After lunch today me and 2 of my boys took the dogs out for a walk,i fancied a bit of game in the larder and i knew just the place to go.So we wrapped up warm and set off,within 10 minutes we were on the old London road which is now little more than a lane,it was once the county boundary between Somerset and Wiltshire. After a bit of mooching along the lane mentally noting the catty forks we spotted aswell as a few nice straight sticks for stick making Jack my 8 year old spotted deer tracks leading into the field on our left, we deviated off the ice sheet lane and into the field.The tracks were very clear and obviously made today,they were crossed in places by Hare and rabbit tracks near the hedgerow,jack was really fired up and the dogs were busy snorting the scent and sneezing out the dusty snow. I said to jack that we would follow the tracks and see what turns up,explaining how to tell which way the tracks were heading by the hoof prints we set off,it became clear that there had been a lot of deeer activity in the field over the last couple of days,this was no shock to me as i had lamped deer there before at night there along with hares.As we moved deeper into the field we spotted many hare tracks too with the occasional bit of snow scraped away to expose grass under,soon we were near approaching the hedgerow ,the tracks were headed that way,my heart sank as if the deer had gone trough or over it we may well have a job getting through ourselves and continuing the tracking.It was time to get the dogs on the lead ,even though they were walking to heal i like them to go when I tell them not when they think best.Following the tracks like rails we approached the hedge and when we were not more than 30 yards a huge roe buck broke from his cover,we had not even seen him in his winter coat,perfectly camouflaged as he was,to be quite honest it made me jump ,the boys froze and pointed at the deer as if they didnt believe what they were seeing,time slowed down as it does at this moment of any hunt,stubby the greyhound had seen the deer bolt ,i could feel the electricity shoot through his body and up my arm,i loosed him and the lurcher pup and off they went ,kicking up snow as they accelerated to catch up with the buck,the buck was a specimen beast and was bounding across the field but the dogs were gaining,the roe started to lurch left and right to lose the dogs,stubby took a stumble and rolled on his right and skippy crashed into him,they both got up and carried on the chase,theboys and i were doing our best to keep up with the action but we were just lagging shouting words of encouragement to the dogs with timeless commands of 'geddimboy !' ,'garn killem !' the deer was running like hell now the twists hadnt worked and this deer was in trouble ,i started to wonder how i was going to get it home .The chase continued up towards the hill the dogs nearing their prey when with one huge leap the roe buck cleared a 6 foot hedge and was gone leaving the dogs running up and down the fence trying to find a way through, it was over my heart sank,the boys shouted that the deer was in the far field now stopping and looking back and then off over the brow. I whistled the dogs and they returned,panting ,these dogs were out of shape and i hadnt realised just how out of shape they were! but theyre shape was good compared to mine ,i could feel the icy sub zero air clawing at my lungs,time for a puff on the asthma medication,this was no place to have an asthma attack. the boys and i started over towards the corner of the field towards a familiar path home and the dogs were making their way towards us,jack shouted and as i looked over i saw a hare break cover from his cosey form,i couldnt believe my eyes! it was a big one too in its winter fur,i ran straight past the two dogs ,they gave chase for all of about fifty yards,they didnt have a hope after the chase on the deer and we all knew it none more than the dogs themselves,we all stopped and watched as the hare effortlessly glided up the hill and along the fence ,down alongside the old London road ,disappearing into the hedge and doubtless into the far fields. Disappointed in missing all this game we all continued the walk towards home,the boys excitedly recounting their perspective and what the dogs should have done . We spotted the buck again on the way back but we all knew this boy was a winner and would have to wait for a night time vehicular coursing session if we were to stand any chance of him gracing our freezer with his presence! Before long we were home in front of the fire recounting to the others our exploits and planning the next trip,as for the dogs ,they were streached out in front of the wood burner asleep,and judging by the twitching and shudders were putting right the afternoons events. I think i will stop in tonight unless a disreputable character comes calling asking be to lamp roosting birds with a catty......
Thanks for the nice outing. Other than building a snow man and making snow cream we have been watching it from inside. Been reloading a bit. Getting lazier in my older age.
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