How does someone qualify to be an AW
- Thread starter Pickles
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baguio
Well-Known Member
Obviously you reported this to DMQ?
terrier1
Well-Known Member
Look at DMQs address may give you a clue.
EMcC
Well-Known Member
I don't think it is a course to become an AW, it is more of a periodic briefing for AW's to make sure they are all reading off the same hymn sheet.
I gave up being an AW because of the standard of potential L2 that approached me.
An example was "I shot two deer during the Doe season and now have my own rifle and want to shoot a Buck" and similar.
Another was "I did my L1 and came top of the class so now reckon I am good enough for L2 "
I met one or two really nice people being an AW but it got so ridiculous I gave up.
baguio
Well-Known Member
See post #21. You have put 2 and 2 together and come up with 3 terrier. They share office space. Plenty of businesses in this country do. That doesn't make them part of the same organisation.
Last edited:
Firefly
Well-Known Member
It’s 10 years since I emailed him and I’m still waiting.…..
So is the British Deer Society run by the Game & Wildlife Conservancy Trust then?
Thanks Eddy.
It was really more of a rhetorical question, as there is so much misinformation being put around about DMQ, DSC1, DSC2, etc.
As you say, attending a formal AW Briefing has always been a pre-requisite to becoming an AW. Those Briefings, however, were few and far between, and I believe the last formal ones were run in 2013 when the Portfolio was updated. After that it was decided to use the AW Newsletter as the preferred communications medium.
sikamalc
Administrator
DMQ is at the same address as BASC. That does not mean they are one and the same. One of the main people who designed DMQ, worked for and was a major player in BDS. Not BASC.
I have been an AW for a good number of years now. It makes me laugh when people kick off about having a qualification for stalking deer in the UK. They obviously have not a CLUE about what would happen to them if they lived in a European country. In many such places, such as Holland, Germany, Belgium, its going to cost you 2000 euro and a lot more than 3 days doing a Level One course.
Someone mentioned AW's being asked to leave the system. A few years back there was a consideration by DMQ to ask for a fee to be an AW. This was refused by a great many AW's. Me included. The vast majority of AW's were and to a certain extent are recreational stalkers. A few, such as myself, do it for a living. I decided to stay on, and the whole thing blew over. There were a good number of AW's who never took any candidate out. There were some, in the past who falsified a candidates paperwork. One hopes that these idiots are no loner an AW and have been removed.
Level 2 is down to practical field experience and knowledge, coupled with what you learnt from Level 1. Its not about how many deer you have shot, although if its only single figures, its going to raise some issues.
If your thinking of taking Level 2 you will need to be on top of your game with the Lymph node system, also wounded deer scenarios, plus notifiable diseases and what action to take if you suspect a deer is infected.
The chances of a candidate wounding a deer on their Level 2 is fairly slim, I would hope. But if it occurs, it is assumed the candidate will know what course of action to take. The candidate will be asked questions by the Assessor, and I always ask them. I also advise the candidate, when asked by the Assessor, to ask what environment am I in, and also what species have I wounded. There is a world of difference between a Roe buck and a Sika Stag, and what you can expect. So if its a shot taken and it appears slightly back, and no real sign of a strike on a Sika Stag, but on approaching the shot site, no blood as such, but a few pins, and a bit further on dark red sticky blood with maybe a bit of bile present, fairly high up on vegetation, where do you think this animal has been hit?
Answer would be Liver. Will it be dead.......yes. How far will that Sika stag have run with such a shot....... well I have had them run nearly 200 yards into thick commercial forestry. Roe, as a rule wont go very far, and it will be dead within less than 100 yards.
Anyone taking their Level 2, I wish them good luck, if some AW's do not respond in good time, report it to DMQ.
I have been an AW for a good number of years now. It makes me laugh when people kick off about having a qualification for stalking deer in the UK. They obviously have not a CLUE about what would happen to them if they lived in a European country. In many such places, such as Holland, Germany, Belgium, its going to cost you 2000 euro and a lot more than 3 days doing a Level One course.
Someone mentioned AW's being asked to leave the system. A few years back there was a consideration by DMQ to ask for a fee to be an AW. This was refused by a great many AW's. Me included. The vast majority of AW's were and to a certain extent are recreational stalkers. A few, such as myself, do it for a living. I decided to stay on, and the whole thing blew over. There were a good number of AW's who never took any candidate out. There were some, in the past who falsified a candidates paperwork. One hopes that these idiots are no loner an AW and have been removed.
Level 2 is down to practical field experience and knowledge, coupled with what you learnt from Level 1. Its not about how many deer you have shot, although if its only single figures, its going to raise some issues.
If your thinking of taking Level 2 you will need to be on top of your game with the Lymph node system, also wounded deer scenarios, plus notifiable diseases and what action to take if you suspect a deer is infected.
The chances of a candidate wounding a deer on their Level 2 is fairly slim, I would hope. But if it occurs, it is assumed the candidate will know what course of action to take. The candidate will be asked questions by the Assessor, and I always ask them. I also advise the candidate, when asked by the Assessor, to ask what environment am I in, and also what species have I wounded. There is a world of difference between a Roe buck and a Sika Stag, and what you can expect. So if its a shot taken and it appears slightly back, and no real sign of a strike on a Sika Stag, but on approaching the shot site, no blood as such, but a few pins, and a bit further on dark red sticky blood with maybe a bit of bile present, fairly high up on vegetation, where do you think this animal has been hit?
Answer would be Liver. Will it be dead.......yes. How far will that Sika stag have run with such a shot....... well I have had them run nearly 200 yards into thick commercial forestry. Roe, as a rule wont go very far, and it will be dead within less than 100 yards.
Anyone taking their Level 2, I wish them good luck, if some AW's do not respond in good time, report it to DMQ.
Does anybody know the current state of affairs regarding whether new AWs are being taken on?
I’ve heard mixed things, and after recently asking a chap who is apparently involved in the process about my desire to become an AW, I was met with with a ‘why do you want to? There’s no money in it’, before being told ‘not to bother’.
It’s something I’d still really like to do, and I wondered whether somebody here might be able to give me a better idea of whether it’s something I could pursue at the moment, or would have to shelve for now.
I’ve heard mixed things, and after recently asking a chap who is apparently involved in the process about my desire to become an AW, I was met with with a ‘why do you want to? There’s no money in it’, before being told ‘not to bother’.
It’s something I’d still really like to do, and I wondered whether somebody here might be able to give me a better idea of whether it’s something I could pursue at the moment, or would have to shelve for now.
Thanks JCS, that’s probably the best approach.
if you do not sell stalking, there is very little point in this qual . It will of course come out of your pocket ! I guess you can tell folks you hold the qual? But i cant see a reason to spend the time and money on it especially if you cannot set the cost off against a stalking business.
I suspect my DSC2 has enabled me to take a hell of a lot of good stalking that simply would of been out of the question without it!
we are talking of witnessing though . I don't disagree with level 2 , i have benefited greatly over the years by doing level 2 myself
very good for you then , Somebody also helped me via being an AW for my level 2 also for which i am grateful . It doesn't mean in any way i have felt an obligation to do the same , there are obvious downsides for both sides . Professional stalking guides are well set to do this and there is then no real chance of getting other people approaching owners of your ground if its reasonably local
The guy who offers paid stalking and is an AW gets his fee and hopefully more bookings , nothing much can go wrong with a win ,win out of the area of the stalker . Who might well get an excuse to seek a different species to his home ground at the same time
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
Plenty of landowners, land managers etc look at DSC2 as a base qualification for any stalking type activities where you are running the stalk.
I am part of a syndicate with a lease from one of the big private sector forestry companies. DSC2 and third party insurance is mandatory for all syndicate members. Those with DSC1 and working towards DSC2 can join but need to be supervised.
The forestry sector is very hot on health and safety, certificates, ad audits. If you don’t have one you can’t do that activity. So you can’t use a quad bike, chainsaw etc etc without a ticket. Yes you may not get caught, but if there is an accident the land manager has an awful lot of embuggerance.
DSC2 shows that you are safe with a rifle, can find and shoot deer, identify disease, process the deer, extract it properly and then put the carcass into the food chain.
And for a certificate the DSC2 really is very cheap. Compare it to say a chainsaw qualification - a basic course and ticket will cost you £500, to get fully qualified several multiples of this.
a Summer Mountain Leader at Glenmore Lodge course is priced from £495 and this then qualifies you to take groups into the hills and be paid as a guide.
Winter Skills courses are £100 plus per day. Training for Winter Mountain Leader is £500 and then a six day assessment is another £500.
Once you have done all of this you should have really good understanding of how to move safely across the mountains, assess avalanche and weather risk and when the **** does hit the fan keep your group and your self safe and achieve a safe outcome.
I am part of a syndicate with a lease from one of the big private sector forestry companies. DSC2 and third party insurance is mandatory for all syndicate members. Those with DSC1 and working towards DSC2 can join but need to be supervised.
The forestry sector is very hot on health and safety, certificates, ad audits. If you don’t have one you can’t do that activity. So you can’t use a quad bike, chainsaw etc etc without a ticket. Yes you may not get caught, but if there is an accident the land manager has an awful lot of embuggerance.
DSC2 shows that you are safe with a rifle, can find and shoot deer, identify disease, process the deer, extract it properly and then put the carcass into the food chain.
And for a certificate the DSC2 really is very cheap. Compare it to say a chainsaw qualification - a basic course and ticket will cost you £500, to get fully qualified several multiples of this.
a Summer Mountain Leader at Glenmore Lodge course is priced from £495 and this then qualifies you to take groups into the hills and be paid as a guide.
Winter Skills courses are £100 plus per day. Training for Winter Mountain Leader is £500 and then a six day assessment is another £500.
Once you have done all of this you should have really good understanding of how to move safely across the mountains, assess avalanche and weather risk and when the **** does hit the fan keep your group and your self safe and achieve a safe outcome.
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