Out for a Charlie last night..............

[Guest martin]

I took my brother-in-law and his grandson out last night looking for a fox,they came over about 1900hrs and we set off for a farm I have permission on fairly locally.The lad is 12yrs old,and,I have taken him out before ferreting and for some target practise with a Rapid '7' and latterly with the rimfire,and,he seems to be a natural keeping very good groups.It is because of this that I have no problem with him shooting live quarry,in fact he is a better shot than a lot of experienced shots I have known.We got to the farm,and,there was absolutley no wind at all,and,it was hellish hot.I had thought there might of been a deer about,but,only a doe and her kid on the other side of the valley,and,a pricket two fields away(not my permission).So,we set up in a place where we could see a good area of the fields,and,had a bit of a squeek,it took 15-20 mins for any movement,but,Charlie was creeping up on the right of us,I swung the .243 round on the bipod,steadied myself,and,hit it right in the middle of the chest,it flew back over on itself,and,rolled down the bank about a yard or two before settling there in the grass.I made the rifle safe,and the lad came over with me to see the fox...................WELL,you could of knocked me over with a feather,as the bloody thing had gone(I just know you are laughing now Foxdropper lol)I looked around,and,even in the two fields nearby,but,it had gone never to be found.I was right pissed off,and,if you have read my last topic you will understand why.

Anyway,I said for my brother-in-law and the lad to go over the brook,and have a look for a rabbit or two for the lad to have a go at,while I went to set up for squeek in another area.As I got to the large gate(it used to be a deer farm)I spotted Charlie loping down a field some 200yds away,and,I still had to get through the gate,and,they all have these really awkward latches on,and,you can rarely get the latch open without making a noise,but,on this occassion it just opened lovely and silent.I set up on the bipod in the gateway,and,gave a few squeeks,but,Charlie wasn't having any of it,and,just carried on down the field crossing into the corner,and,then I would of lost it,so,I gave a very high pitched and long squeel,and,she stopped dead,and,as she did a 100grainer made an air hole just in front of her ear,and,she did drop this time and never even twitched.I estimate the shot was around 160yds + and,I was very pleased with that.As it wasn't moving at all,I carried on squeeking for another 5-10 mins,but,no more movement,so,I decided to have a look over the brow to see if the others were coming as it was getting properly dark now.Just as I started towards the brow over they came both with beaming smiles,and,the lad carrying his first ever fox taken at 30yds with a very clean shot,that anyone would be proud of,he was like a cat with two tails,and,I can't blame him.Now I have a feeling some people might not be happy with him taking a fox at his age and with a rimfire,but,as I said he is a very good shot,and,he is a very level headed young man,and,apparently he took the shot with the utmost professionality.He will be accompanying me on a lot more forays in the future as well,and,I hope that this sport that we all love,will help keep another lad from an inner city upbringing to keep himself out of trouble,and,enjoy the sport along with the rest of us all..................Y.I.S. Martin

Here are a few pics.............................

One entry vent.................

And,one exit vent.............

[6mmBR]

Glad to see the young ones showing an interest in shooting, there seem to be to few youngsters in the sport these days.

Never mind about losing your fox, we almost did it a few years ago we shot one in a fresh cut barely field and spent ages grid searching the area to no avail in the end my mate Pete stood on it! In the lamp we just could not see it.

Good read and thanks

Dave

[nemasis243]

Nice one there a good result,just a word of caution , teach the youngster some safety and get him to open the bolt if he is going to be standing with his hand on top of the barrrel ,

It may have well been empty but its a good practice for him to get into the future ,

Its great to see the younger eliment have fun and a cracking charlie to start his account with, now he is gonna want to do it all the time,you could well be a full time lamper in the future

[Guest martin]

Nice one there a good result,just a word of caution , teach the youngster some safety and get him to open the bolt if he is going to be standing with his hand on top of the barrrel ,

It may have well been empty but its a good practice for him to get into the future ,

Its great to see the younger eliment have fun and a cracking charlie to start his account with, now he is gonna want to do it all the time,you could well be a full time lamper in the future

 

Good call Nem..............Martin.