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Watch out for the dangers of hunting!

Well, Tuesday (11.11.2008) night, I went out to a fouverite meadow in the forrest at about 19 o clock. At 19:30h, I could watch a first animal on the meadow, while the moon was shining through layer of clouds low. A fox. Unfortunally he was to far away and the light too low, so there was no chance to get him in the crosshairs, but as he was moving on the meadow, I watched him, waiting for a better chance or more light. Then a second one came out of the forrest, beeing closer and I tried to figure out, which kind of species this was. After I was sure that it was a fox, I tried to get him in the scope, but I had not a good position on this high seat, must shooting sideways… So it took me a while to get enough light (which was changing fast), get him in the crosshairs, not jumping or running too fast and a good position to shoot from. One big thunder at 20h break the silence and I repeated the action for getting another .30-06 into my Reminton´s chamber. I spotted with the scope: there was something lying in the grass… OK.
The next 1/2hour I stayed there, but winds was too strong, eyes feeling sore with the contact lenses, so I decided to go into the forrest, where I exspected less wind which would it also make a better place for the pigs…
I arrived after 15mins on another high seat, watching the beautifull forrest with big old trees, but no animal showed up till about 22:45h.
So I changed position back to the meadow, where I was able to watch 3 roes on the meadow, eating. After another ½ hour, I decided to go and grab the camera in the car, coming back again: There was now 6-7 animals with different size 800-900m away on the other end of the meadow… Could this have been the roes? I thought no and started to get closer to them in the shadow of the trees and along the forrest´s rim… After more then the half way, I was wondering: this have been roes, no pigs. So I left on the spot back to the ´high seat´s position to find my fox…

I was not able to find him. After 5 minutes searching with strong light (Surefire) I decided to go up the high seat again and there I could spot him, lying in the grass, but a few meters to different direction. You could see it was a strong one with nice fur, but when I looked at the exit side, I was sure not to get a nice fur: looked like exploded (Nosler Balistic tip). I throwed him in the bush after a photo and left for the car.

At the car, I unloaded the gun, jumped inside at exactly 0h and as I was realy hungry, I decided to go for some burger or something similar. Driving backwards from the sideway to the main forrest road and recognizing that the cover was “up” of the trunk, so I could not realy watch outside through the car, had to use the mirrors. Another moment of low attention and wrong estimation of “where the road is” and in that moment, I wanted to put the gear into forward direction, there was a small and soft slipping, nothing bad, but: I opened the door and was looking directly into the water of the small creek : UPPS
(Driving backwards on the main road is always a bad task in the night)

Then I watched the rear wheel: no traction. I stopped and there was extly the space to get out of the car, standing with about 30-35 degrees into the creek, running besides the forrest road…
I had a look on the front part of my car: sitting fully on earth, left fog light looking like broken, front cover of the car fully on earth contact. The whole car was sitting in the center on earth, left front wheel no contact to the ground, just in the creek´s water. Directly in front of the car a concrete tube. No chance to get out without help.

With the cellular phone I called my parents, making advice to bring a shovel, towing gear and the keys for my access in nearby Klein-Umstadt to grab my John Deere if necessary…

While they arrived ½ h later, I tried digging the front part free to estimate the damage and how to get the car free on the wheels…
We decedide that towing into front direction is no way, towing backwards will also cause damage to all bottom parts, so we need a specialist for towing with a crane:
I called them at about 0:45h and without any surprice he was asking if the road is paved, gravel, etc. and what I was doing in the forrest at midnight: “Hunting”, “OK, legal or illegal…” What a question, OK, we will be there in a few minutes…

20 minutes later, lights showing up from the main road. The specialists where arriving with a Defender, the big lorry was waiting in the entry of the forrest to make sure he will be able to drive. Werner checked the situation and decided as well, that towing is no way, but it is more difficult then he exspected, not to destry the car. “Would have been much easier if You would have dmaged him” he told me… The first try to position the lorry on the road was not OK, because the 12meter long crane´s arm was too short. Second position was better. We fixed ropes on the tires and protected the metall by adding rubber parts over the wheels to get some more distance to the body of the car. Sideways we fixed the wheels, standing on the road by the Landrover Defender´s winch, to protect the car slipping deeper in the creek.
Then we lifted the car slowly till it was standing in the air with 2 tyres and 2 on the road. By shortening the crane´s arm, the car was driving slowly on the road and by stiring, it went back on the road again…

Hell, there it was. We checked the bottom for any damage: NOTHING – even the front part was OK and all together I could not find a single scratch on the car !!!

At 3:30 h I was back home…

What a night. Was this the revenge of the fox ?

At least, noone was injured and nothing was broken… I had more then BIG fortune…

Klaus

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