Richard Saunders – Hunting Consultant
Whilst the country is on lock down, opportunities to get out in the field have been put on hold. Daystate hunting consultant Richard Saunders has been going back through his shooting diary and recalling some memorable recent trips. We thought we’d share a few with you, and by all means feel free to tell us about your hunting trips too.
I spent this evening after rabbits on a permission in the village only a few minutes down the lane. While I was lying in the grass, waiting in ambush, it occurred to me that I was being like one of those anteaters you see on the telly.
I should explain.
Most of my time shooting is spent controlling pests, mainly rabbits, pigeons, squirrels and rats. Apart from the rats, which go into the farm incinerator, everything else gets eaten – either by me, my family and friends or by the inmates at my local bird of prey centre.
On just about all of my permissions the pests are a nuisance because they undermine fences and banks with their digging, eat crops and grass meant for livestock and dig holes in fields full of expensive bloodstock. As a result, the instruction from my landowners is quite simple and amounts to ‘get rid of all of them’. Of course they understand that’s unlikely, but we both know what they’re driving at.
My permission in the village is a little different. It’s a large field – around 12 acres. Rabbits live mainly in some woods on one side and in a large warren on a small hill which I’ve christened ‘the grassy knoll’. The farmer keeps cattle and sheep in the field, but only a few and in truth the rabbits aren’t really a nuisance; they don’t dig near the fences and there’s enough grass to go around.
The farmer, Phil, is an old school friend. He and I shot on the field when we were kids and his dad was the farmer. Phil joins me every now and then for old times sake, but he’s more than happy for me to shoot whenever I want to.
So this evening, with the clocks going forward an hour still a novelty, I thought I’d take advantage of a nice warm evening and spend an hour or two in the field. I got out of the truck by the gate at exactly 7.00pm, assuming the church clock was right, and scanned the field through my binoculars.
As is often the case, I could see half a dozen rabbits by the grassy knoll and a few further down by the woods. Although very faint, the southerly breeze wouldn’t be an issue. Despite the slight southerly breeze blowing in my face, I knew from past experience that stalking into range would be nigh on impossible.
I wasn’t bothered though. I’d had an early start and a full day at work so the thought of lying down on the lush grass to ambush the rabbits was what I was really looking forward to. And if a rabbit or two popped out then all the better.
Returning to the back of the truck, I took my .22 calibre Daystate Wolverine R out of the bag, loaded the 10-shot magazine and put the safety catch on. I propped it against the fence as I climbed the gate and once safely the other side, put the rifle to my shoulder to check on the rabbits again.
I’d left my binoculars in the truck as they get on the way when laying on the ground. Fortunately the view through the MTC King Cobra 6-24×50 I have on the Wolverine R is easily capable of spotting bunnies at hundreds of yards. Through it I was able to see that, as was usually the case, they had disappeared.
I wasn’t bothered though. I’d had an early start and a full day at work so the thought of lying down on the lush grass to ambush the rabbits was what I was really looking forward to. And if a rabbit or two popped out then all the better.
Returning to the back of the truck, I took my .22 calibre Daystate Wolverine R out of the bag, loaded the 10-shot magazine and put the safety catch on. I propped it against the fence as I climbed the gate and once safely the other side, put the rifle to my shoulder to check on the rabbits again.
I’d left my binoculars in the truck as they get on the way when laying on the ground. Fortunately the view through the MTC King Cobra 6-24×50 I have on the Wolverine R is easily capable of spotting bunnies at hundreds of yards. Through it I was able to see that, as was usually the case, they had disappeared.
I wasn’t bothered though; I’d rather they hopped into their holes when I’m still a couple of hundred yards away just to be safe than spook them from 50 yards and have them bolt underground for the rest of the day.
I took my time to creep around the edge of the field towards the grassy knoll, heading for a favourite ambushing spot. Located at the top of a slight rise in the ground, it’s lovely and comfortable and allows me to tuck into the hedgerow and shoot parallel to it. What’s more, the rabbits usually appear anywhere from 20 to 35 yards away.
The half hour bell rang out on the church clock – I could’ve sworn I’d only arrived ten minutes ago – as I reached my spot and sank down into the soft grass, my Wolverine R on its bipod in front of me.
I looked through the King Cobra again, tweaked the magnification down to a more than adequate 10x given the range I expected shots to present themselves, and adjusted the parallax.
Gradually things got back to normal following my intrusion. The birds started flitting about and the insects seemed to suddenly multiply in the air. I was watching a bug make its way laboriously through the grass a few feet in front of me when I glanced up and saw that a rabbit had appeared from the hedgerow. It sat perfectly still 30 yards away looking out into the field and presenting me with a perfect profile of the right side of its head.
I’m not sure if it sensed my presence, but clearly it wasn’t fully relaxed and looked like it would bolt at any second. I resisted the urge to move and give the rabbit the tiny bit of encouragement it needed to disappear.
Eventually it put its head down to nibble at the grass so I risked moving the rifle into position. As I did so, the rabbit snatched its head up again, instantly alert. It was too late though, I had him in my scope. He looked enormous as I placed the reticle behind his ear. Before I knew it, the pellet was on its way and the rabbit laid on its side, legs fully extended and toes splaying.
Satisfied the rabbit was very dead, I left it where is laid and cycled another pellet with the Wolverine R’s side lever.
One was good, but I needed two for dinner the next day. And that’s where the whole anteater thing comes in.
Unlike all my other permissions where pest control is the primary objective, I only ever shoot the village field to harvest rabbits for the table. As a result, I never take more than two, despite the many opportunities over the years to shoot many more in a session.
And that made me think I was being like an anteater that takes enough termites from each nest to feed itself but leaves plenty to come back to time and again.
Funny how your mind wanders when you’re lying on the grass on a nice spring evening isn’t it?
Richard Saunders – Hunting Consultant