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Couple of hours


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Well I decided to give it a couple of hours before it got too warm today. 

Up at 6, out the door by 645 and at the permission at 650. Can’t complain about that! Well the sun was just starting to make an appearance, so I opened the boot of the motor, put the collars on, loaded up and started to make my way to the far end of the perm. I got around 3/4 mile before it started raining. A quick look around for somewhere to half shelter, saw me jump in a little vee in the bushes, ferrets and bag in first, then the Longnets basket was slung on the floor to make a seat and keep my arse dry. I was soon cross legged like sitting in the school hall with my wax coat taking the brunt of it all. A quick slurp and two fags later, the rained eased off, so I continued on my way.

i stuck 90 yards of Longnet around a load of gorse, then put the ferrets in. This had done well last year, but the dozen or so holes didn’t look so well used this year. After about 10 minutes, a rabbit came bolting out, quickly dispatched and placed next to the game bag. After 5 mins, one ferret showed itself, soon followed by the other. With the nets back in the basket, it was time to move on.

I then came to a single hole that I hadn’t seen before with a few droppings and plenty of sand around the entrance. Purse net over the top and then a ferret, 1 minute later she’s showing her face again. Nothing home.

I then wander to another small patch of gorse with plenty of activity, Longnets round, in goes the ferrets, but 5 mins later they are out again.

I then tried a section of gorse that I cut through last year. The whole lot is around 100 yards by 30 wide, so I cut a path 25 yards from the south end last year, so I could give it a go. It’s really thick gorse, so I only put one ferret in, so I can keep a good eye out. Well down she went, a couple of minutes pass and one bolts. As soon as this is dispatched, I see the top line rattling, so run round and dispatch another. I pull the netting out of the gorse and straighten it up and walk back round to the gear and another is rolled up in the net! A further 5 mins passes before I see the top line rattling again, quickly run the the other side of the gorse and another is wrapped up. A few minutes of straightening the net as it’s tangled in the gorse. Bloody stuff! Well I don’t see any action for 10 mins, so a quick scan with the disco carrot and she’s 4ft below the longnet where I cut through. I hate digging here, as it’s pure dry sand, so I give her another 10 mins and nip back to the ferret box and give the other one a drink as it’s starting to warm up. Another look and she hasn’t moved. Well time for some spade work. I dig a fairly large hole to cope with the sand, and I dig to one side, so if it does start collapsing, I’m not disturbing the tunnel. Well I get down to 3.5ft, a quick check and she is roughly another foot down at a forward angle. Well I won’t be able to reach her, and with a risk of leaning too much and caving in, I then dig out a shoulder for me to lean in comfortably. I get down to 6 inches away and use the probe, it slides through with no force as it’s just damp sand. A few scrapes with the spade and I see a hole about an inch, soon her head is popped through, so I lean in, scrape a little sand out the way and she climbs out with furry gloves on. I lift her out but I can’t see any rabbit! I lean as far as I can and locate the tube with the probe, can’t feel anything! The tube runs towards me, so I push through the soft sand and can’t feel anything. I’m a bit pee’d off as there was no reward, but I’m relieved she’s out and safe in the soft sand. So I see if she will do her trick that she has done several times before. I put her back in the tube and tell her to get the rabbit, but there’s no interest this time. It may have been in the now collapsed tube below me??? Several times now, when I have had to make 6-7ft digs on my own, so the holes have to be huge, and can’t find the rabbit, I have put her back down and she ran up the tube and dragged it to the opening, but unfortunately not this time! 

Well the suns out and it’s getting hot, so I soon fill in the hole. The Longnets are back in the basket, rabbits on the game carrier, so I load myself up, hang the game carrier on the spade and sling it on my shoulder and trudge the 3/4 mile back to the car. 

Not a bad few hours and very enjoyable, everyone came home who I brought out, so not a bad one in the end!

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I got home and had a mug of tea and a couple of steak sandwiches. That was before I got stinky fingers removing the remnants of guts and skinning the rabbits! 

I couldn’t be without my Longnets, I use them all the time. They see sunlight more often than my purse nets. I mainly do hedgerows on paddocks etc, so they are ideal for that

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8 hours ago, beany01 said:

Cheers, I’ve been a bit idle with the air rifle lately, so I needed to put a few bunnies in the freezer as I’m getting low

Iv been the opposit, plenty of outings with air rifle but will be ferreting regularly starting from sunday, cant wait to get the ferrets out.

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14 hours ago, beany01 said:

I got home and had a mug of tea and a couple of steak sandwiches. That was before I got stinky fingers removing the remnants of guts and skinning the rabbits! 

I couldn’t be without my Longnets, I use them all the time. They see sunlight more often than my purse nets. I mainly do hedgerows on paddocks etc, so they are ideal for that

Same here, I wouldn't be without my longnets anymore, a bugger to carry sometimes but nothing escapes (well...most of the time!) 

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1 hour ago, Lamper121 said:

Same here, I wouldn't be without my longnets anymore, a bugger to carry sometimes but nothing escapes (well...most of the time!) 

Yeah, I went out this morning again for a few hours. I had one hit the long net and some how flipped and wriggled and got underneath it, but it was 6 in the bag. Its enough to carry the mile back to the motor with the longnets, bag, ferrets, spade and a wax jacket. 

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