Reds

Sprocker101

Well-Known Member
Hi,

Ive seen a small herd of Reds tonight while out and about, not having stalked them much in the past how long do they usually stay around a certain area if undisturbed?
There were a couple of Stags in there that looked right for the taking...

Cheers
 
Hi,
Ive seen a small herd of Reds tonight while out and about, not having stalked them much in the past how long do they usually stay around a certain area if undisturbed?

How long is a piece of string?

There were a couple of Stags in there that looked right for the taking...

How do you know they were 'right'? If you've only just come across them I'd suggest putting the rifle away and spending some time out with the binos and find out what they are all about. The rut will kick off next month and those stags will either bugger off to be with the girls - they clearly don't have that on their minds at the moment otherwise they'd be be kicking seven bales out of each other - or you'll be treated to one of the most magnificent sights in nature on your own ground.

Don't be too hasty to pull the trigger and enjoy what you may have for years to come.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go out there blasting away without making an informed decision first..
One of them is a spiker and looked as tho he could do with a good meal...
I would love to see the reds rutting thats for sure!
 
Ive been observing these reds for a while now and there is a group of a stags, some in velvet, some spikers, and a couple of nice mature stags.
My question is how can i tell the difference between a spiker and a definite switch? One of the stags has a very dangerous looking very straight set of antlers with no brow points.

Is there another simple way of gauging their age other than antler growth ??

Cheers
 
i very much doubt you saw a red in velvet at end of october

are you sure ????
 
ok thats very strange but strange things happen

i would start with culling that spiker your taking about
 
Thats what I'm thinking but how can i be sure he's not going to have potential if he is a spiker and not a switch??

Cheers
 
Post pic's if poss, older animals cast velvet first then younger beasts if it's still in velvet now i'd be suspicious of it, as oppposed to being a knobber, i'd think poor dooer probably diseased. As a rough rule of thumb, first set of antlers , spikes even and higher than the length of ears ,if there's brow tines most likely a cull animal and a switchy head.
For animals to progress at the optimun rate , good first head of spikes higher than ears on very good animals first head can throw points, often top fork and sometimes trey or brow as well, second head should definitely have a top fork and treys and a brow tine. I'll post some examples if i can figure out how.
 
The first pic is a 8 point exceptionally good first set of antlers,last season he was a 12 and this season a 16 with good hieght
. The second pic shows a good first head of spikes back right and a clean third head centre fore ground and a weak second head back left and a stronger second head in dark velvet at rear, hope pics useful 2 028.jpg2 201.jpg
 

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Many thanks very useful. now brow points but one of the spikers has very straight 'spikes' with no bowing as shown in the second pick (the one on the right).

I'll get the camera out and try to get some pictures this week!
Cheers
 
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