shouting and arm waving? Well eventually they got the idea.
So I parked up and was in the high seat to suit the Northerly wind for the last hour, which is quite early for me. A little while later, I opened my bag, grabbed a sandwich and though I'd have a cup of tea until I discovered I had forgotten the flask cup, so nothing to drink out of
A brainwave later, I decided to leave the top off the flask off until it cooled down enough to drink out of, but thought that "today is not the day" and when the deer appeared, I'd have to be particularly careful as a cocked up shot was a distinct possibility.Anyway, a group of 6 hinds and calves left the woodland to my right in plenty of light and a couple of stags left the woodland at the opposite side of the field. I had loads of time and decided to take the smallest calf. I lined up on it at various distances from 175yds to 135yds, but it wouldn't quite stand in a perfect position, allowing me to end up with a carcass with no shoulder damage. A couple of times I lined up for a neck shot, but knowing how the day had gone, I decided against it.
Eventually it stood perfect and I touched the trigger to find I had not picked up a cartridge when I loaded the rifle, still in the slip on the quad
Click.... and being a windless evening, it was heard by a couple of the hinds. What the feck is it about today went through my mind as I recycled as quiet as possible Anyway, a few minutes waiting had the said calf standing again and I touched the trigger. The only thing good about what had happened was that the first attempt tested for any flinch, which I was happy didn't happen.The 6.5 Cr struck, and all 6 animals headed off towards woodland, with the one I shot peeling off. I expected it to make max 50 yds, but no....it ran, and it ran, and it ran all 130yds to woodland
By this stage I was thinking I definitely should have not left the house. The remaining 5 along with another hind that joined the group stopped at the woodland edge, and by their reaction, I suspected the deer had fallen just inside the wood. I thought it best to leave the said deer until the group had moved on as I didn't want them running into the wood, possibly taking my animal with them should it not be dead.Some 15 mins later, after deciding not to take a second animal from the group, I was able to collect the quad and get to the last sighting of my animal without pushing any more deer in the same direction. Fortunately, my animal was lying some 15yds inside the wood with an exit a little far back, showing it had been quartering towards me, more than I thought, hence the shot had done the liver and not taken heart lungs..... so much for me trying to protect the shoulders
So that was my day, not the best but could have been worse. Next morning I set out looking for deer and a suitable tree and managed to find deer and trees, where I approached to some 50 yds and added a neck shot calf and neck shot hind. When I got home, the first thing I did was to put my sticks in the truck and order a set of replacement sticks for my friend
Funny how these are the days that you'll be talking about in the years to come rather than the days when everything goes perfectly! Excellent!
