Hunting (part 3)

The fields on my St Just shoot are looking empty, but as i said in another part of my blog, there are a lot of milky doe's (don't be tempted to shoot them) and as you see in this photograph, it is littered with pigeons. I walked up this field and as suspected, racing pigeons. You don't want to be shooting these birds, they are someones pets and lets face it i wouldn't like it if someone killed my pet, would you. Be very observant when shooting pigeons, look at there legs. If there have rings on them or you can get very close to them, leave them.

By this stream in the summer it is over grown by Japanese Knot Weed, a real pain but this time of the year its died off and in a few months will be over run with rabbits and if you own a shotgun or a 410, you will find the odd Snipe or three.

This small cops makes a great place in the summer months for woodies and Snipe. There is something quite enchanting about the silence of woods in the winter. Behind the tin hut is a great place for a natural hide and coming towards the end of the summer if you have the equipment, it is a good place to go lamping in the field just behind but there are a few badgers i have to share it with.

In the height of the summer, this is my favourite natural hide. It is situated at the other end of the cops in the picture above and leads right over a few field were we have a new strain of rabbit. We already have a strain of black bunnies which stick to another field just a mile away, but just to the left of this hide i spotted a white rabbit no more than 10 yards away.

A cheeky Squirrel, the first one i have ever seen on my St Just shoot sits looking directly at me. With my rifle over my shoulder and camera in my hand i thought a photograph rather than shooting it. Hopefully i will see more in the next couple of years, we will see.

This field in the summer is full of bunnies but a lone rabbit sits with clumps of fur missing. It is Normal for the doe's to pull clumps of fur out at this time of the year to line her nest for the first batch of young.

Always the same. Not many rabbits but at the top of the field a fox sits and waits, you can almost guarantee there will be another close by. I have noticed in the last two years on my St Just shoot especially, the fox population has risen by 70%. I have done a few dawn shoots and have spotted more fox than rabbits which is a bit of a pain for me.

Hunting (part 2)

The weather has been good down here in Cornwall at the end of February and beginning of March, so i have been checking my shooting grounds for milky doe's and spent allot of time getting permission to shoot on new grounds. With some luck on my side and talking to the right people has paid off. It looks like i will have a good summer.

As the weather has been on my side, its time to check over my rifle's and get them zeroed in, again at 35 yards. I don't like to take any chances of missing the all important head shot for a clean kill, plus stalking a rabbit so it is in your range and you are comfortable with the distance plays a big part in the kill.

When i am zeroing i always find a quiet field away from the public, a thick piece of wood against a stone wall and a target and your almost ready. Make yourself a tripod to rest on. I use three pieces of cane bound together about 6 inch from the top and cut the bottoms off to suit your height. "Simple"

I was browsing the field behind were i was shooting to make sure there was no cattle in there.
don't upset the farmer, he can take the permission away to shoot on his land allot easier than it is for you to acquire it.

I like to shoot in groups of 3 sometimes 5 so make sure you have enough targets with you, and enough pellets. When you fill your gun with your air tank, don't make the mistake of an over fill.
If you do over fill, this wont make it more powerful or make it so you can take more shots, it can damage your rifle and it will without a doubt make it less powerful and the time you have spent zeroing will have been a waste of time and journey.

A slight adjustment on the scope turrets and its time to shoot another group. I like to have two targets on my bored. You can get quite comfortable sat there.

If you can have someone spotting for you it can make life easier. Ever time you shoot a group, if you have to walk 35 yards to your target and 35 yards back you will find yourself a little out of breath and with your heart beating it can make your next group off target. If you do find yourself spotting for yourself and doing allot of walking, make a point of sitting for a minute or two to get your breath back

All done and dusted, that's the Air Arms S410 carbine zeroed in ready for the summer. It will be checked again on probably another couple of times before i go out on my first hunting trip.

Hunting (part 1)

These are a selection of hunting photographs taken at the end of the summer in 2008 from the ground i shoot in St Just Cornwall (home)
Be careful when shooting in fields with cattle in them. Some farmers don't like it and neither do the cattle.I'm very lucky as i shoot these fields daily and it seems as if they recognise me, other wise the mother to the left of me wouldn't take too kindly me being so close to her calf.

The first picture is the rewards of a patient shoot one early evening from Boscean Farm. Not a bad bag for the freezer.
All my quarry is used either at home or work, they never go to waste. For this trip i was using a heavy duty Weihrauch HW100 carbine with a Simmons White tail classic scope, not a cheap set up, always buy the best scope you can afford

One of each from the farm, woodies use to flock there for the spare grain but a few trips with my shooting buddy and there aren't many left. Make sure you cover your hands and face when shooting woodies, any sign of a pink face and they will fly straight past without a second look. I always carry a pair of advantage camouflage gloves and a balaclava in my bag or pocket but in the summer months it can be very hot uncomfortable to wear all the time.

Getting ready to tackle a few fields. I'm using my Air Arms S410 carbine 177 with a Hawke Mil Dot scope on this trip. I love this gun, its allot lighter than the HW100 and almost silent. Zeroed in at 35 yards and I'm ready for any rabbits or woodies that are a little careless.

Now its time to take the back way into my first field. I prepared the entrance a couple of weeks ago by cutting back some of the brambles and disposing of some of the dead twigs and branches to make my entrance silently to am excellent ambush point. The road to the left of me leads straight down the valley to the coast, a place called Kenidjack, there are a couple of houses and disused tin mines, it makes a fantastic walk but is owned by the National Trust, so no shooting or stray pellets at any time.

Like i said in the other paragraph, nothing goes to waste, so always taste your quarry for freshness, ha ha. This one was a single Woodie sat on a power line just above my head. I leaned into the hedge next to me, turned around my hat to cover my face, locked onto it through my Hawke Mil Dot and with a single shot to the head, it fell to my feet.