It's a bit of gap between posts for me, but then it's been a bit of a break between hunts too. My mate, Carlyle, and his family came over for dinner and afterwards we headed out on our first hunt for, well, ages. I meant to take my eldest during the summer break but it didn't happen. So Carlyle and I headed out last night to the usual vineyard I shoot out, 5km out of town. They had a good spring and there were alot of rabbits about. Problem was it had stormed during the afternoon and evening and while it wasn't wet under foot, the days heat evaporating the rain, there was enough wind to make the bunnies skittish.
 
Carlyle didn't start well. His Lithgow Model 12 .22lr hasn't made it out of the locker in well over a year and its little old Bushnell 4x20 scope is not much help under a spot. He missed a couple of close shots. And he wasn't the only one who was rusty. I was too. In fact the pair of us were Atlantic prawn trawler rusty. Only 10 minutes later I missed a fox at under 100yds with my Sportco Martini Hornet. We didn't have a whistle or caller and succeeded in calling him very close just by some really bad whistling with our lips. But I've been using factory ammo to try and sort out an extraction issue I had with the Hornet. Unlike the previous handloads which, while reluctant to come out of the chamber, would put 5 shots inside a 10c piece, the factory stuff does not get close to MOA. And I just didn't feel confident. That was the biggest contributing factor to the embarassing amount of lead I threw at the landscape.
 
But fairly early on Carlyle took one rabbit and then despite some really disgraceful misses I managed to nail a hare, a really solid one. That made us feel a little better.

 
And where there's one hare there's bound to be another. Sure enough, after some more embarassing misses including one where a rabbit was running right AT us, I took down a second hare.

 
But we'd seen a third hare about....which of course meant there was a fourth too. So we drove down around the outside of the vineyard and I soon dropped it as it escaped through the fence. Then hare No.4 was in the grass not far from No.3 and it bolted back through the vineyard fence and hid at the bottom of a vine. I was sitting in car and given no option but to shoot lefthanded while aiming through my right eye. WOP!! Down he went.

 
No sooner had we returned to the car and began driving up the row but a FIFTH hare appeared to our right. But houses and the road were behind him and there were constant cars so Carlyle passed up the shots. When we turned the corner he popped another 2 bunnies in the rows with some tidy shooting. Here he is with all 3:

 
So while we were well and truly keeping the ammo manufacturers in business we finished the night happy. With a calmer night and some more practise I should come away with quite a few bunny carcasses next time and probably another 2 hares.

Hey Kombi, great to hear from you!

I was only wondering this morning where you had disappeared to - I was planning to initiate a THL search after putting the kids to bed, but you beat me to it.

You know you don't need to have gone out for a shot to post here. Staynaroundnfor a while....

Marcus

outstanding Andy!!!! sounds like a much needed hunt for you guys! God Bless.

Good job Andy. Roast bunny for dinner?

I like your words, "we were well and truly keeping the ammo manufacturers in business" :D
 
It happens sometimes...

Bunnies and hares. Cool! A nice evening of shooting regardless of the misses.  Too bad on the fox though.

Paul

Hey guys, thanks for the encouragement. I'm sure you've all been through it but I sort've (is sort've a word? I think I made it up....) went through a period of time at the end of the year and throughout January when most things were out of my control. We found out my wife is pregnant which meant it was going to get harder to play gigs with our band and to go on hunting trips. There were alot of problems at work too and my beloved VW Bus was in the shop after its accident in September and nothing had happened with it. Nothing. Not even a quote, and the manager is supposed to be my friend. So I felt quite powerless and disinclined to do much as it was unlikely to lead anywhere. Even though I'd promised Bryn, my eldest, I'd take him out spotlighting during January it just didn't happen.
 
Anyhow, things have started to move again. I turn 40 in 8 days time...the 24th....so I sorta resolved to change try and move things along. On Friday I rang the insurance company and instructed them to move my VW to another repairer. I've sent in the paperwork so I can go get my Tikka T3 Lite Stainless 7mm-08, hopefully very soon and I bought some more music gear recently which has made it possible for me to perform stuff without a massive band. So it made sense to try and get out shooting again.
 
I know I'm always welcome here, shooting or not, but I wasn't in the zone and felt disconnected. Anyhow that's over. Deer season is approaching so I'm hoping to take advantage of that. The fox was VERY embarassing and to be frank, VERY poor form. Now he's been educated and the next time someone whistles and shines a spotlight he'll head for the hills. I'm more than a bit ashamed about that. Time for some range practise.

QuoteI'm more than a bit ashamed about that.

nothing to be ashamed about Andy, thats real hunting!!! only fox I ever shot at I seen snow fly 15 to the left of the fox!!!!! Its nice to hear "real" stories!!! stories like this one just remind me I am not the lone ranger!!!! God Bless.

I've never seen much point in omitting stuff or making stuff seem fancier. I'm a bad liar and it always catches up with me. People may think you're a fool, but at least you're an honest fool. Anyone worth their salt will value humility and truthfulness. So cheer up, I am your Tonto.

Good one Kombi, it's good to have a spot like that you can always fall back on.

Nice Andy, I know what you mean about not being in a good place. Keep your chin up dude. It's always good to hear an honest account of a hunting trip (honesty is highly underrated these days).
 
We had a smiliar experience at my mate's uncle's property shooting 22s that needed to be sighted/adjusted to the new ammo we were using. We accounted for about 10 bunnies but missed just as many.
 
Dude you are a regular baby factory, congratulations are in order. I went and got the snip late last year as another child would put my missus in the grave so I took one for the team. I would not recommend that to anyone. My mate Matt invites me to the 22 range, a few days after the procedure, to shoot prone and i told him they were like mangoes so no chance of me lying prone and actually hitting a target. Took a while to recover, yet a mate of mine went to work the next day.
 
Take care and we'll keep you in our prayers.
 
Cheers
 
Jorge

Paul

Quote from: Fieldmor77;124195Good one Kombi, it's good to have a spot like that you can always fall back on.

It is a great place to be able to just head out to with no special requirements. I drove our family car.....a VW Transporter van! Not the spotlighting vehicle of choice but all I currently have even close to suitable for the task. Man, do I miss my '68 IIa Landrover ute!
 

Quote from: Jorge in Oz;124225Nice Andy, I know what you mean about not being in a good place. Keep your chin up dude. It's always good to hear an honest account of a hunting trip (honesty is highly underrated these days).
 
We had a smiliar experience at my mate's uncle's property shooting 22s that needed to be sighted/adjusted to the new ammo we were using. We accounted for about 10 bunnies but missed just as many.

Thanks, Jorge, for the encouragement and prayer. I wasn't depressed so much as feeling impotent......although clearly I'm not.
 
It is pot luck sometimes with ammo, especially factory loads, but Nosler are putting out some new .223" bore Hornet bullets. A 34gr HP, 35gr Tipped Point and a 40gr Tipped point. They should be lethal with a good load behind them to push them right up close to maximum velocities.
 

Quote from: Jorge in Oz;124225My mate Matt invites me to the 22 range, a few days after the procedure, to shoot prone and i told him they were like mangoes so no chance of me lying prone and actually hitting a target.

That's not a euphemism, is it? :o :grin: