So how many do you shoot?

Nick Gordon

Well-Known Member
A stalker I know was complaining about the lack of ground availble for stalking even though there is more and more ground being planted with trees and the asking prices for ground.

His point of view is that even though there are more people stalking deer,deer numbers are increasing every year which means there are "too many people taking a gun for a walk and shooting for the freezer" His words not mine :!:

He was asked to submit a tender to control red deer on a piece of ground here in Scotland but didnt get it.

He found out from the land manager that despite the advice to the owners that there was no prospect of the syndicate being on the ground often enough to do the job, the ground was leased to a syndicate from the south of England.

After a year the damage was, surprise, surprise, at unacceptable levels so the land manager is now trying to persuade the owners that money is not everything.

My argument with him is that it is up to the individual stalker how many deer he or she shoots a year.

If the owner/ land manager is not satisfied with cull figures he can always terminate the lease.

I understand that this stalker culls more than 125 deer a year so when he would get the time to shoot more is beyond me.

So I'm curious to find out what type of ground do you have and your annual cull figures?

Nick
 
My cull figure is 0.5 Roe per year, I share the shooting on a small farm with my brother, we have agreed to take one buck a year and its my turn this year :D.

I nearly missed out though because the resident buck got himself run over at the beginning of February, but there is some fresh marking up in the wood (10 acres) so it looks as if a replacement has arrived.
 
A very good point! I, last year had 2 farms that I could "take one or two for the pot" This year I have had to up it to over fifty, and if I hadn't, then someone else would have been asked. I probably would have lost my "patch." Amazing how things change!!

Plius the price of wheat has made crop protection more important!!!!
 
I stalk about 500 acres although only about 100 seem to have deer on them at the moment. The fallow pass in and out and rarely do I see Does so it is just a shoot on sight policy when I see the herd of Bucks. There are now some resident Roe and I took 3 bucks and a Doe last year. The farmer is complaining about the fraying in his young plantations at the moment so it will be time to catch up with a few more at the beginning of the season. I think that this year will be about the same number although the farmer may wish me to drop a few more.
 
I recently acquired some ground which is literally on my door step after trying for a very long time. This area is predominately Roe with some Sika and the stalking round here is dead mans shoes.
The cull target set is six does and six Bucks, young and old for the first year, then we are to reassess because indications are with both sightings and damage there are more deer than the land owner first thought.
One further point talking to some of the stalkers around this area, the ground may be taken but the cull targets are not being met and now the B*****d poachers are at it and we are seeing some unsavoury nasty tricks on the people who challenge them,
The point is, if everybody were at there game and doing what they say they are, then the deer numbers would be at a better level and the best deterrent to poaching is people on the ground up and about watching.

Smithy
 
i shoot about 15 roe wich is 5-6 does and the rest are cull bucks from yearlings up, i also shoot about 15 fallow, which are 8-10 does and the rest mainly prickets with the odd sorrel and decent buck thrown in and any munties that i see fit to add to the bag last year it was 3 this year so far it is 4 and sitll a few months to go from about 2 thousand acres ,
my cull quota is what i set myself ans so far on the roe it is working with nice heads and weights aswell as good healthy does that are rearing healthy offspring, the fallow i limit any good bucks as i know the neighbours only shoot them so good management in my area is hard to say the least
stone
 
l shoot about 3000 acres locally which is made up of 3 bits, 1 bit of 500 acres is mainly munties with a few roe as far as the munties well it has to be a shoot on site policy as there is a 90 acre garden within it whic is about half woodland and the rest is formal gardens and lawns and that is were the majority are as far as the roe well l take out 1 or 2 does a year and asses what needs to be done on the bucks as time passes last year l did not take a buck off it as the big fella was run over and the year before l took a buck that had a broken back leg another road casualty this year there is a promising young lad about and as yet l have not seen any yearling bucks.

The other 2 bits are adjoining estates and l take up to 25 roe does of mixed age and 10 to 12 roe bucks a year of them and as many munties as l can but there is more scope to try and manage the munties there, l have yet to have a good roe buck of the place as l have spent the last 3 years weeding out the rubbish and culling the does hard as well as the munties, but there are some cracking bucks there so maybe l will indulge myself this year, there is also a few red and fallow about but unless they are obviously making a nuisance of themselves they are largely left alone at the moment.

l stalk roe on around 1400 acres in Scotland were l am a syndicate member but at the moment the main bit is being pulled around and a lot of felling is going on to make way for an extension to a wind farm so until the work there is completed we will not know what the cull figures will be, but l do not expect to take any deer of that bit this year, we do have a few outlying bits of ground which hold deer so l may be able to winkle 1 or 2 of them.

All the local ground l have l set the cull figures myself and it does seem to working, average weights seem to be increasing and the quality of the bucks is improving also.
 
On average about 30-40 but this year It may be in the region of 50-60 as I've picked up some more ground and I've more time on my hands to get out and about.

I also organise the culling of deer on a local estate (Highseats only) this year I will up the cull to 50, plenty of roe and muntjac on the ground now.
 
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