54 http://www.rifleshootermagazine.co.ukhave qualms about taking an annual
test, we all think it is a good thing and
helps to focus the mind.
The other thing I like about a skills
test is that it encourages us to practise
shooting in different positions and at
different ranges. Practice is so
important when rifle shooting and
many of us don’t do enough of it.The test is a standard DSC1-style
affair, with three shots at a zero target,
followed by two at the roe deer target
from 100m. We then move to 75m,
either standing or sitting, and change
to a muntjac target for two shots,
before moving to 40m standing, again
for two shots. These tests don’t
usually take too long and within the
hour we were all passed and done.
Mike signed our paperwork and we had
a cup of tea with him in the clubhouse
before he got to work on my rifles.6+$'(62)*5(<
With this job done, it was back to the
wood. As before, we had a couple of
roe bucks to remove from the more
sensitive areas, but more importantly,
before the cover gets far too high, it
was time for some squirrel control.
Without a doubt, deploying traps is
the most effective way to control
squirrels in woodland, but in very public
woods like these it is an invite to have
traps destroyed by wilful damage (or to
have them simply stolen). It can also
cause some unwanted attention on
social media, with groups like Stop the
Cull and Stop Shooting telling people
that they should undertake these
criminal acts and publishing where
traps were found online.
So, my preferred method is either
dray poking or using a .22 rimfire. We
had done the drays in late winter, so itwas now time to stalk the little critters.
With my trusty BRNO and a box of
Winchester .22 subsonic ammo, I
headed out to see if I could bag a
bucketful of grey squirrels.
Now, as you have probably noticed
when you are out stalking, you seem to
see a squirrel running across every ride
every 10 feet and feeding under each
and every beech or oak tree in the
wood. I always see an abundance of
the grey-furred fellows when I am
chasing muntjac or fallow, but when
you go out with the intention of
shooting them with a rifle it is a whole
different matter. You still see them, but
you realise that what you had been
seeing was a fleeting glance – they
rarely stop on the ground to give you
the chance of a safe shot. They have
incredibly keen eyesight and reactions
to match, so conventionally getting a
good number of squirrels with your
rimfire – and safely – is pretty tricky.
However, I use my Pulsar thermal,
as I do when woodland deer stalking,
to give me a better idea of where they
are on the ground. I find the thermal a
perfect tool for this before the cover
gets that little bit too high and the
leaves cover the trees and shrubs.
When you are doing a job and trying
to reduce a population for a purpose, I
think having any advantage open to you
is essential, and a thermal should be
in any professional stalker or pestcontroller’s kit. It is one of the reasons
that I was so disappointed and
flabbergasted when Deer Management
Qualifications (DMQ) said that
candidates undertaking the DSC2
could no longer use the device on their
witnessed stalks. The reason they
gave was that the candidate was to
find, sex, identify and safely stalk a
deer. A thermal allows you to possibly
see more deer, but you still need to
identify, sex them and safely stalk
them. I personally think it shows that
those who decide these things really
should get out into the field more and
understand the subject matter.
Shooting squirrels with a rimfire is
excellent sport and super challenging. I
set myself up like I am stalking deer,
with a set of ViperFlex sticks, and
creep around very slowly, using the
thermal to identify my target. Then ISTALKER’S DIARY
»
“AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, THE FOXES ARE MOVING ABOVE
GROUND MORE OFTEN AND ARE EASILY AMBUSHED”
ABOVE: Mike
Dickinson is a rifle
and stock smithBELOW: Jack
and Calvin have
both taken the
odd fox when the
chance arises