I was out last night on one of my regular evening shooting contracts, a large private estate in Kent with a 25 acre garden. The rabbits were out in substantial numbers for the amount of ground, I usually make several sweeps and bag about seven or eight. Last night was exceptional, the rabbits were out everywhere and I shot fifteen. The day had started with spectacular downpours and torrential rain, it brightened in the afternoon and then looked menacing again in the late afternoon. In the last remaining light of dusk, the weather over the estate was patchy cloud and windy, the skies went rolling past and up there was a large Bright Full Moon, illuminating everything and anyone below it.

Apparently from those in the know it is known as a “blood moon”, not because of the werewolves it attracts, but due to it’s red colour. It occurs when the Moon passes in the shadow of Earth called the umbra, causing the sun’s red visible light to scatter. The event is typically quite rare, but the moon is currently going through a sequence of four blood moons called a tetrad. The red visibility will be most evident in North America and Canada. The last blood moon was visible on 15 April 2014 and the next is expected to occur on 4 April 2015.

Anyway, all I can say is that the combination of the weather and the bright Full Moon seemed to be a good recipe for rabbit shooting and carrying out some rural pest control. Roll on more clear bright nights.