First Red Deer

A month or so ago I got an unexpected e mail from an ex collegue. Basically he was a member of deer stalking syndicate run by his brother and they were looking for a couple of replacements for members who had dropped out. I am already in one syndicate (roe only) so I was only patially interested but further correspondense revealed two thirds of the bag were Red, the remainder Roe, and Sika had also been sighted. Never having stalked Red I was quickly sold on the idea. Even though the ground was too far up into Scotland to check the ground over first I took him on his word and agreed to send a cheque.

After meeting with the brother who ran the syndicate I was given the required maps, letter of permission and keys and an explanation that as it was commercial forestry it was not about trophy hunting but about removing deer off the ground, with due regard for seasons etc, especially in the re planted areas. He said there were alot of deer on the ground but they could take some finding due to the dense tree cover, perserverance and patience were the key, oh and luck.

A week later at 3am I am driving up along the stone track which divides the lease from another syndicates gound. Nearing the top and the deer fence that separates the forest from the open hill there were two set of eyes reflecting back from a heather knoll, I rolled the car forward until stood just 60 yards away were a hind and a spiker, on my new stalking ground, red deer!!! I drove past them and they slipped away into the treeline. I tried to get some sleep but was pretty unsuccessful and as dawn was breaking I unlocked a gate in the fence to a path which, if my directions were correct, should lead me to a highseat overlooking a long ride.

The high seat was where it should have been and the ride was as described, I could see maybe half a mile each way, like a wide grass road through solid mature conifers it looked the business. Even in the half light I could see slots and some fresh fewmets, it even looked like one had been couched a few yards from the high seat. With the dog tied to a leg of the high seat and me safely perched above it was just now a case of waiting. I had been told it was a productive part of the forest and even if I did not get a shot there was a good possibility of seeing deer crossing the ride if I waited it out.

Twenty minutes later a glance to my left and there it is, its big, its red, and its got some twigs on its head. A Red Stag, in range!!! He wandered out from the sanctuary of the trees and and lowered his head to feed in the middle of the ride, almost perfect broadside and only 100m away. I moved round slowly and shouldered the rifle, terrified that the deer would slip away as quickly as he had appeared and hopeing desparately that my .243 was enough gun. A few deep breathes, cross hair just above the elbow, concentrate on squeezing the trigger and not pulling it....The rifle kicked and the deers chin hit the floor before he pushed himself forward with his powerful back legs, head still held low he dashed downhill into the trees...Crash..crash...crash..silence. I knew it was a good shot and I knew he was down. Five minutes in the seat to compose myself and then rilfe ready and dog on lead I went to the point of impact, the deep imprints of his hooves as he kicked off in the peaty soil indicated his position at the shot and the dog was pullig hard on the lead. I let him off and followed. Barely 10 yards under the canopy there he was, my prize, bundled up at the base of a tree and tangled in brash. A truly magnificent beast, two counts just to make sure and yes, a ...six pointer...three tines on each antler!!! A quick check to see if he was dead than I grabbed an antler and pulled. It does not move. okay, grab an antler in each hand and pull, still refuses to budge. Eventually leaning over to put all my body weight into it I succeed in dragging the beast the short distance uphill and onto the ride for photos and the gralloch. I soon had an attentive audience with a few thousand midges deciding to join the party! The gralloch was easy on such a big animal but was an unpleasant experience with the clouds of midges, thankyou for midge nets otherwise it would have been totally unbearable. I had some decent rope in the roesack just in case I was successful, I hooked each end over a pedicle and started the drag. Now I thought the gralloch would have made the job easier, and no doubt it did, but it was still hard hard work. Every tussock caught an antler and once he stopped moving it was the very devil to get it shifting again, and this was now on flattish land. Back at the highseat I dragged him under the shade and with two hundred more meters to go to the car decided to leave it whilst I explored further up the ride in the opposite direction. I was only 50 metres away from the highseat when two more red come out onto the ride and start grazing, both stags, about 300 meters away but seperated from me by a small but steep sided glen, extraction was going to be a nigtmare. So I was not at all disappointed when after stalking around and then up the glen to see the two deer had departed from the ride where I had seen them. I stalked further on more on an armed reconn that anything else and saw plenty of sign of both red and roe. So at least my cash was not wasted and there were deer on the ground, that part I was chuffed about obviously, but I found the place intimidating now, if I shot animals how the hell was I going to get them out? It is a big place with only a couple of decent tracks suitable for vehicles. I guess if singled handed then the only way would be for me to field butcher and pack out the carcasse, American style.

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The dog doing his best impression of a dead deer....

I dragged the animal back to the car but hid it best I could in the trees. I stayed for the rest of the day and the next morning, seeing a total of nine red deer and three roe but with no more shots. Worried that the meat may attract unwanted attention or begin to turn I cut my trip short and after a bit of wrestling match managed to get the beast into the back of the car during a torrential downpour. Oh the things we do for fun!

Anybody want to sell a quad bike? and a winch, and a trailer, and a bigger car, and a bigger rifle....
 
:D Bloody chuffed for ya,your right to think what the hell we do for fun keep it up and get ready for the rut that will get ya heart pounding :lol: :lol:
Amberdog
 
might be helpfull to invest in a camera too :evil: :evil:
nice one Rich
so what new recipes do you hav :lol:
look forward to hearing about the next trip up
take care
 
Recipes?

Take one fresh steak and one frying pan. Heat frying pan, trying to remember to add a knob of butter, if I forget then no big deal. Add steak to pan, turn over after three minutes. Turn off after another three minutes.

Leave to stand for five minutes whilst searching in cupboard for something approximating red wine and also whilst thinking I should really have done some veg. Eat steak and drink wine...easy.

I also tried some slivers of meat raw when butchering, really really nice.
 
Pictures my good man?
Great start mate.
You must be watching too much of Marco pierre White, bloody raw venison. Too much time out at sea ;)

Jonathon
 
Raw venison guys is very tasty! :D
I always tend to slice up some fillet very thinly and eat raw, no ill effects after doing it for a couple of years.
 
Cracking write up, sounds like you had a fantastic day, I remember my first of each species I have shot.

May you have many more successful days as this one was.

TJ
 
mudman

great write up what weight was the stag, the girly .243 put down a big old red stag , you could get banned from stalking sites for mentioning such things .
best you say before you get banned you were shooting the .243 to scare off the red stag so you could shoot some roe and the sound of the shot gave the red stag a heart attack :D anyway it shows bullet placement ,construction then calibre size is true.

good write up keep them coming.....neil :p
 
Great write up, nice to get one in the bag early then you can relax and enjoy the rest of the trip!

Like Stone my first red needed a tractor to get it home, 3 of us couldn't drag it! In the pre Sika-cross days of Galloway they got really big and this old brute was 24 stone!

On raw, I used to do a swap with our local gastro pub - a carcase for a meal for 2. I thought I was getting the best deal until I saw Carpaacio of roebuck on the menu, a starter for ÂŁ7.50, I'b bet you get 30 portions from the fillets alone! Anyway the landlord let me try some fro free and it was fantastic, even better than carpaccio of grouse that is pretty special.

It was just served with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic and lemon juice and a wee rocket salad.
 
Well done mate!

thank you for writing up your adventures! :D

Enjoy the well deserved meat as well, I enjoy the odd sliver of raw meat from my deer, and to the horror of more than a few the occasional piece of raw liver! :lol:

ATB,

Amir
 
Grandhubert said:
Well done mate!

thank you for writing up your adventures! :D

Enjoy the well deserved meat as well, I enjoy the odd sliver of raw meat from my deer, and to the horror of more than a few the occasional piece of raw liver! :lol:

ATB,

Amir
Sounds like the dogs have a bit of competition for the liver :lol:
 
I therefore don't have a dog Steve! 8) :lol:

I always try and keep the liver, I've developed quite a taste for the stalkers breakfast these days.... :oops:
 
I had another trip to my new syndicate ground from Monday to Wednesday last week. Whilst the rest of the country was basking in the last sunshine of summer central Scotland had wind and rain, but at least it kept the midges away!

After driving up through the night dawn on the monday morning saw me in the highseat that I had my initial success from, but this time I saw nothing in two hours. I did hear a stag roaring as he moved through the forest and at one time he must have been only 150 m away but there was no chance of seeing him through the dense screen of conifers. After my stint in the highseat I decided to have a stalk/explore into the heart of the forest. Plenty of sign of deer including a wallow but the animals themselves were keeping a a low profile. Eventually I came out from a ride into an open area which I recognised from my previous trip, and I was about a mile from where I thought I would emerge! These big forestry blocks really are disorientating! Walking back to my car along the boundary track I disturbed two grouse from the heather next to the boundary track, I got the glasses on them and was pleased to see they were greyhens, a bird I had never seen before.

After finding my accomodation, having a late lunch then a quick nap it was time for the evening stalk. I chose a vantage point on top of a large rock overlooking a clearfell area at the far side of the lease. The weather had turned pretty bad by now and nothing emerged during my vigil. The next morning I returned to the same location, the weather had not improved at all and again no deer emerged out onto the clearfell.

For the evening stalk I visited the second clearfell on the lease, I drove up through the forest then parked up at a point indicated by a small cairn next to the track. I then followed a rough path through the trees for about 250m downhill before coming out onto the top of the clearfell. Looking to the left I saw the high seat I had been told about and after ten minutes slowly stalking the forest edge I was up to the seat. From this vantage point I had a great view of the open ground in the clear fell and of the loch way below me. The tree line was about 160m away to my right and again 300 m to my left, there was alot of dead ground though in the gullies and banks and also the rough grass and sedges gave alot of cover, it would be a case of carefully glassing the whole area. I was worried that any deer I may see would be well beyond the range I was comfortable with, suspecting that they would favour he sheltered side of the clearfell in the lee of the tree line 300m to my left. A couple of hours had gone by, it was windy but the light rain was intermittent so I kept quite dry, when my dog snorted loudly twice as he took in a deep lungfulls of air. He had been calmly sat down under the seat but now was stood up looking upwind and picking up a strong scent, the game was afoot! I concentrated on the tree line, when a movement directly infront caught my eye, it was a deer, a red stag at that. He was close only 80m or so and must have come up over a slight rise in the ground which had previously hidde him from view. He was so close, but most of the time totally obscured by brash and long grass as he grazed. After five minutes he looked up for long enough for me to take a neck shot and I had my second red stag down. After the gralloch it was decision time, drag 350m uphill through the trees to the track above me and the car, or drag 700-800m down hill through the clear fell to the lochside road. I decided down hill was easier,and no doubt it was, but how I never broke a leg I will never know. It was a nightmare of tree stumps, hidden gullies, rocks, brash and deep holes, the light was fading rapidly and by the time it was dark I was still only half way down with the beast. Eventually I found a clear gully 2/3 of the way down and that was slightly easier going. With the carcasse hidden at the roadside it was an hours walk along the road then uphill along the forestry track to collect my car. In hindsight I should have left the animal where I shot and retrieved it in the morning in good light, for as I discovered clearfell has the potential to seriously damage your health.

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The next morning I tried another section of forest and stalked the rides carefully but again, plenty of sign but no deer. With no improvement in the weather and one animal seen, one animal shot, it was time to head home after another enjoyable outing north of the border.
 
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