Thread: Rule Number 4

Well, today was nearly a balls up. Was out goat shooting today as usual. Bush foliage and ground soaking wet after the rain, approx 50mm rain previous 24 hours. Was still a bit of drizzle on and off. Anyhow, had shot a nanny and kid a bit earlier. Was making my way along a face and saw what looked to be a white goat below me. Cleared water of scope lense and worked my way down closer to get a clear shot amongst the trees and scrub. Had a look through scope and image was blurry so out with tissue and wiped lense again. Had to move a bit to regain view of animal and lined up scope. Image was still a bit crappy but I thought this doesn’t look or feel right so decided to get closer. Long story short is what I thought was a goat turned out to be a stray sheep gone bush. Was a bit pissed that I’d wasted time stalking a sheep but glad that I took the time to positively identify the target. Put it down to only expecting to see goats and nearly making a fcuk up! I’m out after goats nearly every week and this is the closest I’ve come to making a cockup in 50+ years hunting. Had a sit down and think about that one. A bit too complacent maybe. As a side note, when I rung Police to say I’d finished hunting the area for the day the call taker said I “must be getting well paid to hunt in this weather”. He couldn’t understand that hunters do it for recreation. Anyhow, rule 4: “positively identify your target” saved some embarrassment today.