Lamping the Night Away - April

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Friday April 8th

 

A hackney driver stopped me in the village today. "I met Jack, he's losing a lot of lambs, he's being cleaned out!". "Alrighty, I have his number I'll take a run up tonight". Dropped into Johns house later that evening for the tae. Mentioned it to him and we arranged a time to head up to Jacks.

 

Last time we shot here, four lambs had been taken. I can safely say they were the two worst nights I've ever been out shooting. Storm force winds, rain, hail, cold. But, we got two foxes. One shot over the river which was sleeping, well spotted John. The other, who was the killer, coming from the next valley over practically falling over his tongue drooling at the thought of a lamb dinner. None for either that night.

 

Tonight was lovely, light breeze, dark enough, and very mild. Best of all, no rain!

 

We were set up on a hillock inside one of the lambing fields. We'd been out of the van for all of ten minutes when John spotted a fox father up the shallow valley coming across some open bogland near an ESB pole. We hopped the fence and ran for "Bunker Hill", named as it has a disused little sand quarry where we sheltered in the bad nights. It also affords a very commanding view of a lot of the approaches from the other valley.

 

I picked the driest wet spot on the top of the hillock and found the fox in the scope. There was a fence between me and the red fella, but a bit of patience and he came right through it. Being just over two hundred yards I wanted him to stop pretty soon. We had a little problem in that he was very near another hillock which I imagine he was going to go behind and then down into the trees to circle around the lambing fields. I barked, yelped, baaaa'd, and shouted. Can't think not what he stopped for but he did for a second and I thought myself I snatched at the shot a bit.

 

Usually, when I fire we hear the Psssshhht! and then a thump! of the bullet hitting the fox. There had been no thump! this time.

 

"That's a miss" came the running commentary. I couldn't figure it, thought I'd snatched at the shot alright but I also thought I had him dead to rights with the crosshairs, but no thump! Immediately after the shot I did see something, I can't say for definite but it looked either like a fox being bowled over or then again it could have been a fox that had turned tail and took off. With the colour of the dark fox and the colour of the bogland it was very hard to say.

 

"Mmm, I'm going for a look anyway" I said. Marked the spot from our hillock and walked in a straight line to it, not often we're able to do that. John headed off up along the hillock to my left lamping away. When I got out a piece I slowed up and took my time looking between the fence and the base of the hillock. Then I saw him, my dark fox panned out right where I'd last seen him! Got a feeling more of relief than happiness. Older dog fox with both upper K9's gone, reckon he's our lamb killer for sure.

 

 

Wednesday 13th

 

Ah, when it rains it pours. All was well until John rang me. (Yet another) "John rang me, they're losing lambs, we'll have to go out tonight". So we organised that. Then Dad tells me he lost a lamb the night before. Then I get a call from a farmer we shot a fox for last week, another fox has arrived and is taking more lambs.

 

Had to tell him we couldn't make it there tonight, but we'd be there soon as we could. John's place isn't good for shooting, bit of a contradiction here but it's "bumpy level", meaning there's no decent hill or hillock to stand on to get an over view of the place, yet there are plenty of rat runs through the place that we couldn't really see. Add to that on one side is a gorse jungle, plus another side is almost as bad. I expected our fox to come in from one or the other as I'd shot near there previous years. John thought he'd come from the hill or the other neighbour, but that'd be too handy as there's reasonably clear views for those directions.

 

We got rained on - a lot. The wind got up, so it got cold. There for about an hour and a half and I was getting fed up. John went walkabout with the shotgun. He was gone about ten minutes when I spotted a bright flash of eyes next door in the gorse between a shed and a building site.

 

I didn't spot him again after that, then my phone rings. "Fox crossing the road, come down". Off I ran. Crossing the fence and passing the dog shed I spot the owner, John, "Howya" I said, hadn't time to chat, don't know the man to be honest lol. John (buddy) told me he rag him the next morning, "Like feckin baghdad around here last night with fellas running around with guns".

 

Crossed the road and into another place we have permision. Spotted the fox across a little cove where I always see them in this area. Settled down with the rifle and he started walking. Quick shout, squeeze, thump! Something around 160 or 180 yards.

 

 

Saturday 16th

 

I was just ready to start putting up my funneling fence into my pen for tomorrow. Rounding up the flock and putting them all in for a few small jobs. Then the phone rings

 

John, "You're not busy, are you?". "I suppose I'm not, what's up?", "We found that ones den couple of gardens over from you". "Sound, what ye need, bar, spade, mattock?....". "Have you the chainsaw?", "WTF? :confused: "

 

He'd rang me earlier that morning absolutely livid. "I was up the hill earlier checking on a ewe I thought might be ours. Twenty.... :mad: twenty yards in front of me, there's that vixen. No gun... She stood and looked at me, walked on ten yards, had a better look, went another few yards and looked for even longer. Oh my God!"

 

I grabbed the mattock and bar and headed cross country to where the den was. Then I found out why he'd asked for the chainsaw. Surrounded by tall furze was a massive rock which had been split into three huge pieces and a few not so small pieces. Our vixen had dug in around and other these boulders

 

"She'll be around somewhere barking at us when she spots us". "Ooh, rifle". John threw me the keys to his van and I flew home for the boomstick.

 

On the way back, through his Dads land I saw a greycrow circling and then it landed on a safe fence stake - just as I was passing a perfect shooting rock. Couldn't pass up the opportunity Psssshhht - POP! Got up to the den and got told off for shooting something which wasn't a fox :pac: Whatever.

 

I headed up to a rock with the rifle to watch in case the vixen came sniffing around, while the two lads kept plugging away at the den. Saw nothing after a while so I ventured back down for a look.

 

 

 

Result was three pups. No vixen to be seen so I'm off out now soon to keep a watch on the den.

 

 

As for those who reckon foxes don't take lambs, there might be some difficulty explaining away the fine blackface ewe lamb and the leg of another lamb in the den. We also found the back legs and one front foot of a young hare. And some mystery item described as

 

• A bit of a whale
  
• A piece of a cow
  
• Some old rubber
  
• A bit of a sheep
  

 

Smelled woeful whatever the hell it was :pac:

 

Walked from Johns house, crossed several dodgy fence topped stone walls. Earlier we had selected a notch in a rock on the top of a hillock overlooking the den and it's approaches. I was on my own as John and the lads were off out at a birthday dinner, my luck As soon as I got to the top of the hill I saw my fox down the field from the den. Rifle loaded, bipod down, steadied up, safety off, Pssshht - Thump! Job done, 165 yards and home!

 

[dafmla 1]

yet another brill post john i look forward to the next one keep up the good work john !

[jamie g 17]

great stuff john. busy time you had there.

[sibaldib 6]

Another wonderfully descriptive piece, John.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do these and give us a flavour of your area.

 

Cheers

 

Sib

[sounder 9]

great write up there john your getting a bit of sport

job well done

atb sounder