I just got back from an afternoon recon of the new hunting ground.
I started with a spot of lunch and then opened the shotgun case and reached for the Rottweil and I was just starting to remove it when I glanced at my Grandpa’s old gun snuggled underneath it. I realised that the last time that I used it was back in November last year, when I took it pig shooting in QLD and I thought that it might be nice to warm it’s barrels once again.

I loaded up the car and headed off when I arrived about 1 minute later, and had only travelled about 200m down the track when I saw a big fox off to my right make it’s way up the hill and through the neighbougrs front yard, that’s when I first got the feeling it might be good afternoon.

I parked just across the river and went for a walk along the tracks with the GPS just to get to know the place and of course look for any surrounding houses and other areas of interest. I am was surprised just how big this place seems for 800ac, as it is all very folded country with lots of creeks and washaways it just seemed to go on.

I saw about 15 or 20 rabbits as I walked around and hundreds of Roo’s, I also saw some fresh sign of Goats and as there are lots of little 10-20ac goat farms in the area with frequent escapees and as the neighbour has a small mob of wild ones living on his block, I’m not at all surprised.

When I was on my way back to the car I saw another big fox run up a hill 100m in front of me it then stoped, sat down and had a good look at me, I wish now that I had remembered to bring the whistle.

I decided by this that I had seen enough and as it was getting quite cold not to mention late I decided that I would shoot a couple of Rabbits for dinner and head home (all 600m up the road)

I was just crossing a wash heading to a patch of blackberries that had some bunnies sitting around it when my dog flushed a Hare from the wash just 20m in front of me, it ran away from her and strait at me only to be greeted with a boom and 1o/z of N/o 7 ½ shot. He cart wheeled with the first barrel and was stone dead, I called my dog away from it and over to my side when another Hare took off 15-20m to my right, I swung the gun up and fired off the other barrel and sent it cart wheeling just like it’s mate.

I picked them up and was quite impressed by both their weight and with getting two Hares from two shots with my Pop’s old Blunderbuss (55yrs old and still going strong)
I got home 5 minutes or so later I got out my camera and took a few photos, dressed the Hares and left them to hang while I cleaned the mincing machine and then got to work making some mince.