Air Arms Owners Club

I was out last Saturday morning at my perm in Perth & Kinross.

Very cold start, it was 1 degree at 0530 as I was driving up the M90, the sun was splitting the trees though. Promise of a beautiful day

Anyway, I got behind the gun at about ten to six and had eight good, healthy rabbits in the bag inside an hour.
One part of this permission covers another garden, who's owner also wants me to keep rabbits down there. It's a never ending task as they migrate in from three sides, but hey ho, it keeps me amused.
As I was spying out this second garden I saw it was fairly moving with life: So much so that it took on, for a little while, an almost surreal atmosphere.

There were at least four rabbits. There were five red squirrels. Yes, five! I have never seen more than two reds simultaneously in my puff.
There was a magnificent melanistic cock pheasant (one of those rare, fabulous blue green jobs)
Chaffinches, a bullfinch, coal tits, blackbirds, a thrush.

I was half expecting to see Mr Tumnus.

Anyway, the cock pheasant spotted me and bolted, so I quickly killed two of the rabbits, the second one did one of those super high back flips and landed back on the turf with a resounding thump.
That spooked just about everything, so I backed out the way I'd come in as quietly as possible, made my way back to the car and swapped my rifle for my Canon took it back to the scene and took these pics. Three of the reds had departed, no sign of the pheasant, but these quickly fell to my deadly aim...


Breakfast club first sitting....

Breakfast club second sitting

I felt truly blessed! I got to within about six metres by moving slowly and quietly

Looks like you had a great visit and with the bonus of the lovely reds, i was however a little worried when you said
"so I backed out the way I'd come in as quietly as possible, made my way back to the car and swapped my rifle for my Canon"
i had to read your post twice .
Great pics .
daz

superb mate, & bloody good photo`s too! saw my first (& only) at Lochgoilhead couple of years ago, great to know they`re on the up numbers wise.

This permission I see reds all the time. When I was being shown round it by the owner (two and a half years ago) she said that she'd seen greys in the formal woodland bit of her garden. (She hadn't seen a red for two/three years. We got a fleeting glimpse of one grey on that mornings visit.
Briony told me she wanted the greys GONE.

Well, word must have got out because since then I have not seen hide nor hair of greys!
If I do, I shall start live trapping and shooting them big style

Duncs

Beautiful pictures of these lovely creatures, we too usually only see them in ones and twos except when the song birds have their eggs in the nests, when strangely the territorial concerns seem to fade and it becomes a free for all. This then brings in a resident pair of buzzards who start to mop up the squirrels and thus one imagines a balance is restored.
We are privileged to have genets visit on occaision but, they are very timid and rarely sighted, I am told they will also take squirrels but, have never witnessed it.
The joys of nature

great too see and good read .
and nice bag as well .
well done.

I think the government should fund a week long grey squirrel hunting week once per year for all air gun shooters. I cant remember the last time I saw a red.

I too think a concerted effort could see grey numbers reduced hugely in a very short time. In parks and formal gardens, they ain't shy and would be lining up to commit hara kiri.

It won't happen in this country as there are a few too many Brian Mays around

Duncan

PS, Oddly, the SNP have made noises regarding culling greys!!

rogers1 wrote:I too think a concerted effort could see grey numbers reduced hugely in a very short time. In parks and formal gardens, they ain't shy and would be lining up to commit hara kiri.

It won't happen in this country as there are a few too many Brian Mays around

Duncan

PS, Oddly, the SNP have made noises regarding culling greys!!

tell me about it.

Good shooting ... with both gun and camera!