First deer

Well, as some of you might now know, this has been a long time coming, I refer you to:

http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?20998-The-reality-of-stalking

and:

http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?21555-Still-pursuing-that-first-munty

Anyway I woke at 4:50 this morning, quick coffee, grabbed my stuff and headed out the door. It was a pretty shitty misty/mizzly morning this morning but spirits weren't dampened (excuse the pun :D).

I arrived and was in my highseat by 05:30 and settled down to watch the country waken up and listen to the morning chorus.

So I waited, and watched, and listened, scanned with my binos, and listened, and watched and waited. Then I waited some more. And a wee bit more just for good measure :-|

At 07:15 I thought, "right, come 07:30 and I'm going to have a go at stalking through the wood and see if I can pick anything up off the sticks, then head home"... 07:29 and I'm litterally beginning to sort myself out and get ready to climb down off the highseat, when, you guessed it, I saw movement about 45m away, it was a lovely buck :eek:

Result! Right, keep calm, last time you fluffed it at this point although the little beggar was much closer last time. Slowly I swing the rifle round a good 160 degrees, my heart is beating like a f*cked clock. "Relax you idiot" I'm thinking. "Damn, he's walking towards me, I need him to be side on". So I wait, and watch, and follow the we blighter as he mossies through the undergrowth and then finally begins to turn, and then, he's side on, great! "Now, stop, STOP" I think, "the fecker is going to just wander off into the bush again"... At this point the Youtube training kicked in, I'd seen/heard people shout, cough, grunt, and make all sorts of noises to get the deer to stop, so I made I kind of farting/coughing/grunting noise...

He stoped... and BANG... he dropped on the spot, reload, watch, no movement... WOOHOO...

He was a good looking fella, well I thought so :D

I was a bit concerned that it looked like the entry wound was a little back from where I'd wanted, exit was bang on where I wanted (the entry to be) hmmmm... maybe he turned away right at the last minute because he was bang on square to me when I (thought I) pulled the trigger - maybe the excitement caused me to snatch the shot :doh: - who knows?

I quicky hung him up to keep any sh*t down the head end and began my first ever gralloch. Let's just say it wasn't text book, but it did the job. I had indeed clipped something that had resulted in green goo, but this was retained by the diaphragm so I only lost the front quarter - a lesson for next time I think. Having smelled some split gut rabbits in my time the smell from the green goo was no where near as bad so either deer don't smell, or it was non digested green goo.

I was back home by 08:45 and just in time to start my day "working from home".

Some pictures:
Stalking 006.jpg

Stalking 011.jpg
 
Last edited:
nice one glad you finally did it ,get him in the frying pan quick :lol: nice size and condition you will never forget that feeling,atb wayne
 
Well done mate!:D

I'm very jealous on 2 counts:
- I've never even seen a muntjac in the wild, and yours looks like a very nice buck to me :D
- I'm also working from home today, and my day didn't have ANYTHING like as good a start to it as yours.....:(

ATB,

Merlin
 
Well done on your first deer I hope it is the first of many.

I must get me one of them wee beasties, I have only ever seen one and that was road kill.

I hope that nasty rash on your face soon clears up :D

John
 
Nice one - well done. I wouldn't weigh it using the 'Elephant' gambrel in the photo though or it might be double the true weight!:lol:
MS:)
 
At this point the Youtube training kicked in, I'd seen/heard people shout, cough, grunt, and make all sorts of noises to get the deer to stop, so I made I kind of farting/coughing/grunting noise...

Brilliant!

Congrats on your first deer - a great munty, no less.
 
Congrats mate, and well done.

I recall my first ever solo buck (roe), my heart was racing like an F1 engine! but what a rush seeing him go straight down too! be careful with the head if you do it yourself, you don't want to screw up your first buck! even though you don't want someone else to take it away from you either, so maybe an observed/guided boiling/cutting/bleach would not be a crazy idea...just a thought, your buck.

congrats again!
 
Thanks all for the responses - still buzzing :smug:

Stig, this was on your own ground from your own seat?

Yes Brian:

Own ground
Own seat
Own rifle
Own (rough around the edges) gralloch (with thanks to Chris Howard - DVD - but still didn't get the arse, bladder and willy out intact/easily (no leakage thankfully))
Own (slightly tough and frustrating) skinning
Own (very rough around the edges) butchering
Own (to be completed) clean, bleech, mount very first deer

All of the above make it sooooo much more satisfying, but that paid stalk was what was required to a) get some leverage with the wife (i.e. stop my moaning) and b) get my arse in gear and get out there...

Thanks all for super advice

:D
 
Stig,

Well done.. A great muntjac in great condition.

Your keep learning each and every time you cull an animal wether it be with the grallock, the shot, or the stalk.

Enjoy and I hope you have many more to come

Robbo25
 
Stig -

I can't remember whether Howard mentions this in his video - it is some time since I last watched - but best practice allows you to remove contamination with potable water if the carcass is still warm, or once-only wipes. Next time you have a spillage - and we all do at one time or another - wipe or wash...and eat the whole animal.
 
best practice allows you to remove contamination with potable water if the carcass is still warm, or once-only wipes.

Indeed you're correct...

"If gut contents have spilled into the stomach cavity, attempt to remove as quickly and a thoroughly as possible (where practical, this is best achieved by wiping out the worst of the solid content with disposable paper towels or as a last resort by using clean sphagnum moss)."
http://www.bestpracticeguides.org.uk/carcass_gralloch.aspx

every outing I will learn a little more!
 
Low pressure potable water - just in case the high pressure hose or jet wash are handy. ;)

Nice first deer. :thumb:
 
Well done Stig
That's a couple of good photos of a decent buck alright and a readable write up too.
Thanks on two scores!
ATB
Geoshot
 
The food pipe passes down the neck across the chest and through the diaphragm so it is possible that the bullet was spot on but that it burst this pipe somewhere in the chest cavity.

I've heard a lot of people say that when shooting deer you should "aim for the exit" which I think means that you need to aim so that the bullet passes through the body to exit so it has passed through the vital organs in the process. It sounds to me like this is exactly what you did. Well done on your first deer.
 
Well said Caorach,
And on an animal as small and compact as a muntie, a few centimetres here and there make a difference, plus a bullet fragment won't have far to travel to do damage where you didn't want it.
Don't worry, you grassed it, and your photos don't indicate much of a mess if any.
Well done on your first deer and here's to many more.
 
Back
Top