Heard a rifle shot nearby when out at dusk today... & met the forest warden

[Neumo]

I was out on my mountain bike in a Forestry Commission wood I go to & it started to rain, so I went 50 yards off the track to set up a brew camp. I had put the tarp up & was about to fire up a small hexi stove when I heard a crack of a smallish calibre rifle fairly nearby. As I don't like to be out in the woods near dusk when someone is throwing out some serious lead, I decided it was time to 'Foxtrot Oscar' pretty quick. About 60 seconds later I had everything stuffed in the panniers & was heading for the track again. I saw what looked liked a 4x4 a couple of hundred yards down the hill, from where I thought I heard the shot come from, with a gent all dressed in green next to it. When I got to him he said hello & I saw he had just taken a small doe, which was on the ground at the back of the truck. We ended up having a chat about deer stalking, DSCs etc ... Turned out that he was from the forestry commission & was doing some culling. It was getting darker by the minute & I needed to do a mile back to the car so I left him to it, but it was good to meet the local forest warden/ranger (or whatever they are called these days)

 

[ged]

... Turned out that he was from the forestry commission ...

Did you see some ID?

 

[British Red]

Why would he need to? The guy is most likely a legal shooter on a valid permission - he doesn't have to show ID to an interested passer by. Sounds like both parties were courteous and respectful of one another - as it should be.

 

[ged]

Why would he need to?

I didn't say he'd need to, I just asked if he did. On more than one occasion I've had people carrying firearms on my own property who claimed to be something they weren't.

 

[_scorpio_]

Did you see some ID?

looks to me that he was just going because he didnt want to be around when someone is shooting in the area, not suspicious of who was shooting and whether they should be.
i would say that if he was from the forestry commission he probably had it written on his shirt and possibly also on his car.

 

[baz p]

forget asking for I.D .......i would have asked for the leg,

 

[British Red]

I didn't say he'd need to, I just asked if he did. On more than one occasion I've had people carrying firearms on my own property who claimed to be something they weren't.

I'm sure you called the police before confronting an armed stranger on your property - who should have arrested them for armed trespass.

However in this case there is nothing to arouse suspicion - if there was calling the police or FC would be a more sensible course of action than asking for ID.

 

[nuggets]

forget asking for I.D .......i would have asked for the leg,

i was offered eight legs of venison the other week for £100 !! Me `mate` reckons that was cheap !!

I thought it was two deer myself !!

 

[Neumo]

Seemed to have started something here through lack of extra information. He was driving a Ford 4x4 with 'Forestry Commission' in big letter on the side of it & had a fleece with the same logo on it. To get onto the road he would have had to unlock a padlocked gate as well.

When I first heard the shot I thought it may be poachers but they normally use rim-fires round here & this shot sounded was bigger that that. It's FC land & there are a lot of deer there so I figured it was someone legal with a .243; the rifle was not visable by the time I got there, so again he did everything properly. I had no doubts that he was legit; if he was not then it was a very convincing act with all the right props.

 

[British Red]

Sounds completely legit Neumo - and no reason for you to think otherwise. I'm sorry for the hijack btw, I just thought asking a shooter for ID (as a passer by) is very poor advice. As a member of the public one doesn't have ther right, its likely to be considered rude by a legitimate shooter and if it was an armed poacher, demanding ID in a location away from prying eyes (as opposed to noting the reg and calling the police) would be foolhardy - poachers are a nasty bunch.

sorry for the hijack - glad you had a pleasant meeting

 

[Peter_t]

hi neumo, what wood was this? in abbots woods neer hailsham i have found 4 tree stands with several tracks cut around each of them (to get a good shot i guess). i have seen soooo many deer in there so it must be a problem.


pete

 

[Neumo]

Cant agree more British Red. If it had been an unmarked car with a couple of suspicions looking guys pretending to act innocent then I would have dropped a gear & peddled on by. As you say, having a go at someone for potentially poaching when you are in the middle of a wood, a mile from the road, as the light is fading when you know they have a firearm... not sensible.

As it was, I had a nice quick chat with him & was on my way. It was a nice end to a nice bushy bike ride.

 

[MrEd]

Why would he need to? The guy is most likely a legal shooter on a valid permission - he doesn't have to show ID to an interested passer by. Sounds like both parties were courteous and respectful of one another - as it should be.

hear hear! I wish it was more like that round my way, but every one in surrey is paranoid. I must move to sussex

 

[baz p]

i was offered eight legs of venison the other week for £100 !! Me reckons that was cheap !!

I thought it was two deer myself !!

HAHAHA

grab your tickets while you can folks......for tonights comedian we have the one..........the only........."NUGGETS"

 

[_mark_]

I didn't say he'd need to, I just asked if he did. On more than one occasion I've had people carrying firearms on my own property who claimed to be something they weren't.

James Bond?

 

[Bothwell_Craig]

I ask them for ID all the time......oh hang on.....I'm a Wildlife Crime Officer!

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

I've never seen wildlife doing crimes before.... do the hunt mushrooms and stuff like that ?

 

[Retired Member southey]

Keep an eye out for him next time your up that way and ask what he does with the skins? A possible future source?

 

[Bothwell_Craig]

I've never seen wildlife doing crimes before.... do the hunt mushrooms and stuff like that ?

You're obviously not getting out enough then!

 

[Neumo]

Keep an eye out for him next time your up that way and ask what he does with the skins? A possible future source?

Good idea. He said that the meat goes to a local game dealer & most of that goes overseas. He was saying that us British, for the most part, dont realise what good eating our home grown game is; he said most of it goes to France & Belgium. If I see him again I will find out some more, as I would like to have a go at tanning a hide & could do with a skin or two.