Hunters and gatherers

The daffodil (narcissus) season is upon us and we're busy picking, sorting and bunching. Today when I was just about to go inside I spotted a HUGE hare hopping along the fence just by the road. Hares and rabbits destroy our crops and so I quickly went inside to get my rifle from the safe, got my bullets and bolt from the other safe, put bullets into the magazine, slid the bolt into the rifle, removed the telescope covers and went back outside. All a big rush because most of the time when you get back outside the hare is gone.

The hare was still there looking around, no doubt wondering what to eat next. I quickly put the magazine in the rifle, cocked it and sighted in on the hare. It would have been about 70 metres away. Took a shot and didn't compensate for the fact that in my haste I had grabbed the sub-sonic bullets. The hare got a big fright and took off across the road where it stopped by the other fence. Both rabbits and hares tend to stop for a moment before they go through a fence. So I took careful aim and made the needed compensations and pulled the trigger. Hit it! But by this stage the hare is a good 80 metres away and being tough as nails it simply shook its head, looked at me and seemed to say: "You bastard!! What you go and do that for!!" It then turned around and hopped away.

This is not good, because the poor thing is now wounded and it would be cruel to let it go off somewhere to die in pain. So I go running off after it, hernia repair and all, find it and shoot it again. Hit it again but it still keeps going. Try again .... no more bullets! Run back to the house and this time I load the magazine full of high velocity bullets. Run back to where I last saw the poor thing and, yes it's still there. By this stage my side is starting to tell me to take it easy and stop with the running. Try another shot ... darn it all ... too shaky and the bullet hits the ground just next to the hare. Have to get closer and catch my breath more so I can aim more carefully.

I climb the fence and slowly get closer to the hare until I feel there is no way I'm going to miss it, shaky arms or not. One more shot and I finally manage to put the poor thing out of its misery. Not a good thing considering that I normally bag hares and rabbits with one shot. Maybe I knocked the telescope when I last put the rifle away.

When I get back home and have dealt with the remains of the hare, which are going to a friend who will process them, our young dog seems to have been inspired by all of this because when she spots a young rabbit in the garden she's off after it like a lightning bolt, corners it and before you know it she's finished it off and is trotting proudly around the garden with a dead rabbit hanging out of her mouth.

I have to say that she did a better job of it than I did this time. Trouble is, now she's patrolling the garden looking for more rabbits. And a Keeshond isn't really supposed to have a prey drive. If you look at her you'd never expect her to chase anything down. And this is the most ferocious photo of her I could find!