http://www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIRGUN WORLD 39HUNTING
to take photos of the new Brocock Commander
rifle, so I’d taken that along with me.
Roger also had a ‘new’ rifle with him. Well,
it wasn’t actually new, it was his Weihrauch
HW110 Karbine, but he’d pimped up with
some self-grabbing tape to give it a camo
look.
My first job of the evening was to zero the
Brocock, so I placed my Bisley pellet catcher
and target about 30 yards in front of my car
and was just about commence shooting when
a brace of hares hopped out of the field and
sat just a few yards beyond the target! I don’t
shoot hares out of principle – I don’t really
enjoy eating them, plus I love to see them
running around when I’m shooting. This pair
weren’t at all fazed by our presence, and they
only scurried off when I began shooting at the
target. Even then they only moved about 50
yards further down the track!
With the Commander zeroed it was time to
search out a different location where we could
get a decent shot at a rabbit or two.
LUCKY BREAK
As we drove further down the track in search of
some accessible rabbits Roger spotted a couple
running down another roadway to his left.
“There’s a couple,” he said excitedly,“and
they’re on the road too.”
As luck would have it, these rabbits were
feeding in completely open ground with a huge
field of wheat next to it, so Roger decided to dig
himself into the cover and sit and wait for the
rabbits to come back out again.
I decided to head off to the paddocks,
where I’d seen a few rabbits on a previous
recce, with the hope that one or two might hop
out into the clearer roadway alongside them to
give me a clear shot.
After about an hour, neither of us had seen
another rabbit, let alone managed to get a shot
off. To make matters worse, the beautiful
summer’s evening was turning dull and grey
with the odd spot of drizzle.
We reconvened at the car for a quick cup of
tea and a chat before heading back to ourrespective positions, but before we set off
Roger asked if he could have another go with
the Commander. He’d already spent a couple
of hours shooting it in his back garden the
week before. After putting a new target in the
pellet catcher, he set about emptying five
magazines into it, cutting the centre of the
target clean out.
“Why don’t you take it back to the field,
mate? It might bring you luck,” I said.
Well, to cut a long story short, the drizzle
slowly turned to rain. I didn’t see a single
rabbit and just before it got dark I heard Roger
let a shot off from the Commander.
I was already back at the car, packing my
gear away when I caught a glimpse of Roger
carrying his prize as he walked around the
corner toward me. He’d only gone and shot a
nice rabbit with the test rifle!
I was over the moon for him, because it was
our first kill on the new permission – onward
and upward from now on! As we drove home,
Roger sent his farmer friend a text asking if
he’d give the grass a quick mow the next time
he was out, so we’ll have to see what the next
few weeks bring – watch this space! Plan A was scuppered - that grass is way too long to shoot over.
These hares weren’t at all bothered by Dave and
Roger’s presence!Roger wiith his pimped up HW110, although he
actually shot this rabbit with the Brocock
Commander!