Thread: I Finally Did It!

With the numbers down on the farms I tend to use the 223 Rem more than the 22LR nowadays as with less competition the foe seem to be a bit more flighty. With a several hundred bits of used 223 brass kicking around I decided it was time to work out a load rather than just buy more factory stuff I worked up a hand load that matched the typical 11mm-13mm groups I was getting from the Hornady Training Ammo. I could probably improve that, but for shooting out of the wagon window it is all I need really. The rifle had been given a thorough strip down and clean over the winter, everything lubed that should be lubed. The scope optics cleaned.

The first small game hunt for the season with the farms opening up after winter and lambing. All the gear was organised, ammo and mags put into bum bags. Clean patch put through the bores. Thread protectors removed and the individually labelled suppressor attached to the correct rifle. I put TR's 22 semi rifle in the hard case with the cleaning rod. I go to put my rifle in the case and look at the targets from the other day, out with the callipers and decide that the scope should be adjusted 3 clicks right to be bang on 2" high at 100m. Adjustment made and the rifle gets carefully placed in the case.

Torches are checked, one for each rifle, and one each to scan with. Heaps of batteries loaded. Snacks are tucked into the bags. Knife and bags are packed. Truck checked to make sure everything is working, bottle of spare water, tools, recovery gear. Everything sorted and loaded. Check! Couple of mates arrive and their gear and our gear is loaded. No bags or anything left in the gear to take area. Check!

We head up to the farm, about an hour and a half away, and knock on the door to check in but the farmer is out. Time to break out the tool bags and get the tools loaded. I grab my rifle case and turn around, and pause, and think to myself, .... "I Finally Did it." I didn't need to open the case, I already knew, ... "I Finally Did it." In stopping to play with the targets and scope on my rifle I'd broken my routine and hadn't packed the bolt!

So I borrowed a mates spare 22LR, load up, and we set off round the farm for a bit of a recce to see how everything is after the break. We were crawling along the tracks scanning the usual paddocks, nothing much around and reach the front end of the farm with one spotted and dealt with. Then we take the track through the tight gorge at that end that we haven't been through for a couple of years. The ground is firm and white in the lights. We see a couple but they are flighty, one not flighty enough.

We wind our way through the gorge and up to the plateau on the the top of the hill in the middle of the farm where we finally get onto some numbers, this is more like it. @mudgripz has his trusty sxs shottie out the window doing the business. Longer shots are dealt to by mate with his 223. The shottie and 223 are a great combination for this job. Chasing down the running hares to get within range while holding a torch out the window with the right hand is a lot more challenging with the manual wagon I have now.

After clearing up the top we backtrack and head back around the front as this is the main area that the farmer wants dealt with as the new crops have been sown. Still nothing is seen which is unusual. We head through to the back of the farm via the main route and check the usual paddocks, ... virtually nothing. We carry on back and up to the airstrip where we finally find a few more in the adjoining paddocks that are dealt to from the airstrip. These are generally not at all flighty which is good.

Near the end of the airstrip there is a paddock where one flighty hare does a runner, never mind. We carry on a little towards the last paddock for the night off the end of the airstrip and notice the gate open to the right where the escaped hare did his runner. Would be rude not to have a catch up with Mr Hare since we're in the area wouldn't it? Mate nails a couple of distant ones with the 223. We find one runner and give chase. The paddock slopes down so put her into maori (hold the clutch in) overdrive and @mudgripz is on form with the sxs as we catch it.

Another one is spotted and takes off but disappears over the edge. We go to the edge and decide to just nose over, there is not much of a gradient so start to edge down. The wagon speeds up a little which is odd, the engine isn't going any faster. Touch the brake but we don't slow down, stomping the brake, handbrake, pumping brakes, steering, nothing is effective. "Hang on fellas, this ain't right!" we accelerate down and near the bottom as there is a little run out we start to slow a little and I gain a bit of steering to move up to the left of the tree and nearly miss the fence post. We come to a halt just on the other side of the fence before we land in the swampy bog which is a bonus. We unload the rifles and get out to examine the damage and form a planned safe exit. Broken aerials, a dent in the front from the fence post, a few scratches, no broken lights or leaks,not too bad.

We back up and take a different route out accounting for a couple more on the way. An enjoyable, if eventful, evening accounting for 22 pests to the firearms and one hedgehog bonus to the wagons wheels on the road out. I'm trying not to add one fence post to the wagons tally. The farmer is informed of the damage so he can get it sorted and we can sort him out later for the repairs.

A bit of a lack of photos due to a being one hand short already for operating the steering, gear lever and torch already.

Great read, exciting night out reminds me of my thousands of hours behind the spotlight when on the Pest Board. Had some hairy moments like that too.

Good to see my invite

Originally Posted by longrange308

Good to see my invite

I sent it via carrier pigeon, then I remembered how good pigeon tasted, so it didn't get very far.

Iv had the old take off on ya trick a few times...dabs of throttle can get ya some steering back and if your lucky regain traction.....makes some passengers nervous tho !

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Welcome to my world @gadgetman

Originally Posted by Pengy

Welcome to my world @gadgetman

It's OK. I know it will never happen again until next time I do it.

Originally Posted by gadgetman

It's OK. I know it will never happen again until next time I do it.

its amazing the speed and frequency that posts leap out in front of people.:
used to have hairies with a landrover halftruck that would jump out of 2nd going down hill.
was dodgy as until i realized all you had to do was hold your hand on it and keep popping it back in.
ive heard the speed up advice to get traction before.
scary as it sounds it works ,,,,,mostly

Yeh the best way to approach steep slippery down hills is first low range and drive it down hill making sure you keep your wheels driving and not letting them lock up otherwise it's a quick trip to the bottom. It is hard to get your head around as giving it gas going down isn't the normal thing to do, brakes will get you into trouble and sledging. I have used this method on a slippery wet steep track that my son's mate wouldn't drive his truck down so I did and it didn't even look like slipping, you just have to steer the truck and power on until you reach safe ground, wet or long grass on steep hill sides can be just as dangerous.

We had the advantage of learning on the old mans Landrovers and Mitsies.
He used to nut about ripping up his paddocks so we got pretty good at going where we wanted without making to much of a mess.
Nothing like practice.

gadget ,you are and always will be one of lifes bloody gems!

mind you in reading your wee 4wd bobsleigh(bit early for winter olympics there gadge -maybe next time eh)Im always reminded of my late fathers mantra -if you go down hill 2nd gear,let the motor do the bloody work .
i was reminded in my TF career-year i was promoted to sergeant-coming home from nelson in aV8 landrover with 1/4ton trailer -down the tadmore saddle and RSM who was copilot roaring at me -use your engine to brake
round the bloody corner Sheeeit-
two young bloody upset corp of truck drivers going to nelson to uplift a petrol tanks we'd had at base camp,trundled around the corner and

fuck me rigid a tarpaulin covered a ford laser sheared in two buried up to door vpillars under their front axle.
yup the deceased doing a formula 1 impression and "high" tried braking on a steep slope by unwittingly burying himself (minus head and brain matter)under a bloody jungle green unimog!
local traffic cops comment as he walked back to boss and me in v8 rover"i dealt to him earlier ,but i dont think ill be dealing to HIM again.
my last two trips over the hill -campervans (aka road maggots)every bend uphill or down dale "stomp on the fucking brakes.some even use their lights and indicators FFS"
It quite clearly states
steep grade ..use low gear
lets face it -go over the side on otira or porters pass and an ejector seat or parachute is gonna make SFA difference ,although i suspect the undertaker will smile at the embalmers bill as he tries to reconstruct you from the assorted kilograms of bloody mince in a cadaver bag!