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sikamalc

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Just got back from my areas in West Sussex, where I had Marty J and his friend Ron, plus Oberon off the SD site.

5 deer in 3 outings 3 Fallow, 1 Roe and a Sika hind!!

There are no Sika in the area I have and yet this turned up with some Fallow. Heavy in fat, not pregnant, and it looks like a Manchurian, although in winter coat she looked much squarer in the body and face than a Jap.

Both landowners were suprised when I told them, and to their knowledge no one has sika in the area on farms or parks. So a great suprise at the weekend.

Best

Sikamalc
 
I don't know where your ground is Malc but I used to stalk on the Hyde Estate near Handcross and we had a couple of sika hinds that used to run with the fallow there and the odd sika stag came in for the rut, I don't know where from but St. Leonards Forest was suggested as a possible source.

I was once asked by the professional stalker to take a client out whilst he attended to another and we had a fairly unique experience. I told the client to take a roebuck that was on the cull plan and at the sound of the shot a previously unseen good sika stag and fallow buck that had been lying down in the bracken both stood up and headed out at high speed, five minutes later we saw a muntjac.

I couldn't say whether or not they were Jap not being a great expert on sika but the hinds were a similar colour to standard fallow and the stags much darker.
 
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Thanks Paul,

My main area is not far from St Leonards Forest, but the area the Sika was taken is about 5 miles further on from the main area. I have had a PM about this as well. It appears that there is the odd one floating about, but it was still a suprise for me, albeit a pleasant one for Marty J from the SD site who shot it and a Fallow in the space of about 10 seconds. So he had his first Fallow and first Sika in one outing.

I have told him not to expect to get another Sika if and when he comes back though :lol: having said that he travelled all the way down from Newcastle :eek: so I am very glad that both he and his friend Ron managed to take 3 deer between them, and both got their first Fallow.

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Sikamalc
 
Thanks Paul,



I have told him not to expect to get another Sika if and when he comes back though :lol: having said that he travelled all the way down from Newcastle :eek: so I am very glad that both he and his friend Ron managed to take 3 deer between them, and both got their first Fallow.

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Sikamalc

Not if mate definitely when;)
 
Thanks Paul,

My main area is not far from St Leonards Forest, but the area the Sika was taken is about 5 miles further on from the main area.
Best

Sikamalc

If this was 5 miles to the SE of St, Leonards Forest it's right bang in the same area as we saw them and a couple of miles is nothing.
 
Small world................ I took my first Roe Buck, a Murder Buck, on the Hyde estate. I used to live just north of Gatwick before moving up here.
 
I shot a fallow murder buck on the Hyde - even smaller World! It was a one antlered buck a bit like a red switch. It was a nice piece of ground with a good deer population, the only problem was with lots of estate workers and public access we had to be off the ground by 08:00.

I once had one of the best stalking experiences on the Hyde. I was sitting on the ground about 50 yards away and downwind of a fallow rutting stand waiting for dawn to break and the mature buck to arrive. As it started to get light a couple of prickets ran onto the stand and started to feed. At that point a mature buck opened up for the first time and started to groan about 75 yards away but getting closer. The big buck got even closer and a group of does came into view on the stand. The prickets were nervous and when the buck started to kick off just out of view they decided to leave the area in a hurry and ran straight at me. I could have touched them with my stick as they passed by me.

The buck had now arrived on the stand and was strutting up and down giving it some welly and I started to look for a shot. It was a bit tricky as I was at ground level, the stand was towards the edge of a gulley and the buck was frequently skylined. To cut a long story short it had that buck within 50 yards of me for about 10 minutes and he never offered a shot being either behind a tree, masked by does or skylined before finally spooking and making off. Notwithstanding this I had one of the best stalks ever - you don't always have to pull the trigger to enjoy an outing.
 
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:lol: We went after the Fallow in one of the woods but they kept moving away so the stalker told me to wait and he stalked around them then showed himself so they would come my way. Oh they did that alright. I had moved the the fence line in the wood so they could not sneak behind me. There was a ditch just in from the fence so i hopped over it tot he fence and the fallow all did the same and came barreling down the fence line about 40 of them. I had to jump out fo the way or get trampled. I never did get to shoot a fallow there only ever got into the Roe. I was stalking the estate through Roger Buss's services at the time.

The Roe Murder Buck was brought down by a Doe as we saw her then he stood up and once idetified the shot was taken through the corner of a deer fence as he was not going to hang about. The 165 grain .308 Nosler ballitic Tip dumped him on the spot at about 75 yards. We had to chase the doe away as she would not leave him. I had many more tsalks on Hyde where I never got a shot but yes it was avery nice place to stalk usually. Another fallow outing was ruined by a couple who sent their Jack russel in to chase the deer. I am sure they saw us and were intent of ruinign our stalk. Trevor the stalker had a word with them and they were all smarmy I then walked up and told them if I saw their dog again on the estate I would shoot it. That shut them up especially when they started talking about calling the Police. Trevor just got his wallet out and pulled out his warrent card. Their faces were a picture. Trevor was one of the armed officers at Gatwick.

I stalked the Hyde about 4 times a year for three years.
 
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