Do Sika deserve their reputation for being tough?

Glen of Imaal

Well-Known Member
Following the recent thread on ballistic tips, some posters mentioned the almost mystical properties that people ascribe to Sika. Another said he should probably consult with a shaman on a mountain top before stalking his first:D

I've grown up stalking Sika. I started stalking them with .22 centrefires when we weren't allowed anything else. They are my favourite deer species, without a doubt. They are as much a part of my home county as the hills in which they live.

I've been surprised since joining Stalking Directory that people deem them difficult to stalk or kill. Do people think that they deserve this almost mystical status as super tough? Personally I don't. Yes they are very challenging to stalk, infuriating sometimes and they can run after well placed shots. However I think it is very off putting to new stalkers, who haven't yet stalked Sika, to hear that they are difficult to kill cleanly. They are not.
Does anybody else have any thoughts on this? Do they deserve this reputation?
 
Following the recent thread on ballistic tips, some posters mentioned the almost mystical properties that people ascribe to Sika. Another said he should probably consult with a shaman on a mountain top before stalking his first:D

I've grown up stalking Sika. I started stalking them with .22 centrefires when we weren't allowed anything else. They are my favourite deer species, without a doubt. They are as much a part of my home county as the hills in which they live.

I've been surprised since joining Stalking Directory that people deem them difficult to stalk or kill. Do people think that they deserve this almost mystical status as super tough? Personally I don't. Yes they are very challenging to stalk, infuriating sometimes and they can run after well placed shots. However I think it is very off putting to new stalkers, who haven't yet stalked Sika, to hear that they are difficult to kill cleanly. They are not.
Does anybody else have any thoughts on this? Do they deserve this reputation?

YES!!!! they are robodeer they still run when are dead but just to stubborn to admit they have died!!! very satisfying when you do grass one though :)

Another thing to note in my experience of sika - if they have seen or sensed you are there they almost always run unless physically unable - I.e. neck - head shot
 
Last edited:
I have shot some Sika, not a huge amount, but maybe 50 or a few more. They are not hard to kill as much as it can be hard to kill them "dead right there". This combined with heather bogs, commercial forestry and rushy fields mean that they can be hard to find once shot.

My other basic observation is that a BT type bullet at decent velocity - 120gr 6.5mm at c.2850fps will generally kill them very well with decent chest shots. Less than perfect hits, with slowish bullets that don't open quickly will get you runners, no question in my mind.

Still think pound for pound, a muntjac is the toughest little brute this side of a cape buffalo......:D
 
The first deer I saw shot was a muntjac my father shot. It came out of a wood about a hundred yards away and started feeding broadside on. My father shot it with a 180 gn round nose, from a 7x57. It ran all of 200 yards. When we found it, it had no heart or lung left. Tough little buggers, I have seen some run for it under similar situations, but 200 yards!! It never knew we were there. That was almost thirty years ago, and it is my most precious head.
Karamoja
 
The first deer I saw shot was a muntjac my father shot. It came out of a wood about a hundred yards away and started feeding broadside on. My father shot it with a 180 gn round nose, from a 7x57. It ran all of 200 yards. When we found it, it had no heart or lung left. Tough little buggers, I have seen some run for it under similar situations, but 200 yards!! It never knew we were there. That was almost thirty years ago, and it is my most precious head.
Karamoja
Munties are pretty tough ! I think if Munties were the size of sika they' d be very hard to knock down on the spot .yet to stalk a sika but as its the last species ive left to stalk I'm looking forward to it .
norma
 
Last edited:
Good shot placement as with any quarry is the key get it wrong and we all know the answer to that one been there wore that tee, I have had a few run about 100 yards or so with a well placed heart lung shot before going down and if they present very close to thick cover I try and neck shoot if it presents itself and I am not to far away, failing that a shoulder shot usually does the trick and they do not go far however, we never really know how they or any species will react to any given shot we will do our upmost to dispatch them as cleanly as we can and that is what happens on most occasions but there is always the deer which especially when alarmed and aware of our presence that may run something extra I usually leave an alarmed animal alone and find they do not bleed as well and this affects the meat accordingly just my tuppence worth good luck and safe huntin......:D




Damian
 
It's all a myth, put the bullet in right place and they are no different to any other deer. The majority will drop, some will run. They are certainly a challenge to work with though.
 
Hi All,

An interesting topic. Yes Sika are tough but then again wild animals tend to be. In my experience Sika have incredible eyesight and agility this of sorts adds to the mystic. However in regards to been bullet proof am... No, tough yes.

A common mistake by some hunters new to Sika stalking is not matching there calibre to bullet type suitable for Sika.

I use 120 grain Norma ballistic tips. There fast, hard hitting and have impressive penetration. A 156 grain soft noise isn't designed for Sika and in my visual experience using this bullet type is when one see " runners".

Regards,
Glendine.
 
Here's my two pennyworth gents. I also shot a great number of Sika in the Emerald Isle using all we were allowed 5.6 x 57 maximum cal. Most, if near forestry were neck shot as we wanted them down on the spot. I have chest shot them there with that small calibre out on the hill and they legged it for up to three hundred yards,
I have always found that with the muscular structure of the stags a good chest shot produces a large initial splash of blood but then only a few spots to follow, therefore I always had a dog at hand. The stags in both Ireland and the Scottish borders are tough cookies and having shot a large number of sika, fallow,red and roe the Sika travel the furthest when chest shot without a doubt. In forestry they run through what we have to belly crawl under with comparative ease, even with an eight point head. Having said this I have lost only one, which was lung shot but still outpaced and outdistanced my dog.
The dimunitive Munty is definitely the toughest little sod, using a large calibre and vitually removing the front end, some have still done the hundred yards in better than even time, whereas fallow and roe go down there and then.
My vote on toughness
1. Munty
2. Sika
3. Roe
4, Fallow
5. Red
 
sika act tough but actually it's all instinct in fairness. They have a very strong instinct to run for deep thick cover when threatened and keep driving on til they get there so as you can imagine when shot this happens if 3 or more legs are in play with a 'good' shot.

In my experience the 150gr SST in 30 cal is a top bullet for them but may not always exit on larger animals and you don't get visible blood trails. Even with the 375 h&h and 250gr through the chest they run 40m easy but hell yeh... there's a visible blood trail.
 
I have hunted, stalked, managed Sika for many years, mostly in Scotland, but also in Dorset (Scotland 30 years this year and in Dorset for about 7 years)

They are tough, they do carry a shot well and can bleed very little. Sure they are like all other deer, put a bullet in the right place and they will die. Its all about bullet placement with ay deer, but Sika can often react like they have not been touched, and they can be aggressive if wounded and cornered. Stalking them in dense forestry is demanding and I have just about seen every calibre used on them by various clients from many parts of the world over the years.

I have had 2 situations where wounded stags have charged me and the dog in dense cover in the past 6 years, both times in Scotland. I always advise clients to shoot them in the shoulders in the evening and in the chest in the morning. Even this year with both shoulders out I had an American client take one with my 270 shooting a 150g bullet. It ran across the fire break, cleared the headland and ran into thick planted forestry, carrying its leg to one side and leaning over. My BMH found it dead, but believe it or not it had run about 150yds before dying. Both shoulders taken out.

Tough yes I think they are, and occasionally unpredictable if wounded. But very exciting to stalk, especially in old Caledonian forest that I have on my lease.
 
I have been fortunate to stalk all species of deer , sika being my last. When we met our stalkers for the sika trip we was all briefed on our cull plan and what
to expect, we was told they are the hardest of deer to stalk. Well in my opinion based on my experience only, I found them no harder to stalk than any other deer, and that was on the hill , on clear fell and in woodland, I shot a big hybrid hind at 180 meters it dropped to the shot but got up straight away , it did manage to run 25 meters towards the edge of a wood. the ground was very boggy with very large grass tussocks and it hid this large hind very well but the dog found it easily. Upon inspection it was a high lung shot with a 30.06 fusion 150gn bullet the exit hole was the size of a £2 coin. We all enjoyed this experience and are booking for next year.
 
Yes I do think they deserve the reputation. They just seem to have a thirst for life that other species don't. The man difference is the distance they will travel when chest shot, many hundreds of metres if it's a decent stag revved up in the rut, and even worse if they are suspicious of you. They are easily the most cunning of all the deer, I once spoke to a FC ranger responsible for a great many sika who told me that the hours dedicated per sika shot vastly outweighed that of any other species...and I concur. It's why they are my favourite.

I have concluded that you simply must take a shoulder out or if possible, break the neck, and certainly have access to a good dog close to hand-especially rutting stags. This has been learnt the hard way. A certain amount of trepidation is appropriate before stalking this incredible beasty.
 
Sika do run when shot in the engine room...but mostly, when they do keel over, they do so in the most awkward difficult places to extract from. Not that I personally have shot many, but that was my experience when I did.
I shot a couple of sika hinds in the top neck (back of the head)...naturally they fell on the spot.
 
Percentage wise I've had more sika run from a chest shot than an equivalent placement in the other species. Irrespective of their state of alertness I expect them to run. They're not bullet proof by any means but if you're close to a boundary or the light / ground will complicate a retrieve your margin for error on placement is smaller.
 
Back
Top