Dudders
AH fanatic
Harvest was over and i decided that an evening stroll with the rifle was needed just after 6pm I headed out to a narrow valley on the neighbouring property. Having parked up the landrover got my gear together rifle, ammunition, binoculars, phone and a knife I was ready. I made my way quietly up through the small orchard and out onto a grassy bank half had been mown down while the other half was still tall weedy grass. this bank runs from a small stream upto a wooded valley side. I scan the edge of the wood along the mown part of the bank no sign of any deer but it was still early. I worked my way along the stream as i rounded a small bend I notice some movement in the tall grass on the bank, I sat down in the grass and scanned the area with my binoculars it was a small group of fallow does with thier fawns after a minute i stood up and carried on along the edge of the stream. After a few yards the fallow in the tall grass spotted me and took off into the wood luckily heading in the direction i had just come from. I headed away from the stream and onto a track which leads uphill through some scrub before entering into the woods.
Although there was still alot of cover in the wood i decided to carry on as it was a nice evening and i knew there would be some more open areas with hopefully less cover.It was not long before i saw more fallow this time above me in the wood a nice black doe with black fawn, I continued on along the track for a couple of hundred meters and was contemplating turning back when i was distracted by a sound i counldn't quite figure out coming from the opposite side of the valley it was an animal of some kind. I began looking for a gap in the trees that would enable me to look across onto the opposite bank, once a found a suitable view point i began to scan with the binoclars it was not long and it all became clear i there was a group of fallow does quietly grazing a small fenced paddock with them were several large fawns running circuits around the paddock while one smaller fawn unable to get through the fence was creating all the noise I watched again for a while then decided to go a little further down the track as i set off i glanced into the wood above me and and stood not more than 15 feet away were a pair of muntjac a doe with a buck not five feet behind her had emerged from the brambles and we had spotted each other at just the same moment , I froze the muntjac froze and the stand off began who would blink first. As i stood on the track the buck was at the 2 o'clock position the doe was at 4 o'clock with both above me I made the decision to go for the buck as it would involve less movement to get a shot I placed my hand around the magazine began to slowly slide the rifle on my shoulder from the vertical into the horizontal while watching the muntjac buck, I slightly drop my shoulder and the sling slides down my arm. The track had been cut into the bank which blocked most of my movement from the shoulders down from the muntjac, I slowly rotate the rifle into position and remember magnification without breaking sight with the muntjac i twist the magnification all the way to the right the lowest setting I prepare myself this will have to be quick i pick a spot on the muntjac buck and carefully raise the rifle as the scope reaches my eyeline the buck fills the lens and i squezze the trigger and the buck disappears from the scope i spin round to go for the doe just to see her dissappear up the bank into the brambles and away. I make the rifle safe and go to pick up the buck.
I found him collapsed where he had been stood.
He turned out to be a very nice buck and will be just shy of a cic bronze less than 1 point off a medal and the beauty of these little guys is they are great to carry on the walk back.
These were out when i returned to where i had started earlier but still no bucks with them
I found him collapsed where he had been stood.
These were out when i returned to where i had started earlier but still no bucks with them
