question for fellow fallow deer stalkers

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Distinguished Member
Hi Guys

Just a Quick question for the fellow fallow deer stalkers on here.

Q = what percentage of your fallow do you shoot in the first few minutes of legal time and the last few minutes of legal time ????

i proberely shoot 75% of the fallow i shoot in the last 15 minutes of legal time and without quality german optics i would shoot less , what do you guys find with your fallow ???????

they are buggars round here for appearing very last light

ATB

Dave
 
I tend to stalk mornings by choice and tend to give up after two hours of daylight, some of my ground its first light but I also have areas where they will rest up unless disturbed so theres always a chance any time. What I have noticed the last few doe seasons is that the does have started to come out to feed mid morning due to stalking pressure the last one I took was at around 12.30 after a quick scout around in my lunch break.
 
On our land up Scotland they are very elusive, but you can see them all times of the day. Extremely hard to get on to.
 
Depends how hard they are pressed the more the pressure the more they are turning nocturnal ,mate got out the seat sat eve just too dark only to find several fallow 15 yards from his seat looking to come out the wood at the very very last knocks ,we have found over the last four years the fallows habits changing significantly hence a reduction in the amount culled .
norma
 
100% agree dave, without good German optics I would shoot half what I do now. Almost all are last 15 minutes and first 15minutes of light at this time of year. Come August, nice summer evenings, its a different thing entirely.
 
The illuminated reticle on the Swaro Z6i is used often where I shoot Fallow! They are almost exclusively nocturnal. German optics are good, but Austrian are better!:stir:
MS:D
 
Now the pheasant shoot has finished for the season and the fallow aren't being pushed from pillar to post on a regular basis they have started to move just on last light. As is the case of if you know your ground well, can manage a few bonus ones from lie up places about midday ATM. Poor for me first thing and numbers overall down on the last few years.
 
Round my land they almost seem exclusively night time based and more often than not Ill only see them when out foxing late at night (9/10pm) which is rather frustrating!
 
We are seeing less and less old does shot too ,these old girls who've seen it all and done it all the ones that know where the seats are and look straight at the seat when crossing the rides they are stopping well out the way spending the daytime in the deep plantations .
norma
 
Only a few miles from you ths84 yet the fallow on my small bit of ground can be around at anytime as they have so little disturbance. I personally won't shoot too late in the day in case of the need to follow up which could be awkward with surrounding landowners especially a certain T.V. personality who isn't that fond of stalking from what I can gather.
 
We are seeing less and less old does shot too ,these old girls who've seen it all and done it all the ones that know where the seats are and look straight at the seat when crossing the rides they are stopping well out the way spending the daytime in the deep plantations .
norma

Same here. Mainly youngsters getting shot. On some farms the old girls lie out in the middle of very large fields where they can see for miles around and don't move until after dark.
 
Different tactics on different estates. Sometimes we go in the woods and find them, you need decent light for that so not in the first/last minutes of legal light. Other places its sit and wait for them to come, that usually happens in the last few minutes. Also there opportunistic encounters on downland, that is normally in good light, shots are often further.

Different estates have different policies with regard to larger/older/better animals, some like them left, others like them shot.

stalking fallow has really highlighted the need for quality optics and rifles, the stalker needs every bit of help to be productive.

So much more challenging than roe stalking.
 
On most of my ground first light is almost a waste of time, as others have said I find a large number of deer are moving late morning.
Over the last couple of years several of Malcs clients have taken a good number of deer of my ground during this time of day.
One doe box in particular produces on a regular basis with one Finnish client shooting several. On ground I don't shoot too heavily
the does are moving about 20 mins before the light has gone, which is helping me see what there is about.
Without doubt the most productive method is to stalk through the woods.
Last weekend we were in the bottom of a thickly wooded valley when Simon nudged me to say he thought he had seen something moving, sure enough a few seconds later a beautiful Roe buck came picking his way towards us eating the odd morsel along the way, 30yds zig zag 20yds zig zag 10 yds then to about 15ft and still he never saw us, he slowly walked away only to start walking back again, Simon said to me do you think he is blind ? I said he is up wind and we have stood stock still so he has no need to be afraid. Simon slowly took out his phone to take a few photos, then he stood still and looked at us for about 1 minute before walking quickly off. It made my day and Simons too I will see if he can post a picture of the six point probable bronze buck. Sorry to have gone off topic I got carried away with the memory
 
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Fallow are notoriously nomadic and you will find that just about anywhere you stalk them they will get more difficult as the year progresses. By the time one gets to late winter they are switched on and will only as a rule appear early morning and last light in the evening.

They are one of the most difficult deer to judge their numbers in my opinion and this past season were more difficult, due in part to the massive sweet chestnut crop. We have just finished this past weekend on the cull with another doe taken out of a group of 14 off my ground. My cull off my ground is now nearly 45 beasts this season, but it has been hard going at times.

The heaviest doe this year with everything off and out, plus skinned was 84lbs!! that is big, and RickyC off the site took this plus a Roe doe in one evening out of one high seat.

Off this weekend coming for a bus mans holiday with some good mates on the Muntjac.
 
on my way home from work happened to look over the hedge where I shoot and there out feeding happily about 8 fallow does, wonder will they be there tomorrow evening:evil:
 
Fallow are notoriously nomadic and you will find that just about anywhere you stalk them they will get more difficult as the year progresses. By the time one gets to late winter they are switched on and will only as a rule appear early morning and last light in the evening.

They are one of the most difficult deer to judge their numbers in my opinion and this past season were more difficult, due in part to the massive sweet chestnut crop. We have just finished this past weekend on the cull with another doe taken out of a group of 14 off my ground. My cull off my ground is now nearly 45 beasts this season, but it has been hard going at times.

The heaviest doe this year with everything off and out, plus skinned was 84lbs!! that is big, and RickyC off the site took this plus a Roe doe in one evening out of one high seat.

Off this weekend coming for a bus mans holiday with some good mates on the Muntjac.
:

And in those immortal words of Walter Cronkite 'That is how it is '.:thumb:
 
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