shovel leaner

Hi all , sausage dog PM me to see if I was ok and yes I am fine . I’ve just been very busy with the game shooting season , if I’m not feeding or jet washing the shitted up vehicles for shoot days I’m loading . I tend to come on to this site pre season when I’ve got a lot of time on my hands and am on my own a lot , sitting around waiting for a fox or in a high seat waiting for deer . I apologised to sausage as I feel like a very bad friend who only wants your company when it suits them and that is what I’ve been ..... “a bad friend ...a user”. So apologies. I’ve not been out a lot in the last few weeks as the ground is so wet and treacherous at the moment and the last thing I want to do is get stuck at night . Also the chickens at the chicken farm have been confined to barracks because of the wet weather, so no need to show up for the moment. I don’t know about any of you guys but this wet weather is really starting to grate on me , feeding my birds is a nightmare. I’ve been stuck twice where I’ve had to have the tractor tow me out . The tractor driver always takes a picture to show people and says he’s going to put together a calendar . I got stuck the other morning, the mule just sunk and bottomed out . I thought about ringing for a tow , but I thought no he’s got January and February, I’m buggered if he’s getting March , so I went and fetched a shovel and dug myself out , which had me wondering what the hell am I doing this job for . When I signed up for my keepering life I thought I would be walking around with a shotgun slung over my arm and a spaniel running around my ankles and maybe throw the odd handful of wheat here and there , I didn’t sign up for sliding around in mud all day , digging out ATVs and getting soaked to the skin day in day out . Anyway enough of my bleating, I’m sure I can hear the sound of violins playing . Nice to log back in and see that things don’t change , some good write ups and excellent pictures. Here’s one of mine , have fun people!!!

I’ve been using Sierra 50gr semi points . The first batches I loaded were at the starting weight of powder but dropped rapidly after about 130 meters . I’ve upped the measure to the top end of 26 grains of Vihtavuori N135 and they shoot a lot better. They are less devastating than v-max . I got them because I’ve found soft points are a bit more forgiving when there was a lot of long grass about earlier in the year . I’ve gone over to V-max now , they are devastating, but I don’t care , dead is dead . But the soft points don’t tear them up like a ballistic tip , sometimes you can hardly tell where the bullets gone in , but other times it can make a hole , just depends where you hit them .

Sound advice, if you are out amongst cattle at night without a torch , only thermal or NV and the cattle get spooked it is dangerous. It’s happened to myself and another keeper. I was out amongst a suckler herd and they charged me , I narrowly escaped , my arse was twitching a bit I can tell you .

I like the photo Si , a scene that is unknown to most . I’ve been into country sports since I could walk . My father was a bookmaker and greyhound trainer , and general ner do well , who took me Ferretting , and what I know now was poaching I suppose at an early age , and I was hooked. I got air rifles ( bsa meteor) my first , and fishing . But ferreting and ferrets and terriers and Lurcher’s were what made me tick . It’s so much a part of me , and so ingrained in my life that I don’t know anything else . I’ve spent all my life at the bottom of a hedge . I don’t go on any other social media and my interests have become more and more towards rifles these days . I’m not really interested in the earth dog and Lurcher section , even though I still work Terrier’s, because they are something that I’ve always done and I am not interested in anyone else’s opinion on my Terrier’s and my terrier work . But I enjoy reading the posts from likeminded hunters and rifle enthusiasts. And I don’t know everything and the guys on here are very willing to share info and help you out . Long may it continue.

I have a Kawasaki mule now . I used to use a quad . I had a Honda for years and we changed it every two years , they were good when they had the hydrostatic gears , then they changed them back to the old thumb shift , and they weren’t the quad they were . I then went over to a Kawasaki grizzly with independent suspension and it was very good . But I’ve now got a mule and it’s perfect for my needs . I can get “ almost” everywhere I want to and carry loads of feed and stay dry !!! I can’t see me ever going back to a quad .

I must be mad but , I actually look forward to getting up at 5.30 and feeding my birds . This is because I’ve had a good season and I know that I’ve got plenty for the season. But I’ve been doing this long enough that I’ve had bad years when I’ve thought “ where are the birds ? How am I going to produce days with so few birds about? “ I’m on the first feed ride at about 6am , the first birds start dropping down at about 6.25 am and by 6.35 they are lined up on the feed . I have to pick my way along the rides ploughing my way along making sure not to run any over. It’s reassuring and heart warming to see a feed ride full of birds . It takes me an hour and 15 minutes to feed , by which time I go back to the start of my feed rides and watch them on the stubble before going home for breakfast. It’s annoying but I have a dog walker that is not “ shooting friendly “ , and has caused a few problems, but I’m on his case and I’m making his dog walks an unpleasant time , he’s not been coming here for long and I’ve a feeling it won’t be much longer. Anyway, after supervising the morning dog walking nonsense it’s time for breakfast . However I take time to watch a bit of nature the morning mists , the deer , the rabbits, the birds , and then I get the iPhone out and see what sausagedog and Walshie , Gav and Stavross and Benbhoy and Ianm and sibrown and David. Evans and longshanx have all been up to . I wish I could share some of my recent experiences with you all , but the powers that be have put a social media blackout on things , for good reason , but my lack of updates is because I’m like a lot of us “busy “ .

I’m just sat in the mule next to one of the pens having a watch and listen. It won’t be long and the nights will be long and the daylight short and I will be sat on the sofa at this time bored shitless . The sound of the pheasants flying up to roost in their hundreds makes me feel content that I’ve got them this far and they are still here and looking healthy and fit . Won’t be long before we start shooting , 12th October for us . I can also here a Muntjac buck barking in the distance. A hornet just flew past making a very deep buzzing sound that had me on alert . Then a plane went over and made a booming sound that got all the pheasants cocking up and it was deafening, I smiled , that’s a lovely sound . I just sat and soaked it all in and thought how lucky I am to be here doing a job I love in a place I love . I thought I’d share a couple of photos and my experience of this evening, one of the last warm / mild evenings to sit out me thinks .

I’ve got a Lyman tumbler, but I’ve seen guys on YouTube using ultrasonic cleaners to good effect. I am thinking of getting one and giving it a go . As regards size , I will just get a cheap one and just do the brass in small batches .

Have you thought about an ultrasonic cleaner for your brass ? You can get them for £20 . I believe they do s good job . Be interesting to keep in touch and compare our results . We both have the same rifles and calibers . ATB

David I’m no expert , I’ve not been at it long . It’s all a bit confusing. With different advice etc . As regards powders . I’ve gone with Vihtavuori because I can get it locally and don’t have to pay postage .Also IMR and Hodgedon are getting hard to get hold of , so stick to European powders . If you can get it Reloader 15 is excellent for your 243 . I would definitely get a book and have a read also watch some YouTube stuff . Don’t forget to get some decent callipers to measure overall length. ATB

Hi David , I would go for Vihtavuori N140 for the 243 and N135 for the .223 . You will need small rifle primers for the . 223 and large for the .243 . However I think either powder will do both calibers . I got CCI primers but federal are good too . ATB

It would be interesting to weigh him . A 20lb plus fox is big around my way . Are you doing that old carp fisherman’s trick of holding it near the camera? I shot a big fox a few years ago and took it to a mates place to weigh it on his fishing scales . He had a terrier there and decided he wanted to see if it would rag the dead fox , he got it out and shook it in front of the dog , the dog got his lipstick out and started to try and hump the dead fox . I raised an eyebrow, he said “don’t tell anyone about this “. Of course not !!!

Nice going Walshie . The moon and lack of wind has made shooting difficult. Sunday should bring a bit of damper conditions. I’ve been knocking a few foxes over myself recently , amongst other things .

I will do . I’m going to do a few 3 round batches and see which performs the best . I’m glad most of my shooting is done with .223 , these .243 rounds are nearly double the powder “ bah humbug “.

Cheers Gav This was just what I was after . I’ve been told that vihtavuori are quite conservative with their data and that you can go a bit beyond their specified max . I think I will start off at 37.4 grn and work Mg way up . ATB