well the tough decision has been made

[lurcher lass 9]

enjoy it mate, i'm off for a mooch tomor to see how the bunny population is, if there is still young about i'l leave it be but i am tempted to give me pups a chase . .

[John-B 4]

took 2 sleeping tablets at 10pm last night and still up at 0530 haha, as the song goes "I'm so excited and i just can't hide it, i'm about to lose control and i think i like it"

[stealthy1 3,964]

Good luck lads

[col g 0]

well we had a good day apart from being eaten alive by blood sucking flies.we started off having a good walk round our new permission to see what it was all about and get a feel for the place.we only took toby and bouncer with us and left the ferrets and nets in the van .i was well impressed with the place,and i dare say im speaking for john on this but we have fell on our feet .after seeing a few rabbits here and there we continued our walk round.we were walking along one of the last large heather covered fields when bouncer started having a good sniff about,a rabbit was sitting and decided to make a break for it.i shouted of toby so he could see it he ran past bouncer at first then he seen the rabbit.by this time the rabbit was in full flight and had made some good ground on the young dog.never the less the pup took chase .ive never seen the pup run flat out yet but on this occasion he did and was just behind within seconds.the rabbit managed to make good its escape though and dove straight into a big patch of reeds.i felt sorry for the pup as he done his best ,but he is still young and still on his lurning curve.well we headed back to the van to get the ferrets and start working the large warrens on the back of the house.we started on a small 5 hole sett just beside the van first as the pup had been going mad when we first got out of the van marking it.so the nets were put on and the ferret entered.we waited a short while and the ferret re appeared.so he was took out and i let the dog have another sniff at the sett.he was still telling me that there was a rabbit home.so the hob was re entered and the wait was on.the ferret must have decided to get its arse into gear and shifted the rabbit,so number one in the bag.the ferret stayed down after the rabbit bolted,so out came the locator box and i got a fix at a foot.i dug to the ferret but there was no sign.after sticking my hand in i found there was a stop end and the ferret must have managed to shift the rabbit..the ferret re appeared a short while after without result.we then headed of to the big warrens in the back yard of the property.we got to the first large sett next to one of the woods on our permission.we decided not to net all of the holes and let the pup have another run.we entered the hob ferret again and waited...and waited then a rabbit finally bolted out of a hole which had no net on and on the wrong side of the fence so the dog stood no chance of getting.then the wait was on again.we got the locator box out and done a sweep of the sett.we found the ferret at 3 foot.i decided to dig to it as it hadnt moved for a good while.after digging to it ,he was behind a fence post.the ferret stuck his head out and turned around and went about his buisness.it wasnt long before the second rabbit bolted in a fashion.another not to hit a net and it was away up an embankment.bouncer gave c hase but couldnt catch it.after having a quick chat with john i soon realised why.bouncer had been nicking dog food out of his sack and was the size of a hippo .we managet to get another rabbit to bolt a while after.this one came out of my side of the fence and the chase was on.toby was on the rabbit as quick as a flash and i thought he had it,but as he struck he missed .the rabbit went under his body and away through a gap in the fence.so by this time i was well sick.it seemed nothing was going right forr the young dog.we got the ferret back out and moved further along to the really big sett.we entered the hob ferret again.and he was away for absoulutley ages.we knew the rabbits were just giving the ferret the run around so,we a jill that ive got.she is a 2 season sandy that has done very little.once entered she wasnt working that well.she was just backward and forward in and out of the holes.i told john that if this ferret encounters a rabbit underground it will chase it about until it catches it.on this last sett there is a gate right next to it so we decided to leave this open for the young dog to be able to work both sides of the fence.anyway,john was looking about at some of the holes when a rabbit bolted.toby took chase once again but this rabbit also evaided capture by diving straigbt into the sett,so now i was well sick for the dog.the jill was still keep re appearing,then she went to ground.john was standing next to a couple of holes when he heard banging underground .this went on for some time and then john seen a flash.after moving a bit of grass there was a sneaky bolt hole and the rabbit was stuck fast,i went over and helped john to open the hole up so we could gain entry and extract the rabbit.after a short struggle we managed to get the rabbit out and the jill ferret was firmly attached to it we waited a it longer for the hob ,so we decided to have another sweep with the locator.we found him at 3 foot.and he wasnt moving again.i got to work digging him out again.after breaking through there was a number of tubes which didnt make the job any easier.i just kept checking and double checking but nothing.i had another sweep with the box and the ferret was finally on the move.it took him a while to re surface but when he did i took him straight out of the sett and boxed him up.we decided to call it a day with the ferrets after that as the rabbits were just taking the mick out of them.and being totally honest we didnt have enough ferrets with us for the job in hand.we got all the kit loaded back into the van and decided to do a bit of shooting with the air guns for a few hours til it came in dusk as we were going do do a spot of lamping.we got a few rabbits with the guns.just to get the bag numbers up a bit.as we were driving along the top roads past our other permissions we seen a roe deer which was a pleasant sight as the sun was going down.we also seen a couple of hares in some neighbouring fields..there was a common buzzard flying over head looking for an easy meal,i wa sthinking to myself its just nice to be up here without the hassles of everyday life .as the sun started to drop we decided to get back onto the fields we had ferreted earlier with the pup and the lamp.we managed to get a couple of decent runs for the young dog but he still never managet to connect with anything.but his commitment to the chase is second to none.once he hones his skills and has a bit more age on his side i think he will be a very good hunting companion and a better pot filler.after lamping the fields we went back to the van to put the dog away and go and do a bit more shooting.me and john opened the van doors and it smelt as though someone had dumped a sack full of rabbit guts in the front, "bouncer " was letting the rest of his stolen dinner out :sick: to say it stunk was an understatement we continued on shooting til about midnight and then decided to call it a night.we managed a total bag of ten rabbits.we had an enjoyable day with a good few laughs along the way and im thoruoghly looking forward to our next expedition.

 

all the best

col

 

toby having a look

 

 

bouncer having a rest in the heather

 

some pictures of the big warren

 

the sandy jill reluctant to let go of her prize

 

 

toby with the first rabbit

 

 

Edited August 25, 2009 by col g

[John-B 4]

we also blagged a few mixies, once we get the ferrets properly sorted we will be in for some half decent bags, if we wanted to yesterday we could of got a lot lot more but it's more of a learning curve for the dog at the moment which will come into it's own when the hard weather hits us.

 

Does anyone know how we can ferret the large set in the pictures, you cant miss it haha

 

Also can anyone tell us what is small(ish) and has white eyes with a white lamp I have certainly never seen it before and couldn't get a proper look at it through the scope.

 

anyway here is a few randoms from yesterday.

 

[col g 0]

we also blagged a few mixies, once we get the ferrets properly sorted we will be in for some half decent bags, if we wanted to yesterday we could of got a lot lot more but it's more of a learning curve for the dog at the moment which will come into it's own when the hard weather hits us.

 

Does anyone know how we can ferret the large set in the pictures, you cant miss it haha

 

Also can anyone tell us what is small(ish) and has white eyes with a white lamp I have certainly never seen it before and couldn't get a proper look at it through the scope.

 

anyway here is a few randoms from yesterday.

 

 

i forgot about that white eyed thing we lamped.its still got me beat what it was.i honestly thought it was a stray ferret or a stoat

Edited August 25, 2009 by col g

[John-B 4]

and i still think it was a hedgehog.

[ferretville 69]

Welldone lads on your first outing. Get some longnets around it much easier on the big setts atb FV .

[stealthy1 3,964]

Good work lads ,some really nice land there, if I were you I'd stick two ferrets down at a time, maybe more if it needs it, and maybe a longnet would be a good addition to your armoury, plenty for your dog to go at Col

[col g 0]

Good work lads ,some really nice land there, if I were you I'd stick two ferrets down at a time, maybe more if it needs it, and maybe a longnet would be a good addition to your armoury, plenty for your dog to go at Col

 

there is plenty about mate.the dog is only 8 month old so he is still young and has got a lot to learn.i will give him credit,he never stopped working,he marked setts really well ,he was hunting up well and chased every rabbit that was flushed or that we managed to bolt in the vecinity of the dog.he did manage a mixy rabbit but i dont count those.he has learned quite a bit off the old dog and im pleased he is making process by himself now.

[stealthy1 3,964]

Good work lads ,some really nice land there, if I were you I'd stick two ferrets down at a time, maybe more if it needs it, and maybe a longnet would be a good addition to your armoury, plenty for your dog to go at Col

 

there is plenty about mate.the dog is only 8 month old so he is still young and has got a lot to learn.i will give him credit,he never stopped working,he marked setts really well ,he was hunting up well and chased every rabbit that was flushed or that we managed to bolt in the vecinity of the dog.he did manage a mixy rabbit but i dont count those.he has learned quite a bit off the old dog and im pleased he is making process by himself now.

 

The mixy rabbit is a good convidence booster for a young dog, keeps them really keen, lets them know they can catch them

[John-B 4]

we are on the lookout for some longnets..