I'd moved into position earlier in the day beside a huge gum tree, long-ago fallen and now dead; It's bare, sun-bleached, branches resembled arthritic fingers haphazardly clawing at the sky as if in the throes of intense pain or suffering. It was almost like the tree was imploring to the heavens for a salvation that never came.
I was laying in a typical long-range shooters position; Flat on my stomach, legs spread in a very wide V, both feet turned outward and flat to the earth in a bid to ground as much of myself as possible knowing that grounding myself would make me more steady, more accurate. Missing wasn't an option here.
I held my rifle loosely, right hand to the trigger, forefinger extended above the trigger-guard, left hand loosely gripping the butt-stock with left elbow grounded - A classic prone position any good marksman would adopt.
Through the eyepiece the rolling hills before me were magnified and I slowly scanned for targets.
I knew the lay of the land well, was familiar with the hills and valleys but, like always I ranged the area before me anyway. My Bushnell laser rangefinder handled that job and on a notepad beside me was a mud map of the hills and land marks like trees, boulders, crests and fence-lines all ranged in metres; The closest at 200m and the farthest 800m. If my targets came within my arc of fire I would be able to range them quickly, make the adjustments on my elevation turret, account for the wind and take the shot off my pre-determined ranged-landmarks. A quick 2-3 seconds and the shot would be sent.
I waited.
Earlier that day the farmer had called demanding that I get my ass up to his farm on the double. Ok, he didn't really say that, but asked me nicely if I was coming up soon as the feral's were causing him some grief. It had been almost three weeks since I'd been up there last and without constant attention the feral population tend to move in quickly. So, considering I'm working at my day job from home and had the time I gathered my kit and took the drive to the farm to do my side-gig; Culling feral animals for a cattle farmer.
The farmer has had a mob of kangaroos playing havoc with his fencing and one section in particular was taking a hammering due to the movement of the roos back and forth as they come in to his pastures to feed. Fences are expensive, as is cattle, and if the stock escapes it could prove even more costly, jeopardise themselves and passing traffic and generally cause a lot of problems. So the mob, or troop of kangaroos needed to be dealt with. That's where I come in.
Usually I move about a little seeking targets as hike around however as they've been focused around that one particular fence lately I decided to set up and snipe them from long range. This makes it easier to drop more of them as they sometimes can't determine where the sound of the shot is coming from and sit (as in stay in place) after each shot. I've seen them turn their head as their nearby fellow drops then drop back down to the grass to eat. Of course, a lot of the time they bolt and that that's when things get lively.
I had a successful evening yesterday and came away without a miss. My longest shot was 680 metres and as I have to head-shoot the roos to comply with culling regulations it's a fair old shot in failing light. The kill-zone on an average kangaroo head is about the size of a large orange or so - Not a huge area.
I added 9 kangaroos to the annual tally of culled animals which isn't too bad considering the farmer is licensed to cull just over 250 kangaroos a year; Almost 5 a week. Considering I only get there a couple times a month you can see how things can get quite out of hand with thousands roaming the area and me not shooting.
Because all the ranges are closed due to the flu I haven't shot for a while so it was good to get out and feel that familiar pressure on my right shoulder and the satisfaction of sending a tiny piece of lead downrange, accurately, to meet with its target. And what better place to do it from than the grassy knoll with the sun on my back and some of the freshest air a person could ever find.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well, and don't be cruel to animals. They don't deserve it.
Note: If you're interested in my rig drop a comment and I'll explain what it is.
