There is definitely some luck in this game...

NigelM

Well-Known Member
Forecast looked excellent for today, at last, so took the day off to see if I could add one or two more to the cull.

Up early doors, arrived on the ground 15 minutes early, sat tight until I could see and set off with the dog.

Covered about 100 acres. Didn't see a sausage, apart from 4 very safe Roe who were 400 yds over the boundary.

Quick cup of tea, only 0830, so set off for a second patch. Covered a couple of hundred acres this time, two fields which are usually absolute bankers. But again, not a sausage. Didn't see anything, didn't bump anything and the dog didn't wind anything. Most unusual.

Went and had a cup of tea with the keeper. He had been seeing a few but not many. Plenty of slots about though.

1100, and another 100 acre patch. It's mostly arable, 30 acre fields with little spinnies in the corners. Maze is pretty flat now, so covering a lot of ground quite quickly is pretty easy. Again, nothing.

I have been on this piece of ground for 8 years now and I don't think I have every covered so much ground and not seen anything before.

Time for a spot of lunch. I thought I would go and eat it in the high seat in the woods. Sat the dog up underneath, climbed up, took the first bite of ham, cheese and pickle on brown and out pop 5 Roe, 3 Does and 2 Bucks. 100 yds away on the ride. Shot two Does (well, a Doe and last years calf), finished my sandwich and tidied them up.

5 hours of creeping around the fields and seeing nothing. 5 minutes in a high seat and bingo.

Still prefer creeping around the fields!
 
yes you wont shoot anything if you`re still in bed ...which I was.:zzz:
chances increase dramatically if you set the alarm and get up.
chances increase again if you have deer on the ground.
if you know the lie of the land
even better chance if you are skilled and patient stalker

but, at the end of the day a little luck does no harm.:cool:
 
Alarm set, out of bed, deer on ground (usually anyway), know the ground well, skilled (well, I think I am), patient (not enough).

I like the deer after my pickle theory best.
 
I was up and out early with a friend waiting for it to get light. Sat in a box watching a meadow. We did dee a couple of muntjac in the next field, outside of the permission but that was it. After a couple of hours decided to call it quits. Had a look in the field leading up to the box and saw where ten deer had been couched up behind us. The trouble is where they were is out of bounds to shoot because of a road. So luck does come into it, still any day being out is better than a good day a work:D
 
This thread has cheered me up no end.

I was out Wednesday, lovely day, cold and snow on its way. Couple of light flurries in the afternoon, but nothing to speak of. Glimpsed a hind crossing inside a plantation edge, bumped a spiker, didn't see a single roe all day.

Walked flippin miles. Spent lots of time glassing clearfell and 'hot spots'. Even had my lucky socks on.

Still beats a day at work!
 
I have had days where I have covered lots of ground and not seen anything and then days when I have only been five minutes from the vehicle and grassed deer. It's the uncertainty and anticipation of what lays ahead that gets me out of my bed when it's cold and still dark outside, long may it continue.

ATB 243 Stalker.
 
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