still no bucks

Roe dan

Well-Known Member
Well ive been out two more times since i last posted, and guess what still no bucks. This morning was a little better I saw a doe with two young and one was a young buck but as my luck has it that was the one with no back stop. so 2009 season 36 days in and still no bucks. my friend the keeper was in the high seat i was in this morning only two days ago and he saw two young bucks and a trophy buck chasing them, my luck has to change. I think im going to try again this week end I,ll let you know how i get on..
 
Don't worry you are not alone, I was going today but there is high wind, horizontal rain and I heard the snow word on the forecast this morning. I can wait for the right conditions, I'm old enough for that now ;)

John
 
Just the same whats happening to me.
2 outings to good Roe country, plenty of does, but not real amount of bucks yet.
Role on the rut! :D
 
Yep, same here. Since coming back from Martins place i`ve not seen any bucks.
Only got one buck to my name so far this year.
basil.
 
I think it's just normal for this time of year. They are there but you just don't see them. The woods are full of new growth and plenty of food for a Buck so why come out if you don't have to? They will be reserving energy prior to rutting.
Does you will see everywhere as they are generally feeding for 'three' and gorge themselves out on the nutrient rich crops and new growth. You also tend to see them out for an extra feed in the middle of the day. Probably best to reserve energy yourself until July! ;)
 
I must be the exception to the rule,because I have seen Bucks(in the plural)each time I've been out for the last 5-6 times,I have purposely left a few that are hopefully going to get busy during the rut,as they are very good specimens,which is quite rare for here.Good luck on the weekend Bunnydan..................'M'

p.s. here is one that I do have an eye out for,a good cull Buck with a contorted head,would look good on the wall........
DSC_0036-2.jpg

DSC_0029-5.jpg
 
@ all who seem to see significantly more does than bucks on their stalking grounds:

ask yourself the questions whether the doe cull is mansged properly - or not at all! Had the same problem with my Gloucestershire cocnession: when I started there, for about 10 years does were not shot at all. Thus the buck/doe ratio was about 1 to 5. Therefor the rut was i simple terms lousy: bucks not answering to the call, since a buck only answers to the whistle when he is searching for a doe. If there are too many does around, who all want to be mated, the situation of a searching buck does not occur.
Since we reduced the sex ratio to app. 1/1, trophy quality and body weight significantly increased due to less stress on the bucks in the rutting season, and we saw more bucks altogether.
 
Martin
what a fantastic looking buck
carefull though
as you might get a few pm's about him
just tell them a grand is not enough
:evil: :evil:
nice looking piece that will look on your wall mate
ATB
 
bunnydan said:
Well ive been out two more times since i last posted, and guess what still no bucks. This morning was a little better I saw a doe with two young and one was a young buck but as my luck has it that was the one with no back stop. so 2009 season 36 days in and still no bucks. my friend the keeper was in the high seat i was in this morning only two days ago and he saw two young bucks and a trophy buck chasing them, my luck has to change. I think im going to try again this week end I,ll let you know how i get on..

why the desperation
try looking more for signs of bucks in the earea like a bit of fresh fraying and territorial marking scrapes
if you can find these, then you kow a buck is in the area , just need to take time to spot them and choose wether that is what you want to take
what you then take is personel choice
but don't worry
as if you hav does you will soon see bucks laws of nature here
but walk slower and look a bit more
sometimes the key
ATB
 
Was out last night - got to within 30 yards of two bucks - a grizzled old chap, just clean with a so/so head and a yearlingstill in velvet. Have seen them together a couple of times. The youngster is pretty playful with the old chap but is regularly put firmly in place. They were just over the boundry so did n't take either. To be honest they didn't know I was there so just sat and watched them for 20 minutes and then quietly withdrew.

90% of the enjoyment of stalking to my mind is actually getting close to deer and other wildlife. And if you don't take a shot well you just save on the larder work.
 
Just prior to the doe season ending as usual bucks were everywhere even a few clean bucks and it was looking good for the forthcoming buck season, but since the buck season has started l have struggled to get into them, last monday l managed to cull 2 on my local ground, they seem to have done their usual vanishing act very early this year :evil:
 
This time last year I think I had around 16 stalks with 1 buck to show for my efforts. There were plenty of roe on the ground and I saw into double figures on some outings but getting a shot was a different matter. Alot of time it was just bad luck, deer that althoug in range just never presented a shot due to position of the animal, position of trees or no back stop.

I think it was just a run of bad luck as for no apperent reason I started to shoot one or two as the summer progressed. One thing I do remember though is that I never saw a buck outside of the woodland, plenty of does out on the fields and hedgerows but the bucks were keeping to the cover of the trees.
 
re'M'ington,

That is a fantastic buck. Hopefully you will meet him again when it's not in velvet and post a picture or two. :D

Greg
 
Last night there was a lot of movement with territorial behaviour and I saw 15 Roe (7 Bucks) and a lot of fallow.
I was about this morning and it was 2 degrees with a heavy frost in Dorset and I saw 1 doe 1 good Buck and a yearling which the client shot.
Over the last 4 days stalking the weather being cold and with it also being a full moon it seems to have stopped everything with most activity after 8am and with the animals feeding in and on the edge of woods.
I think that we just have to wait for the weather to stabilise to see what is about.
But as they say you wont see them laying in bed.

Regards Terry
 
I was down in West Sussex this weekend on my lease with two overseas clients and another member off the site.

3 outings 4 Bucks, 1 fox, plus a miss on another fox and a buck. Not bad but the bucks are not moving much at present and when they are its late evening. I always think May is a funny month for Bucks, as the doe's are about to drop, plus they are living in a salad bar now anyway so they do not have to wander far to look for grub.

I will admit I was chuffed with my Bavarian Dog, Todd. Yet again he saved the day by trailing a badly gut shot buck at 8.45pm after I had been called over to the west end of the ground by my friend who was guiding a client, and where there is a substantial wood. The client he was guiding met me on the wood edge and showed me to the spot further along where I met my friend.

No blood only a fistfull of green from the stomach of the buck. Long lead on the dog and into the wood, and he picked up the trail straight away. After about 100yds I let him off the lead as it was nearly too dark to see anyway and I had a feeling the buck would not be too far off.

He bayed it about 80yds away, and it ran on where he brought it to bay again. I made my way over to the spot only to find the dog had caught the buck by the neck and was holding it down. Pulled the dog off and then dispatched the buck.

This would have been lost if the dog had not been there, whatever anyone tells you about deer dogs, get a Bavarian, thats what they are bred for :D :D one very happy owner.

Sikamalc
 
This one just popped out in front of me and stood there, staring! Completely unprepared for action so soon into the session (I hadn't even intended looking for anything at that point) I gathered my thoughts and decided it was safe to take him. He trotted on a short distance but then stopped again and watched me make what must surely have been the noisiest approach of my career to date. At about 75 yards I put my rifle up on the sticks, pulled the trigger and down he went. Nice surprise though he was, I hope any others that come my way this season are just a little more testing!

firstbuck.jpg
 
Let me echo Stone's thoughts.

I too hadn't seen much of the bucks anywhere within range. It reminded me of when I stalked my first Roe buck. I had been after a particular mature buck for a long time, but he had eluded me on many occasions. I knew where his territory was from seeing him several times.

So one day, having thought very carefully about my direction of approach to his territory, I decided to take it slower, and watch more carefully. Walk 20 yards slowly keeping in the shadows; stop; scan through the bins carfeully and slowly; move on.

Eventually I spotted the tell-tale twitch of an ear in the long grass of a hedgerow, that with a closer look proved to be a head. It was hands and knees stuff over bery hard ground, for over 200 yards, lying up waiting for about 20 mins for him to stand up and move off to present a good shot, before I squeezed the trigger and he dropped on the spot.

Last night was similar - a carefully thought out approach, to an area of deep grass giving them plenty of cover with succulent hedgerows that has been a favoured food in previous years. Slow, patience, and very very close watching through the bins. Saw a doe first, and stood stock still, wtached her for ages, thinking 'there must be a buck somewhere around here'. Then, he came from almost behind me in huge bounds through the deep grass. Stopped about 80 yards in front of me to look at me. He now resides in my garage awaiting skinning and transfer to the freezer!

So, every now and then, when I'm not getting anywhere, I remind myself that they are there somewhere, and the key for me is the 3 P's: planning, preparation, and patience.

Good luck to all

RH
 
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