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I realize that, although it is almost time to start reporting on the current hunting season, I have not yet reported on the 2018-2019 one. In short, although I did not have many occasions to go hunting I managed to enjoy some good sport and harvest some fine game.

I hunted throughout the season with the Winkler (Ferlach) kipplauf in 7x65R mounted with a Swarovski 1,5-6x42 and zeroed for RWS KS 8 grams ammunition; I already presented that rifle on the Forum.

Roe buck stalking starts in France on the 1st of June, however the peak of the rutting season in my area really spans over the late July to early August period. I had the chance to go to several morning stalking sessions in the foothills of the Western Pyrenees mountains, did spot many does as well as one racoon dog (invasive specy, originating from Japan, now common to Central Europe after escaping from fur farms, but still much unseen in Southern France) that I could not shoot because of the distance, but bucks remained invisible. It was only in early August that I had the chance to spot one, it was dusk and drizzling and visibility was poor; the buck was feeding in tall grass at 170 meters from me and only his neck and head were visible from time to time. Its antlers looked to be well above the ears, which meant that it was an adult male, worth being harvested. As there was no possibility to get closer I decided to try a long shot; I sat with my elbows on my knees and rested the rifle fore-end on my tripod (nothing sophisticated, only three green glass-fibre sticks the kind of which you can buy in garden centres, held together with a rubber band). I shot and the buck vanished; I thought that I had missed and its only that when I reached the anschuss, that I saw it lying on the ground. I had been lucky enough to place well that neck shot and the buck had fallen on the spot, spine brocken.

The buck was light bodied and was sporting surprisingly thin and long antlers; I am not good at judging bucks and I will never know whether this one was an adult in a ‘bad year’ (for our non-European members, roe bucks can develop superb antlers on one year and much disappointing ones the following one, God only knows why) or an old reclining one. Anyhow, the trophy was not bad, the meat was tasty and the stalking had been excellent!

I did not have the chance for other morning stalking sessions following that one as I had to travel for business.

In late November I went isard hunting in the Central Pyrenees, on the border with the Principality of Andorre; it was the peak of the rutting season there. The weather was cold and fine; it had already snowed earlier in the month but the snow had since melted in that area. I hunted over two days the same side of a mountain range and an altitude of circa 2000 metres, starting from a hunting cabin and going south on the first day and north on the second one; I had permission for two adult males.

On day one, shortly after dusk, I shot a fine 08-old male standing a c. 170 metres, 30 to 40° above the place where I was. As it did not move after my first shot, I thought I had missed and had the opportunity to shoot again; then it moved swiftly and disappeared. I went to the location and found it; it had collapsed c. 10 metres from the place it was when I shot and had been hit my both shots in lungs and heart. This buck would have benefited from some more years of life in order to mature however that’s something you can only judge too late, when the animal is dead at your feet.

On the same day by midday, I missed an apparently nice adult male at 190 metres; I rushed for shooting, didn’t had a good shooting rest, and missed! The animal went unharmed and after an initial rush resumed feeding, now out of reach.

Mountain encounter; goat with her youngster at c. 150 metres:

On day 2, I could not find any buck worth being harvested until mid-morning when I spotted a really nice one standing on a rock above a flock of goats at c. 500 metres. I managed to get closer but could move further at some point because we were now on barren mountain ground; the target was at 320 metres, at almost the same altitude than me. I took my time, get a very good rest and shot; I was lucky as the buck fell on the spot, hit in the heart as I will discover it later. It was a good 13-year-old male, a CIC bronze in the lower end.

Then it was time to rush for skinning and packing both filets and hind legs as the weather was slowly getting bad. The hunting cabin was reached three hours later after taking a short cut on the ridge side, which proved to be a bad idea as the terrain was difficult to progress through because of steep ravines; it started snowing in the last hour, therefore I left the hunting cabin where I had planned to stay overnight. This proved to be a good idea as in the following morning, due to almost one meter of fresh snow, I would have been forced to leave my car there until the following Spring!

Isards skulls cleaned but not bleached and still unmounted.

Louis

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"Everything that doesn't kill me makes me stronger"

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