My first stalk, at long last!

Daemo

Well-Known Member
Hi guys

I went for my first stalk last night - after reds not too far from Ashbourne in Derbyshire.

Myself and a mate met up with Mike Dickinson (a committee member of the NGO deer section and contact of Stone) at about 6pm at Mikes place, then drove out to the ground about 30 minutes away.

Mike directed my mate to a ridge overlooking a wooded gully, while we went 700+ yards in the other direction.

We stalked along a well used deer track, huge slots everywhere, loads of sign and the omens looked good.

The weather that had been raining on and off all day decided to be kind to us, sunshine, the visibility was good and the wind was in our favour.

About 10 minutes in to the stalk we glassed a young buck heading towards my mate, stopping to eat and moving on (he kept looking over to us but the distance reassured him that we weren't a threat).

Mike and I carried on along the deer track, no mean feat as it was quite slippy under foot at times and it snaked along the side of a steep ridge. After another careful 30 minutes we found our way to a good position over looking a deer thoroughfare, with the possibility of 3 entry points for them to come into our sights and settled down to see what came by.

There was lots of animal life around, rabbit and hare below us - badgers 10ft further up the ridge behind us, it was nice being in a lovely spot with a bit of sun keeping the chilly wind at bay.

We kept looking over to where we'd seen the pricket and noticed a hind not too far from the same spot, but moving away from my friends position - we kept our fingers crossed for him to get a chance at the male, and hoped to hear a shot ring out at some point.

We waited patiently for some time, and as the sun started to settle behind the high ridge in front of us we started to feel the chilly wind (note to self, warmer clothes next time and don't leave the gloves in the car, doh!). This was the time of day we really expected some activity and my full focus was on the ground in front and below us.

It was now we heard a shot - Mike said he heard the impact too, hopefully my friend had taken the pricket, but it could just as well have been a fox. We gave it a few minutes and tried to ring my mate, but he had no signal.

The sun disappeared and my first stalk was over (or so I thought), and we started making our way back along the deer track to the car, accompanied by the sounds of the local farmer arguing with his cattle, and I do mean an actual debate! Stone will know who I mean, it was quite entertaining.

After climbing up the ridge we were able to call my friend and he confirmed he'd had a shot, it was a big stag he said. We thought it was the excitement of the moment and probably the pricket we'd seen - Mike confirmed the position of the deer with him and we made our way over.

It had been a 250m shot, with a .243 and the animal had dropped like a stone, unfortunately it decided to slip down a steep gully and into some trees and scrub at the bottom. Mike called a friend of his in an adjoining farm and he came along with his Kubota to help with the extraction.

As we arrived the stag was still out of site, so we made our way into the cover.

Well, it was bloody huge! - a good 16 stones in weight, maybe more. Interestingly it had really big antlers, as thick as your arm and in velvet too. My friend had bled it, so Mike got stuck in and showed me the Gralloch.

On inspecting the stag it was noticed that its testicles were under developed, and this lack of testosterone had possibly been the cause of its unusual antlers, they were not new growth and the stag had obviously not shed them for some time. Mike checked the teeth, with the top set virtually worn away - and the age was estimated at about 12 years.

So an unusual animal, the largest my friend had shot to date by some margin and he was very happy - Mike and I were just as pleased, for myself I was absolutely delighted for my friend and to have been involved.

The 4 of us struggled to get him in the Kubota but managed in the end, and then made our way back to the car, loaded him on a trailer and headed back to Mikes place.

On cleaning the stag we found the entry and exit wounds - the bullet had hit, gone through a couple of ribs, travelled through a lung and then back out the same side of the ribcage and embedded in the top muscle of the front leg, but it had certainly done its job.

Mike now showed me the rest of the carcass preparation and had me de- hoof a leg!

I haven't got the photo's yet, but will post them as soon as I can, it was a monster!

I can’t wait to go out again, shame the reds finish in a couple of days – but im going to try and get some Roe buck and Muntie stalking in - asap, ive definitely got the bug!

Cheers

Daemon

:D
 
That's done it...you can kiss goodbye to social life, evenings in the pub, morning lie-ins, having a pound in your pocket and all the other things 'normal' people take for granted! Your hooked!

Welcome to the world of deer, you'll never regret it!
 
well done,nice write up,the fella you went out with lives not to far from me and i only ever hear good things about him.which is nice for a change
 
good lad

Chuffed for you Daemo.

Been a while coming and you certainly have showed more patience than I would have done.Hope your first animal is just around the corner
 
Nice one Daemon

That is a great report and please post the pics when you can. Looking forward to seeing them/.

Mike is one of the best too. Glad you had a good do.
 
nice going Daemon
i just sent you a pm
need not hav bothered now i hav read this
mine was nearly 27 1/2 stone :lol:
but what a great evening you both had
listening to the farmer does make you chuckle don't it :lol: :lol:
i shot my first red pricket in the valley to the right of the cattle shed and no way would you of got a kubuta in there
i had a proper drag uphill
almost 3 hours :evil:
teach me
look forward to meeting up soon
and hopefully try and get you your first deer
ATB
ps looks like Mike is gaining a fan club :evil: :evil:
damn i shall take the mikey now :lol: :lol:
 
Nice going Deamon.
It will be your turn soon enough mate.
This bloody stalking lark is soooooo adictive.
A good account of a great evening.
Goes to show shot placement is the key.

Hopefully meet up soon mate.

Good luck with the buck, will try and tie up a few loose ends this end ;)

Jonathon
 
Thanks

Thanks very much everyone.

Mike is one of the good guys, he patiently explained everything to me and I learned a great deal.

I was on the phone the next morning asking about my next trip come the winter!

Stone - not quite as big as yours mate! they are monsters there though, I was mightily impressed, ive seen your pic, you must have been delighted - was it difficult to decide whether to shoot it or saddle it up and ride it? :D

Next time im in the area i'll drop off a bottle of something for Mike - I certainly owe him one, and i'd recommend stalking with him to anyone.

It really didn't matter not getting a shot this time - I know my time will come.

Thanks again

Daemon

:D
 
Daemo
well i never .........
can't wait to see the pics of this one :eek:
sounds like your mate had a tropy of a life-time

MJR
any probs posting them pics , then let me know
as you can email them to me and i will post them for you or i can PM you directions on how to do it
either way don't mind, as i'll do what i can to help my friend :)
ATB
 
Ok, sorry for the delay in posting these pics, I tried before and had connection probs and i've been out all day today.
I was over at Mikes the day after the stag was shot and here are a few pics. The anklers were 36" across with palmation in places and very thick at the base.
DSCF6013.jpg

DSCF6012.jpg

DSCF6011.jpg

DSCF6010.jpg

Hope this works!


Edited to add:
You can see the velvet like covering although its not exactly like normal velvet and the strange palmation and size of the tines. I helped Mike weigh him, without head, and if I remember correctly he was 234lb and given the time of year in reasonable condition.
 
woody said:
He was a big lad, shame he was in velvet!

Woody
woody
i think you may not realise the phenonmomem that you are looking at
yes i know a perruke is an abnormal head but it is a once in a lifetime acheivement to get something out of the ordinary
it's like shooting a white roe buck or a 70+inch kudu bull
they are not common and human nature likes to hav something different from the norm
cases like this are rare and few and far between
i know it is a good cull animal but most will never appreciated the true value or beauty of such a beast
some hunters from over the globe will actually offer a blank cheque for a chance of such an animal
money is not everthing but sometimes it helps to pay a few bills
in this case it did not but gave the rest of us a chance to see something we may never see again
 
Hi Woody,
Like stone said a perugue head. The first Red one I have seen. Take lots of photos as it will be unique to you. A life times stalking and you probably never see another. I now wait for someone to come up with a Fallow perugue as they are different to Roe and Reds. Anyone got a photo of a Hummel ?
Thank you for posting.
morena
 
MJR
any pics of the fallow alive
as Mike is hopeless at sending pics by email :lol: :lol:
maybe you could steal some from his collection :evil:
if that is the same fallow i saw a live, it certainly would be well worth seeing pics of it in its younger days as it was quite an unusual site to behold ;)
 
"It had been a 250m shot, with a .243 and the animal had dropped like a stone, "

Yey! Let's hear it for us wimpy .243 boys! Nice one! Suddenly I don't feel like half a man because I don't have a .308 any more :D
 
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