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...by a roe-buck!
Thursday morning at 0300 I hit the alarm bell to
kill it like a horse fly on my leg. It died OK, flat like a crab louse in a
mangle and I heaved myself out of the bed before I fell to sleep again. I opened
the outer door to check the weather. It was dark like in a cellar and it had
been raining some but all in all it looked good except for the wind. I did
not like the wind and so do not the roe-deer, they want to stay in cover most of
the windy days although there sometimes are exceptions.
My plan was to sit in a hide and wait for a buck to
come out on a oat field in the dawn. The first morning of the season you always
forget something when you go out. It could be a knife, the small micro radio
with an earpiece I use to listen to news programs while watching for deer,
a vacuum flask with coffee or whatever, but so far I have always remembered to
bring along a gun and some ammo.
You may wonder about the radio but basically you
don't need your ears when watching for roe-deer. When they are so close so you
can hear them you have no change to move anyway. If you did they would vanish
like that. When calling for deer or exercising them with dogs, then of
course a good hearing is of great value.
Well, 0415 I was sitting in the hide, the sun rose
and everything was so beautiful and silent but nothing of importance
happened for two hours. At six a´clock I started to dig for the Buttolo
blather(roe deer call) in my pockets but it was not there. Some pigeons
flew past the hide and I thought I should have sat there with a shot gung
instead, would at least had something to eat with me when I went
home. At 0630 I had seen enough of the
landscape and started to walk back to the car. I was thinking about whether I
should come back at around 1300 hours or 1900 hours. Both are around the
time when deer feed. I decided to go back at 1900 hours, together with the deer
call. I spent the evening until 2130 hours looking at black birds and listening
to news programs. I tried to call a couple of times but with no result. I have
found that when you call the bucks come immediately or they do not come at
all.
Today I thought that I might try the 1300 hours
sitting but for some reason I got busy with other things. Instead I went out
with the dogs at 1400 hours to give them a run. I went to the same oat field
since I have seen a lot of wipers on another field I usually use for running the
dogs for condition training. You bet the roe-buck was there when we came. At
first I tried to pretend it was not there, who wants to admit he is fooled???
Then, when I, with the dogs running in front of me, was only 120 meters from the
buck that still was calmly grazing, giving me and the dogs a glance now and
then, I could not neglect it anymore. For a few seconds I hesitated about what
to do but finally I decided to turn back home and get a gun. I called the dogs
back and went home, got a rifle and drove back but when I got out to the hide
the deer was of course not there anymore!
So what! It would have been full of ticks this time
of the year anyway. I would have fought with the flies and wasp and only God
knows what kind of bugs in competition of it.
I think it is better that I did not get it but
maybe I will go out there tomorrow at 1300 hours to the hide with the gun with
me. If for no other reason but to give the gun some fresh air!
Torsti
Borta Med Vindens Kennel "Ask not what your dog can do for you. Ask
what you can do for your dog." www.rospigan.net |