Bucksdeermanager

Well-Known Member
Hi All,

Interested to hear your opinions on this one - in your experience how often can you shoot Fallow from the same highseat before they start to get wise to it? Once a week? Once a month? Fortnightly?

How often do you all use the same highseat?

TIA

Tom
 
Hopefully the ones you shoot don't get wise!

Depends on whether they 'get wise' to you getting into the area of the seat, where in relation to eg wind or how near/far they lay up from your ambush point, what you do after the shot, whether you take more than one shot, wind and sun direction, a great many variables. Generally speaking, the more stealthy you are from start to finish, without deer as witnesses the less any survivors get educated by eg mis-steps, etc.
 
Well I don't shoot many fallow my main is sika and reds and I am usually on foot 9 times out of 10 anyway the fallen don't worry much about the seat in any case, others in the surrounding vicinity that aren't in suitable position or are out of season I wait until they disperse before I desend I think if you use a seat to often your continuous activity in the area will not go unnoticed and leave them spooky, I can't give a definitive answer as mentioned there are so many variables but once every 7 days is a rule of thumb that works for me but is certainly not set in concrete if their are a lot in the area and numbers need reduced I will hit them hard over a short period then leave it a week or so these are just my thoughts on it others who use high seats more often might give you a more definitive answer.

Damian
 
I’ve got 4 high seats, they aren’t used very often, but as a rule of thumb i get in them in the dark AM and come away the same PM, this where a thermal comes in handy you can choose your time to very quietly leave or arrive without disturbing anything

my high seats are like doe boxes but considerably higher up and boxed in from the elements with a thick old carpet on the floor for noise reduction where you fidget about with your boots, not warm but dry-ish

Keeping still and waiting 15 mins after a shot is beneficial, gives the chance for things to settle down and a chance to check for another shot to turn up, choose the high seat your previous recce’s shows the most activity
 
The secret to herd species is simply don’t shoot at them in big groups, wait for the stragglers that way fingers crossed you don’t educate any.

see a groups of 4-6 I would have at least 3-4 down educate 2 or 3

shoot at a group of 15-30 Shoot 2-4 if your lucky and educate a heap!

Big groups I let walk on by and catch up another day.

better be patient than greedy, herd species are a long ball game not short.

i also clean the animals off the field and remove any blood that I can see or turn it In the soil, also all waste it taken off the field, I leave no evidence what so ever apart from a set of quad tracks.

that’s speaking from 15 years experience on Reds and fallow.
 
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Last weekend one of our high seats was sat on 6 occasions and produced 3 Fallow . I agree sustained pressure will make the spooky . But if the deer are in the area of the seat ,why would you sit anywhere else ?

Chill
 
We tend to leave it for a two to three week period, to allow the blood etc to get washed away and the deer to forget things. Use it too often and they soon get to know. After shot stay still for a good 20 mins.
In regard to no sitting in a seat for 2-3 weeks to let the blood wash away . I have seen deer walk very close to where I shot a deer an hour ago and not take the slightest notice . I have also seen Deer walk pass a dead deer on a ride with out taking alarm .
Chill
 
In regard to no sitting in a seat for 2-3 weeks to let the blood wash away . I have seen deer walk very close to where I shot a deer an hour ago and not take the slightest notice . I have also seen Deer walk pass a dead deer on a ride with out taking alarm .
Chill
From years of observation, I've come to the conclusion that we place too much of our perception of things, on the way animals behave. They have little understanding of death and countless times I've watched foxes, deer and rabbits totally ignore fallen creatures exhibiting only mild interest if there is any movement
Only last week we shot a fox that it turned out later had a fair-sized exit wound. shortly after it was shot a roe appeared and literally stepped over it showing no interest whatsoever apart from a perfunctory sniff.
As has been said, actually seeing you regularly visiting a high seat could make deer wary, keep out of sight and I don't think regular visits matter that much.
 
From years of observation, I've come to the conclusion that we place too much of our perception of things, on the way animals behave. They have little understanding of death and countless times I've watched foxes, deer and rabbits totally ignore fallen creatures exhibiting only mild interest if there is any movement

It's more about scaring them away through repeatedly making loud noises than them seeing a dead deer. Once they've heard a loud bang a few times from the same place, they'll avoid it for a while. Not an issue if you're shooting ones and twos but if you're shooting at animals in large groups then the rest get educated (as @leec6.5 noted above).
 
In regard to no sitting in a seat for 2-3 weeks to let the blood wash away . I have seen deer walk very close to where I shot a deer an hour ago and not take the slightest notice . I have also seen Deer walk pass a dead deer on a ride with out taking alarm .
Chill

I’ve shot a roe deer at last light, and come back the next morning to shoot again, within 2 metres of the gralloch from the night before. And returned again in the afternoon to shoot a third in the exact same spot. Not fawns hanging around for their mother either - all young adult bucks.

Fallow do seem to be a bit more sensitive - I think because you seldom get one on its own, so the survivors realise ‘something’ has happened.
 
In regard to no sitting in a seat for 2-3 weeks to let the blood wash away . I have seen deer walk very close to where I shot a deer an hour ago and not take the slightest notice . I have also seen Deer walk pass a dead deer on a ride with out taking alarm .
Chill
We all see different things, that's what makes it interesting. Time after time I see deer come back to a dead one just shot. Many times I have seen them shy away from blood. Over 60+ years nothing stays the same and deer and their habits just like humans can change.
 
From years of observation, I've come to the conclusion that we place too much of our perception of things, on the way animals behave. They have little understanding of death and countless times I've watched foxes, deer and rabbits totally ignore fallen creatures exhibiting only mild interest if there is any movement
Only last week we shot a fox that it turned out later had a fair-sized exit wound. shortly after it was shot a roe appeared and literally stepped over it showing no interest whatsoever apart from a perfunctory sniff.
As has been said, actually seeing you regularly visiting a high seat could make deer wary, keep out of sight and I don't think regular visits matter that much.
The observation is a good one, but it's not so much the death of another that puts them on the alert, it's the association with eg scent left, and if they are close enough, disturbance of the surroundings coming and going, though this is certainly related to the background level of disturbance; there's little doubt that deer can adapt readily to regular human activity/disturbance, and are able to differentiate whether the subject presents some sort of threat.

I once took a L2 candidate out to do his stalks, first thing he did once he had confirmed the beast was dead and made the rifle safe was to empty his own bladder on the bush nearby the fallen deer. In an area where there are seldom more than one human visiting the area (me) more than once in the year, this did rather represent something of a change of circumstances in the locale, and I don't think it made it a more attractive prospect for other deer!
 
I’ve shot a roe deer at last light, and come back the next morning to shoot again, within 2 metres of the gralloch from the night before. And returned again in the afternoon to shoot a third in the exact same spot. Not fawns hanging around for their mother either - all young adult bucks.

Fallow do seem to be a bit more sensitive - I think because you seldom get one on its own, so the survivors realise ‘something’ has happened.
We all have these different experiences, like shooting a buck(not in the rut) going on a circuitous route to pick it up, only to see it stood there thrashing the ground. Second shot, walked over two dead bucks, one very badly damaged by the other.
 
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