Wish me luck

JAT

Member
Well, after two years, during which I passed my DSC1, and have had 7 accompanied paid stalks I have'nt shot one deer. Have seen dozens. Does in the buck season, bucks in the doe season. Even came as close as aiming the rifle at a splendid fallow buck who stood there, 75 yards away, head on for at least 20 seconds, staring at me. Not even a glimpse of his flanks, until he charged off.

So this weekend is the last chance. One more stalk, one last chance to break my jinx. If Nodens, Diana or Woden will not let me kill deer then I'm going to stick to pigeon, rabbit, pheasant and duck.
 
Good luck JAT.
You've shown enough patience already fella.
We all go through lean times but it must be tough to start with one right enough.
Let us know how you fare.
ATB
Geoshot
 
Well, after two years, during which I passed my DSC1, and have had 7 accompanied paid stalks I have'nt shot one deer. Have seen dozens. Does in the buck season, bucks in the doe season. Even came as close as aiming the rifle at a splendid fallow buck who stood there, 75 yards away, head on for at least 20 seconds, staring at me. Not even a glimpse of his flanks, until he charged off.

So this weekend is the last chance. One more stalk, one last chance to break my jinx. If Nodens, Diana or Woden will not let me kill deer then I'm going to stick to pigeon, rabbit, pheasant and duck.
why didn't you shoot the fallow buck ???
 
why didn't you shoot the fallow buck ???

Head or chest shot, maybe OK for old hands. Would prefer my first to be heart/lung. Better safe than sorry.
 
why didn't you shoot the fallow buck ???

Head or chest shot, maybe OK for old hands. Would prefer my first to be heart/lung. Better safe than sorry.
surely at 75 yards you can hit 4 inch,you did that on your level 1 test,what was wrong with the neck ??? just have confidence in yourself
best of luck this time
 
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jat good on you for doing what you thought right, the person pulling the trigger makes the choice , I hope you get one this time i remember my first it came after 6 outings and either bad weather or wrong sex till finally i got it then you can relax a little and they all seem to come at once,good luck wayne
 
Mat do what you think right not other people hang on in and good luck just keep going and it will come then you will be glad you stuck at it Atb Tom failing that try in the winter on does
 
Keep trying - you'll need tenacity but will get there.
I know professional deer hunters who will admit to having a bad run of 10-12 stalks without shooting anything, and the average DSC2 candidate requires fifteen stalks to complete three ICR's .... (I actually required 16! ;)
 
Good for you Jat, responsible deer management means that you don't just "see it shoot it" you make the decision yourself at the time.
​Good luck with your outing this weekend.
 
Good luck to you, I have lost chances to shoot deer as a result of them running off for no particular reason and it is quite frustrating. Hoping the next one presents a shot for you!
 
Good luck mate, don't give up it will all come together and when it does there's no feeling like it.
Wingy
 
jat good on you for doing what you thought right, the person pulling the trigger makes the choice , I hope you get one this time i remember my first it came after 6 outings and either bad weather or wrong sex till finally i got it then you can relax a little and they all seem to come at once,good luck wayne

Totally agree, shoot within your limits and make your own choice - there will be other times, lot's of reasons why not to take a head/neck shot even at 75 yards - like the remains of the bullet buggering up the saddle and haunch for a start!

We all have days when we don't get a shot - one of the guys who started stalking with us a few years ago went 32 outings without firing a shot... he said he didn't but we reckoned he dozed off as soon as he got in the high seat each time :rofl:
 
good luck this weekend jat , take a camera as i bet you will have a grin like a cheshire cat when you get one ! ,as said shoot to your abilaties as you are doing and you wont go wrong at all , ,keep us posted .
 
It always interests me when people pay for stalks and don't get anything.
Do you always go for just 1x stalk?
The reason I ask this is because pro's average a deer every 2-3 stalks normally. If your just taking 1x at a time you may be better to go for a double outing. This way you will see more of the stalkers ground and IMO increase your chances.
Do you have any ground of your own?
Paying for an assessor to visit you is always cheaper. You will also have a better idea of where the deer are.
I would say if you luck out this weekend then concentrate on getting some ground. Get to know that ground and then sit your DSC2.
 
jat good on you for doing what you thought right, the person pulling the trigger makes the choice , I hope you get one this time i remember my first it came after 6 outings and either bad weather or wrong sex till finally i got it then you can relax a little and they all seem to come at once,good luck wayne

Big +1.

Stick with it - but I don't need to say that as you're obviously hooked! It will come.
 
JAT, don't give up! It took me ages to shoot my first deer, and I mean AGES, or it certainly seemed that way at the time, several times a buck had walked out in front of me when I was carrying the .22lr instead of the .243 including a really interesting malformed headed roe which I never saw again. Anyway one October evening with just one week left of the buck season I took my dog out for a walk and picked up the .243 on the way out just in case we bumped into a fox........ we were crossing the middle of a field of long grass when some movement caught my eye 100yds away........I set up the bipod and lay down in the grass with the dog at my side expecting a fox when I realised that a young kid doe had walked out closely followed by mum and.....DAD!...... Down he went with a perfect heart shot. He was the biggest headed buck I have shot so far.
Good things come to those who wait!

Well done also for resisting temptation on the fallow buck :thumb: headshots aren't always a good idea when your adrenalin is flowing and your heart is pounding.
The last thing you need is to wound the first deer you pull the trigger on. When you are more confident the time will come for that sort of thing (headshots I mean, not wounding). If a shot doesn't "feel right" you shouldn't take it.
 
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