The Rigby

regular readers may recall me acquiring the Rigby. I have yet to investigate its age etc but it certainly is a very nice rifle. 4 Deer have fallen to its .275 charms so far this year and whilst it weighs in more than my usual CZ527 that I use when guiding it certainly is a very nice rifle;

Sorry about the picture quality but natural light isnt very common this time of year!

The barrel is Roll Marked with Rigby's London address and I was lucky to find 40 rounds of original 140 grain loads in Norma Cases in the Rigby boxes. Its really 7mm Mauser even the local police accept that so I am lucky there I suppose.

It is a thoroughly nice rifle and provided things work out I will be adding a few more 7mm Mausers to the cabinet, December auctions are upon us!

The scope isnt up to much but it certainly does fine for woodland work and although it isnt moderated it is an elegant rifle, well balanced and straight shooting with a perfect comb height on an attractive walnut stock. not made anymore and to buy a new equivalent would mean Holland and Holland or Purdey so cheapest starts at about £28 000.

Remembrance weekend

Back off the hill and the drive back home got me in just about on time. Getting up in the morning however was a real struggle. Still dogs to be worked and pheasants to be plucked;

Not a massive bag but compared to the previous saturdays effort it was 100% better, funny how a little sunshine brings them out. The dogs worked really hard and the young beaters too. I was very impressed with everyones efforts and it is nice to see the woodcock back again.

Yes its not the size that counts but even had we hit everything the guns saluted we certainly would have managed to carry them all home. That is unlike the big herds of red deer in Scotland, estimates on herd sizes ran from 180 to 250 head and that was just in our part of our glen. Not to mention the little family groups of Roe dotted about just about everywhere, hillside as well.

It wasnt just Red Deer or even Deer that we saw, plenty of birds of prey and some lovely hares;

Sunday dawned to some of the worst weather I have seen in our green and pleasant corner of England, I walked the dogs with a spare poop bag on my bonce as per usual I have started to leave hats behind everywhere. Minime and I spent a couple of hours whilst the weather held at the local Remembrance Parade and paid our respects to family and friends and those known not to us, for their sacrifice.

I was here instead of at Croydon for a parade as the works rep, I think next year I will if I am still working there attend but make it more formal.

As pointed out by others it is nice to see so many youngsters here, not that long ago I wondered if it would all fall by the wayside but thanks to New Labour we certainly seem to have a need for more names to be added to the memorials.

The Angus hills and the Red Hinds

Cold, wet and 10 hours of travelling in the defender up from Wiltshire to the Angus hills, nice place to visit though;

Organised as 4 days of stalking split between pairs, Mr Free Market and Charles paired up whilst R and I went together.

A lovely little 4 bed lodge, with only 10 minutes in the car to the Ghillies house and the first morning on the zero range;

R and I travelled up the Glen and onto the hill in the land rover (thank god) and R went off to bag his first deer ever;

Happy looking chap, I was then asked if I suffered from Vertigo, we went over the edge of an escarpement and onto a little rocky ledge where I then shot a Hind and her Yearling Calf, the shots were almost vertical and I was terrified to say the least, the Ghillie then ran down the escarpement to gralloch them, a total loon.

You can see that these points are vertically seperated by over 100 yards of vertical drop. That was me for the day, R went on to get another but I was astounded for the rest of the week.

Then it was back to the larder for prepping the carcasses and into the hospitality suite.

The larder;

The hospitality suite;

Mr Free Market and Charles enjoyed both of their days as did R & I, I certainly sweated my final deer, the Ghillie made me work hard for having missed an earlier one and even then I plugged a different hind due to changing firing positions at the last minute;

That said it didnt stop me enjoying myself and the company, stalking is often a solitary occupation and I thank the 3 Gentlemen who accompanied me to the hill and the serial shagger known as the Ghillie!

The last day of all was a phenominal event in my books, 2 rifles and 8 hinds, well worth the long journey to see such an event, during the morning, I skinned a hind which the Ghillie quartered and its now mostly sat in the chiller awaiting processing;
In the evening a céilidh which meant Haggis wrapped in Chicken and Janes Clootie Dumplings followed by a swift run around the tops of the glens;

The view from larry landy as we set off seems to stick in the mind, a wonderful week.

A real treat for Croydon yesterday

I will apologise now for the quality of the video, its the work camera and I wont be using it again, its not a patch on my own!

This is one of the two Bands of the Rifles, playing in Croydon yesterday, nice to hear high on a hill being played, it took me back 20 years to when I served in the 1st Bn The Light Infantry.

These young men have just returned from what could only be described as a tough tour in Afghanistan and I heartily thank all of those who turned out to welcome them home.

After being inspected by the Mayor these fine young inheritors of our traditions were given a reception. After they escaped that we gave them a reception in every pub we could get into!

Top lads, well done and enjoy your hard earned leave.

I too am going on leave, to Scotland for a week in the company of stout bulldogs to partake in the Hind Cull!

Fishing, is it the sport of kings or just some weekday humour

DEEPLY PROFOUND THOUGHTS BY MEN WHILE FISHING
Two men are out ice fishing at their favorite fishing hole , just fishing quietly and drinking beer

Almost silently, so as not to scare the fish, Bob says, 'I think I'mgoing to divorce my wife - she hasn't spoken to me in over 2 months.'
Earl continues slowly sipping his beer, then thoughtfully says,'You better think it over - women like that are hard to find'



also how to wake a mate up;

Also in these times of health scares comes some sound advice;

Sunday afternoon stalking

Well I forgot the camera which is a pity as the phone doesnt record sound too well. Kiwi and I headed over at about half 2, yes it was dark by five so we needed to get out on the ground.
John is unique, a great shot with the sort of patience that goes with very long range match rifle shooting. He regularly starts at 1200 yards and going back further isnt unknown.
The down side is he takes for ever to get ready and then for some reason when stalking he undergoes a metamorphasises into a buck fever ridden teenager looking for his first deer. ok not quite that bad but he can be a handful right up until he starts to pack his kit away and then stoical John comes back.
Anyway we didnt get a deer, we did stalk close to a magnificent buck but he wasnt on our ground, he gave his position away by grunting;

Sassy was with us, always handy for tracking and she was shaking visibly at the sounds and smells;

The sound in the wood was something else and now the Rhodedendrons have been removed you can see and hear a long way, stood at the Dam and a Booming "you are tresspassing" call up the valley to a dog walker had the desired effect. No deer shot but one hell of an evening!

The wettest shoot day in years

Produced nothing for the bag, the birds that were claimed werent found (not many either) and we managed to get a thorough drenching.
The lads beating did really well and put a fair few birds over the line, we do however need to change the direction of one or two of the drives without changing the guns if that makes sense!
Clay shoot tomorrow and the weather should hold, I have to nip off in the afternoon to check out some work done to clear the Rhodedendrons from a stalking wood.
You never know what you may see so camera will be with me this time!
The RFD application is in, the local rozzers have replied with a 4 page list of requirements, I think I may have already answered most of them although financial forecasts arent easy to make these days are they?

In the meantime thanks to Darryl and Clive for this;
On a bitterly cold winter's day several years ago in northern Scotland a police constable on patrol came across a motor cyclist, who was swathed in protective clothing and helmet, stalled by the roadside.
"What's the matter?" asked the policeman.
"Carburetor's frozen," was the terse reply.
"Pee on it. That'll thaw it out."
"Can't."
"OK, Watch me and I will show you."
The constable lubricated the carburetor, as promised.
The bike started and the rider drove off, waving.
A few days later, the police officer received a note of thanks from thefather of the motorbike rider.
It began: "On behalf of my daughter, who recently was stranded