The .25-06 is a great calibre. The bullets have high ballistic coefficients. Hence it's trajectory is pretty flat and the recoils is very modest. I've got a delux wooden stock on my .25-06 and use it mainly for managing deer, where I am unlikely to knock it. Mine will shoot a 117gr Bullets at around 3,100 ft/s and produces around 2,500 ft/lbs. I initially had an issue with meat damage using the .25-06, when using Sierra Gameking Bullets, but I switched to Hornady bullets, which have thicker jackets and no longer get this problem.

The .308 has a synthetic stock and is my work horse gun for managing deer. I mainly use 125gr Hornady SSTs producing a muzzel velocity of around 3,100 ft/a and 2,700 ft/lbs.

The .223 is my foxing gun. Quieter and very low recoil, it will kill a fox at any distance that I am willing to shoot at. I use 50gr Hornady Vmax for fox and 50gr SP for Muntjac Deer. I will use this for muntjac in areas where I have concerns about over penetration, for safety reasons. Used at moderate ranges it humanly and instantly kill muntjac. I will only use it to ranges of 150 yards on deer. People doubt the effectiveness of a little 223 on muntjac, but trust me this is just opinion. I've never had a problem. It makes tiny exit holes. But due to the speed of the bullets, even these tiny bullets cause massive internal damage, which can be seen on gralloching the deer. Mine will shoot both 50gr bullets at around 3,300ft/s and 1,200 ft/lbs of energy. The great thing about the 50gr Vmax and the SP from Hornady, is that they have the same point of aim, so that I can switch between them without re-zeroing.

The 17HMR is my go to gun for long range summer rabbiting. You have to head shoot the rabbits with a 17HMR or the little explosive bullets destroy too much meat. I tested mine on a windless day and could shoot the base of red bull cans consistently at 150 yards.

The .22LR is used for situations where noise could be an issue. Such as lamping rabbits at night. Ricochets can be a problem with the 22LR and so a good back stop is essential. Some ammunition is better than others on the front. I find that the Eley Subs are made of soft lead and I have had less of a problem with them. I tried the Segmented hollow points, which fragment on impact. These wouldn't group satisfactory enough for me. Accuracy is the most important factor to me when chosing ammunition, to ensure ethical and clean kills.

I use the .22 FAC airgun for shooting squirrels and pigeons out of trees. 30ft/lbs 950 ft/s.

The .177 airgun 12ft/lbs 800ft/s, is used for plinking mainly. But I have used it to shoot mice around the chicken and duck coups.

I home load all of my centrefire rifles. Since I have done this, I have improved the accuracy of all of my rifles dramatically. As well as reducing the costs of the ammunition. Factory ammunition is always manufactured short, you can see the difference in length clearly, by comparing my home loads to factory ammunition. Due to the reduced length, the bullet has to jump to engage the rifleing. This combines with a less consistent powder loads, seems to have an effect on the accuracy of factory loads. I've managed a .375 inch group shooting 5 rounds prone at 100 yards from my .308 for example. I could never get anywhere near this with factory ammunition.

I use moderators on all of my rifles to reduce both the noise and the recoil. I also don't like to use ear protection, so that I can hear if anyone or any animals are nearby.

I use a 12 bore O/U for shooting game and a 12 bore semi auto for wildfowling or rough shooting. Using a semi auto means that I can shoot heavy loads through it without getting a pounding from the recoil.

I occasionally use a 20 bore, as it is light, if I am carrying a gun on a long days shooting.

And I use the .410 Stealth when I need a quiet shotgun.

I tend to make a modified Salsa Verde depending on what I have in the Garden.

This time:

1 or 2 cloves garlic

Chopped fresh Oregano

Chopped Tyme

Chopped Rosemary

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon capers

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

⅓ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Blend and then rub all over it. Marinate it.

Or I improvise on a spicy rub:

2 Teaspoons Sweet Smoked Paprika

1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds

1 or 2 Teaspoon of Ground Corriander.

1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

2 Cloves finely chopped Garlic

Sweeze of Lime Juice

Rub and Cook.

Or add olive oil and marinate.

I was asked by a land owner to manage the deer on a small bit of land on the edge of Bristol, because the deer were causing significant damage to their ornamental trees. The picture above was one of several trees that had been damaged. There was evidence of both Roe and Muntjac fraying. You can normally tell the difference by the height of the damage. Roe fraying tends to look smoother as they fray with their antlers, whilst muntjac fray with their teeth. The fraying from muntjac tends to look very messy and ragged.

In a couple of outings I shot 1 Roe and 2 Muntjac and saw several others.

There was a particular buck muntjac that always finds me in my highseat and barks at me from the undergrowth. I can never actually see him. But he is only yards away. I've spooked him a few times and seen him run. As yet he evades me. He is one very clever deer, who always seems one step ahead of me.

I saw my 1st Muntjac about 6/7 years ago in Bristol. They seem to be doing very well now. We regularly see them on the banks of the Bristol Frome, if you are out and about at the witching hour.

2 years ago, my neighbour got a muntjac stuck in his garden fence and we live in the city. They called the fire brigade to release it. It was screaming so loudly that it had the whole street up.

This is in a BS16 postcode and shows how well deer are doing. They seem to be entering our cities, as fox did in the 1930's.

I spoke to a couple, at a party recently. They live in Frenchay and get plagued by the muntjac, who eat all of the fruit, flowers and vegetables that they grow in their garden. He told me that he opens his patio doors and shouts at them. They run, only to return minutes later. They seem to be adapting to urban life as well.

Until I started to manage the deer on this piece of land we regularly saw young deer dead on the ajacent road. The younger deer are driven off of the territories of older deer at certain times of the year. This is when they tend to get hit by cars, as they seek to find territories of their own.

It's beautiful to see them. I guess until they start to become a problem.

We keep Chickens, Duck and a few Quail in our garden for eggs. The kids love them. They run up to the coups to collect the eggs daily, love to help me feed and clean them. They cuddle them and carry them around the garden.

The ducks and chickens are allowed to freely roam the garden.

They are relarively easy to keep. And if you research the breeds, they are neither too noisy or messy.

The pekin bantams are very docile and friendly. They run down the back door every morning, waiting to be given bread. They have feathery feet and they therefore don't scratch the grass. We even keep a cockerel "Ralphie" (closest to the bottom). As he's on his own he barely ever crows. We haven't heard him for months. Chickens are great as they put themselves to bed before dark and you only have to go up and close the door.

We've got 2 Minture Appleyard Ducks, a Black Indian a Runner and a drake Mallard. They will quack loudly to greet us. But apart from that they are quiet. We only let them on the grass when it hasn't been raining in general, as they do like to dig holes. Even though they are small ducks, they produce the most amazing eggs, which are about the size of an extra large chicken egg. We've got a small plastic pool for them, which they love to splash and paddle about in. They will put themselve to bed, but not until dark. So we tend to just stand a few feet back from the coup at dusk and tell them to go to bed. They then go in.

The quail, we keep in a rabbit hutch. We have incubated some of the quails eggs, which was amazing for our children, to see the eggs hatch.

We love the birds and so do out children. They add fun and interest to our families lives daily.