Write Ups

A local trip with Fallow pinging my camara also not coughing like an old steam train which is never a good way to approach a stalking outing I thought "give it a go" I took the Spaniels as if it was a blank then they could have a blast flushing the number of pheasants who are camped out in this wild bird mix. Not the quietest of tracks to walk down so it took a while which was fine as that chipped away at deer o'clock, there is no room for anything with these deer so you have to take what is there. These two were walking away from me as I rounded the corner so all I could do was commit with the rifle and sticks and see if my whistle pulled them up, the big doe took one in the ribs and fell over with her youngster walking away but not...

I'm not usually one to do write ups but im currently back at my dogs (the lovely Schehallion hotel) after a day on the hill with @KeithW Didn't seem that wet but by the time we finished i was wet wet wet! Anyway Keith was a pleasure to stalk with. We had one false start then got ito a large group of crouched hinds. After an age a mature hind stood and I eventually got a broadside shot at 160 yards on to what turned out to be a very mature monster of a hinds. The group split and a numer stopped 240 yards away and I took another. We walked and stalked a bit more but luck wasn't on our side. Nevertheless a very enjoyable day with a very knowledgeable guide. Now recovered with a hot shower and a couple of drams of Laphroig!

I landed back from a heavy work trip to Florence at 0100hrs on Monday, and had been unexpectedly invited out stalking on a cull day on Tuesday morning. Never one to say no I had to nip out early doors and buy some extra cartridges before getting to the office. As I was passing some of my land I thought I’d check zero on the 270 (copper) and 308 (lead). With the delayed start I ended up not getting to bed until after midnight. 0415 alarm went off which was hard after so many long nights. Well worth it just to be out and even better that was successful, two fallow shot. Two shots. In the end ‘needing’ that second box of cartridges just in case turned out to be predictably excessive. In work straight after it, finishing up after...

I was lucky enough to become the custodian of a Rigby 275 some years ago. I had for many years been enthralled by the writings of Jim Corbett, Maneaters of Kumaon and W. D. M.Bell, Wanderings of an elephant hunter. I took it to Namibia on several plainsgame trips and the two of us acquitted ourselves. Last weekend I was on a two day driven hunt in Czech. I’ve been there before three times. There is a large boar population . Last year we had 104 pieces on the final parade. Boar of up to 60 kgs or approximately knee height are allowed to be shot. Keilers or large male boar may also be shot but woe unto those who shoot a sow ! The heavens descend on them in the shape of a large financial penalty. It’s damn difficult to tell the...

So after having had to unfortunately cancel my first booked large game me hygiene course, I managed to snag space on another one that was run yesterday. The guy running it obviously needed deer for the practical portion, so a few people went out before the 08:30 start and I offered to go on my ground and see what I could drum up. Annoyingly first shooting light was only about an hour before I would need to really get moving with any extraction in order to make the course start time. It was super tight but a really nice mild morning and perfect conditions for the thermal making a drastic change from the solid grey that my screen has been giving me in all of the drizzle we've had lately. The wind is being awkward so I have to go all...

18 shooters standing at the posts, and 9 beaters with dogs who also take shots if they get the chance, 2 drives, about 1,5 hours each. Result of a day of joint hunting: 3 woodcocks. 3 roedeer 2 foxes (1 was shot on the riverbank and fell in, that why its wet) 2 hares This hunt is the village's traditional hunt, where you don't focus on the The amount of animals but on the social aspect. It ends in the village community center, where a large number of non-hunters also come for a communal dinner, Therefore 92 people for dinner. The food for such an event is traditional in South Jutland consists of yellow pea soup, with potatoes, pork sausages, boiled pork and ham. Ammunition is typically steel shot size 3 (3.5mm) normally we dont use...

Nice weather for ducks out trying my first yew tree non toxic 114tlr have to say early days but quietly impressed have been easy to load and find a very accurate round same hole and giving 3100fps out of the 6.5x284 could push it a bit but can’t see the point doe was taken this morning at 166mts didn’t make 5 yards damage not to bad either 👍

Been putting the ducks off until a wee bit more seasonal weather and today was perfect. Planned on doing a wee walk for a few pheasants too but time ran away with walking some wet bits and ponds and finished with an excellent snowy flight on a pond.Both old fellas enjoyed at 80 and 14 respectively although make it real easy for them.

Hello all, I recently went on a stalk with Callum (@ca11um ). He is as brand new as they come, but I honestly couldn’t recommend him highly enough. As someone with very limited stalking experience, I found him to be an excellent guide—both during the stalk itself and later when answering all my post-shoot questions (no matter how daft they might have been). The plan was to meet at 07:30 at his place. I was late, admittedly, but Callum was incredibly organized and professional. He even had the heated seat on for my arrival and lent me his spare binoculars after I realised I’d left mine at home. We headed out for a quick drive to one of his permissions, and almost immediately an opportunity presented itself. *Clean miss*. Let’s just...

Had the pleasure of taking a fellow Aberdeenshire SD member out for his first Roe Does, great morning and some nice shooting. Basically a left and right on the roe 😂

For a variety of perfectly good reasons we only had three guns out on the shoot yesterday, and one of them hadn’t brought his gun as he was working his young dog. Consequently my eldest boy was promoted from beater to gun, as per the articles of our syndicate to support young guns. He shot with his .410” manfully, but manually cocking the action on walked up birds put him and his 24.25” barrelled piece at a disadvantage when shooting single 12gram subsonic loads. We had a fabulous morning, he didn’t down any birds but hit a hen which was then hit again with the 12 bore. Before lunch the 2.5 guns had accounted for 14 pheasants, 2 woodcock, 2 squirrels and one rabbit. Such great fun. Lunch was game stew of muntjac, woodcock, pheasant...

This SFI scheme has stopped growing which is a blessing as the muntjac/foxes in the previous winter months took a bit of getting into but they have been like the wherethefuckarewe tribe in this long vegetation! This time in afternoon the local pheasant's are making their way back to roost so lots of white hot spots in the cover. This "hot spot" was a lot bigger! he did bolt around 2 yards as a big crow dropped in just behind him lol. Nice vantage point with a cluster of broom giving me some back cover. They don't feed for long in one spot so get it done quick Tim! lots of small slots and a few bigger ones so I must move a trail cam to that corner, I hung around that part for a while leaving 20 mins to check out a productive edge from...

I have a few friends (really I do) who share the deer stalking bug with me. It’s become an annual trip now to head North to Scotland in November for a crack at the red hinds. We start talking and planning as soon as the previous year’s trip ends, and it’s fair to say we all look forward to it through the summer months. We’re all getting older and the realisation that every year passing increases the likelihood of ill health drives us all on to keep at it. Enjoy every day ! Like all of these things, it’s a logistical nightmare with two of us living in the SE, one in the Swansea area and myself in the E Mids. It makes transportation there ‘interesting’. This year it was my turn to load up my car with enough kit to stock a small shop and...

Well into August and pushing to hit some forestry that i have, surrounded by some moorland, it had been frustrating due to summer holidays and there being public footpaths around my ground…too many mountain bikes and dog walkers at times 🙄 But being persistent and working around the obvious issues, i just stuck to very early starts and last light sit outs on the edges of the forestry. I was out on a very early morning stalk, and whilst driving around the access roads, i spotted two very LARGE heat signatures through the thermal around 1000 yards away, and with it it not being light enough just yet for the binos, i expected them to be big fallow bucks…. I made my way towards with the wind in my favour, trying to use the dead...

I appreciate that my posts might be getting a bit repetitive, so apologies if they are not everyone’s thing. I was out game shooting on Saturday and lamping on Sunday, but still managed to get wrangled into taking the three boys to their rifle club’s air rifle shoot in between. I am unwell, so had planned to stay only until the rain started, but no luck with that. Inevitably they were the last to leave the stands and I was soaked again. This evening was small-bore night, and it was my youngest’s first time shooting indoors and getting a whiff of burnt powder. Between ear plugs, muffs, ammunition, three rifles, bolts, magazines, and moderators, it felt like I’d packed half the gun room. The club were brilliant as always, letting me...

The Friday morning was one of those days we expect Scotland to deliver. Windy, rain coming in waves. Richard and Jason were back at the spot from yesterday, still hoping to connect with a red or sika. We went a mile away to the other end of the property and tried to find something, but the weather was unrelenting. We called it early, headed back to the estate where I had shot the troublesome stag the night before. We knew there was a sheltered woodlot in a bowl that might hold some animals. I volunteered to be the beater, pulled up my collar and walked into the wind. I enter the woodlot up wind, and immediately heard a clatter of rocks. Those on overwatch said I had pushed out 2 reds, but no one had the shot. Then we retreated to a...

Inveraray 2025 - Chapter 4: The Finale After a day two that ended with a well-earned oven pizza (the height of sophistication) and an early lights-out, I was up before the alarm for the final day of stalking! We stuck to our routine, meeting at the agreed-upon time and place. To streamline our escape later, we’d pre-packed all the non-essentials into the truck—the little bedsit had served us well, even if it’s a miracle three men and all their gear for three days of stalking didn't make the walls bulge. We rolled into the yard, and as before, teams were chosen. A friendly slap on the arm and a "Come on big man, you're with me" sealed my fate: a third day in a row with a man I'm now certain is at least fifty percent mountain goat. I...

That is exactly the one chance I had............As the deer were starting to make a move quite early with me thinking get a couple of these does and an early night! Very small plot compared to 1000 acres my friends farm is surrounded by his neighbours and their stalkers!! Wind not the best but it has worked ok with it in that direction before, they were feeding back in cover but with the number of deer which pass through it will be taking a beating and my camera says they do pass this spot. Next look with the thermal shows them bunched up looking/listening at something then they scatter back deep in cover. Miles away but 2 dogs off the lead with the owners shouting and shouting and shouting was enough :eek: Fiddle sticks was not the...

Very pleased with this chap, I had followed him on the trail cams since the spring and through the rut. He was elusive. I was thinking he's have to wait for another year, after all, it is close of season tonight. I finished work at 4 and hot-footed out to my high seat for sunset at 16:28. Not expecting much. 16:35 he walks out, I get him in my sights at 35m and he looks me straight in the face. I take him and he drops on the spot. Post mortem reveals top of heart and great vessels shot clean off. Lovely 6-pointer. Aren't roe so much easier to skin and butcher than muntjac... Thanks for looking!

Popped out this evening, making my way to the ditch spotted two deer heading back into trees...both stopped right on the edge of the forestry...100 yardish......Body shot covered by growth in the ditch, only option was high neck shot....168 Amax.... No exit....They do perform well..,