Hop Along, Party in the Dark and a Nice Vixen

[sandersj89]

One of the most interesting nights lamping I have had for a while, read on and you will see why!

 

Met up with Brian and Rob at 7.30 at one of my permissions. First area is the bunny haven we have been hitting hard since last spring but we have not been there for a couple of months and did not know what to expect.

 

So, we rig up with me and Rob shooting and Brian driving. Me with the HMR and Rob with his Sako Quad and the .22LR barrel in place. This area is no more than 40 acres and we have taken a lot of rabbit here in the last 10 months, and there is still plenty more. Soon had a few in the bag but shooting was very frustrating.

 

In areas the ground is literally a honey comb of burrows, the rabbits would pop up and down like that fair ground game you have to use a hammer to hit the rabbits. Tough shooting at times, still we had a good session and I took a nice 120 yard rabbit with the HMR.

 

But one rabbit was a first for all of us, I bowled it over with the HMR at about 80 yards and when we went to pick it up I noticed it was missing part of its rear leg......we had found Hop Along.

 

As you can see here:

 

 

He was missing the lower half of one of his rear legs, the wound around the bone was fully heeled and there was no sign of infection, indeed the rabbit was in good health and heavy. Buck with a chewed ear so he had been about a bit.

 

No idea how he lost his lower leg, the bone was sheared off at an angle and muddy as he was using it to walk. Just shows you how tough these animals can be!

 

After finishing up here a quick move along to the east and onto a much larger spot and a shift into fox mode. Brian now shooting with his 6.5, me driving and Rob on the lamp.

 

Out of the car park and down the track.......hello, what do we have here?

 

A car is backed into a field gate with 2 blokes sat in it in the dark. They are not on my permission but only a few feet off it. We drive past and shine the lamp into them and they dont move or acknowledge us. How they got their car into that spot is a bit of a mystery and we all said they wont get it out without 4 wheel drive.

 

Still, nothing to do with us so we move through a gate and get on with the business at hand. 4 minutes later we get the flash of tell tale eyes out over a hedge and below us, game on. A quick conflab and I edge forward in the dark to get the angle and the range. Stop and Rob works the lamp and charlie is working away to our left and looking like he will not stop for long, not running but moving steadily.

 

Brian cant get the shot and we have to move again but Charlie is not playing ball, we try calling, squeaking, etc but nope, wont come towards us or stop properly.

 

We follow and try and head him off before he can go over the hill but he wont show us his eyes again, I take a route not driven before which proved interesting and had the land rover up on 3 wheels for a while...eeek.

 

We carry on around scouting and as we come to the top of the hill 2, possibly 3 other cars have joined our “stuck” car, lights flashing all over the place and looked like a police car at one stage but I dont think it was. Time for us to come out of stealth mode and see what on earth is going on, so head lights on and a dash down to the area. As we moved towards them they all turn up the track and hare down the lane back towards the A27. The speed they went down the lane at proved they were up to no good, as we neared the track another land rover, 110 station wagon comes down and stops near the spot we saw the first car. I did not recognise it so we sat for a minute to watch it as it turned around, or rather tried to, it was busy spinning its wheels and I dont think the driver knew what he was doing, they turned and came back right in front of us.

 

Rob put the lamp on them and the thing was stuffed with people, all the seats were full, the weight must have made the turn off the mud hard. (Looking at the tracks later it only had road tyres on as well).

 

No one stopped or acknowledge us and they too headed back to the main road.

 

I have no idea what was going on but it was suspcious......Ken you need to get you mates up there!

 

Once we were alone again we went back into stealth mode and headed back up around and on to the top of the downs, as we did we got eyes again, same fox as the first time. This one knows what the game is and Brian thinks he is an old hand. Again he heads away and up over the top of the downs, with us in pursuit.

 

We breast the first ridge and nothing, just rabbits. We have a good look around but no joy so carry on right up to the top to freeze Brian a little in the wind, a good number of rabbits but no Charlie so we turn around and aim to cover the lower fields.

 

Bingo, eyes way out in front a good 500 yards. Light off and move closer but he has moved, this is not the same one I think, too far......but again light shy.

 

Cover the next couple of fields and I am sure I see yet another set of eyes on the side of the hill but cant confirm it......pull around in the the next field and shine up onto the side of the downs and we get eyes and a moving body, I call it as badger........oops......Brian shouts fox and game on again. This moves to the left and over the brow into the next dip meaning I need to move sharpish.

 

Drive along the fence line and I start calling on the WAM to keep it close......over the brow into the next gully and stop, Rob works the lamp around and there the eyes are.

 

I start to call again and kill the engine.

 

This one comes in like a steam train, literally running down the hill in the beam straight at us, so quick that I stop calling and am just about to shout to stop here so Brian can get a shot off.

 

She stops and sits no more than 80 yards away and Brian lets off a shot straight away, no messing, she drops on the spot, a nice vixen in cracking condition, not huge so I suspect last years cub.

 

 

We drive around for another 45minutes or so but nothing else so call it a night.

 

A good evening a dozen or so rabbits in the bag and a good vixen

 

Some of the bag:

 

 

 

Jerry

[nemasis243]

Great write up mate, I have also seen some odd sites over the years, I shot a fox with three legs many years ago ,cudnt work out how he survived as he was in such condition , then I was told that the area I shot him they had been realeseing urban foxes in .

I think I did him a favour in the end

[6mmBR]

Thanks for a great write up, its amazing how resiliant to injury animals can be.

A good little night out.

Cheers

Dave