Watching And Counting The Rabbits.- Basic Fieldcraft.

[mark williams 7,549]

Took Kaiser, my German short haired pointer and binoculars to a long embankment of bramble, bushes and trees on one of my permissions to see how the rabbit numbers are lately.

Two years ago and before, you would be lucky to see one, this evening i spotted a good 10 or 11 youngsters that were very nervous of me at a good 400 yds but stayed in their places nibbling the grass but no adults were in the open.

So i sat down to watch all the habits through my bin`s and take note for a natural hide placement and build for a good hour.

I`m tempted to build the natural hide sooner rather than later as wood pigeons, magpies and crows land in the rabbit spots frequently in mid day hours but not in the evening hours.So i can control the winged vermin easily.

The spot where i sat is under a massive old oak tree with a very dense hedgerow and bramble frontage just 25 yds from the old oak tree.

At the foot of this oak is a large wheat field with no other sitty trees anywhere near - the dense hedges will have another natural hide built into them too as my guess is that the oak will be alive with woodies soon.

Anyways back to the rabbits - i`ll leave them to breed a little more until next year but might just take one for the Christmas pot.

 

On very nervous rabbits i always shoot heavily camo`d and "always prone" under dense cover with my 100 kt on a bipod and camo`d - lethal.

 

atb

Edited May 24, 2015 by mark williams

[treecreeper 1,136]

Seen tonnes of woodys about today while doing some fencing for me grandad, I have a sitty tree at the bottom of my garden and the woodies nesting in the hawthorn next to it.they won't ever drop in the garden though. Going to dust my 100 off and bat some rats in abit I think.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Just hope those drummers make it through, me and Seeker have a permission quite local, that used to be crawling with them, then numbers dropped drastically, last year around this time, similar to yours, lots of drummers around, I was thinking good leave them alone and let them breed, a few weeks later gone I know its not shooting as we are the sole permission holders, there are a few adults around this year but so far not seen a young un, so fingers crossed, but I have another farm, well 3 actually in Derbyshire that is hopping with them, but must say my heart is in my mouth everytime I visit, hoping the dreaded myxy does not strike.

[mark williams 7,549]

Hi Charlie, not mixy but poachers and lurchers around here but i do my best to protect.

[random 659]

With planning and preparation like this you deserve good results,I would like to see pics of your set up once its done,good luck with this,oh and which calibre is getting an outing?

[mark williams 7,549]

.177 is my calibre mate as i am a "reformed" .22 air gunner of some 45 years.

I find .177 calibre an utterly lethal round on small vermin.The accuracy is incredible.

 

atb

[treecreeper 1,136]

.177 is my calibre mate as i am a "reformed" .22 air gunner of some 45 years.

I find .177 calibre an utterly lethal round on small vermin.The accuracy is incredible.

 

atb

I was exactly the same, all id ever known was .22 springers and used to rip pcp shooters, then i had a go with a .177 100 and had to concede its a deadly tool.

off out with mine now

[mark williams 7,549]

Looked into this field again tonight and watched a large buzzard leave the area of the oak tree. On a path under this oak was a small kit mostly eaten - ah well, nature .

[j j m 6,483]

Plenty of woodys on the golf course

[Foz_1983 13]

I've got woodies and Crow on my golf course, they keep trying to pinch the balls?

[mark williams 7,549]

Must be really fecking hungry eh ?

[Foz_1983 13]

The owner showed me some CCTV footage of the 18th hole when a guy was walking up to play for birdie a crow came down and tried to pick the ball up, the funny thing was in the corner of the screen you see the guy kicking the Sh*t out of his golf bag ?

[mark williams 7,549]

I picked up on something really useful tonight with these rabbits.

I sat with my GSP some 400 yds + away and watched the shade from the sun slowly glide across the field behind the sunshine as the sun was going down.I noticed the rabbits were moving with the warm sun and staying out of the shade, continuing into a large corner of the field that is lined with dense hedge rows and bramble.

So its a no brainer - hide to be cut,trimmed into shape low down in the dense hedges in this corner and when numbers dictate i will settle prone in this spot camo`d up on a still sunny evening shooting off a bipod with the HW 100 kt.

Edited May 29, 2015 by mark williams

[villaman 9,980]

And I thought it was always over cast up in the north west , un like sunny , sunny Bournemouth

[Newlife2 55]

I've got woodies and Crow on my golf course, they keep trying to pinch the balls

I do believe they think the balls are eggs..