new to stalking

wrighty

Well-Known Member
hi every 1 im new to stalking never been out yet but i have been looking in to it for a couple of years now and iv just joind my local gun club just to get used to shooting. so what im looking for now is stalking from the bottom end of scotland to north yorkshire or there abouts i dont have my fac yet. any help would be greatfull.
 
prehaps a bit of practice on general vermin may help you out before you set off out into the world of stalking, i dont want to seem to be slaming the stalking door shut in your face but i do think if your able to say "look chaps ive been shooting now for a few years and now i would like to look into stalking" it will help you out a lot, you say youve joined a gun club but is that a club clay pidgoen shooting club or a target shooting club?. its also worth mentioning that with very limited shooting experience you may find it hard (tho certainly not impossible) to get somone to take you out especialy if you want to do some of the shooting as stalking rights are very hard to come by and often exspensive and every time a stalker takes someone out with them its there reputaion at stake if somthing was to go wrong. i dont want to put you off of stalking as im sure in time you will get there but as said have a look into your shooting club and general vermin shooting and maybe even game shooting just to give yourself a bit of a shooting c.v. if you like
 
First of all there is a chap who posts on here called John from an outfit called Yorkshire Deer stalking who gets a good reputation and who I am sure would be more than willing to help a beginner get a start. At the minute we are in the doe season so the stalking for roe or even for red/sika hinds is very good value. There is also a poster called Jamross55 who has sika in the borders, though sika will likely prove more difficult stalking than roe.

I'm going to go the other way to the previous poster. I'd never held a rifle in my life but was always interested and at nearly 40 years old I made the decision and saved the cash and "took up" shooting, until that point I didn't really have the money or the opportunity. Like you I joined a local target club to get some experience and I also applied for a rifle (a 308 so dual purpose and common as muck) for target. I took myself to Scotland and booked a day shooting hinds in the Hebrides and just loved it. The first live animal I ever shot was the hind I shot that day. My only regret was that I didn't do it years ago. I now have my DSC1, my rifle conditioned for deer, and I really enjoy my stalking. The bottom line is that for a recreational stalker the whole point of the thing is to have a bit of fun and to enjoy your days out and sometimes people get too caught up on what you should, or shouldn't do etc. If you are determined to do it then don't let people talk you out of it or put barriers in your way.

So, my advice is to select the route to stalking that suits you and to follow it. Book some paid days and get out there and give it a go as soon as you can as it may not be for everyone. If you enjoy it then put your mind to having a long term plan - you might get lucky but it is more reasonable to plan on maybe working towards your own ground and a rifle conditioned for deer in 5 years or similar and that way you have a positive target that is reasonable and you can enjoy all the steps along the way. It also allows you to spread the expenditure over a reasonable time frame as even if you just add up fuel costs stalking requires a reasonable amount of free cash.
 
Anyone joining a gun club `just to get used to shooting` should not be using live creatures as target practice whilst attempting to improve their skills.
Live creatures bleed and bleat and deserve our respect even if we class them as `vermin species`.

HWH.
 
Anyone joining a gun club `just to get used to shooting` should not be using live creatures as target practice whilst attempting to improve their skills.
Live creatures bleed and bleat and deserve our respect even if we class them as `vermin species`.

HWH.

I tend to agree with you buddy i had done a few years vermin and target shooting before i felt comfortable to go and shoot a deer and glad i did.

To the op it does not sound like you are ready yet to me get a few months shooting behind you first get to a 100m range and shoot some targets at that sort of distance or further, i no a few stalking outfits down my way have some woodland ranges at 100m and 200m for hire and im sure if you try and find one like that they may help you out by getting some practice in and when they feel your ready they would take you out just some ideas mate hope you get sorted buddy probably someone on here maybe able to who no's :thumb:
 
If you want to get used to shooting through a scope in the cheapest way possible, then have you thought of buying an air rifle going to a local club and shooting at paper for a bit. You can join a full bore rifle club at the same time most have a probation a 6months before they will sign off on you getting an FAC.
The principles of marksmanship are the same what ever type of rifle you shoot just the bang and recoil are different,also shooting full bore can get expensive quite quickly if you want to put a good bit of practice in.
I got my FAC granted on deer stalking alone I wasn't at that time a member of a home office approved gun club, I am now as I joined one to shoot with a friend of mine I grew up with.
So as such you don't have to join a club but if you have little or no firearms experience then it would be a wise move as you will learn so much from experienced shooters.
 
Do you have land to shoot over, or a decent garden to start with your air rifle. Remember it is accuracy that kills and accuracy only come from practice. Enjoy the sport.
 
Mongoose and sir amp alot you feel that after shooting vermin for a few years you only then felt comfortable to shoot deer, don,t vermin deserve the same respect as deer they bleed and are generally smaller than deer so harder to hit, this chap has joined a gun club to practice his shooting , how many stalkers did that before starting
Wrighty get out there and get stalking there are plenty of people offering stalking by the day olso go and check out some of the local estates the worst they can say is no.
 
Mongoose and sir amp alot you feel that after shooting vermin for a few years you only then felt comfortable to shoot deer, don,t vermin deserve the same respect as deer they bleed and are generally smaller than deer so harder to hit, this chap has joined a gun club to practice his shooting , how many stalkers did that before starting
Wrighty get out there and get stalking there are plenty of people offering stalking by the day olso go and check out some of the local estates the worst they can say is no.

Of course they deserve the same respect but most people start rifle shooting with air rifles shooting rabbits,rats,pigeons etc then move to rim/centerfire then deer, i had been going to my local gun club also but i would not have felt comfortable going after deer only after a short while of rifle shooting thats all im saying im giving an opinion like everybody else not everyone has to agree with it thats fine, im waiting for the " i never shot rats,pigeons,rabbits" comments and again thats fine not everybody gets into the same way and i think my post is certainly more constructive than yours
 
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Ive a friend that most days can shoot quite well on targets with his 17hmr but put a live target in front of him and he's a wreck,breathing goes etc ,he then suggested that if he had a bigger calibre hed be ok.Ive talked him out of this with the arguement that if you cant handle lower calibre rifles on smaller targets what makes you think that you can hit bigger target with a bigger calibre. Hope this makes a bit of sense.
 
100 you are right in what you say, but punching paper will not solve the problem, what he gets is buck fever and only doing more shooting might cure it, try just lining up on live quarry but with a empty chamber it might help.
 
Mongoose and sir amp alot you feel that after shooting vermin for a few years you only then felt comfortable to shoot deer, don,t vermin deserve the same respect as deer they bleed and are generally smaller than deer so harder to hit, this chap has joined a gun club to practice his shooting , how many stalkers did that before starting
Wrighty get out there and get stalking there are plenty of people offering stalking by the day olso go and check out some of the local estates the worst they can say is no.
as mongoose has already said many people see it fit and right to work up to shooting deer after cutting there teeth on smaller quarry species and as moongoose has already said yes they do deserve the same respect as a animal and a living creature as deer do, but they are also generally found in greater numbers than deer, take rabbits for instance you could go out stalking rabbits in the summer and quite easily bag yourself 4 in a night which has given you at least 4 shots and a whole heap of experience on the way. go staliking tho and you might only see one or two deer and quite possibly not even mount the rifle to your shoulder let alone fire a shot, so which outing has given you more experience the rabbits or the deer?, i know this example is a bit what if but im sure you can see where im coming from
 
me personally would say find a good guide off here and get some outings most people have said start off punching paper which is great but unless you are with someone who knows whats going on you arent going to learn much on your own. if you go out with a guide and have done some previous rifle shooting to get the basic safety down with someone on a range to put you right i would think surely the best thing was a guide to show you how to go on and you will learn so much from someone who does it for a living than any amount of time on a range .so many people go straight into dsc1 without ever firing a rifle and go off stalking after that and are accepted by the police for meeting a requirement and not really know anything about deer or stalking.i learnt so much from meeting the right people when i started out and being put at ease straight away to be able to learn properly . a guide will be able to get you up close and keep you calm and talk you through every step . i would say that someone new to stalking will take in more than someone else who has been going for some time .how many experienced guys go with a guide and fluff a shot for whatever reason .i would say that number one priority is being safe with a rifle and after that priority to the qaurry which a guide will be able to show you whats safe and what shots to take and why i would say you will learn more from a guide than going off on your own shooting rabbits or vermin and as pointed out they still deserve to be killed outright and a guide will show this rather than going off on your own . ask more questions on here and learn as you go and get some stalks booked with a guid ,chances are its around 3 stalks per successfull outing you might get lucky first time out but if you do get onto a deer you still have to decide to take it . i wish you all the best and i will bet that after your first outing you will be hooked as i was ,wayne
 
me personally would say find a good guide off here and get some outings most people have said start off punching paper which is great but unless you are with someone who knows whats going on you arent going to learn much on your own. if you go out with a guide and have done some previous rifle shooting to get the basic safety down with someone on a range to put you right i would think surely the best thing was a guide to show you how to go on and you will learn so much from someone who does it for a living than any amount of time on a range .so many people go straight into dsc1 without ever firing a rifle and go off stalking after that and are accepted by the police for meeting a requirement and not really know anything about deer or stalking.i learnt so much from meeting the right people when i started out and being put at ease straight away to be able to learn properly . a guide will be able to get you up close and keep you calm and talk you through every step . i would say that someone new to stalking will take in more than someone else who has been going for some time .how many experienced guys go with a guide and fluff a shot for whatever reason .i would say that number one priority is being safe with a rifle and after that priority to the qaurry which a guide will be able to show you whats safe and what shots to take and why i would say you will learn more from a guide than going off on your own shooting rabbits or vermin and as pointed out they still deserve to be killed outright and a guide will show this rather than going off on your own . ask more questions on here and learn as you go and get some stalks booked with a guid ,chances are its around 3 stalks per successfull outing you might get lucky first time out but if you do get onto a deer you still have to decide to take it . i wish you all the best and i will bet that after your first outing you will be hooked as i was ,wayne
Im with mereside on this no guide will put you on a deer, unless he thinks your ready to do so. to my mind its not all about the shooting its handling firearms and safety and lets face it there is alot of difference shooting on a range to going out deer stalking
 
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