Back up at the shoot

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

25 minutes ago, foxdropper said:

See your a quad stick convert now mate .Won’t be long before your up to speed with thermal and Nv

Love the quads mate but will never convert to thermal and nv (unless I get it free ) .Fox numbers just dont justify it . Remember I was using mates thermal and nv before you had it and have decided it's not for me. I still prefer to see those ruby eyes coming in but that's just me. 

[foxdropper 17,092]

They shine brighter with IR mate

[BenBhoy 4,706]

2 hours ago, FOXHUNTER said:

 I then decided to have a look out the back of the farm and low and behold spotted a doe up on sticks ,neck shot 100yds , that's better

What sticks you got mate, rate them?

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

8 minutes ago, BenBhoy said:

What sticks you got mate, rate them?

Mjoelner sticks from bestfoxcall £100 ....worth the money

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

Stalking again this afternoon on my mates ground. On our way to our chosen spot I glassed a roe peering over the top of a high cover crop , head shot only which my mate performed admirably,  no pic as a bit messy. We then headed for the other end of the ground where I spotted 2 roe , a lot of open ground between us which meant for a challenging stalk which involved a nice crawl.  The 2 roe then decided to lie down . The distance was about 150 yds but my mate dropped the 1st one with a shot through the atlas joint , straight over. The 2nd doe stood up and continued to check out its fallen comrade until another round hit home , this time the doe ran about 50 yds before expiring. I had presumed the 2 would be a doe and follower but turned out it was 2 mature does So that was 3 grassed and time for home. A great afternoon

[foxdropper 17,092]

Nice one Mark .On the board myself with a doe this afternoon from a high seat .

[dextron 1]

On 16/05/2020 at 10:48, FOXHUNTER said:

Had to make a start on the bucks too .

 

 

nice buck

[shovel leaner 7,648]

This year what with lockdown I’ve not been too busy on the shoot . Feed in the mornings and keep the hoppers topped up ...... that’s it !! Normally my diary is full of dates to go loading. But that’s all stopped too . So I’ve been finding little jobs to do and now I’ve done them . I’ve even jet washed the minolas , something I don’t normally do till after the season finishes. If I go home the Mrs will find me something DIY based to do , F that . So I’m sitting in a high seat , maybe I will see something, maybe I won’t . I don’t care , the phone is on silent, I’ve got a flask , I’m enjoying the peace and tranquillity, and birdsong. 
        I’m hoping Charlie will have a mid afternoon stroll down this ride .

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

1 hour ago, shovel leaner said:

        I’m hoping Charlie will have a mid afternoon stroll down this ride .

Or a hungry fallow You are lucky having a job like that

[shovel leaner 7,648]

2 minutes ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Or a hungry fallow You are lucky having a job like that

I’m not after fallow at the moment . The guy who takes them isn’t here till Saturday. So later in the week I will drop a couple. I’ve seen a couple of roe and the cold is setting in . I’ll give it another 10 minutes.

[ianm 2,594]

1 hour ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Or a hungry fallow You are lucky having a job like that

I used to think that about keepering jobs until i got involved helping a keeper friend out. What i learned was it was hard work, relatively poorly paid, little if any job security and stressful into the bargain.

About a year after i started helping him he asked if i had never fancied it as a career myself. My answer was nobody in this country is rich enough to pay me to do it. I fixed broken aircraft for a living and i am glad i did.  

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

You have to remember that it's more of a lifestyle than a job , keepers dont do it for the money but love of the countryside. Wish I had done it when I left school . Imagine basically being your own boss outdoors sharing it with our beautiful flora and fauna , beats working in an office I know.

[ianm 2,594]

1 hour ago, FOXHUNTER said:

You have to remember that it's more of a lifestyle than a job , keepers dont do it for the money but love of the countryside. Wish I had done it when I left school . Imagine basically being your own boss outdoors sharing it with our beautiful flora and fauna , beats working in an office I know.

The problem is you aren't your own boss. Especially when you work for a syndicate of ten, in effect you then have ten bosses that think they know more about running a shoot than the bloke paid to do so.

The only decent keepers jobs are the ones where you work for a family that are more interested in improving the countryside than what they actually shoot. Those jobs are few and far between. You also have the problem of where to live when you retire as most keepers jobs come with a tied property.  

[shovel leaner 7,648]

I work for a syndicate and never see them till shoot days . The land owner runs the shoot and is my boss . He leaves me alone , as long as the birds are there he’s happy . But I know that if they weren’t, I’d be on my bike . 
           I am self employed, and work for nine months keepering, then I go on a couple of holidays and do a bit of building work , until I start back in May . I would say that I do very well out of it financially . It pays me for nine months  ( including tip money) about what I would earn for a year on the trowel . But like my wife keeps reminding me , if you were paid by the hour , you’d be on less than minimum wage . I do put a lot of hours in , in the summer when I’ve got birds to wood , but at this time of year , not so many. There are a lot of shoots local to me and I know most of the keepers. I can’t tell you what they would be earning, because like Ian says some of the packages include housing and bills . But I know what a few get and I wouldn’t mind some of that . There does seem to be this idea that the job is poorly paid , but this is not my experience. I am a member of the NGO and attend area meetings , the car park is full of expensive trucks  , and the bar is full of fat , red faced old gits  in Schoffel gilets . There is also , the self employed keepers who rent the ground and rear , keeper and host the shooting themselves . This can be very profitable. 
             A head keeper on a good commercial shoot is making a very good living. A couple of keepers I know have brought properties as investments for their future . But it’s a hard road to become a head keeper on a good shoot . You will have had to put the time in as a underkeeper , then beat keeper . Having said that the ones I know seem to be doing ok and enjoy the job . The problem is once you have done this job , it’s very hard to see yourself doing anything else . 
 

[foxdropper 17,092]

They used to reckon Eddie never touched a wage packet all the time he was at CE .Bet you’ve heard same tale J .