Popular Post jigsaw 11,805 Posted March 13, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 (edited) I was at work a few weeks ago when a phone call cheered me up no end ,my farmer friend on the other end telling me there were a small mob of goats about causing havoc in his top paddock.....I told him I was tied up till Saturday and would take a wander to see if i could help him out and take one for the table..I was booked in to work but made my excuses to the gaffer and took the day off..So Saturday at 6 a.m . the alarm clock goes off and in the darkness i get my ass out of bed and after a coffee and stash my gun and gear in the car away i go .. I arrive at the farm at just passed 7 and off up the muddy path,towards the base of the hill,it was evident the mob were after being about as foot prints and well worn paths could be seen heading into the hillside and up into the gorse,heather and rocks ..I climbed up the steep banks of the hill and reached the top of the first ridge ,I could see a long distance all round and nothing to excite me ,so on again and over a few more ridges and down towards the lower forestry line where i thought they might be at lower altitudes due to the freezing winds ,so i searched hard ,plenty of signs of them being about but no find ..i was walking close on two hours now and i decided i would swing upwards and try along the ridges that go a few miles out ..So up bit by bit i climbed ,..i suddenly noticed one thing.....no NOT the goats ...but the fact ive become slow and laboured when im walking compared to a year or two ago ,lol...I climbed over 2 ridges and then dropping down i noticed fresh foot prints ,and a few paths ,so i started to refocus , i walked along a rock face and then reached another ridge and climbed up and there before me sat roughly 20 goats ,I counted 6 big billys ,8 she goats and a half dozen fair sized kids ..At last ,they were over 100 yards away and in an awkward position,my view of some of them being hindered by gorse bushes , so i crawled backwards and made my way down towards them ,being hidden by the ridge top..so after 30 or 40 yards i crept up to pop my head over the top and the situation was perfect ,they were directly across from me ,so i got in position,set the gun in a steady comfortable position and studied the herd ,i decided to take a kid for the table ,and also would be easier to carry back ..I picked a grey and white youngster as it was standing broadside to me ,and took the safety off the gun,took a deep breath and pulled,,the boom erupted,and the mob lifted and stood and milled about ,not sure what had just happened ,or where the sound came from. I kept still and surveyed their actions ,then another kid ran to the right and presented me with a perfect shot again ,so I took it and decided thats my quota for the day,,and the thoughts of lugging of anything else was not appealing to me as i was a long way from the farm...Just as i was about to rise from my hidden spot ,there was a movement to my left and when i looked there was a fine sika stag making good its escape ,He ran behind a rock and disappeared ,I waited for another short while as I knew he never saw me , then as I watched I saw the top of his head appear on the skyline ,i still waited ,and he took another step and up popped around 6 inches of his neck ,and instinctively I rose the gun ,got the cross hairs on his head and brought it down slowly ,and pulled the trigger,in that split second I wasnt sure if i had scored or had pulled the shot and missed ,so i arose from my spot and walked over to the ridge and there he was ,a fine big stag ,AND THEN IT STRUCK ME .... how the firk was I going to haul 2 goats , a deer and the gun all the way back ...a bit late for rational thinking now JIGSAW baby... so down to work,cleaned all the animals ,and then started hauling ,the plan was to pull the deer first a few hundred yards ,then go back for the goats ,bring them to the deer ,then repeat several times ....AND I MEAN SEVERAL TIMES ... it took the best part of 2 hrs to get them down close enough to the fields ,and rang the farmer ,who duly came with the tractor and bucket and took them the final distance to the yard where my car was waiting ..I walked back along the path i had started from almost 6 hrs earlier with a contented/exhausted feeling ..my legs were like jelly,my arms ached but my smile was broad ,lol..after a chat i was invited in for a coffee and home made brown bread and i duly accepted ,a well appreciated payment for my efforts The sad side to this saga is the goats are all but gone ,what used to be a huge mob of animals is now reduced to the mere few i saw that day,im hoping to show my face there and observe the bunch that has brought me immense enjoyment and pleasure and not forgetting table meat and dog food for the last few years ..in the last few days i butchered and placed the taken in the freezer and a supply of venison and goat meat is secured for the coming weeks I hope they reestablish their numbers and I get to control and not over do the culling to an extreme ..,it was my first time in months i had the opportunity to hunt them again and its true to say i missed them,I hope it wont be long more before we meet again,but next time with a camera instead of the gun Edited March 14, 2019 by jigsaw 24 10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jigsaw 11,805 Posted March 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 (edited) Edited March 14, 2019 by jigsaw 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Night Walker 591 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Nice write up mate, sounds like a cracking day, much better than work. Hopefully the herd will grow again for you 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wilbur foxhound 480 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Well done,p.s.watch you don’t get all the shit that woman got for shooting a goat,lol 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
j j m 6,470 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 very nice bud Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jigsaw 11,805 Posted March 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 6 minutes ago, W. Katchum said: Sounds like hard work that any news on this litter yet pal? WK im just waiting for a bitch to break ,then im on it ,i should have added ,i was lost last week without a dog ,i thought of Taz and what she'd be doing and how she would have alerted me to the mob long before i saw them ,i could do with another like her ,so i want one wayyyyy more than you lol,so i look forward to hopefully producing a litter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jigsaw 11,805 Posted March 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Astanley 11,458 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Great write up jiggy . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jigsaw 11,805 Posted March 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Theres one WK....wicked and bred proper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jigsaw 11,805 Posted March 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Very happy with that lad 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jigsaw 11,805 Posted March 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 1 minute ago, W. Katchum said: If litter turns out mate I’ll be over to see em in flesh if that okay? be a trek like but I’d like to see em an that no hassle ,im breeding for myself ,if you fancy one great,if you dont no bother ,be nice to meet and have a chat anyway Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lenmcharristar 9,092 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Good day out jigsaw, always liked reading about your days on the goats, something a bit different and a nice change 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NEWKID 25,874 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Great read Jigsaw, really enjoyed that mate.. Cheers 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rabid 1,936 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 Great read, I enjoyed that, some nice grub in freezer and a happier farmer, can’t be bad. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dinosaurs 2,002 Posted March 13, 2019 Report Share Posted March 13, 2019 (edited) Very good write up bud enjoyed reading it. . Good luck with future litter. Atb Edited March 14, 2019 by Dinosaurs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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