Self imposed "bag limits"

[AndyMc59]

My eldest and I spent an hour lamping the other night down at the local shoot . Conditions were perfect (very dark , breezy with rain in the air) . However , after a relatively short and succesful period of time ,I decided to call a halt . Reason being that the conditions were far more in our favour than the quarries . Basically , the evening had not produced the normal challenge of long stalks targeting individual targets . Several rabbits were duly prepared for the local butcher ,and I returned home feeling strangely deflated at our "quick" success . Do any fellow shooters ever consider imposing bag limits upon their own shoots ?
Some of the land I shoot in Shropshire has serious pest problems with the local rabbit population happily munching their way through several thousand pounds worth of valuable crops . Farmers are obviously delighted at the sight of long rows of destroyed vermin in this case , and ,to a certain extent , this can justify the "culling" rather than "sporting" activity needed to make a significant impact.
Am I alone in considering a 20 minute possibly unsuccesful stalk as preferable to "easy" lamping sessions ? I think that I am now trying to justify the culling of vermin to myself . Maybe it is my age . Maybe I am starting to enjoy purely the participation of the hunt far more than I used to .
I think what I am trying to say is does anyone else ever consider reducing the numbers of quarry actually taken ? I have to admit to watching and observing quarry species far more than I used to . To the extent that I will only take the shot if it definetly warrants the end result . I think I am experiencing what could be best described as a "crisis of concience" . I am hoping that some of you will confirm that I am not going round the twist .

Andy .

[Gary C]

Happens to us all.

I limit my bag depending on the quarry numbers, also vary the hunting methods.

[redcatfishjack]

As long as the owner of my shoot see's me taking away a reasonable amount to justify me keeping my permission i agree with your thinking. "Shooting gallery" kills get boring for me, hunting a chosen individual is much more rewarding, even when they get away!
The best (most productive) warren on my shoot was recently visited by a couple of young hawks while i was sniping it. Watching their antics, hopping to different holes and looking in as if to say "What's going on in here then?" was just so comical it made the day, I watched them for about an hour before moving on...
You don't have to fire off 20 rounds, as long as you appreciate being "out there"

[fanjules]

And if you bag everything in one night you may have to goto the trouble of finding another venue all over again!

[Dave Willy]

I recently stalked up to a warren and didn't think there was anything out untill I saw some movement through a patch of nettles. I was within 2 - 3 metres of a feeding rabbit.
I could have shot it and would have hit it (with the stock If I had really wanted!)
I didn't shoot it as there was no point, the adrenaline was gone and the stalk was over, I didn't want any rabbit for tea and it definitely wasn't a challenging shot.
Instead I stood there watching it feed for over 15 minutes before thinking, "damn this rabbit is stupid" and shouting at it.

I look forward to meeting him again, preferably under more sporting circumstances.

Dave

[wrs_fat_sober]

On most of the shoots I have the critters are doing serious damage so it is a cull and numbers are the key. But I know what you mean about being out there and sometimes enjoying the stalk more than the kill..if I may digress for a mo...

I was stalking a rabbit across my mates field with a dense wood as my cover behind me and on my left.I was well concealed but he managed to stay out of range..as I moved ten so would he.

After 10 mins or so of this I heard a rustling in the trees...I moved on again...again the rustle. Thinking it was a tree rat or similar looked round to discover a ****** great Owl about 10 yards behind me watching me, and the bunny. It was a fantatic sight and it was quite a moment, we just sat and stared at each other. I set off stalking the bunny again...so did the owl keeping behind me, all of us moving about 10-20 yards at a time in some sort of bizare hunting relay.

This continued for about 20-30 mins until I had the opurtunity for a shot, the bunny head down in a hollow as I came cautiously over the ridge, I knelt for the shot brought the gun up just as the owl (sensing the kill?) swooped in and snatched it away, just before I shot.

I sat there for some time, then came home, having shot nothing but having had the greatest hunting experince of my life one which I doubt will ever be beaten.

It aint all about the killing

(as a footnote I dont know what sort of owl it was- big and knid of browny!!!)

[MacOne]

I think what you are also questioning is why you are shooting? If you are there as a pest control matter and as said earlier the permission is linked to pest control perhaps it is different. There will come a day where you go home with nothing and will need to remind the land owner of the "big catch".

If your out for sport, which by the sounds of it you are, what is the point in a massacre? Would anyone be intrested in watching Mike Tyson fight Willy Carson? Air gunning is a sport we all obviously enjoy. The stalking is a big part of that. The challenge is a big part of the adrenalin. Lose the challenge..lose the enjoyment. Otherwise we might find people in our sport who securely masking tape bunnies to fence posts and back off thirty yards.

Its all well and good being a "hunter gatherer..ug!" but kind of losses its appeal when you get home and the missus says "What the F*** am I suppose to do with all that!"

[engineer]

it seems to me you are missing the point .as i understand it the only reason to kill anything is if there is a vermin problem the fact that we enjoy the hunt to satisfy the end result i.e. no vermin on that particuilar shoot seems to me to suggest that the maximum kill rate is the best option, it certainly is on my shoots if i suggested to the land owner that i would only be shooting a certain number someone else would soon have the job ,and i say again we only have the right to hunt vermin if a problem exists the sport is secondary hence companies that do this kind of work, my opinion you understand.

engineer

[redcatfishjack]

Willie Carson V Mike Tyson Might be a good match now (but don't tell him i said so)

[AndyMc59]

Thanks for your comments chaps . I did enjoy the entry regarding a "close encounter" with what sounds like a Tawny or possibly an Eagle Owl ? As one of you has intimated ,what is the point of us being there in the first place if we dont do our job and cull everything within range ? My point is that , being mindfull of this fact and reducing quarry numbers to the extent that they appear ,to the landowner , to be less of a problem , is much more likely to reduce in a managed , rather than totally eradicated pest population .I would argue that this approach is probably the one adopted by most of us when faced with this scenario . As described previously , I do occasionally have to take part in the , if absolutely necessary ,total destruction of pest species .I have to admit that I take no "pleasure" in that approach however . Numbers ceased to matter to me many moons ago now .I have tried to promote this approach with my eldest (now 21) son ,and am glad to report that his approach to vermin control mirrors my own .
As far as I am concerned , I would now prefer to consider myself as a pest "manager" rather than an "eradicator". Take care and shoot stright , Andy .

[Dave Willy]

Take care and shoot stright

I can't shoot straight let alone stright!

[RochdaleLad]

Lets not talk about strights please, I am still having the nightmares

[dbarnard2]

i shoot on a now so called....coca cola championship....0ld div 2 to me..but that anuva story...teams training ground.... as long as they see me regulary taking what they see as a regular amount of rabbits each month they are happy with me....i normally just take 4 rabbits a session.be it in first ten minutes or over a couple of hours........this keeps them happy and allows me to shoot 12 months of the year on this site..i call it pest management myself........

[hungryrob]

I perform both pest control (Around 7000 rabbits so far this year). I also stalk (rabbits before anybody makes stupid comments ).

Pest control I carry out from a vehicle with a semi auto .22 rifle at night.

2 Years ago I bought my first airgun in 20 years and went out 'stalking' - I now have an FAC Rapid 7 and I'm happier shooting for the pot with this than blasting away with the machine gun.

Limiting yourself to a few rabbits in an area overrun with them will end your shooting there.

Pest control keeps us in buisness, stalking provides the real adventure.

[AirgunStan]

I look at it this way: I have been granted the privilege of being on some land for a purpose, which is to hit vermin and stop crop loss. I therefore try to do my best on each session.
However, sometimes I come away with nothing, other times I do well. On the trips that I do badly I've enjoyed my being there - one sometimes sees things in nature which others are not privvy to.
But I remain focussed as to why I'm out there. The day that I start to questioning whether I should or should not cull rabitts for example is perhaps the day that I should stop hunting.

I also think that if you are not making an effort then there will always be someone else ready to fill your shoes - as the saying goes.



Stan.