We have an unusually large population of hare on our farm, not many bunnies but loads of hare! We have to control their numbers, as they can do a lot of damage, particularly to our newly planted native seedlings.
The boys love heading out with dad on a winter's night, armed with a spotlight and air rifle. The boy's role is hare spotting, spotlight shining and hare collection, while dad takes charge of the shooting. As Charlie gains in confidence and precision, he is starting to do some shooting himself, closely supervised by his dad.
We do a lot of practice with targets at home and there is fierce competition over who can get closest to the bullseye! Charlie has his own slug gun, which is perfect for target practice. He sometimes allows Oscar to have a go, when he's feeling extra generous! It is really important to me, that the boys learn to be a good shot, before taking aim at live animals.
The hare are taken home and fed to our working dogs....no waste around here. Sometimes we remove the back steaks and fry them up for our dinner too!