Evening stalk ,beautiful backdrop.

[foxdropper 17,092]

Got the invite to have a look around some of Martins ground on Tuesday of last week .This piece of land is in a valley ,well a valley within a valley to be precise .The whole scene was a sea of buttercups and bathed in sunlight .Truly a pleasure to be there .After Martin parked up ,i surveyed the land with the bino's but saw nothing .On Martins recommendation ,we skirted left handed towards a clump of hawthorn where the deer sometimes hang out ,according to my host .As we approached ,i was busy scanning the opposite fields when Martin motioned to me and pointed over the nearside fence and alongside the hawthorn .I could see the back of a deer ,orange summer coat but it disappeared behind the bush before any identification could be made .As it did so ,a doe walked forward into the meadow ,half summer coat ,half still drab brown .A youngster too .We were by now ,sat down just taking in the scene when a buck appeared from the bushes and grazed his way to the doe but partly obscured from me by a small bush infront and the long grass .It was also a youngster ,probably a last years twin to the doe but thats just guessing !.

They were no more than 20 feet from us so movement had to be kept to a minimum.Slowly got the bipod stretched out but found due to the slope we were on ,it still wasnt long enough .No worries as i shot the buck free hand in the head .

Instead of rushing off ,the young doe wasnt sure what to do and we were both able to take a few pics of her as she looked at her dead mate .This is the one thing about stalking / deer control that i dont like too much .I always have a pang of regret at having taken the life of one half of a friendship

 

The buck was still in velvet which revealed just how young he was .

Eventually the doe wandered off and we were on our way ,to look for another .Covered several fields to the boundary finding the carcass of a long dead fox cub ,partly eaten. On the way back ,we travelled lower down the valley ,near a stream and we both saw a doe in all her summer glory at some range ,grazing the meadowplants .I spotted an older, lighter doe down by the stream and decided to stalk forward to see if a buck was in attendance but never got that far .

A fox ran out from a gateway to my right and ran up a cattle track to my left .Martin had said earlier that foxes were to be taken here so i squeaked loudly .He stopped and started to come around the slope to my left slghtly but always in the long grass .He did pause in an open patch and i took a shot at which he jumped a good 6 foot or more into the air and danced his way to a standstill a bit further down .I could plainly see him ,jaw snapping on his back so turned my attention to whether or no there was a buck down the bottem or not .Both does were looking our way but no sign of a buck.Glassed the area but no buck revealed itself .Turned to find the fox was gone .

Now ,Martin and i both marked it down and despite an extensive search of the area and further, we never found it or any trail of it having been hit .I can only think it was a skimming shot and he was dazed ,to recover fully as we found no blood on the spot at all .It happens .

Thanks again to Martin for a great evening out .

[martin 332]

You are more than welcome 'FD',I am just glad that I could in some way go towards repaying you for your hospitality................Martin.