Write Ups

Write ups of your recent trips and event reports.
Why is it after a good stalk I get a simple 100yard shot and FREAKING miss? Why is it a short time later I get an opportunity at just 40 yards and I get a FREAKING BIG "CLICK"!!! Then, why is it right on the edge of to dark do I get yet another opportunity and drop a buck but this time it's a 140 yarder and in a muddy maize stubble field, thankfully sans of any slurry. It couldn't be the earlier easy two could it, oh no it's just got to be the hardest of the lot. 😤 Rant over it is another young knobber so should be nice and it was good to finally get on them. Think I've seen about 20+ again. Thanks to @alberta boy that scope sure has made things easier 🙏. Bloody hard work aren't they 🥵.
This is my first hunting experience with a client/hunter from the UK. John was really looking forward to this trip, so I prepared it so that everything would go according to plan, or above expectations if possible. We would try to hunt a Gredos ibex and a mouflon. I picked John up from Madrid airport on Tuesday afternoon and we drove to the Gredos mountains. Once there and after a short rest at the hotel, we enjoyed a delicious dinner with top quality local meat and other typical Spanish dishes, accompanied by Spanish red wine and beer. The next morning, we got up early to start hunting almost at sunrise, and it was not long before we saw the first ibex in Gredos. They were young animals that did not coincide with what we were...
Local ground this evening (abt 5 mins) which keeps a good contact with the farmer as they are miles away, always a few partridges kicking around who raise a brood which is hard enough with out the foxes. Lots of muntjac tracks with a larger set mixed in had me thinking what time is he passing by!! A small spiny is a draw for muntjac and foxes which is a leap of faith over the full ditch at the moment, a fait muntjac shape in the thermal had me scrabbling over as the land is split by this ditch with me spending time back and forth looking for a chance. 25 mins later no show as muntjac just keep going so I headed back to the ditch still thinking what time this buck turned up! One last look before I got over was this buck standing...
Life has been busy and I've not been out anywhere near the amount I wanted to do when the Green light goes for a stalk I jump at the chance. I don't often stalk in the evenings but it made sense to today and remembering what happend last time I made sure to get to the farm earlier so as to be able to place myself between where the deer tend to go and where they come from. Got on a found 2 roe (doe and unconfirmed) skylined so no go, carried on and a nice little buck was feeding along the hedge away from me (got to about 50y) then he went through which was over the boundry I waited so as not to spoke him or anything else that may be there and then carried on. Also over the boundry the buck had joined a little unit of 3 other bucks and...
I had the pleasure of taking out a friend on his first stalk. A keen bird shooter, he’d shown an interest in stalking and rifle shooting in general so I offered to take him out. Trying to share my knowledge and experience of stalking we covered basic fieldcraft, shot safety and placement before heading out. On a previous visit I also ensured that he could shoot the rifle to an adequate standard in order to take an ethical shot. During our mooch we saw a few deer who didn’t provide a comfortable shot for him - as previously discussed, if you’re not comfortable, don’t shoot. We set up in an area that showed plenty of deer movement and got him comfortable where I taught him the number one tip when it comes to taking deer… patience...
The day here in Moray, Scotland started well, nice clear morning at 5am with a gentle warm breeze. I met my mentor Frank who has been taking me out showing me the ropes and we headed off to the permission. Upon arriving we saw three deer in the field but they soon jumped down the banking onto the neighbouring land. As we went for a walk up the hill we heard a couple of twigs snap ad Bang within a couple of seconds Frank had the rifle on the quad sticks and taken the first deer! After I collected the deer and we did a quick field gralloch we continued on foot for around 100m when we spot a roe in the field on the fence line, it was finally my turn. After waiting a couple of minutes I thought the deer were about to present me a...
So a while back i was reading through some of the write ups and came across a first deer post, in which someone said before long you'll be at 50, at that point i think i had shot 30 something. I thought once i get to 50 i'll do a little write up. Well here I am currently at 69 deer :lol: ! turns out life gets in the way and i havn't had time to sit down and write this 0-50, so it's now 0-69 Here's a little background on me, I have had my firearms over 10 years, up until 2 years ago I had one farm and a hand full of small parcels. in the 8 years I shot a few boar and foxes, but in the entire time i think i saw about 5 deer on the farm, either with .22 in hand not .308 or out of season. So I just focused on rabbits on the farm, i...
With everyone else at work 'working from home', I took the opportunity to get out in the windy, overcast and slightly-threatening-to-rain weather. Though it hasn't rained much in the past few days, the top layer of ground is still sodden in places, the little dips cross country threaten to bog in even the mighty Hilux. A strong westerly is blowing, so I dismount well away from my chosen area and stalk in, using the gorse, blackthorn and blackberry bushes to keep myself from being skylined on the walk in. I scan far ahead, into a shallow valley, convex grassy banks on either side, with a thin woodblock on either ridge. Bizarrely, I spot a Muntjac buck from about 400m out. He's merrily grazing his fill, out in the open, at just after...
So at the end of the game season it’s all go here to thin the roe deer out I was out 5 o’clock in the morning to hopefully get some browny points with the landowner so first location that is normally productive saw nothing so move on second location nothing again plenty of foot prints near the feeders so deer in the location it’s now approaching 9am I’m 1200 steps in moved on to third location I’ve been here three times the week before with the thermal and nothing any way onward and upwards .Arrived at third location deer spotted in a large group tried to get around them but bumped them they then split into three groups I singled this doe out job done
Hi guys, Ive been meaning to do this write up for a little while but Ive been in the process of moving so its taken a backseat. At the end of last year I managed to get back out to Africa for a fishing/hunting holiday. The first part of the trip was supposed to begin with a 4 day trip to the Eastern Cape from Joburg to hunt Vaalie's on horseback but due to bad weather we opted to head down to the free state for a few days and chase a lechwe and a gemsbok. The free state was something new for me and whilst it was good to experience it, I certainly wouldnt rush back there given the hunting available elsewhere in Southern Africa. However, over the few days in the free state we did have a good laugh and some great food. The red lecwhe...
As some maybe aware, my lad suffers from CFS/ME. He’s a really bright lad but unfortunately doesn’t have the energy to attend school. He has hospital schooling at home two days a week. He’s 15 at present so in the middle of GCSE. Fingers crossed he will be able to achieve a pass in maths and hopefully English. He was quite upset when we explained to him he wouldn’t be able to do all his exams, it’s a massive deal for kids today, it’s drummed into them at school that they MUST pass all there exams. Finley turned 15 in October 2023. He really enjoys clay and game shooting with me. He wanted to apply for his shot gun certificate. At 15 you’re pretty limited on what you can do with your own certificate, but I thought it would give him a...
Nothing more exciting than a deer stalk, so for those of you reading hoping for more saucy tales, I'll have to disappoint. I'd spied a roe doe in the far corner of a field, tucked right in about 500 yards away. The wind was awful for me, straight into my back - I had to get to where the doe was to start my stalk proper. I deliberated and decided to slowly stalk into her. Chances are she'd wind me, but hopefully gently move off rather than charge off. That was the plan. I work my way round the field, periodically checking and she's still there. As I start to approach her, I lose sight of the doe because of the topology of the land - not too fussed, and last see the doe wasn't moving. At this point, nature calls. I'm sure some of you...
Well it was for me anyhow. Epic as in I found my deer and was moments away from a shot....twice! Up at 04:00, not raining, good. Get in car at 04:30, raining, meh. As soon as I arrive I see three groups a thousand yards away on the lee side of a forest, just how I was hoping for. I moved in under cover of darkness and end up just 80 yds away waiting for light. Spooked them once! They settled and I waited Soon after the first robin sang I was just starting to see their shapes but barely the reticle of the Leupold that @alberta boy sent me. Conscious that as light increased I to would be exposed I stayed motionless. They were quite calm however as time marched on I noticed they started to look my way more and more. I carefully kept drying...
What a day today was, very bright but with a strong easterly wind. We set off this afternoon to try for Fallow does but they were so jumpy with the wind and usual plethora of off piste walkers it was hard going. We had a good stalk into some does but they were 400yds away and we could get no closer. Laid in a good spot hoping they would feed closer but no they fed away and couched up in the lee of the big wood on our boundary and beneath one of our high seats. We spotted a herd of fifty plus does a bit later but they were so skittish they buzzed off when we were half way to them. It wasn't anything we did they were just so jumpy they wouldn't stay in one spot and moved on to three different owners land in twenty minutes. Well luck was...
A quick check of my Game Book, tells me that I was last out with a rifle on the 21st December - knocking on for three months. I will not bore you (actually I probably will) with the details, but I drive a 110 and she has spent the best part of two months waiting for new front half-axle, diff locky things changing. Long short. I get dicked about by the (latest) garage which lets me know towards the end of February, that they cannot now fit her in (as promised) for the end of December.😖 "Don't worry sir, I have spoken to a friend of mine. He is a Landrover wizard although he is hard to get hold of..." Eventually the "Wizard" returns my messages. "I will phone you tomorrow, when I have the diary in front of me". Two weeks of nothing...
Out tonight, got my first fallow and only my second deer. Bloody windy, and they were behind the high seat so the shot was taken at my 4-5 o'clock. They wandered into a gap in the branches though, with this one separating slightly from the group. A touch high, but it worked. It was my longest field shot, and over my 100m zero so I went for a bit of hold over. Obviously a bit too much but as I say, it worked.
Met Pete straight from work and we were off. Aiming for two different high seats we split up either side of the forestry. During my walk to the seat I notice that the farmer had removed some sheep from the fields and the gate was open. Risking not getting to the seat in time I had a little peak into the grass field as i creeped down the hedge, there they were. A herd of reds out in the open grazing. At this point I’m struggling to keep the wind right. Eventually everything works out and a stag calf presents the shot. Later that night back in the yard we catch up again. Pete had been successful on a Roe Doe, and a good evening had by all. If you’re looking for stalking opportunities with some lovely accommodation in the South...
The rain came in hard over night, the time of abatement according to the MetOffice kept getting pushed right as I checked worriedly throughout the evening. This could seriously jeopardise the planned for first light launch onto the stalking ground. No deer has been shot from a warm bed though, so better to be up and out, I can just sit in the truck and wait for the rain to peter out. 0530, quick coffee, met check (no change - 80% precipitation decreasing to 60% by 0800), kit check and I'm off by 0600. By the time I get to the stalking ground, it's still raining, so I read the news, prep the kit as far as possible and wait till its 'clear' by 0730 and then launch out. I've got a mind on a woodblock that's holding some Roe and Muntjac...
On Monday morning, 19th Feb, I had reason to visit a place between Newbury and Kingsclere. I travelled from Andover using country roads for about twenty miles in total, none that would lend to any speeds and mostly just enough room for two vehicles to pass. Starting from a few miles the other side of Andover the number of Muntjac road kill I saw, at least a dozen, possibly more, was horrific, most were easily identifiable but some were small deer too small for Roe and too early for Roe kids so naturally assumed they were also Muntjac. On one particular stretch of less than a mile there were five. What struck me was that they were all on the side of the road, so from that I gathered they had either been hit and killed and moved to the...
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