A Hypothetical Question

Gazza

Well-Known Member
You have a 600 acre permission. There are a few roe resident on ground and there is a possiblity of roe coming in from surrounding ground.

How often would you stalking this ground or perhaps better worded what would you consider as overstalking.
 
Depends what your neighbours are doing if none fo them are stalking then shoot as much as you want but if all of your neighbours are stalking then you will have to carfully manage what is on your patch.

Dave
 
Ideally you want to encourage displaced roe does, some of last years youngsters, to stop on your ground. Bucks will move of the ground they were bred on early the following year, but does are not easily displaced.
If they do happen to be chased onto your ground you need to make it safe and have the correct feeding to keep them. Then you will have your own “hefted” does and breeding stock.
Good luck.
 
Gazza said:
You have a 600 acre permission. There are a few roe resident on ground and there is a possiblity of roe coming in from surrounding ground.

How often would you stalking this ground or perhaps better worded what would you consider as overstalking.
This is about the same as i have and have pondered the same question.
basil.
 
there are 2 thoughts to this
(1) just about the stalking
(2) learning habits about your ground and deer

(1) covers thge fact you hav 600 acres and possibly can only realistically stalk just on a concentrated section of 300 acres
so in theory stalk it twice a week as you dont hav a huge abundance of deer and you can stalk over different ground on your seconed visit
practical implications can mean if you shoot a deer then that area is no longer anygood to stalk till it has a new resident as Roe are territorial shoot 2-3 deer then you may not see a deer for months if your population is sparse
(2) this is more of a learning curve and teaches you about the lie of the land inregards to who walks where at at what time, where your deer like to hang out and why how often the farmer is about and when your deer like to make them selves visible , as not all deer are just dusk and dawn
this way you get a feel of territories and which deer are which , so you can carry that knowledge into year after year
keeping your good territorial does about, will mean you will hav a good knowledge of your habitants and also a better view on what deer are about and what to take for the freezer so not not to cause a void or worse still new deer moving in that you hav spotted up a hedgerow and by this time tommorrow they hav moved several fields away so you hav not wasted time on a stalk looking for deer that are not there
just because they are territorial does not meen that they are in their own territory when you last saw them
this i found works well on the ground i stalk over as it is large fields of arable with only hedges for cover with a few small spinneys
, your ground may be different but then you need to work that out
and also hav to decide what type of stalker you are for that piece of ground
once you hav come to that decision they you will hav a plan of action to work by
 
stone said:
there are 2 thoughts to this
(1) just about the stalking
(2) learning habits about your ground and deer

(1) covers thge fact you hav 600 acres and possibly can only realistically stalk just on a concentrated section of 300 acres
so in theory stalk it twice a week as you dont hav a huge abundance of deer and you can stalk over different ground on your seconed visit
practical implications can mean if you shoot a deer then that area is no longer anygood to stalk till it has a new resident as Roe are territorial shoot 2-3 deer then you may not see a deer for months if your population is sparse
(2) this is more of a learning curve and teaches you about the lie of the land inregards to who walks where at at what time, where your deer like to hang out and why how often the farmer is about and when your deer like to make them selves visible , as not all deer are just dusk and dawn
this way you get a feel of territories and which deer are which , so you can carry that knowledge into year after year
keeping your good territorial does about, will mean you will hav a good knowledge of your habitants and also a better view on what deer are about and what to take for the freezer so not not to cause a void or worse still new deer moving in that you hav spotted up a hedgerow and by this time tommorrow they hav moved several fields away so you hav not wasted time on a stalk looking for deer that are not there
just because they are territorial does not meen that they are in their own territory when you last saw them
this i found works well on the ground i stalk over as it is large fields of arable with only hedges for cover with a few small spinneys
, your ground may be different but then you need to work that out
and also hav to decide what type of stalker you are for that piece of ground
once you hav come to that decision they you will hav a plan of action to work by

In the same boat at the moment. I used to beat on an estate when it had a shoot, the shoot folded and me and my mate decided to 'offer' our services for vermin control.
We noticed 3 roe one night when lamping, so i went to see the owner and mentioned the deer and i now have the stalking.
I have been out about twice a week for the last 3-4 months just walking around with the rifle just to get a feel for where the roe are and roughly how many, it's 2000 acres in north herefordshire and there are not hundreds of roe like some places in the country.
The owner does not want them to go near the thousands of roses they have in their gardens, so it's a balance between a nice population to stalk and damage limitation otherwise i might loose the stalking.
Have spotted about half dozen does but not bucks yet. There is evindence of them like thrashing of saplings etc.
I am just putting in the time at the mo and will wait for the rut to see if any move in.
It is funny I have been shooting this ground for nearly 20 years and when deer are in the equation it's a different ball game. it's back to square one and get to now the ground again.

Sorry if it's a bit long winded, but just put in the time and it will pay off to see whats about.


Jonathon
 
I have some land which is even smaller but with similar issues. I can shoot the land around me but probably no more than 250 acres in total.
As far as I am aware the ground is not stalked, other than by me.

There is alot of talk about managing deer populations to the extent that I have even read posts from people trying to manage 40 acres. However my experience is that I could not possibly manage the deer on my land. It is just too small. My approach therefore is to take the animals that are in season and dont overthink issues of numbers. The reality is that whatever I take off my acreage will be replaced by displaced deer from the woodland around me.

Its worth saying though that I get to stalk it no more than 12 times a year.
 
I have perms from 20 acres to 2500 acres and they are all managed according to what the landowner wants first and foremost . On the largest i am sure i could manage the deer well, the ground holds red,roe and fallow(these are resident all year) but the landowner wishes for a "zero tolerance" poilcy not my choice but i respect his wishes and consequently all deer in season and safe to shoot are shot on sight :( We get some good males on this ground :)

Some landowners gave permission only on proviso that i take out foxes and taking only old/ill animals and the odd youngster. After 8 years of shooting on this ground i still have only crap bucks to watch :confused:

Most of the perms are just farmers tired of seeing too many out on their
crops etc and they leave it up to me to manage the amount of deer on the ground that they see :!: not manage the deer themselves although i do try to do both. They are not concerned or impressed that i have left a good breeding doe.

There is alot of talk about managing deer populations to the extent that I have even read posts from people trying to manage 40 acres. However my experience is that I could not possibly manage the deer on my land. It is just too small. My approach therefore is to take the animals that are in season and dont overthink issues of numbers. The reality is that whatever I take off my acreage will be replaced by displaced deer from the woodland around me.

Spot on and well said howa i personally believe that managing deer is a skilled profession which takes years to gain the correct knowledge and experiance. Manging deer numbers is easy , each time you shoot one you accomplish your goal :D

I do not pretend to know all about deer but would say that after trying to erradicate all deer on one of my perms with stalkers near by taking a fair amount of beasts also, we did succed in bringing the numbers right down but only for the following years for them to go right back up again :evil: even with regular trips out

My advise would be to take heed of what the landowner wants first then take what opportunities are presented to you. Then if by chance you shoot too many(i doubt it)you will find out that by stalk after stalk of not seeing deer but you can learn from that also :!: That in itself is ok as it leaves you time to look elsewhere for new permission :lol:

Enjoy your time out and dont overthink things.

One thing , unless you are very sure of retaining your shooting for a long period ie long term lease. Be wary about putting in time and money into making the area more deer habitable as once more deer are in more people WILL notice and you might lose your perm to someone with more money :evil: Once bitten twice shy just my experiance.
 
Most of my permissions are fairly small(largest 500acres,and,smallest 20acres)I take deer from almost all of them,and,I must admit to not over thinking the situation,as I am quite lucky to be in the middle of a very well populated area,and,as I shoot them they are replenished by the surrounding woodland etc. I don't over shoot any of my land though,and,having a few places to go does help to this end,I also have a very good friend that lives fairly close,and,we take it in turns to stalk our respective permissions,and,this gives the land a bit of a breather,which I think is probably more important for continuity..........'M'
 
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