Right place right time..................

[Guest martin]

I was in the local butchers,where I have worked from time to time,and,I was getting some meaty bones for the dogs,and,having a chin wag with the owner,when the phone rang,and,he was talking to a farmer that he gets some pigs from.Well,I am always tuned into 'New Permissions' so,I said to him while he was talking.....ask him about some deer stalking,so,he said ...just a minute talk to this bloke here he wants you to let him shoot on your land,and,he handed me the phone.I told him who I was,and,explained that I was looking for some stalkingf land,and,he said to me "Do you shoot rabbits"? I said "Yes,of course,and,anything else you want shot too". He then said "Well,I do get a few deer on here,but,I am absolutely lousey with rabbits,so,if you want to shoot here,get on up here then"! I arranged to go up at 1830hrs,and,when I got there,he showed me the rabbit damage,and,it was substantial to say the least.He also said,that he had some other ground that does hold a few more deer,mainly because there is a fair size wood alongside it,and,if I wanted to I could shoot as many deer there as I wanted.He showed me the boundaries,and,said will you be up tonight then?I said you try and stop me.

I did go this evening,and,had a good walk around the boundaries(good to get a proper idea of the land first)and,I did have a few bunnies,and,more significantly I worked out how best to walk the land to shoot evenings,and,then lamp at night(I don't like to just turn up somewhere and lamp straight away,as you just never know what is what in the dark........'Safety First' after all.

As it was getting dark,I saw what I thought was a fox probably 200+yds away,so I squeeked it,it didn't seem to take any notice at all,which made me think that it might of been a Muntjac doe,anyway it went through the hedge.I carried on squeeking for a minute or so,and,just as I was going to stop,there was a metallic sounding scratch beside me,and,as I looked around a skinny vixen scrambled over a tin fence and ran straight at me at full pelt,I spun around,and,if I had had a shotgun she would be a goner now,but,as I had the rimmy,and,it was getting quite dark now I just couldn't get a clear sight of her in the scope....even on low magnification,so,she lives for another night.Might not be quite so easy to get a clear shot at her next time though.

But,it just goes to show that we must always be ready to jump at every chance of new permission that we get...........................YIS................Martin