Some Scottish Pics...

[Brown Dog]

I literally just got back from Scotland this morning; kit unpacked and in the wash, rifle thoroughly cleaned and –now- photos downloaded to the computer! I hope that these few pics may be of interest to some of you...

Hunted Mon-Thu getting a red stag on each of the 1st three days and a young spiker sika stag yesterday morning…..an excellent trip!!

I've attached a few photos……apologies - my face is obscured due to my 'internet-shyness'; but I've let the cheesy grins show!:

Mon…..182m/ 200yds ….relatively easy stalk / crawl through bracken. Shot taken from top right of photo across the shallow valley. Bipod resting on rucksack in order to get high enough for a shot from the bracken.

Tue….best stalk / shot of the trip…..stag roaring on the ridge edge surrounded by his hinds….you can see how wet I am from crawling!

244m / 267yds wind full value 20-30mph channeling from right down the intervening gully…..very demanding and satisfying fieldcraft/stalk and shot!

Wed….200m / 219yds …the best head I was able to take.. …required a long crawl in full view of the beasts with only one foot high heather for cover…!

 

[carverelli]

good pics -they sorta look like mule deer w/ small elk antlers. What's that camo tube on your rifle barrel? The pic w/ the arrow showing where he was looks a lot furthre than 200 yards!

 

[Brown Dog]

carverelli,
Yes, I agree the marker looks much further than 267yds ...I've always found range very difficult to judge in the Highlands ...not sure why; but things always seem -to me- to look further away than they are ...I think it's a combination of certain light conditions coupled with a lot of Scottish terrain looking like bigger terrain types/ features in other countries -and this fools your brain into thinking that it's further away ...the upside is that I always seem to get to where I'm walking faster than I expect! ....needless to say I have had a Leica LRF for a long time!

...the camo tube is a cover I made for my suppressor.

 

[ds]

Very nice pics, looks like you had a lot of fun.

David.

 

[martyndavison]

Nice pics! what rifle is that you are using? it looks rather heavy to be hauling up scottish hills! I must admit though i prefer my rifles on the heavy side but after seeing some of the hills the highlands has to offer i dont think i could drag myself up nevermind with a heavyweight rifle!Where exactly were you in the highlands?

 

[Charles A]

[ QUOTE ]
what rifle is that you are using?

[/ QUOTE ]


AI.



Brown Dog,

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif What load were you using?

 

[Ronin]

Brown Dog, nice story and excellent photographs. Is it an AE or AW and in what calibre.

It looks just the ticket for that kind of work, envious as hell, not shot a thing in months!!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Jimm]

Brown dog ,

How big is your freezer ? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif man ! you are gonna eat good for a while ( you do get to eat them don';t you ? )

I am just about out of last years venison ( I think the boys and I put about 6 in the fridge) n but the good news is that the hunts are here again /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Congrats on your success ! BTW , do you have any recipes to share, favorite ways to cook them and all that?

Jim

 

[Gerald89]

That is superb!

I'm off to do my dsc in a couple of weeks!

Do you drag the AWP?


Cheers Jeza

 

[Brown Dog]

Well, I'm glad some of you have enjoyed the photos; thank you for your comments…it really was an awesome week…I'm still walking around with a silly grin.

Martyndavison: Inverness-shire. Yup, it is a heavy rifle; but I don't really think you notice a couple of extra pounds on the hill…would you notice if someone added a 2lb bag of sugar to your pack? (well 4 bags in the case of this rifle!!) ….biathlon straps are the path to happiness; if you're not clear what they are, scroll down the link for a pic: http://www.sportingservices.co.uk/accessories.asp

Charles: I used my standard (only!) load:
Lapua Brass, Nosler 165BT, Fed 210M, loaded to an OAL (to ogive using stoney point comparator) of 56.7mm (2.232in) over 45grains of viht N140 to give 2722fps…..almost perfectly mimics the characteristics of factory lapua 167scenar.

Andy: It's an AW. It has the 24" heavy match barrel (rather than the lighter 26" standard) which designates it as an AWP. If you want, you can find out more at the link above!

Jimm: No doubt this'll seem odd to a US perspective, but each estate has to hit certain cull targets set by a government agency; as a result; due to the sheer volume of deer shot [something staggering like 40,000 are shot annually in Scotland] , the norm in Scotland tends to be that the venison is sold to market through a game dealer to generate income to the estate. All the red venison went to a local game dealer; the young sika was kept as an 'eater'…..the heads are 'in-transit'.

Jeza: Good luck on the DSC; enjoy it! If you decide to take on DSC2 at some point give me a shout if you like ; I'm an accredited witness. I drag the AW. Don't bother with drag bags, this rifle doesn't need them! I protect the scope and muzzle with an Eagle industries cover (although you can see I've had to do a bit of 'local manufacture' as regards the suppressor muzzle cover):

http://www.eagleindustries.com/mainprod.asp?scv=0
I crawl with the rifle reversed, lie it bolt uppermost on your left hand, stick your thumb up through the thumbhole …and off you go! …..alternatively, caterpillar it, crawl then reach back and drag it level by the rear sling loop, crawl then drag level and so on.

 

[nowler]

nice beasties brown dog!

when you coming up again, so i can post you some directions beforehand eh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[älg]

nice pics and nice shots.

i was in the highlands some years ago but not fopr hunting.....that´s still pending. really nice place ( was summer, and had nice weather too).

can you comfortably use the biathlon sling if you are carrying a rucksack ??

 

[Brown Dog]

alg,
A lightweight daysack with a fleece and a bit of food...yes...[big pockets and a good bumbag worn 'sideways' is a better solution]....Anything more than that...no.

Derek,
Yup, note to myself: have road map /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif !
I originally intended to be back up in 2 weeks time; but impending career change has forced me to revise that plan. Probably next up for hinds Dec 06(!). The drive to Errogie wasn't entirely wasted -I had a good chance to eyeball the Glendoe hills on the way up(where I stalked for a couple of seasons a while back)...rugged terrain, good memories.
The Fort Augustus chip shop was awesome too...smoked sausage and battered black pudding /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif!! ...last time I had that was 15 years ago in Portree!

 

[Ronin]

Brown Dog

Thanks for the reply, I always wondered where to get a biathalon sling like that from, now I know /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Nearly bought a leather one from Attleborough accessories but will be aquiring your type imminently as I think it is much more versatile.